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1
TIMOTHY 3:15. But
if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself
in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth. Right
behaviour in the house of God is almost an unknown thing.
In fact it is probably true to say that almost all christians in
assemblies today believe they can do whatever they like as long as it
seems right to them. Judges
21:25. The contrary is true
and the Lord of the assembly, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, is vitally
concerned about right behaviour. It
is God's house, and we ought to know that even common courtesy dictates
that we behave in a manner pleasing to the owner of the house. It is right that we behave in a way consistent with what the
owner expects. Our
relationship with the Lord is measured by our obedience to His will. "Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever",
Psa. 93:5, is a commandment that is vital in this regard. Paul's
Directive To Timothy The
apostle had written to Timothy hoping that he would not be delayed, but if
he was, he had written so that one may know how to behave himself in the
house of God, the pillar and base of the truth.
It is interesting to note that the epistle twice charges Timothy,
before God, to obedience in observing these things, and keeping the
doctrine that he had been taught. 1
Tim. 5:21, 1 Tim. 6:13-14. The
Key Word The
key word is behaviour (anastrepho) = conduct oneself in one's manner of
life. We are dealing with the
God's house and the Lord is the Head, and we should know how to conduct
ourselves in it. Obviously
then we should learn what offends the Lord.
We should be interested in not upsetting Him, and so we should
carefully study His word to be aware of what is required. We then find there are at least seven (7) areas where we may
offend. Let us be very clear
that offence is sin, and as such is subject to discipline. First we learn from the scriptures that He has placed, in His
house, those who are responsible to exercise discipline within the house.
Secondly, if we do not accept that, then we must expect it at His hands,
Heb. 12:8-11. Offensive
Behaviour The
seven ways in which we may offend are: 1.
Interpersonal
Math. 18:15-18 2.
Disorderliness
1Thes 5:14, 2 Thes 3:6 3.
Division makers
Rom. 16:17-18 4.
Gainsayers
Titus 1:9-14 5.
Heresy
Titus 3:10-11 6.
Holding evil doctrine
1Tim. 1:5-7, 2 Tim. 2:16-18, 2Tim. 4:14, 1 Tim. 1:20. 7.
Immorality
1Cor. 5. We
note seven sins which remind us of Prov. 6:16-19. 16
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination
unto him: 17
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in
running to mischief, 19
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord
among brethren.
When we study the seven sins and the six things above we see they
affect three broad areas: 1.
Interpersonal relationships
Math. 18:15-18 2.
Testimony to the world
1Thes. 5:14, 2Thes. 3:6 3.
The assembly godliness
All effect the assembly. 1 Before
studying these 7 sins, for which the New Testament demands a positive act
of discipline, note the seven sins of Proverbs 6:16. They are a: 1.
proud look, or haughty
eyes 2.
lying tongue 3.
murderer 4.
heart devising wicked
imaginations 5.
swift in running to
mischief 6.
lying false witness 7.
owing discord among brethren. All
sin has self at the centre, and in the middle of prIde is I,
and from that point the carnal christian is capable of committing any sin
ever devised by the heart of man. Let
us note some observations before proceeding. Observations In
every case of discipline there is a very well defined path mapped out in
the scriptures as to how the disciplined one is treated. First
the Lord is never in a hurry to exercise discipline.
He waits for the word applied to the sinner's
conscience, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to take effect and
convict. Second
the Lord expects those with a heart for Him to exercise a healing
function in love. It is this
concern that is sadly lacking in many an assembly today. In
every case sin begins a downward path unless arrested. This path is described in James 1:14. You see every man is tested
"when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed".
Note it is the christian's own desires that draws him away.
Sad to say, however, when true shepherds are missing there is none
to detect these early signs, and to restore.
"If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual
restore such an one in the spirit of meekness", Gal. 6:1. What
a terrible state of affairs when there is no shepherd. The lament in Ezekiel 34:v2, 4&5, of the Lord, "thus
saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; woe unto the shepherds of Israel
that do feed themselves! should not the shepherd feed the flock.....v.4,
neither have ye sought that which was lost, but with force and cruelty
have ye ruled them...v.5, and they were scattered, because there is no
shepherd." Without
contradiction, over the last 50 years, there has been a dearth in the
assemblies. Usurpers have
taken over and the sheep are scattered, or become followers of men. Finally
note the true shepherd's attitude in Isa. 40:11, "He shall feed
His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and
carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
The Spirit of the Lord is such with His own.
This same attitude is seen above in Gal. 6:1. PERSONAL
TRESPASS The
first mention of discipline in the New Testament is in Mathew 18:15, but
before we look at it we must very carefully, and prayerfully look at the
context in which it is placed. Is
it not remarkable that it follows, "even
so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these
little ones should perish."
The heart of the Lord is ever waiting for the errant one to come to
himself and return to the lover of his soul.
Before we begin to study this situation we note that there are
three steps that must be taken in order as the Lord demands: 1.
Meet the errant one in the right spirit as described below. 2.
If he will not hear thee, take two or three witnesses (elders) as
directed in v.16, all in private, 3.
If he does not hear them then his refusal is taken by the witnesses
to (elders) to the church. 2 The
church then makes the decision. Details
of some sins are not to be mentioned in public. All the elders need to do
is to apply the scripture to the situation, and recommend the action to be
taken. The
First Step But
if thy brother trespass, (harmartano) = missing the mark, sin; against
thee, go, and tell him his fault, (elencho) = convict, to show the true
character of anything; in this case it is to show the man the true
character of his fault. The
rest of the verse is quite explicit.
It is done privately between the two people concerned, and not
broadcast to all and sundry which in itself is sin.
Even worse than the first. Above
all the brother at fault is to be approached in meekness, which is not
weakness, Gal. 6:1. It is
that attitude which does not have to defend itself.
Everything is in the Lord's hands, there is no need to justify
oneself, the Lord will vindicate. The
wronged person needs to be very careful, not emotional, but calm, trusting
the Lord. He is to do nothing
more than to show the true position, and apply the word of God, praying
for the power of the Holy Spirit to convict the heart of the erring one. If
the wronged person cannot do this then stay at home until you can approach
the sinner in a fit spiritual state to handle the situation.
In fact you may be in a worse state than the person in the wrong if
you let pride rule the position. It
will always seek revenge, and justify itself.
It is only the person walking in the Spirit who can rightly act. The
Second Step The
sole purpose of the first step is to effect a private reconciliation.
The matter is kept where it belongs, and no one else is privy to
it, nor should they be. Unfortunately
a christian may harden his heart, and not wish to be reconciled.
At this stage the wrong one meets the sinner again with two or
three witnesses, REPEAT WITNESSES, NOT BIASED FRIENDS.
The witnesses should be true shepherds of the flock.
The purpose is the same, the reconciliation of the errant one. By
this time the Lord is dealing with the sinner, and together with the first
visit, conviction and repentance should result.
The prayerful desire of the wronged one is that reconciliation
should be effected. Unfortunately
this is not always the case, and the sinner may harden his heart, and
continue in sin. The
Third Step Sadly
if no reconciliation is effected the third step is that the elders
(witnesses) take the matter to the church. At
this time the elders will give godly advice to the church. It may be most trying as some may wish to side with the
sinner, usually relatives. Brethren,
BE ADVISED, there is no problem that cannot be solved by the application
of the word of God applied in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is absolutely invincible!
("The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) 2Cor.10:4-5.
The church is given the relevant scriptures as in 1Cor 5, Titus 1
Rom 16:17 etc. The
result of being guilty and named in the church should bring repentance.
It is most sad if this is not the case, because then the judgment
is executed whatever it may be, for example warn, avoid or excommunicate.
In the case of excommunication is only recognising the fact that
the errant one is both out of fellowship with his Lord, and his brethren
when he refuses to be reconciled to either. Again
one must never lose sight of the context in which the passage is placed.
It is in fact in Math. 18, where the whole chapter has very
definite connecting links and the subject is behaviour in a local
assembly. Not a man made one,
but a place where the Spirit of God gathers believers to the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The point
of discipline here is to maintain the holiness of the House of the Lord,
and to maintain fellowship between believers.
A study of 1Cor. chapters 1 to 3 clearly expands on this particular
aspect of church life. Certainly
God hates sowers of discord between brethren as discord between believers
mars the testimony to the unity of the body of Christ. Failure
to exercise discipline according to the Word of God promotes three
positive evils over and above a total disregard for the commandments of
the Lord. 3 1.
It shows a total lack of concern for the brother in error. 2.
Demonstrates a disregard for holiness in the House of God in
permitting evil. 3.
It allows the world to speak evil of the assembly. These
three points apply in every case where discipline is not exercised
according to the Word of God. It
should be burnt into the mind of every believer. THE
DISORDERLY WALK To
fully understand just what the apostle Paul is describing in 1 Thes. 5:14,
one must also study very carefully 2
First 1
Thes 5:14, Now
we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the
feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. "...warn
(noutheteo; admonish, which implies teaching by way of warning) them that
are unruly", (ataktos: not
keeping order, insubordinate). The
sentence is then; "teach by way of warning those who are not keeping
order in the assembly". The
statement in 1 Thes. 5:14, is a general exhortation, among others for the
Thesselonians to observe. However
the apostle takes up this subject again in 2
Thes. 3:6, "Now
we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye
withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not
after the tradition which he received from us."
In
this passage there are two words which must be understood if the real
meaning of the sentence is to be gained. 1.
withdraw: stello; middle voice is, shrink from, avoid 2.
tradition: paradosis; instructions handed down. Now
we have, "I urge you to shrink
from every brother who does not conduct himself according to the
instructions handed down (which the apostle says came from the
Lord)." It is indeed
a rare thing to see this in an assembly.
It is at this point that we may begin to see a set of spiritual
rules emerge. 1.
Gal.6:1, a brother overtaken in a fault restore in meekness.
This is done in private. Restore
Gal. 6:1, (katartizo; (mend) suggests that patience and perseverance is
required in doing so. Hopefully
this action is successful 2.
When the spiritual actions in private fail, public teaching with
the view to restoration is required. 3.
If the public teaching is ineffective, which by the way should not
be the case if carried out in the power of
the Holy Spirit, then the assembly members should shrink from such
an one. These
positive actions in discipline are all carried out with a view to
restoration of the disjointed member.
It is carried out in love, which, by the way, does not condone sin. We
may now return to the subject, and endeavour to determine what disorderly
means. At this stage we have
a general idea, but the apostle becomes more specific in 2 Thes. 3:6-12. In this case we have seen that the believers in fellowship
are to shrink from those mentioned in these verses.
Just who they are, is highlighted in verse 10, "if any should
not work, neither should he eat."
It is offensive to God not to work, but more interesting is the
result of idleness. In this
case they became "busybodies" (periergoazomai; a special Greek
word meaning, "some who are not busied in their own business, but are
overbusied in that of others," W.E.Vine) 1
Tim. 5:13, we find younger widows may learn to be idle and then follows
various sins, until it is possible that they may turn aside after Satan,
like some in 1 Tim. 5:15. This
is obvious disorder and warnings should be given. 4 Summary Disorderliness
is not conducting oneself according to scriptural commandments.
When one is disorderly it should immediately bring a private
warning from those who are true shepherds in an assembly.
If this is not heeded then public ministry should be applied to
correct the errant one, and to warn those who may be prone to be led away.
In the meantime the members of that assembly should shrink from the
disorderly one. All this is
clear, but human nature will ever intrude in the assembly scene.
Instead of taking the lead of godly elders some may decide to
support the one in error. Should the one in error accept this support they
become division makers as seen in the next section.
Whereas
it is difficult to distinguish between moral and doctrinal sin, as
doctrinal error may lead to moral sin, we have differentiated between them
in these notes. In doing so
we find there is a progressive downward path for those taken in doctrinal
error. Disorderliness is doctrinal sin as it is disobedience to the
scriptures; "if a man work not, neither should he eat", for
example. DIVISION
MAKERS This
sin is first recorded in Romans 15:17-18.
Now I beseech (parakaleo; to call to one's aid, this calling is
meant to produce an effect) in this case it is a call and exhortation to
the Roman christians to mark (skopeo; to watch, contemplate) to take a
very careful note of certain ones, which cause (poieo: make produce,
create) divisions (dichostasia; diche = asunder, stasis = a standing, a
standing apart, or separation) in this case between believers in an
assembly, and offences (skandalon; "it
is always used metaphorically, anything that arouses prejudice, or becomes
a hindrance to others, or causes them to fall by the way", W.E.Vine
Dictionary of N.T. words.) Now
I beseech, exhort you brethren, take a very careful note of certain ones
who produce divisions or cliques, and become critical of others, causing
some to fall because of the divisions made.
1 Cor. 3:3 tells us plainly that such divisions are the works of
the flesh and emanate from carnal men. Now
all this was contrary to the doctrine they, in Rome, had learned.
The believers were to avoid (ekklino; to bend out from, avoid, keep
away from) such offenders. This was a positive command. We
can also see that such division makers could be classified as disorderly,
which should have attracted warnings.
Act 20:31 tells the elders to, "watch therefore". Now let us follow the division maker one step further down
the slope to shipwreck. GAINSAYERS The
word gainsayer occurs five times in the New Testament, in Rom. 10:21,
Titus 1:9, as a verb, and a noun in Jude 11, and Heb. 7:7, and Heb. 12:3.
Gainsay (antilogia; contradiction, opposition) the gainsayer
contradicts, and is in outright opposition to the truth. The
particular meaning of Titus 1:9 is that the elder, "may be able, by
sound doctrine, both to exhort (parakaleo; to urge one to pursue a right
course of conduct) and to convince (elencho; to convict, refute) with the
purpose of putting the convicted person to shame; the gainsayers." Titus.1.v9&10. 9.
Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may
be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the
gainsayers. 10.
For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially
they of the circumcision: Description
in Verse 10 Now
the apostle begins to describe the gainsayer
as follows: 1.
unruly (anupotaktos; not subject to rule) 2.
vain talkers (mataiologos; idle talking, but not altogether such,
as we see bad results 3.
deceivers (phrenapates) = to deceive by fancies. 5 The
picture we have is of someone who is very dangerous to have in an
assembly. It is not possible
to bring them to order. Their
talking is empty, but is in fact detrimental.
More dangerous still is that they subvert some hearers.
Having described the offender the apostle now outlines a course of
action. Action
in Verse 11 Whose
mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which
they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake. Whose
mouths must be stopped (epistomizo; to put the mouth to silence).
This is a clear direction. The
same spiritual attitude, which has been outlined previously, must be used
in dealing with these offenders. Remembering
always the power to correct is in the application of the word of God, not
in force of argument. Now
for the reasons why such a one is to be silenced.
They subvert whole houses. Subvert
(ekstrepho; to turn inside out, to change completely).
In this case they have converted their hearers from truth to error.
These people must be silenced quickly, they must be given no room
to move, and propagate their error. This
may seem hard to the young believer, but older ones may have seen many a
good christian turned aside from the truth because of the lack of action
from elders. The gainsayer
teaches things which should not be taught and they do it for a very
special reason: base gain (kerdos; to get gain) it often has nothing to do
with money as such, but usually has to do with building up a power base of
followers. Having built up a power base then the temptation is to live
from their followers. In
verses 12 to 16 the description of the gainsayer is that of a carnal
christian fulfilling his own desires.
Advice for the spiritual; "but speak thou the things which
become sound doctrine." A
HERETIC We
particularly wish to study the passage, Titus 3:10, with respect to
discipline, "a man
that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject".
First let us clearly define the meaning of Heretic.
The base word is heresy (hairesis; choice, "that which is
chosen, hence an opinion, especially a self willed opinion, which is
substituted for submission to the power of the truth"; W E Vine).
heretic (hairetikos; causing a division by a party spirit) There
seems to be three steps, by way of natural progression, to reach heresy
that is unfolded in 1Cor.1 to 3. 1.
1Cor. 1:10, Paul exhorts that there be no divisions (schisma; a
cleft, crack) this obviously is a result of
contention, before breaking into two parts,
but as yet the final breakage had not taken place. 2.
1Cor.1:11, contentions (eris; quarrel, strife) the cause of the
cleavage, or division. 3.
The final step is heresy when the parties finally divide. The
meaning of the Holy Spirit's message to the Corinthians was simply that
they be perfectly joined together in one mind.
Rather than this being the case, Chloe had reported to Paul, that
there were arguments in the assembly.
The arguments were over the ability to select the best leader.
Some had chosen Paul, some Christ etc.
It was their opinion! Their
leader was the best! They
were holding to it, and this was thoroughly condemned.
It was from, "the carnal mind which is at enmity with
God." Their
opinion, which was human reasoning, was totally corrupt.
They were carnal, 1Cor. 3:1, and all such opinions cause arguments.
All opinions must be brought under control, and the scriptures only
were to be the guide. It was
never to be the opinions of men, which is the general standard of today. The
continuation in self willed opinions, in Corinth, had led to 1Cor.3:3,
"for ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is
among you envying, and Strife, and division, are ye not carnal, and walk
as men?"
The obvious answer is, yes! To
continue on in this carnal fashion leads to heresies. The
real meaning of heresy is the final division of christians; one from
another, due to holding self willed opinions. 6 Contention
was followed by a perceived difference between two or more groups, and
finally each group separating, and going their own way. When you consider it the only way a group of christians,
following the scriptural pattern, can break up is by one group being
self-willed, and holding an unscriptural opinion.
Otherwise both would agree and obey the Word. 1Cor.
11:19,
"For there MUST be heresies among you, that they which are
approved may be made manifest."
This has been the history of the church, and sadly of
assemblies in our own time. One
of the great central truths of the New Testament is almost totally
UNKNOWN! "Now ye are the
body of Christ, and members in particular." 1 Cor.12:27.
In the original Greek the definite article "the" is
omitted. This radically
changes the meaning. The
verse then means, "Now ye are that which represents the body of
Christ, and members in particular." It
does not take much intelligence to see that a few believers in a locality
could never be every believer from the time of Pentecost to the Rapture,
which the body of Christ is.
Therefore the local church at Corinth could not possibly be that.
What it is, however, is a local testimony to the truth of the unity
of that "church which is His body the fullness of Him that filleth
all in all." Eph.1:22-23The Lord has gathered believers together,
in a locality, to testify to the truth of the unity of the body in the
heavenlies. Anything that
mars that testimony should be rigorously guarded against.
The arguments, and party spirit in Corinth had caused the Lord
grief. It had to be corrected. The
division maker, the gainsayer, and finally the Heretic are progressive
steps away from the Lord. The
true shepherd, with a right heart, would guard against such to please the
Lord, and to protect and feed the flock. EVIL
DOCTRINE Paul
wrote two letters to Timothy with very special instructions being meat in
due season. He gave Timothy a
special charge in 1 Tim. 1:18, Verse
18 This
charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which
went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; "This
charge (parangelia; "strictly a command received from a superior and
transmitted to others", W E Vine) I commit unto thee son Timothy
according to the prophecies that went before on thee, that thou by them
mightest war a good warfare:" Verse
19 Holding
faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith
have made shipwreck: holding
(echo; consider, a steadfast adherence to) faith (pistis; the word
"faith" embraces two ideas: doctrine as taught of God, and
received, and subjectively the state of the soul, J N Darby) and a good
conscience (suneidesis: "the witness borne to one's conduct by
conscience", W E Vine) which some having put away ( the good
conscience) concerning the faith have made shipwreck, (nauageo; break up
of a ship; a total loss.) Verse
20 Of
whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that
they may learn not to blaspheme. I
delivered (paradidomi; to give over) to Satan that
they learn (paideuo; might be taught, passive voice) not to
blaspheme (blasphemo; to rail at, or revile) Hymenaeus
and Alexander; (they had made shipwreck of their faith); whom I gave over
to Satan that they might be taught not to rail at or revile.
7 This
is not very much information, and to get the true meaning from this
sentence is difficult, therefore a further search of the scriptures is
required to enlighten us. Alexander Very
little is known of this man. It
is not certain that he was the same man in Acts.19:33, but very well could
be. It is more likely he is
Alexander the coppersmith who "did me much evil".
The apostle then makes the statement, "the Lord reward him
according to his works." Hymenaeus This
man is linked with Philetus in 2 Tim. 2:16-18, where it is stated,
"But shun profane (bebelos; "'that which lacks all relationship
or affinity with God" W E Vine) and vain babblings; for they will
increase unto more ungodliness (asebia; impiety, usually towards God's
person, acting in contravention of God's commands) and their words will
eat as a canker (gangraina; = gangrene) of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
who concerning the truth have erred, saying the resurrection is past
already; and overthrow the faith of some." Their
Kind What
a terrible picture these two paint! Alexander
was the man who opposed the apostle outrightly, only because he preached
the truth. Truth, no doubt,
that was contrary to what Alexander believed.
There is hardly a man of God who has not met his Alexander.
An Alexander who would spread lies, stand up and publicly oppose
the truth taught by the servant of God, and continue to increase his power
base of followers in an assembly. One
reason for these notes being written is that the Alexanders of this world
can find no foothold in an assembly of God. FURTHER
LIGHT ON ALEXANDER AND HYMENAEUS The
only other light on Alexander is in 2 Tim. 4:14, where the apostle says
"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil, (kakos; whatever is evil
in character, it is the opposite of good, fair, useful, good in character,
good in act). It is hard to
believe a christian can descend to this level.
Observation tells us, however, that such a one in an assembly may
stay covert for years, but at an opportune time they emerge in all their
hideous evil. Let
us return to Hymenaeus in 2 Tim. 2:15-18.
In the first place Alexander and Hymenaeus are linked together when
first mentioned, and one may safely assume that their position was the
same. 2
Timothy 2:15 In
this verse Timothy is exhorted to strive diligently to study with the
purpose that God would approve him. The
result of such study would be that he could not be put to shame because of
his knowledge and presentation of the word. Hymenaeus
and Phyletus were the very opposite.
They were accused of blasphemy.
From this verse onward, as we have seen above, Hymenaeus and
Phyletus were charged with teaching that the resurrection had already
occurred. Many so-called
teachers of today would say this is a minor matter, do not argue about it.
Paul, on the other hand called it blasphemy. That is, slandering someone, in this case God Himself.
You may ask how? The
answer to this question is simple. All
false doctrine slanders God's character.
The slander in this case is that God treats His children with
partiality. If the
resurrection had already occurred then He had favoured some, and left
others to go through terrible wrath of God. This strikes at the very
integrity of God, and because it does it has no place in an assembly. A
WORD OF WARNING Please
note how seriously the apostle treated wrong doctrine. With him there were no gray areas simply because there are
none. 8 There
is no room in the word, and in the assembly of God for the carnal spirit.
Every single thing is legislated for and is crystal clear.
Many years ago, when young people's coffee hours were coming into practice
in some assemblies, an older brother was asked, "what is wrong with
assembly coffee hours?" The
simple reply was, "What does it cater to?"
The young man replied "Oh I see! the flesh." Some
20 years ago a man with a young family was invited to a small assembly
meeting, and his reply was, "Well I think you have the right doctrine
but what can I do with my growing family? I must have something for
them." He went to the
Baptist church, his family today are either unsaved or in some extreme
pentecostal sect. In both
cases there is no warrant in scripture for such things, and giving way to
the flesh has ended up in disaster. God
has counted everything pertaining to the old nature as totally corrupt. Unfortunately some christians do not. In
order for the flesh to have its way in an assembly of God the plain
commandments of the word are either overturned or ignored.
There are always those who will wrest the scriptures, and teach
error to achieve just that end. Evil
practices, which cater to the flesh, are brought into an assembly without
scriptural backing. Then the
evil is supported by wrong doctrine endeavouring to justify that practice.
One common pretext is that it is supposed to be bringing the gospel
to the unsaved, or keeping the young ones in the assembly.
The evil method is supposed to justify the end.
Unless the godly elders exercise their God given responsibility the
flesh wins the day, and finally the assembly loses its testimony as so
many have. Comments
on Young Ones Just
think about the action above, catering to the flesh is supposed to keep
the young ones in an assembly, or make the gospel attractive. This is a vicious slander of God. The Lord Jesus Christ died for His own, He is the attraction,
and being the tender Shepherd that He is, He gathers His own around
Himself. This
He does in assembly testimony; He gathers, He presides, He is absolute
Lord in His own assembly. There
is no thought or consideration given to the flesh, because He is God and,
"He seeketh such to worship Him in Spirit and in truth".
The method is always the Spirit and the word of God, not the flesh.
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than
any two edged sword", Heb.4:12; "My word... shall not return
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please" Isa.55:11. SOME
EXAMPLES OF EVIL DOCTRINE Evil
doctrine blasphemes God, and robs the Lord Jesus Christ of His glory.
It would make it easier for christians to judge doctrine using this
basis as a first test. Examples:
WRONG DOCTRINE
THE SLANDER 1.
No eternal security
God's love is limited, and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is not
sufficient to
save. 2.
A partial rapture
God is biased against some believers, and does not treat all
equally as to His
love. 3.
God has not legislated
God leaves His children to fend for every contingency for
themselves, and His
word in life or assembly is not sufficient to furnish unto every
good work. 4.
We need music The
Holy Spirit given believers is to accompany the insufficient. He has been
remiss singing in the and we have to rely on the flesh assembly 5.
Must select speakers
Again the Spirit of God cannot in assembly meetings perform His
function
without the assistance of the flesh. Of
course there are many other examples, but this gives us a method of
judging whether the doctrine is correct.
Note, God is defamed, and the Lord is robbed of His glory. 9 A
common erroneous defence is, "well the scriptures do not say you can
not do this thing". This
statement in itself is wrong doctrine. The word will either approve or
condemn outright. God's word is clear in every detail. The
scriptures clearly count the flesh as dead and buried; "that so many
of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into His death.
Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into His death: that
like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in newness of life." Rom. 6:3-4.
We must be satisfied with the all sufficiency of the Lord Jesus
Christ and His word. Much
has been made of wrong doctrine in these notes because today we are at the
end of the moral history of the church.
Laodicea is its nature. Yet
150 years ago one could rightly say the assemblies were Philadelphian in
character. We see failure on
every hand. What has
happened? Assemblies
fail because the elders fail. There
is no discharge in this warfare. Furthermore,
"the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to
the pulling down of strongholds", 2 Cor. 10:4.
The spiritual elders should never fail; the total infinite power of
God, is available to them in the word, but how miserable has the use of
them been. Evil
men have crept in, and been brought in, wrong doctrine has been taught,
discipline not been exercised, and finally a great falling away has
occurred. Let us cleave to
the Lord with purpose of heart. IMMORALITY Much
has been written in the New Testament scriptures concerning immorality
which the reader should study. However
the purpose of these notes is "behaviour in the House of God",
in particular the exercise of discipline.
The relevant scripture is. 1
Cor. 5 Verse
1 It is
reported
(akouo;
the hearing of a message) commonly that there is
(holos;
the reputation you have by common report, fornication
among you, and such fornication as
is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that
one should have his father's wife. Some
meetings that used to be assemblies have almost reached this low moral
standard. Verse
2 And
ye are puffed up, and have not rather
(phusioo;
puffed in the sense of being puffed up with pride) mourned,
that he that hath done
(pentheo;
sorrow, like the sorrow at the death of a loved one) this
deed might be taken away from among
you. It
was distressing for the apostle to hear of such a sin, but even more
distressing was the fact that the Corinthian christians could tolerate it.
Had they not learnt that "holiness O Lord, becometh thine
house for ever." Every
saint should have abhorred the very thought of such a sin. Furthermore
the crowning shame was that there was pride and no sorrow.
This no doubt is seen throughout the whole epistle. 1.
Pide in their selected leaders 2
Pide in their gifts received from God 3.
Pide in their spiritual achievements. Let
us take this lesson to heart for we notice that wherever, in this day and
age, there is a boasting in the gifts given by the Holy spirit, and even
in false gifts such as speaking in tongues, one finds immorality. 10 Verse
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