What the Bible Says About a Godly Attitude Toward Heresy

In these days of theological confusion and ecclesiastical compromise, what is the Biblical position for an Fundamentalist to assume toward heretics and false religious teachers? Are we to patronize them, send them converts, add to their prestige, follow their leadership, identify our churches with them, and obliterate important Biblical distinctions with them? The Bible’s answer is clear.

1. Try them - 1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2. Mark them - Rom. 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
3. Rebuke them - Tit. 1:13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
4. Have no fellowship - Eph. 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
5. Withdraw thyself - 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 of us.
6. Receive them not - 2 John 10-11 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
7. Have no company with him - 2 Thes. 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
8. Reject them - Tit. 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
9. Be ye separate - 2 Cor. 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

Written by Dr. G. Archer Weniger

Synergy

Lev. 26:8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

Consider the math in this verse. If five can chase a hundred, that would a ratio of 20:1, i.e. one person chasing 20. Based on that equation, how many should a hundred chase. Mathematically, it should be 2000. However, God says “an hundred shall put ten thousand to flight!” Why is that? It is the principle of “synergy.”

The principle of “synergy” teaches when two or more energies are combined their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. Syn­ergy is having two horses—One horse by himself can pull a load of 1,000 pounds. The second horse can pull a load of 1,000 pounds. But when harnessed together as a team they can pull 3,000 pounds!

In one Peanuts cartoon Linus and Lucy are watching TV. Lucy turned to Linus and demanded that he change TV channel, while shaking her fist. “What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus. “These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually these fingers are weak, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.” “Which channel do you want?” asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can't you guys get together like that?”

Think of what a church could accomplish if everyone would “get together” as a TEAM in reaching lost souls with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As Lucy said about her fingers, “Individually they're nothing, but when I curl them together a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.” Satan seeks to divide the church and prevent church unity. He knows a unified church is a force to behold! (cf. Dt. 32:30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?)

A devotional thought by Pastor Al Hughes

LET NO MAN GLORY IN MEN

I Corinthians 3:21-23 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

The church at Corinth had its share of problems. Paul’s first epistle details many of the issues that plagued this local congregation. Generally speaking, they were not spiritual people. They boasted of their perceived spirituality; but on a practical level, they were extremely carnal. One attitude that revealed their carnality was in their division over personalities and preachers. We sometimes call this a “party spirit.” They were taking sides depending on whom their favorite preacher was. Paul mentioned this serious problem a number of times in his letter to this church. “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ” (I Corinthians 1:12). In another place he said, “For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?” (I Corinthians 3:4). In our text, he mentions this issue again. Because it is stated several times in this epistle, we can safely assume that this was a very serious issue in this church. In looking at this Scripture, we see some helpful advice on relating to one another and to our spiritual leaders. He tells us basically that all of these men were to be respected as gifts from God. God did not give us men of God to divide us, but to minister to us. When people become divisive over the men that God gave to bless them, it is a clear indication that they are acting carnally rather than spiritually. God warns us not to “glory in men.” Thank God for the good men that God uses to help us in our spiritual progress, but in reality, they are just men. It is God that deserves the glory, not the men. When men become the object of our praise and devotion, we have sinned. Directing praise to men that is due to God is a form of idolatry. This is not spiritual. This is being carnal. This kind of jealousy and division goes on regularly, but it is grievous to the Spirit of God. We ought to appreciate the way God uses men in our lives, but resist the temptation to make them the object of our praise. The basis of our fellowship should not be about men, but about the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God. We can appreciate faithful servants of God without idolizing them.

A devotional thought by Pastor Smith of Mt. Zion Baptist Church

EAT THE MEAT, SPIT OUT THE BONES

(With all the activities at work and preparing for two weddings this fall, I haven't been able to keep up with my reading schedule as well as posting on my blog as often as I used to, so I do apologize to those who come here fairly regularly to check out what's new here at my blog. Here is a saying that I have always heard, but it is presented in a much broader prespective, noting several side thoughts, which has given me something to think about.......... hmmmm, what about you???)

There are a lot of clever-sounding sayings that make the rounds among Christians, and one of these is “eat the meat, and spit out the bones.” Many have written to exhort me to do this, and they mean that I shouldn’t worry so much about exposing error. They wonder why I can’t just “eat the meat, and spit out the bones.”

There is a bit of truth to this saying, in that God’s people are always to exercise biblical discernment when hearing sermons or reading Christian books. We are to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

But the Bible also twice warns that “a little leaven leaventh the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 5:9) and exhorts us to mark and avoid those who teach doctrine contrary to that which we have learned in Scripture (Rom. 16:17). There is great danger in eating the wrong spiritual meat!

What if the meat is rotten or poisoned or hasn’t been cooked or properly stored? The U.S. government regulates how restaurants must cook meat, because undercooked meat is dangerous. When I worked in a restaurant in my youth, I was taught to handle the meat very carefully and to store it properly, because it spoils easily. If you eat meat that is spoiled or poisoned or undercooked, even if you spit out the bones, you will be in trouble. The writings of men like Brian McLaren and Richard Foster and Chuck Colson and Rick Warren and C. S. Lewis contain plenty of rotten meat. Those who advise God’s people to “eat the meat, and spit out the bones,” must explain to us how they know that this “meat” is safe.

Also, what if the bones have splinters or what if you get a bone stuck in your throat? When I was growing up in Florida, I went fishing often with my dad and granddad, and they were careful about which fish they kept and which they threw away, because some had too many bones to eat safely. And Mom was very careful to keep an eye on us when we were eating fish because of the ever-present danger of getting a bone stuck in our throats. This happened from time to time anyway, and it was a very unpleasant thing and, in fact, can be fatal. Likewise, very few Christians are able to wade through sermons or books by compromising preachers on their own and expertly spit out all of the “bones” of error. One of the reasons why so many fundamental Baptists are becoming New Evangelical is because they are reading New Evangelical books and blogs and listening to New Evangelical sermons.

And what if you don’t know the difference between meat and bones? A toddler doesn’t know the difference, and if it tries to eat meat and spit out bones, it will quickly be in trouble. Likewise, the average Christian today is far too biblically ignorant and carnal to distinguish properly between truth and cleverly presented error.

My friends, beware of clever sayings that aren’t supported by Scripture.

We live in a shallow, apostate, carnal age, and it behooves us to study the Bible diligently and to think biblically!!!!

September 9, 2008 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org)

HAVE I BECOME YOUR ENEMY?

Galatians 4:15-16 Where is then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me. Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

Paul reminds the Galatian believers of their initial fondness of him and his gospel ministry. They must have received the gospel message and the gift of salvation with such joy. The man of God was respected, appreciated, and loved. They would have done anything for the apostle Paul. He testifies in our text, “ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me.” They would have sacrificed one of their most precious gifts, the ability to see, in order to help the preacher. These were indeed a most blessed people. How quickly things can change. That “blessedness” had now turned to resistance. Paul asks them, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” They had turned on the man of God because of the truth he had given to them. How is it possible that people who had so esteemed the beloved apostle were now so much in opposition to his ministry? We have seen this same change of opinion and sentiment repeated many times over the years. Anyone who has been in the gospel ministry for any length of time has experienced the pain of seeing former supporters become critics. It would be easy to understand if the preacher had become heretical in his message and was preaching a false gospel. Or, if the man of God had fallen into immorality or vice, it could be understood that his followers would lose their respect and devotion. However, this was not so in the case of Paul and the Galatians. Nor is it usually the case in our day, though it occasionally happens. Very often the thing that causes former followers to become foes is similar, if not identical, to the circumstances in our Scripture. People love and appreciate the message and the messenger until something is preached or taught that they will not accept, even if it is the truth. Often the flesh does not want to submit to truth. Most of us have personally seen many people lose their love for the pastor and the church because they were not open to seeing some truth of the Scripture, or were not willing to honor the authority of the Word of God. We should make error our enemy, not the one who brings us the truth.

A devotional thought by Pastor Smith of Mt. Zion Baptist Church