From His Heart

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Today on from his heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. Learn how to not be deceived by the devil.

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Evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse. The Bible says deceiving and being deceived.

And you know where that can really show up? It shows up in institutions of higher learning. It shows up in seminaries.

Why? Because the guys that are studying, studying, studying, studying. A lot of times they're looking for hidden meaning. They're looking for some hidden truth.

You mark this down. If it's new, it's not true.

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In so many vocations and professions, accuracy, precision, and truth are so very important. But how much more is it important for the man of God to be accurate, precise, and true when it comes to the word of God? You see, some people talk the talk and some go to truly walk the walk. But then they may become easily deceived. And so they balk, they hesitate, they think twice before walking with the Lord.

This is from his heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. And today he concludes his three-message series that we've been in so far this month called "Nothing but the Truth." Today, part two of the final lesson: Are you holding firmly to the truth? Right now, open your Bible to the book of Second John. Here's Pastor Jeff to explain what it really means to love Jesus and how to know for sure that your answer would be absolutely yes when God's Holy Spirit whispers in your heart this question: Are you holding firmly to the truth?

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And I want you to notice three warnings, three admonitions concerning holding fast to the truth, holding firmly to the truth and being able to spot error when it comes, even when it comes just one degree off.

Warning number one, watch out for a warped Christology. A warped Christology. What did the Gnostics bring to the table? A warped Christology. They talked about Jesus. They didn't deny Jesus. They would talk often about Jesus, but their Jesus was not the Jesus of the Bible. He was the Jesus of the Gnostic. And the Jesus of the Gnostic was not the Jesus of the Bible. And so John says, many deceivers have gone out into the world. Verse 7. Those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, this is the deceiver and the Antichrist. That's coming from an antichrist spirit. So John dealt with false teachers. What did the false teachers do? They attacked the person of Jesus. And Jesus is God. And he is man. He is the God man. Now, any teaching that denies the full deity and full humanity of Christ according to the Apostle John, that teaching is a demonic lie. Watch out for a warped Christology.

Second warning. Watch out for a warped gospel. A warped gospel. Verse 8. He says, Watch yourselves. That you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. And if you tolerate falsehood, if a church tolerates falsehood, then we will lose our reward. We'll be unfaithful to the Lord. Because we're to hold firmly to the truth. We're going to contend earnestly, Jude 1:3, for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. And professing Christians who don't abide in the truth may not be Christians at all.

As I said before, just because a guy gets up and he's Pastor so and so, or Dr. So and so, or Bishop so and so, and he opens up the Bible and he talks about Jesus, be careful. He may be not talking about the Jesus of the Bible; he may be talking about another Jesus whom we have not preached. And just because he's talking about heaven doesn't mean he's going there. The false teachers, they didn't come out and say, hey, I just want you to know I'm a false teacher. Now let's talk. They don't do that. The devil is too smart to do that. The Bible says about the devil that he disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians, chapter 11 says this, for such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore, it's not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness whose end shall be according to their deeds.

Deceivers don't tell you they're deceivers. And sometimes people who come to your door and preach to you another Jesus whom we have not preached, they can be deceived and not know they're deceived. Evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse. The Bible says deceiving and being deceived. Lots of people in cults today, it's not that they know that they are deceivers; it's they themselves are deceived. They think they're right, but they are deceived and they're deceiving other people.

So, professing Christians. How do we know if a professing Christian is not a true Christian? It says that he goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ. The teaching that came from the lips of Jesus or the teaching about Jesus. He doesn't abide in that. He doesn't remain in that. He doesn't dwell in that. He doesn't continue in that. And you know where that can really show up? It shows up in institutions of higher learning. It shows up in seminaries. Why? Because the guys that are studying, studying, studying, studying, a lot of times they're looking for some hidden meaning. They're looking for some hidden truth.

You mark this down. If it's new, it's not true. If it's new, it's not true. Somebody's going to read something and say, wow, the church has gotten this wrong for 2000 years. Now I know what the truth is. If it's new, it's not true. I saw a debate between James White and this other guy. I can't remember his name, but the other guy was defending homosexuality. And his argument was, from the days of Genesis, God's people have gotten it wrong. Homosexuality, that homosexuality was never a sin. It was never a problem. We just got it wrong. I don't know how you have to move heaven and earth to get the Bible to say that homosexuality is good. God made them male and female and God brought them together. You just look at anatomy and a man is different from a woman and they fit together so that they can be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. But that was his argument. We've just gotten it wrong.

Hey, if it's new, it's not true. And if people go past what is written in the scripture and they come up with something else, flags should red flags go up. Wait, that guy is off base. He may not be a Christian at all. He may be what John says, the deceiver and the Antichrist. So any Christian tolerating falsehood, you can lose your reward. Professing Christians who don't abide in the truth may not be Christians at all. And all Christians are called to be biblically discerning because we live in a world where people aren't discerning at all. They just believe anything. They're blown about by every wind of doctrine because they're not steeped in the Scripture. They don't know what the Bible says, and they don't think it really matters.

I ran across a study just this morning. George Barna, the researcher, he published this in 1991, 30 years ago. And one of the questions he asked was, do you believe in absolute truth? And in 1991, 75% of those who claimed to be Christians said they did not believe in absolute truth. That you had your truth and I had my truth and your truth. Even though they conflict with, well, that's true for you, but it also can be true for me. And two plus two can equal five for you, but two plus two can equal four for me. And who's to say either one of those are right or wrong? They both can be right. Well, obviously they both can't be right. Absolute truth is super important and Christians need to be biblically discerning.

John said in 1 John 4, 1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. Why? Because many false prophets have gone out into the world. They present themselves as angels of light. Satan does, and his emissaries, those who are of his ilk, they are deceivers and they have the spirit of Antichrist in them and they do the same thing.

So we're to be like the berean Christians. Acts 17:11 Paul goes from Thessalonica and he goes to a place called Berea, and he said these were more noble-minded Acts 17:11 than those in Thessalonica. For when they heard the truth, they received the truth with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. This is coming from the Apostle Paul. He is preaching. And they would listen to the Apostle Paul very eagerly and then they would go home and check the scripture to see is he telling us the truth. That's the way every Christian ought to be. That's how I want you to be when I preach a sermon. You examine the Scriptures daily to see whether these things are so. One of the reasons we give you sermon notes and I give you verses and stuff so you can go back and say, is Pastor Jeff telling me the truth? Is this really true? Is this what the Bible says? That is critical.

Now, you have probably heard of a teaching that is coming into the church. It has hit our world, it has hit our nation. It's called critical race theory, critical justice, the social justice movement, the quote unquote woke gospel. And critical race theory puts people in groups and it puts people in this group. You're the oppressors. You're horrible, you're awful. Look what you did to oppress and this other group. Well, you're the oppressed, you're the victims. And the more things that you can have to be victimized by, then the more victimized you are. So if you're a white guy, you're in the oppressor group. I don't care what you've done. It doesn't matter. You're a white guy, you're in the oppressor group. And if you're a black person, it doesn't matter what you've done, you're in the victim group. But if you are a black woman, then you're really in the victim group. If you are a black lesbian, then you're really in the victim group. See, it just keeps going down. Oh, you got all these intersections in here. And it pits people against one another. And it basically tells this group in the oppressor group, there is nothing you can do to repent, to get rid of your guilt. And it tells this other group that you don't have to repent because you're a victim and people owe you. It takes away personal responsibility.

Now we in staff meeting are reading this book by Vodi Bauckham called Fault Lines, the Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism's Looming Catastrophe. You don't think this is a looming catastrophe? I'll give you a little example. David Platt, who is well known in Christian circles, he's the pastor of McLean Bible Church in Virginia. He became the pastor of that church, according to the Washington Post, in 2017; they had 16,000 members. He has been talking a lot about race and critical race theory and things like that. He has 2,500 members now, and there's a lawsuit in his church, and members are getting very angry. And I think anytime you sue a church, that's wrong. I don't care what the issue is, it's wrong. But that's what's going on in his church because there's a fault line there.

Well, this is what Voddie Bauckham writes in his book. As he closes it out, he says this. I wrote this book, Fault Lines, because I love God more than life, the truth more than others' opinion of me, and the bride of Christ more than my platform. My heart is broken as I watch movements and ideologies become entrenched at the highest and most respected levels of evangelicalism. I want to unmask the ideology of critical theory, critical race theory and intersectionality in hopes that those who have imbibed it can have the blinders removed from their eyes, and those who have bowed in the face of it can stand up, take courage, and contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Hey, that is coming and is here at our doorstep for the Church of Jesus Christ. What are we going to do? Well, John says, you hold firmly to the truth. And those who don't continue in the truth, hey, those people are not of God. Watch out for a warped gospel when someone tries to take works and cram it into the gospel of grace. Romans 11:6. For if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. Grace and works are separate. Works don't produce grace. Works flow out of grace. But if you try and say you get to Heaven by Grace + Works, you've destroyed the concept of grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of God. We need to be biblically discerning.

And then, warning number three. Watch out for a warped love. A warped love. Look what he says in verse 10 and verse 11. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him a greeting. For the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. You can read that and say, well, John, that's just. That's so harsh. I can't. You can give him a greeting and I not welcome. Aren't I supposed to be hospitable? Well, that's not John. That's not loving. See, our idea of love is so warped that we think it's loving to be kind and accommodating to a false teacher who is in league with the devil. The early church and the apostles, they saw that for what it is, and they said, no way do you have anything to do with that.

Bodie Bauckham likes to say, you know the 11th Commandment in churches today? You know what it is? The 11th Commandment is this. Thou shalt be nice. And if you're not nice, if you're in a debate and you're considered the guy, that's not nice. I don't care what you've said. We discount everything you said because you weren't nice. Elijah wasn't very nice to the prophets of Baal. Remember when he mocked them, said, hey, maybe you guys need to yell louder. Maybe your God's on the potty. That's what he did to them, made fun of them. Paul wasn't very nice. Thou shalt be nice. No, no. Real love is to tell the truth. We speak the truth in love. And if somebody is going in the wrong direction, you call them.

So John is saying this. Do not help those who do not abide in the truth. Now, you gotta remember first century, okay? So you had traveling prophets who would come in and speak to the churches and a lot of house churches. So they'd come into the house. And hospitality is really important in that world in the first century because there's not a bunch of Holiday Inns or Hilton Garden Inns. So you have to. Where am I gonna stay? Well, Christians will let you in. And so the false prophets figured out very quickly, hey, I can get these Christians. They'll put me up, they'll feed me, they'll pay me, and they'll give me an audience so I can share with them my false teaching. And John says, hey, don't do that. Don't help those guys at all. Don't bring them into your home. Don't watch them on TV if they're teaching a false gospel. Definitely don't support them. Don't help those guys. Don't encourage them in any way. Don't even give them a greeting. What does that mean? You can't even say hi to them. The greeting meant you said, rejoice, brother, Godspeed. It was a way to encourage them. You don't want to encourage a false teacher. You want that person to get away from the false teaching. And you're definitely not going to do anything that would help them.

These guys are itinerary guys. If they have nowhere to go, it shuts off their lifeline. But if they have people letting them come into their homes, then they can continue on in their sin. Now you say, well, that doesn't sound very loving. Okay, 1 Corinthians 13. That's the love chapter. The Apostle Paul wrote the love chapter. Listen to what he said in Galatians, chapter one. This is the guy who wrote the love chapter by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He knows about love. He says this to the Galatians. I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, which is really not another. Only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even though we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. Let him be anathema, as we have said before. So I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. Let him be condemned to hell. That's what he said. That person needs to go to hell because truth is so critical. If you lose truth, you lose everything.

And then recognize the evil that is present in false teachers and false teaching. There's evil present there. The devil is working there. And that's why he says the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds. John the apostle was in a public bathhouse in Ephesus when Cerinthus, who was a well-known Gnostic in the first century, he entered. And John said this. Let us hurry away lest the building collapse on us. Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth. He didn't sugarcoat things with those false apostles. Polycarp, who was a disciple of John, he met the heretic Marcion one day and Marcion asked him this question. Do you recognize me, Polycarp? Polycarp said, I recognize Satan's firstborn. It's just tough stuff. They didn't tolerate that stuff because they knew that was deadly.

I'm not going to tolerate somebody being a degree off on my flight plan because we're going to crash in the spiritual realm. We need to recognize that evil is present in false teachers and false teaching. Scripture says this in Romans 16. Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of their own appetites. And by their smooth and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. That's what the Bible tells us to do.

Hey, do you know the truth? Are you walking in the truth? Are you holding firmly to the truth? Because truth matters. It's the truth that sets us free.

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Now, if you don't know Jesus Christ in a personal way, you've never asked him to personally come into your heart and save you, then you need to first come to Him. As the Bible clearly tells us, simply and sincerely, cry out to him from your genuinely repentant heart and ask him to come in. Say, "Lord, I repent of my sin. I put my faith totally in you." When you do that, he will come in, and you will be changed. You'll begin to see how to walk with God.

We pray that if you've done that, you'll go to our website at fromisheart.org. Click the "Why Jesus" link to find out more about what turning to Christ really means for you. There, you'll have some free materials to download to help you in your new journey. God bless you.

Our world is drifting further and further away from God. Some Christians are not holding firmly to the truth, inventing competing theologies to teach. As Pastor Jeff Shreve said, "If it's new, it's not true." When it comes to God's forever truth revealed in His Holy Word, some people are proudly giving themselves over to sinful desires and sexual immorality.

But these messages in Pastor Jeff's three-lesson series, "Nothing but the Truth," have exposed the truth behind the state of society today. We'd love for you to have a copy of this timely and powerful series from Pastor Jeffrey called "Nothing but the Truth." It's our thank you for your support this month of any amount, and it will be a blessing to you.

With that gift, we'll also send you the booklet "Sticks and Stones: What to Do When the Going Gets Tough." You can get the series in the format of your choice when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromhisheart.org and request the series "Nothing but the Truth."

Well, that's all the time we have for today. Thank you for joining us. I'm Larry Nobles, trusting you'll be with us next time when Pastor Jeff Shreve will open up God's Word and reveal lessons from his heart.

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There is tremendous truth. There is blessing. There is hope that you always dream love. He can heal every scar.

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From his heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more@fromisheart.org.