E10 - The Pastoral Epistles: Biblical Ministers & Biblical Ministry - The Threat Of Apostasy

You're listening to Key Life Fellowships Pulpit ministry

podcast. We thank you for tuning in as we

learn from God's Word together. If you would like more

information regarding Key Life or to speak with one of our

pastors, please visit us at keylifefellow-ship.com.

Amen. I ask the early service this

question and I'll ask you as well.

How many of you appreciate those songs that draw attention to the

Lord Jesus Christ and magnify Him.

I say that in opposition to the many things that we see today

labeled Christian music, that exalt man and that point to man

that are self-centered, only to leave Jesus as a footnote or A

tag on the end. But I'm thankful for songs that

remind us of where we ought to be biblically exalting Him,

exalting his name, and for all that we do to be about no one

else but Christ. If you have your Bibles, if you

will turn to First Timothy chapter 4 as we begin the 4th

1 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

chapter in this pastoral epistle, again in a series

entitled Biblical Ministers and Biblical Ministry, I pray that

God is ministering to you as we go through this.

We're going to see in this message today a warning.

We're going to learn what this warning is all about.

Paul is going to issue that warning.

He is going to issue the fact that there is a threat and then

there is a threat of something known as apostasy.

What apostasy is it is the abandoning of the true faith.

It is the departing from true Christianity is spoken of in

Scripture in other places as a. Falling away.

However, in our modern age, like many other things that we see in

Scripture, it's been rebranded, it's been softened a little,

it's been retitled from apostasy, what many are calling

it deconstruction or to be deconstructing from the faith

instead of departing or falling away.

No, no, I want to say this and I want to make this very clear as

we get into this today, no matter how you want to label it,

it's a departure from the true faith.

If you can call it whatever you want to call it, you can box it

in whatever package you want to box it in.

We're going to see that Paul is warning about a departure true

falling away. And I want you to understand

that because many people think that when we deconstruct as we

define it in these days, we're, we're just simply finding a

faith that works for us instead of the faith that our fathers

handed down to us. And in that we err because it

then becomes about us. And when one departs from the

true faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And to the inventions of man, even though they may be labeled

Christianity. We're going to see in a moment

that the enemy is very crafty. He's very cunning in this.

He doesn't label heresies that lead people into apostasy as

heresies. He labels all of them

Christianity. But these things are deceiving

many. And John says this in his first

epistle. In the 2nd chapter.

He says this about the apostate so that you're not mistaken.

When people depart from the faith, they abandoned the Lord

Jesus Christ. They walk out of the church

never to return in repentance and faith know this.

He says this in first John chapter 2 verse 19.

1 John 2:19

They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us.

It's not as if they lost salvation.

They never had salvation. They never belonged in the 1st

place. For if they had belonged to us,

Scripture says they would have remained with us.

But they're going out showed that none of them belonged to

us. This is tragic and tragically

under the label and the idea in our time of what many are

calling deconstruction. There are people departing from

the one true faith by the multitudes.

Now I know this, I know many of them seem to return at another

time. But John says that if they

departed from us and went out from us, it proves that they

were not of us, because if they were of us, they would have

remained with us. But they're going out showed

that none of them belong to us. Now, what's unfortunate about

the modern day reconstruction that the Bible is obviously

calling it departing from the faith apostasy.

When they return, often times they return on their own terms

with their new found faith, and then they intermingle this new

found faith with the true Christian faith, making it not

the true faith at all. And so we see very quickly that

apostasy presents a tragic threat.

To the church, it presented a threat to the church there in

Ephesus, as Paul is writing this in his day, and it presents a

threat in our day as well. You better make note of that.

You're none of us. We're.

Above this threat, we need to pay close attention to what this

message says. Now, I know some of you you're

going to say this alarms me. It should.

This is an alarming message. It should be alarming to the

individual as well as the entire congregation.

It's ought to shake us to the court, ought to wake us up.

It ought to cause us to do strict inventory of our

professed faith to make sure that we truly are of the faith.

Because you know what, there are many who depart from the faith

and they still sit right here. So we need to see it as threat.

That it is First Timothy chapter 4.

1 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

Paul says this. It says in verse one.

The Spirit clearly says that in latter times some will abandoned

the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by

demons. Such teachings come through

hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as

with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and

order them to abstain from certain foods which God created

to be received with Thanksgiving by those who believe and who

know the truth. For everything God created is

good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with

Thanksgiving. Because it is consecrated by the

Word of God and prayer. He goes on in verse 6 and he

says if you point these things out to the brothers, you will be

a good minister of Christ Jesus brought up in the truths of the

faith and all of the good teaching that you have followed.

Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we

come to you, thanking you for your Word and trusting in Your

Word. God, we know that today Your

Word is going to speak to our hearts and to our minds.

And for the believer who's here today, they will receive Your

truth and their lives will exemplify that as you mold them

and as you shape them into who you desire for them to be.

For the unbeliever today, Lord, I pray that they hear the truth

of the gospel, that you by your Spirit, use the truth in the

preaching of the gospel to open their blind eyes and open their

deaf ears. That they would see and hear the

truth of Jesus Christ. That you would regenerate them

to new life, drawing them out of darkness into your life,

exposing their sin, causing them to see their need for repentance

and their need for faith in Jesus Christ.

And this very day, Lord, you would save them because of the

truth that has gone forth, because of the sacrifice that

you made on their behalf. And I pray that all things be

done according to your will, that Your will be accomplished

above all things. Equip us, strengthen us by your

word now through the power of Your Spirit.

And we pray and we ask these things, the mighty name of

Jesus, Amen. So we look today at the threat

of apostasy. If we're going to do that, we're

going to simply just take what Paul has already spoken here.

We're going to break it down verse by verse and see what he's

saying. And the first thing that I think

we need to take note of and that we need to realize is the

reality of apostasy. He says in the first verse, he

said, the Spirit clearly says, yeah, there's nothing foggy

here. There's nothing in code.

This is not a mystery. The Spirit clearly says that in

the latter times Psalm will abandoned the faith.

So what Paul is saying is he's saying the Spirit has revealed

this truth and there's nothing that you can do to change it.

It is a reality and it must be embraced as a reality.

Why? So that you don't fall into the

trap of thinking that you're not susceptible to this, so that you

see the seriousness of it, and so that you would truly examine

yourself and test your faith to see if you are truly in Christ

Jesus this morning. So we must be constantly aware

of the reality and the threat of apostasy in our personal

Christian lives, not only in our personal Christian lives, but as

a whole, as a church. Don't think for one second that

for some reason apostasy is not a danger that we at Key Life

Fellowship faced as a threat simply because we're sound and

doctrine at this moment in time. Sound and doctrine at this

moment in time counts for nothing 20 or 25 or 30 years

down the road from here. And so we need to see the

reality of apostasy and doing that.

We need to see that it is first an inevitable threat.

Paul says this is what is going to happen.

And this has been revealed to him not because of some opinion

that he he gathered from someone else.

No, he says, I have received this directly from the Spirit.

That's why he's passing it on to to Timothy there in Ephesus,

who's pastoring that church. He said, I want you to be aware

of this and I want all your people to be aware of this, that

this is an inevitable threat to the church apostasy.

We need to constantly be aware of it.

Now. Stop thinking that if we ignore

it, it's going to somehow go away.

Stop relaxing and thinking, well, it surely doesn't apply to

us just because we're biblically sound.

The threat of apostasy is here and it is real.

How do I know that? Because it was there and it was

real. And Ephesus, when Paul wrote to

them and he'd received word from the Lord that this needed to be

addressed. Because it's an inevitable

threat. Jesus spoke on this in Matthew

Matthew 24 · chapter mention

chapter 24. He says this in verse 24.

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform

great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even.

The elect he's talking about in the latter times, in the end

times. And let me just make this clear

for you, right? Because people ask, ask me from

time to time, are we living in the end times?

Yes, since the ascension of Christ we have been living in

the end times and we will live in the end times until Christ

returns. And so we need to take note of

this. If we are living in those days,

Jesus said this, that there is going to come a deception and

many will fall away, and that deception will be so strong that

if it was possible, it would even deceive the elect.

Now I'm thankful that it's not possible to deceive the elect.

They are secure in Christ. But you know what it is capable

of doing. It's capable of deceiving people

who aren't the elect into thinking that they are the

elect, resting in false assurance and false salvation

based on some work that they did.

You know, they walked an aisle and they prayed a little prayer

and asked Jesus into their heart.

But you'll find that nowhere in Scripture.

Please don't preach that. Please don't use that when

you're evangelizing. It is not biblical, period.

Get rid of it. I know some of you have had.

It for decades. It's time to lose the things

that are unbiblical. Why?

Because of the inevitable threat of apostasy.

There are many. People who will spend an

eternity in hell. I believe this having said and

repeated parroted a sinner's prayer because someone told them

in order to be saved, this is how you must do it.

You will find that nowhere in. Scripture.

I've searched high and I have searched low.

It's not to be found, and Jesus says beware.

That there's going to be false messiahs and false prophets,

people that preach things that aren't biblically sound.

They'll do great signs and wonders and if possible, they're

going to deceive the elect. Be aware of this.

Paul actually points out in Second Timothy the inevitable

nature of this falling away. In Second Timothy chapter 3, he

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

says this in verse one. But mark this, there will be

terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of

themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,

disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without

love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal.

Not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited.

Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, you say?

Yeah, Kirk, that's talking about the outside world.

Of course that's what they're going to be.

Read on. Having a form of godliness but

denying its power. And these are people who claim

to have a form of godliness. These could be people within the

walls of a church. He says they claim to have a

form of godliness, but the denier deny the power thereof he

says have nothing to do with them.

You know what the power that he's talking about is the power

of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for

all who believe. First for the Jew, then for the

Gentile. They're actually denying God's

power to save and putting the emphasis on people and their

works, just as Paul is addressing those here in Ephesus

who would do the same thing. And he wants them to know the

reality of apostasy by making it very clear that it is an

inevitable threat. Not only is it an inevitable,

inevitable threat is also an imminent threat.

This is this is a threat and that is always knocking at the

door trying to get you to go down the path that leads toward

destruction to walk away from the true faith.

That's why Jude in writing his letter, he said this in the

third verse of that one short chapter.

He said, dear friends, although I was very.

Eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt

compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that

was once for all entrusted to God's holy people.

Jude riding to the church saying I, I want you folks to fight for

the faith because there are people constantly coming at the

one true faith, constantly knocking on the door, constantly

trying to lead people down the wrong path, constantly even

coming into the church and saying you have Christ.

But let me tell you about a little something more that you

don't have. And they can label it any

spiritual thing that they want to label it.

But if it leads people away from the one true faith found in

Jesus Christ, the one true gospel, we have a problem.

Don't we? And so this is an imminent

threat and anyone in any church at any time can be LED astray at

any moment, even this church, even this man.

I want you to understand that I am a human being and I'm nothing

more than that. And if I don't solidify what I

teach in scripture, I could teach you error at.

Any moment. And some of you, because many of

you follow without question, some of you would fall into a

trap along with me. And so you have to be very aware

of this imminent threat. I say that because I was

involved in a church where this happened.

I don't tell a whole lot of. Personal stories from the pulpit

Think there's a time and place for personal stories?

That's lunchtime or dinner time. But I'll share this one because

maybe it'll help some of you. I was in a church that was

passionate about reaching loss to people with the gospel, and

it breaks my heart every time I think about this.

And one year they baptized over 300 people by simply preaching

the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And then in slipped a little heresy here, a little false

teaching there, a little pride over here, a little arrogance

over here. And before you knew it, the

leaders in that church, many of them who are still in an

apostate state, giving no regard to the Word of God, doing

whatever it is that they want to do, many of them were led.

Astray and LED others astray. You can go back to that church

today and it is just a remnant of what it once was.

So I want you to see the nature of this threat.

Apostasy will always, until Christ returns, pose an imminent

threat. No one is above this, not until

you are glorified and in the presence of Christ.

That's why it's our duty to constantly examine our

profession of faith and constantly examine the Scripture

and constantly study the Word of God.

This is an eminent threat. Not only is it an eminent threat

and an inevitable threat. It's an increasing threat.

When we all. Agree that since the ascension

of Christ we have drifted closer and closer to the return of our

Lord. I loved a moment ago when we

sang How great thou art and Christ shall come.

That ought to be the longing of all of our hearts.

But until then, know this. There's going to be an

increasing threat of apostasy as the day draws nearer and nearer

to Christ's return. Apostasy is going to grow.

Deception is going to grow. How do I know this?

Because Scripture tells us this. Second Timothy, chapter 4.

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

Verse 3 Paul says this he says for the time will come when

people will not put upset with sound doctrine.

Instead the suit to their own desires.

They will gather around them a great number of teachers to say

what they're itching ears want to hear.

They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to

myths. The word of God speaks and he

says this it's going to continue to escalate into this direction.

Be very aware of that. This threat is increasing all

the time. Deception more and more we can

all agree, couldn't we? Looking at our modern culture,

looking at so-called modern evangelical churches, we could

say this very easily, yes. Many of them have completely

apostatized from the faith. They're not teaching the truth

of the Word of God. They're not standing on sound

doctrine. They're not teaching sound

doctrine. And they may have been a place

that once did, but now they have traded sound doctrine for self

help psychology. They have traded bold gospel

preaching for entertainment. This increasing threat is all

around us, inching in day by day as we approach the coming of the

Lord. It's progressively getting

worse. We can see it, can't we, In our

time, like Isaiah spoke of in Isaiah 520, where he says this

woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness

for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for

sweet and and sweet for bitter, he said.

But Kirk, isn't that talking about those outside of the

church? Possibly.

Aren't we seeing many signs of that within the church?

Arguing about things that the Bible specifically says they are

wrong and then somehow trying to justify it theologically and

biblically when scripture has spoken on it and it's black and

white. God says woe to these people.

This threat is increasing and will continue to increase

progressively getting worse. Second Timothy chapter 3 verse

2 Timothy 3:13

13 he says while evil doers and impostors will go from bad to

worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Oh, if the deception that those that Ephesus were going to face.

Was escalating in nature increasing as a threat?

Well how much more as we are approaching the return of Christ

are we seeing a greater deception?

Please know this church, everything labeled church is not

the church. Everything labeled Christian is

not Christianity. Everything labeled Christ.

Is not Christ? How do we distinguish

distinguish what is true? We go to the word of God over

and over and over again, but many have been lulled to sleep

regarding the threat of apostasy.

That's why I want you to realize that it is a.

Reality. It's here, an inevitable threat,

an imminent threat, an increasing threat.

It's nothing to play with. It's nothing to just look some

other direction and play like we're not prone to it.

You have to see the serious nature of it except the fact

that it is an ever present reality.

Secondly, Paul gives us the reason for apostasy, and I want

you to pay close attention to this.

He goes on there in the next part of the first verse.

I'll read the entirety of it again.

It says the Spirit clearly says that in the latter times some

will abandoned the faith and follow deceiving spirits and

things taught by demons. Such teachings come through

hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as

with a hot iron. He says what they do, He says

they forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from

certain foods which God created to be received with Thanksgiving

by those who believe and who know the truth.

And Paul's instructing the church to be aware of the

reasons for apostasy. He speaks of exactly how people.

Will abandoned the faith here. Here specifically, he's talking

about people that were coming in and they were teaching some kind

of ascetic legalism, telling people that if you're going to

truly be saved, you you can't get married and you have to

abstain from certain foods and you have to do this and you have

to do that. And all of this is because of a

demonic influence. Now.

Now I know many of you you get freaked out by that, but can I

let you in on a secret that many people just want to stick their

head in the sand and play like it doesn't exist?

There is a dark and demonic world that you cannot see with

your human eye. You better be aware of this.

Why is this important? Because Paul says that our

struggle there in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12, our

Ephesians 6:12

struggle's not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,

against the authorities, against the powers of this Dark World,

and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

What is he saying? We was riding to the Ephesians

there and they thought that the tyranny of Rome was their enemy.

And he's saying this, No, you got a greater enemy.

In fact, all the rulers and all the authorities of Rome, they're

controlled by these dark and demonic forces in heavenly

realm. And so you need to be aware of

that when we talk about apostasy.

Why He says because there will be people who follow deceiving

spirits and things taught by demons.

This is demonic influence. What does that look like?

It looks like Antichrist deceptions, these Antichrist

deceptions that were here when Jesus was on this earth.

But we know that John covers them in his first epistle.

He says this in first John chapter 4 verse 1.

1 John 4:1

He says, dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test

the spirits to see whether they are from God.

That would do you well to do that because many false prophets

have gone out into the world and this is how you can recognize

the Spirit of God. Every spirit that acknowledges

that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

He goes on and he says, but every spirit that does not

acknowledge. Jesus is not from God.

This is the spirit of Antichrist.

What you have heard is coming and even now is already in the

world, those anti Christian deceptions that we see all over

the place. That are born out of demonic

influence and second John he continues to speak of this and.

17 He says. I say this because many

deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the

flesh have gone into the world. Any such person as the deceiver

and the Antichrist. He says it again.

He wants people to know how true this is.

And so there are those anti Christian deceptions.

You know what's sad about those anti Christian deceptions?

They're labeled Christianity. They're labeled the right way.

Many people often forget this, that the narrow gate which leads

to heaven has the same label on it as the wide gate which leads

to destruction. They're both labeled eternal

life. They're both labeled to

Christianity. That is how crafty this demonic

influence is. Because our enemy Satan is

cunning and he's roaming the earth seeking whom he may devour

as a roaring lion. So you you need to understand

the reason for apostasy. It is a demonic influence, anti

Christian deceptions, false religious systems stemming from

so-called enlightenment by these people who are receiving this

new enlightenment. Now I got a word from the Lord.

Show me chapter and verse or you didn't get a word from anyone.

Show me they can't produce anything and the word that they

say that they received contradicts the scripture that I

hold in my hand that is infallible and is inerrant and

so I have to make this choice. Is the word of God infallible or

inerrant? Or.

Do all these people who receive this enlightenment, do they

trump the word of God? Let me just tell you where I

stand in case you don't know this.

I stand on the word of God because it is the one absolute

truth in this world, but yet many false religious systems

stem from so-called enlightenment or knowledge that

they receive out of. Thin air, folks.

Listen to me, you men who study with us on Thursday nights, You

know this. That's Gnosticism repackaged,

isn't Isn't it much of the Charismatic movement, the Word

of Faith movement, is Gnosticism in a different package, leading

people away from the true gospel, leading them away from

sound. Doctrine leading them into full

blown apostasy all while calling it biblical teaching.

You need to be aware of this. The demonic influence that we

see in these systems. Second Corinthians Chapter 11

2 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

Paul says this. He says in verse 14.

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an Angel of

light. It is not surprising then if his

servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.

Their end will be what their actions deserve.

Please know this. We're dealing with demonic

influence that poses as light. They may be standing in the

pulpit, they may be in some ministry role or some leadership

role. Introducing this demonic

influence, sometimes even Pagan idolatry, into the church.

How do they do this? Paul doesn't leave us guessing

here. He says they'll follow deceiving

spirits and things taught by demons.

Such teachings come through hypocritical liars whose

consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

The reason for apostasy first is demonic influence, but we know

that it enters into the church and into the life of the

believer through heretical instructions.

People who come and they teach things that are not consistent

with biblical truth. They are hypocritical liars

claiming to be free while in bondage to their own lies.

Paul doesn't pull any punches here.

He calls them exactly what they are, hypocritical liars, false

teachers with. Seared consciences, and he says

this about them, these false teachers, these hypocritical

liars with seared consciences will bring in these strange

teaching another place in Scripture.

He calls them secret teachings. Things that are secret that they

introduce secretly bringing these destructive heresies in

without anyone knowing. Second Peter, chapter 2.

2 Peter 2 · chapter mention

Verse one says, But there will also there were also false

prophets among the people just as there will be false teachers

among you and they will secretly introduce destructive heresies,

even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift

destruction on themselves. Peter here talking about these

secret and destructive heresies. What what do I mean by that?

Here's how they creep in and you're in the middle of a reach

group Wednesday night Bible study in home.

You're looking at the scriptures as they are laid out plain and

simple. And someone then speaks up and

says, I know that says that, but I believe this.

And someone else says, you know, I thought about that, too.

That's why hopefully our Reed St. leaders will stop that

conversation right there and say, hey, hold on.

Nope, that's not working here. They come in secretly if it

doesn't happen like. That you know where else that

happens afterwards? Out in the parking lot.

And I know that the pastor taught you this this way, but

isn't it better if we see it another way?

Can I tell you this? I do my best.

I strive to never give you my opinion about anything.

If my opinion doesn't matter, I give to you, plain and simple,

the word of God's sound doctrine.

Why? To guard against such things,

right? I don't want to be a heretical

instructor. I don't want to be some false

teacher who leads myself and others into.

Error. I don't want to be the one that

Jesus describes in Matthew Chapter 7 verse 15 where he says

Matthew 7:15

watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's

clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

Again we see that secretive nature.

They come and they pose as sheep.

But inside, they're wolves. Oh, we see it in our day, don't

we? They pose as sheep.

They pose as angels of light. They don't really care about

your soul. All they care about is your

pocketbook or theirs. They just want to get to yours.

They'll tell you everything under the sun.

Right? If you want a miracle.

And can I ask you this? If someone in here was suffering

from cancer, wouldn't you want a miracle?

They prey on people like this. Are you in a wheelchair?

You were born there. You want to walk?

Well, yeah, I want to walk. I've never done that.

And they tell you, well, if you want to do these things, if

you'll sow seed into my ministry, walk out the door.

Then if you can't walk, get somebody.

To will you out, you're not a place you need to be.

These are radical instructors are hypocritical liars,

promising things that they can't deliver, seared consciences.

They don't care about people. They don't care about people's

souls. All they do is care about

themselves. Jesus warns that in Matthew

2411, many false prophets will appear and deceive many people

who are living in it. Because of the increase of

wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.

What is he talking about? The true.

Love for God, to just love Christ for who he is, to love

the Father for who he is, to see them in Scripture and to be

content with that. You know what's interesting?

The church nowadays as a whole is not content with Christ.

They're trying to find new and fancy things.

Now let us be content. In fact, let us be consumed with

Christ. These are radical instructors,

false teachers, bringing destructive heresies,

proclaiming false gospels. And we already know what Paul

thinks about false gospels. Galatians chapter 1, he covers

Galatians 1 · chapter mention

this very thoroughly. He says, I'm astonished in verse

6 that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you

to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different

gospel, which is really no gospel at all.

Watch how this happened. Evidently, some people are

throwing you into confusion, hypocritical liars with seared

consciences and are trying to pervert the.

Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an Angel from

heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preach to

you, let them be under God's curse, anathema.

We have to be aware of these hypocritical instructors, these

teachers, these blind guides leading people away from the

true gospel, leading them to legalistic heresies, antinomian

heresies, again, ascetic heresies like we see here all

things that lead you and point you away from Christ by seeming

spiritual. But in the end, they're not the

one true faith. It's demonic influence through

heretical instruction, preaching, false teachings and

false doctrine. They're contrary to what Jesus

taught. They're contrary to what the

apostles taught. They're contrary to what we find

in the 66 books of canonized Scripture.

They're false. They're just exactly what Jesus

and what the apostles are warning about.

The third reason that we see the reason for apostasy, demonic

influence, heretical instructors, and this is a big

one. I want you to pay attention to

it. Biblical illiteracy.

People do not know the word of God.

Now they have access to the Word of God, but they have a lack of

scriptural knowledge. If you have a lack of scriptural

knowledge, you are vulnerable to the attacks.

Of the heretic because a path of heresy and eventually heresy

will always, if left unchecked, lead to apostasy.

A path is paved with biblical illiteracy.

People just don't know. They are ignorant.

And the problem to me is this. There's a deficiency in the

pulpit which has has over time resulted in a deficiency in the

Pew. I will take the responsibility

and I will blame the pastor's. Why?

It is our job as under shepherds, under Christ, to

protect you from the false teachers who come with that

demonic influences influence the deceiving spirit.

It's our job to call a wolf a wolf, even if he looks like a

sheep. Even if you don't like it.

Even if you don't like me. It is the pastor's duty to do

this, and the pastors have not done what they are supposed to

do. How do I know this?

Because Ephesians chapter 4 tells me exactly what we're

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

supposed to do. Verse 11 it says so Christ

himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the

pastors and teachers. Why did He give them?

To equip his people for works of service.

So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach

unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and

become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of

Christ. Then we will no longer be

infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and

there by every wind of doctrine or teaching, and by the cunning

and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in

every respect the mature body of Him who is the head that is

Christ. It is the pastor's job.

To make sure that you are hearing the truth of the word of

God, that you are being encouraged to study the

scriptures on your own, to show yourself a Workman who is

approved rightly dividing and handling the word of truth.

It is my job to teach you those things.

And if I don't teach you those things because I would rather

have a golf outing with my friends or to go on a vacation

and to just enjoy life. Instead of being concerned about

your soul, the responsibility rests with me.

I'm thankful that we don't have a church full of biblically

illiterate people, that we have people that are eager people who

are excited about learning the Word of God.

But I don't think for a second that the enemy is OK with that.

And so I know at the threat of apostasy, the threat of heresy,

I know that those things are real.

We can't stand for biblical illiteracy.

We must study to know the Scriptures.

Where does if we're to distinguish the truth from all

of the lies and man, aren't there many lies being tossed out

right now? If we're to know and to

distinguish the difference, we have to know the truth backward

and forward. Our men on Thursday night have

spent months learning about ancient heresies that have not

gone away, though they've been condemned for seventeen, 1800

years. Why is that important?

So that those things don't creep into their home, creep into

their family, ultimately creep into this church, ultimately

lead us away from the truth of sound biblical doctrine, the

true gospel, and lead us down the road of apostasy.

The pastor ought to be concerned and concerned enough for

people's souls that he demands biblical literacy.

And we learn the Scriptures, we learn the Scriptures together,

we learn the Scripture with every opportunity that we have.

And for some, you say, well, the Bible's boring.

You need to be saved. You need to be saved.

There's nothing boring about the Word of God that he has

preserved and he has kept through the blood of the martyrs

so that we can have it in our hands, so that we can hear

directly from him. Nothing boring about that.

A third reason for apostasy Biblical illiteracy.

John Owens speaks of this in a book that he wrote about

apostatizing from the Gospel. He says this.

He says if the teachers are blind and the people are blind,

they will both end up in the eternal ditch of hell.

Isn't that true? I know that I received much

ridicule because I stick to the Scriptures.

I take it very seriously. Number one, I don't want to

spend any eternity in hell teaching something that leads my

own life astray, believing something that leads me astray.

And I don't want you to spend any eternity in hell.

But even more important than that, I'm going to answer to

Christ one day. When I answer for every word

that comes out of my mouth, I want to air on the side of every

word that came out of my mouth was the word of God or pointed

people to the word of God. I can't tolerate biblical

illiteracy in the church. What's the reason for the

apostasy that we see today? Those who are deconstructing

right now, because of their lack of a biblical foundation, their

parents didn't build them a sound foundation.

The church didn't build them a sound foundation.

They were never. Built on any foundation that was

scriptural. Now you couple that with some

false conversion to false ideology and you have a lot of

people saying, you know what I've deconstructed from my?

Faith. It's not your faith, it's real.

It's a gift from God so that no man can boast.

It's him saving you, not you saving yourself.

Those who are deconstructing in evangelical churches today are

simply doing this because they were biblically illiterate.

And no one cared. You know what I care about?

I care that every single children's classroom this

morning they're receiving sound doctrine.

I care about the fact that tonight and our student

ministry, there's not going to be a whole lot of entertainment,

though it will be fun. They're going to receive sound

doctrine. On Tuesday nights when our

single adults meet, they're not going to meet just to hang out

and find a spouse, though many of them hang out and find a

spouse. We're going to be taught sound

doctrine. Why?

Because we don't want them to be biblically illiterate.

Because we don't want them falling into the trap of

apostasy, going off to college and somebody giving them a

better way of thinking. There's no better way of

thinking other than thinking biblically to being in line with

the will of God, to having your mind renewed by the Scripture so

that you can know the will of God.

This is true and everything else is a deceitful concept, demonic

influencing, heretical teaching. Be careful of biblical

illiteracy in your life. It's important that you know the

word of God. It's not important that you know

the word of God so that you can look like a Christian who has

knowledge and somehow impressed people.

It's important that you know the word of God so that every day

you can go back through the things you know and you can

examine your life by that palm line.

Am I truly a Christian? I believe the truth of the

gospel as defined by Scripture. Am I walking in those truths?

Is there evidence in my life? Am I producing fruit?

You can know with confidence. So we see the reasons, the

reason for apostasy. Thirdly, what do we do with

this? Did we do like so many and say,

OK, it's a threat, but let's talk about something that

applies to my life? This applies to your life, your

very soul depends upon what you're hearing today.

And so when we look at apostasy, we have to say this.

There must be a response. But if we brought to the

knowledge through Paul that there is a real threat called

apostasy, and it is from the the ideology of demons, from the

teaching of these heretical liars who are deceiving us,

leading us to stray, shouldn't we respond to this?

Isn't this important of? Course it is.

Paul does just that. He teaches us how to respond.

Apostasy says in verse 4, for everything God created is good,

and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with Thanksgiving

because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good

minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the

faith and the good teaching that you have followed the fact that

the threat of apostasy is real and is a present danger in the

church. Calls for a response.

If we just sit back and refuse to acknowledge the threat, it's

already overtaken us. You're as good as gone.

Your eternal existence and livelihood is at stake.

How should we respond? Well, first, biblical truth.

Here's how Paul counters these people who were teaching this

aesthetic legalism. He says this.

No, wait a second. Everything God created is good.

How do we know this? How did Paul know this?

He went back to the word of God. When God created it, he said

it's good. And so if God said it's good,

you know what it is? Good, Good.

Paul's speaking into their lives and he's giving them some

biblical literacy here. He's saying, look, this person

is saying that things are bad, but God says they're good

because this was this idea that had crept into the church and

was trying to creep into the church, leading people astray.

That spirit is good, matter is evil.

Let me be. Clear on this, that heresy has

been condemned for a long, long time.

And Paul says everything God created is good and it's not to

be rejected. If it's received with

Thanksgiving, you recognize where it came from and who

provided it, Who put it from his hand into your mouth, providing

your every need, He says. Because it is consecrated by the

word of God and prayer. God said it's good in his word,

and you said thank you Lord, for the good things that you have

given me. Right.

That's where the people say don't eat this kind of meat,

don't do this kind of thing. You must fast 3 * a month, 4 * a

month, making up their own rules and their own set of ideas.

Paul says Nope, you need to respond to that with biblical

truth. That's what Paul does.

He stands on the Scripture in order to defend against the

confusion that these teachers were bringing into the church

and ultimately leading people into apostasy.

Because he was. Leading them away from the true

gospel. The true gospel is what?

Grace alone, the faith alone, and Christ alone.

Now it was grace alone through faith alone and Christ alone.

Plus, don't eat this, don't eat that.

Observe this day. Don't observe that day.

You see what just happened, All the alone's that you said prior

to that don't matter anymore because they're no longer alone.

They've changed the entire idea of the gospel, but we have to

stand on biblical truth. That's how we have to respond.

What does the Word of God say? That ought to be your number one

question of everything you hear from the mouth of someone who

claims to be a Christian or a preacher or a minister of any

kind. Is what they are saying

consistent with the Word of God? Now here's the problem.

If you don't know the Word of God, you're in trouble, aren't

you? You just have to take their word

for it. And there's so much deception

out here. It's running rampant.

You can't just take people's word for it.

You have to be like the Bereans in Acts chapter 17.

Acts 17 · chapter mention

You remember the Bereans. I, I don't know much and you

don't know much and we don't, we can't gather much about these

people. But it says this in Acts chapter

Acts 17:11

17, verse 11. Now the Berean Jews were more

out of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they

received the message with great eagerness.

He's talking about the gospel and examine the Scriptures every

day to see if what Paul said was true.

Now let me just tell you what's going on there.

The apostle Paul, you're reading first Timothy chapter 4 and over

1 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

half of the New Testament that the Lord used him to pen.

These people are even questioning the apostle Paul.

Smart move. They're going back to the word

of God and they're saying, is what this man's saying is this

true? Please listen to me.

If they, the Bereans, had to question the apostle Paul,

question me, it's not going to offend me.

Go back and take the word of God and say, is what Kirk Hall's

teaching true? Not is it true based on your

feelings or based on your upbringing or based on your

ideology or tradition? Is it true according to the

Scripture, that's what the Bereans did.

We're going to learn a lesson from them.

We're going to respond to apostasy.

We have to respond with biblical truth.

We have to know biblical truth. We have to weigh things out

according to the Word of God. Again, first John chapter 4, let

1 John 4 · chapter mention

me remind you, we read it a moment ago, but I'm going to

give you one of those verses again.

First one, dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test

the spirits to see whether. They are from God because many

false prophets have gone out into the world.

There it is again. Nowadays people think, well,

this person, they have a church and they have a tie and they

stand in a pulpit. We should take what they say at

face value. Oh, please don't.

This person has a following. Be careful of that.

But you don't understand, pastor, They have more

subscribers to their YouTube video than anyone else.

That ought to be your first warning.

You laugh. There will come a time when men

will not endure sound doctrine. You're not going to have a whole

lot of subscribers. You're not going to get a whole

lot of life. They're not going to be a whole

lot of thumbs up. You're not going to get a little

hard. We have to stand on biblical

truth. We have to test the spirits.

When that person on social media or that person on some religious

broadcasting network spewing lies, you need to be sitting

there with your Bible wide open and you can watch them if you

want. You better be there with your

Bible wide open and you better say, Nope, that's wrong.

Nope, that's wrong. Nope, that's heresy.

That's heresy. That's been condemned for 1800

years. That's been condemned for 1400

years. That's apostasy completely.

They're turning people away from the one true faith.

They themselves are in danger of hell.

Biblical truth. That's how we ought to respond.

Respond to apostasy. Secondly, bold teaching.

What's what Paul says this verse 6, what he says here, he

straightens them out on their thinking and he uses the word of

God. Then he says this.

If you point these things out to the brothers, you'll be a good

minister of Christ Jesus. If you point them out, he he, he

didn't say, you know, if you just don't worry about ruffling

feathers, He didn't say, just ignore those things and maybe

they'll go away. No, he said, point them out.

Show them the error of this teaching.

Show them why it is error. Name names if you have to.

Do not let people fall victim to the threat of apostasy just

because you're trying to be a nice guy, he says boldly teach

them. Paul's approach is bold.

He's teaching a bold approach, just as he teaches kindness.

And Titus chapter one, verse 9, he says we must hold firmly to

the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can

encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who

oppose it. Paul saying, point it out.

If you, if you have to give a refute, if you have to contend

for the faith, that means to get in the ring and fight.

Stand on the truth of the word of God and boldly teach it and

don't worry about what is going to happen after that.

Can I tell all of you this? I am firmly aware of this.

Most people don't like me, they just tolerate me.

That's OK. I I do the same with me.

But I am firmly aware of this, especially.

In today's time, when you stand on biblical truth and you boldly

teach or preach the Scriptures, people are going to despise you

for it. And let me remind you of this.

They despised our Master, they brutally tortured him, they

kneeled into a tree and they executed him.

They did the same to those who followed him, and they'll do the

same to everyone else who boldly teaches the word of God.

You don't believe me? You asked the martyrs around the

world who were being persecuted or even dying for their faith.

Right now you have it easy in America.

We must respond to apostasy with bold teaching.

We can't back down, he says. If you point these things out to

the brothers, he said, you'll be a good minister of Christ Jesus.

You know what the opposite is? If you're so worried about

people liking you and accepting you that you won't do these

things, you're not a good minister of Christ Jesus.

I told you a moment ago that one day I'm going to stand before

Christ and I'm going to give an account.

It's very obvious. And I say that with trembling

lips and tears in my eyes, and I don't apologize for that.

It's serious to me, and I'm going to give an account whether

I boldly taught the Word of God without exception and put my

neck on the line, the glory of God, or did I cave to the

pressure of the apostate church in America more than anything in

all my life. I want to finish the race under

his Paul did, fighting a good fight, holding on to the true

faith, finishing my course. I want to hear well done, good

and faithful servant. We must be bold in our teaching.

We can't ignore the threat of apostasy just because no one

else is talking about it. It's not a big deal to anyone

else. Oh, pastor, you preach on those

things. Your tithes are going to go

down. Give me a break.

Keep your 30 pieces of silver, Judas.

We're going to boldly continue to teach the Word of God.

We're not going to apologize to anyone for it.

Say. Well, pastor, you seem a little

overboard on that. That's easy for a person to say

when you're not going to stand to give an account, but I am.

How do we respond to apostasy, biblical truth, bold teaching?

He doesn't stop there. Consistent training.

He says if you point these things out to the brothers, you

will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the

truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have

followed. You know what Paul's telling

Timothy to do? Be consistent with that which

you have learned. Lean on the sound teaching that

brought you up. In fact, in Second Timothy

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3, Paul goes into great detail about this.

He says to Timothy, But As for you continue in in what you have

learned and have become convinced of because you know

you know those from whom you learned it and how far how from

infancy you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to

make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

He said Timothy, you know the truth and the.

Truth that saves the Sinner. Stay true to it, stay consistent

in it, grow in it. We must receive the truth of the

Word, the truth of the gospel, and we must continue

consistently walking in that truth.

Don't throw Jesus and the Gospel away just because it's not

fashionable anymore. Most modern church movements

that I would even label apostasy have started because Jesus just

wasn't enough for the people anymore.

No Paul saying to Timothy, go back and revisit Christ.

Go back and revisit the gospel. And then when you're done, go

back again and go back again. You want to grow in Christ.

Keep going to Christ, keep looking at His word, keep

looking at the truth. Preach the gospel to yourself so

that you can have confidence where you really are and you can

bring confidence to other. So we're going to confront,

respond to apostasy. It needs to be through

consistent training, receiving truth, continuing in that truth,

abiding in that truth, not only for our sake, but also for the

sake of those who are teaching Colossians 2 verse six.

He says this. So then, just as you receive

Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him,

rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith.

As you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness,

he didn't say. Go looking for new doctrines.

Go looking for new things. See through that no one takes

you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy.

What are they deceiving you from Christ?

The gospel, which depends on human tradition and the

elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on

Christ. What did he say?

Hypocritical teachers and demonic influence.

So just as you receive Christ, he says continue to live your

lives in Helm, consistent in training.

I just don't understand why y'all go to church every single

week. We want to hear about Christ

again. We want to know about Christ

more. We want to agree with other

believers how he's worthy and worthy to be praised.

And he's worthy to be praised because he died, He was buried,

and he rose again. He ascended into heaven where he

sits at the right hand of the throne of God living to make

intercession for me. And one day he's going to return

and he's going to bring his beloved along with the rest of

his beloved into his presence, glorified forever.

Remind yourself of these things. Why?

So that other people don't lead you astray.

Persevere in the truth that you believed first.

Why? Well, because if you don't, it

proves some things. Hebrews chapter 3 verse 12 he

Hebrews 3:12

says see two of brothers and sisters, that none of you has a

sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God,

but encourage one another daily as long as it is called today,

so that none of you may be hardened by sins, deceitfulness

we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original

conviction firmly to the very end.

You hold that conviction firmly to the very end.

There are many they made a hollow profession with their

mouth of Christ at one point in time have who have wandered away

from the truth. Proving this, if they never

repent and they never return, it is going to prove to us one

thing they have apostatized from the true faith.

Don't try to pretty that thing up.

Say what it is. They've wandered back out into

the world. They were never truly saved.

They are like Demas and Paul mentioned.

He says Demas has forsaken me. Having loved this present world.

The world meant more to Demas than Christ ever meant to Demas.

Because if you're truly in Christ, Christ is your world and

you will remain in Christ your entire life.

That is the doctrine of perseverance.

That is the preservations of the Saints.

God promises that this will happen for those who are in

Christ. That's why it's important that

you examine your life. You examine your life and you

see what you really are. There are people who are trying

to distract you constantly. Matthew 24 Jesus again says this

verse 4. Jesus answered.

Watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my

name, claiming I am the Messiah and will deceive many.

You'll hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you

are not alarmed. Such things must, must happen,

but the end is still to come. He says nation will rise against

nation and Kingdom against Kingdom, and there will be

famines and earthquakes in various places, and all these

are the beginning of birth pains.

Then you'll be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and

you will be hated by all nations because of me.

It's interesting that Jesus says will be hated and everybody

wants to be liked. At that time.

Many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate

each other. Many false prophets will appear

and deceive many people because of the increase of wickedness.

The love of most will go cold, but the one who stands firm to

the end will be saved. What's Jesus saying?

That's the true believer. That's the true believer.

He did not fall to the threat of apostasy, but because of Christ,

he rose up in the midst of that threat.

He endured to the end, proving that his salvation was in fact

of God, was in fact authentic. So we must respond to this

apostasy through biblical truth, bold teaching, consistent

training. What does the Word of God say?

Know it, study it, go back, study it, know it, live there

and abide in the truth. So we see as we wrap this up

that apostasy is a real threat, is it not?

And it can't be ignored. It can't be ignored.

It can't be ignored in your life.

It can't be ignored in the life of this church.

I don't think for one second that this is not the only time

that I think about apostasy. I think of apostasy all of the

time. Our staff thinks about apostasy

all of the time. Can't be ignored.

We must guard against it with the truth of the scriptures.

We must guard against it with the truth of the gospel.

We must preach the gospel with boldness and passion that others

would be rescued and LED away from this darkness To the

believer. I say this to you as we close

today. Examine yourself.

Examine yourself. Work out your own salvation with

fear and trembling. What does that mean?

Do you have the works to back up your claim?

Do you? I can't answer that question for

you. I simply say examine yourself.

And Paul was questioned about the authenticity of his faith

and his apostleship. You know what he told the other

people? To test yourselves to see if

you're of the faith ought to be something that we're constantly

doing in our life, taking the gospel, preaching it to

ourselves, and examining ourselves in light of the truth.

Why? So that we don't fall to the

threat of apostasy. Once you come to that

conclusion, keep coming to that conclusion.

Guard yourself over and over by knowing the Word of God and

standing in the Word of God, having true hope in the gospel

and that alone. Walking in the power of the Holy

Spirit, contending for the faith.

Say, preacher, are you calling us to fight?

Yes. I am not with the methods of

this world, not with the means of this world, but with the

might and the power of the Word of God.

I am calling you to fight, and God's Word is calling you to

fight. Because when we cease to fight,

apostasy will rule. To the unbeliever, my prayer for

you is that you hear the truth of the gospel, that if the Lord

be drawing you today internally, oh, and if He is, you'll know

He's drawing you unto himself internally, revealing to you

your sinful condition, your wretched state, your need for

cleansing, your need for Savior. If He's bringing you to that

knowledge today, He's bringing you to that knowledge because

His desire is to save you. His desire is that you would

call on Him in desperation, that you would cry out to the Lord

Jesus as your only hope of salvation because He is the only

hope of salvation before you fall to eternal apostasy.

My prayer for you is that the Lord would have mercy on your

soul today, that He would usher you out of the darkness of your

sin into His marvelous light. He would grant to you

forgiveness and cleansing of your sin.

And all the other promises that are included in the finished

work of Jesus Christ on the cross through His death is

buried on His resurrection at the day alone today.

And from this point forward, that you would trust Christ

alone as your Lord and Savior, that you would keep trusting in

Him the rest of your life and for all eternity.

Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we

come to you. We thank you for your word.

Lord, I know this. I have no power to take your

word and to transfer it into the hearts of men.

But you do. And I ask that you would, that

you would accomplish your will through it now, that you would

bring men and women out of darkness, that you would shore

up the faith in those who are believers, that they would rest

in the confidence of Christ in that alone, that you would be

glorified in our lives. We praise you for it in Jesus

name, Amen. You've been listening to Key

Life Fellowships Pulpit ministry podcast.

Join us each week for more teaching from God's Word.