Sermon Title: 2 Timothy 2:20-3:9
Text: 2 Timothy 2:20-3:9
Location: Gateway Church
Date: 7/3/2022
Speaker: Justin Stiles
Watch the sermon here.
Take notes here.
Good morning, church! I am glad to be with you this morning, whether you are joining us at our County Road 9 or North Main Campuses or online. My name is Justin Stiles, and I serve as one of your elders. For those that I do not know, I am married to Anne, and we have five children in our family. We have Easton, Elyse, and Chandler, and we have been fostering two boys, Robert and Randy, a little over a year now. It is a joy to spend time in God’s Word with you. Last week, Pastor Robert started 2 Timothy and today I will finish that chapter and then start 2 Timothy 3. Next week, fellow elder Matt Heft will finish 2 Timothy 3.
Let’s go ahead and read 2 Timothy 2:20-3:9:
20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, 21 some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. 1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
As a refresher, 2 Timothy is one of three pastoral epistles, with the other two being 1 Timothy and Titus. While there is some debate in theological circles about whether Paul wrote these letters since there are some differences in styles in these epistles compared to Paul’s other letters, most accept that Paul did write them. And, Paul was likely in his second imprisonment in Rome. If you are familiar with Paul, he writes a few times from a desperate place to encourage others! While Paul is waiting on his likely death at the hands of the Romans, he is writing to his co-worker, Timothy, to keep steadfast in his faith. Overall in this letter, Paul will remind Timothy that there will be suffering in their lives and troubles in the Church. Paul will also remind Timothy that our response to suffering ought to be faithful perseverance by God’s power. And, that God’s Word has the power to save us. In the passage we are studying today, Paul gives Timothy a warning about false teachers and their influence in our lives, and how we are to live godly lives in light of this danger in our lives.
In the first verses of our passage, we read: “20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, 21 some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” (2 Timothy 2:20-21)
The passage talks about vessels of gold and silver, then ones of wood and clay. Think about this. Have you ever been house hunting, walking through different houses as you search for a good fit for your family, and you stumble upon something weird? Something that makes you say, “Who put that there? Who would paint the wall that color? What century did that furniture come from? But to that owner, the colors, layout, and furniture all make sense, right? They have a function and flow to the owner, even if we cannot understand it. So it goes with us. God has created us, and we each are useful and valuable to God. God has bestowed on us different gifts and put us each where we belong and at the right time. We may turn to our neighbor and exclaim, “How did you get here? How could God possibly use you?” That question could be asked of us; what we need to remember is that God has created each of us and given us unique gifts to advance God’s kingdom. Regarding gifts, we read in 1 Corinthians 12:4-13, “4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
Just on a Sunday morning at County Road 9 and North Main, we see this at work. We have people gifted with being warm and friendly, greeting and welcoming our members and guests. We have members who lead us as we worship the Lord in song. We have members who teach our children God’s Word in Kidway. Outside of our walls, we have members gifted in service, helping members of our church or community with projects in their home. We have members who faithfully lift our families and friends in prayer. We have members who have the gift of relationship and hospitality, sparking connection and conversation over a good meal to ascertain how people really are doing. How marvelous that the same Holy Spirit has equipped us all with different abilities to serve God’s kingdom in different ways, but for the one purpose of giving God glory and honor?
The opening of our passage in 2 Timothy 2 talks about cleansing ourselves from the dishonorable so that we can be honorable. What does that mean? If you are unsure of the Bible or doubtful about God, you might be thinking, “What do I need to be cleansed from? I’m a decent person.” That is true, you may be a decent person, even described as good by yourself and others in your life. There are a lot of people who don’t count Christ as their Savior that are morally upright and outstanding community citizens. But if we allow ourselves to really inspect our lives, we will find examples of times we haven’t been so good. Have you ever lobbed a sarcastic remark at a teacher, coach, or parent? Ever huffed and puffed in annoyance at a barista when you finally get your coffee after having to wait when the shop was busy? What about silently judging or even smirking at the family seemingly coming off the rails at a restaurant? These all don’t seem like a big deal; after all, they’re not huge infractions, right? None of them are fraud or robbery or violent acts. Did those comments, expressions, or thoughts really hurt those other people? Maybe the sting of those kinds of acts won’t be noticed or even felt, but they do reveal the condition of our hearts as humans. We are sinful and broken, all of us. Even when our negative or hurtful words or thoughts are only internal, they are still there and still going against the holiness that God calls us to. Romans 8:23 says, “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Meaning, that we all have fallen short of God’s standard of holiness. This has been this way since the fall of man, when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. For generations upon generations, we have been born into sinfulness, failing to live holy lives. And for even the things that don’t seem that bad, God tells us in James 2:10, “10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”
However, we are not left to stay in our sin forever. God’s plan was to send his Son, Jesus to us. Jesus lived a perfect life. He died on the cross, taking the punishment for all of humanity’s sin. Jesus rose from the dead, as God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as the price for our sin. So, when we place our faith in Jesus as our Savior, we may have eternal life with him. So, there is hope, that even in our sin, Christ saves us. I hope that this brings you some shred of hope in your doubt if you have trouble reconciling of what use Jesus is to you.
The last part of verse 21 says that if we are cleansed, we will be “…useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
For those of you that attended or served in our Vacation Bible School a few weeks ago, this might spark a memory. What good works might we ready for? Our theme verse for VBS was Ephesians 2:10 (CSB), 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”
During VBS, we talked about these good works. The good works that bring honor and glory to God. What brings honor and glory to God? Jesus very succinctly summed this up for some of the religious leaders questioning him. In Matthew 22:36-40 we read, “36 Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus said that we need to love God and to love others. Sounds easy, right?! The idea of this is simple, but the application is where we get tripped up. We love God when we show up at church to worship him. We love God when we spend time praying to him. We love God when we repent for our sins. We love God when we read our Bibles regularly. We love God when we show up for people in our lives. Do you have a friend grieving a loss? Be with that friend, even if just for a few minutes in silence or giving a few heartfelt words. Has a family been on your mind to invite over for dinner? Call them up today and set that up! Received an email from our Local Go Director about a serving opportunity? Text your Life Group about getting together to sign up to serve! Want to invest in young people but just don’t know where you fit in? Our Kidway staff would love to chat with you about how you could be a godly influence on our preschool, elementary, middle school, or high school students! Got a friend struggling with making wise decisions? Don’t let him make another one – go talk to him, lovingly and gently! Jesus came not to be served but to serve others, and we would do well to mimic Jesus in this way. Jesus calls us to love and serve others, and this takes time and energy on our part. But for the one who gave his life for us, we should gladly want to engage with others in this way.
As we read further in 2 Timothy verse 22 says, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
When we are instructed to flee youthful passions, this points to our tendencies we have when we are younger; inclinations to be more easily irritated, to blunder or rush through endeavors, or to exhibit more confidence than prudent (John Calvin, Commentaries on The Epistles of Paul to the Galatians and Ephesians. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2009, 2 Timothy 2, 232). Paul, likely seasoned with wisdom from his own mistakes when he was younger, and also full of observations of other younger ministry leaders, is doling out this advice to Timothy, still early on in his service to the church. We would do well to remember this advice, too. When we are aiming to engage in ministry in the church, when has it ever been helped by irritation, haste, and overconfidence – probably not too many times! While these tendencies pop up more when we are younger, this is good advice for all of us. In place of those, we are to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. We are encouraged in Philippians 4:8, “8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Equally as important as pursuing these virtues or values in our sanctification, or process for becoming more Christ-like in this life, is the pursuit done in community. When Paul writes “…along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart,” he is telling us to do this within a community of believers. We need to be in church! We need to be in Life Groups, Bible studies, and/or Equip Classes! We need to be enjoying each other’s company, perhaps over a meal, praying for one another, asking deep questions about how our walk with Jesus is going. We should be calling or texting each other to check in with each other, offering prayer and also offering to others what we need prayer for. We need to be asking each other what we are reading in the Bible and what we are learning about God. And kids and teens, this isn’t just for the grown-ups here! Whether you attend the main service at North Main or County Road 9, or you attend Kidway, you also have a community of believers you are a part of! You have your parents or grown-ups you live with that you can have conversations with about God or the Bible. You also have your friends here at church – you can ask them what they are learning about God. You can ask how your friends are doing or how their week was. You can ask your friends how you can pray for them. You can also ask the grown-ups in your life what they are reading in the Bible and ask how you can pray for them! If there is something you don’t understand about what you heard during service or during Kidway, you are also welcome to ask one of your pastors or leaders, just like the grown-ups! And you can also ask a Kidway or Youth leaders to help you submit a question to Pastor Josh for the Gateway Podcast! We are better pursuing our faith in Jesus together. God created us to live in community. The power of the Holy Spirit working in and through the local church, the local gathering of believers, is incredible! As you pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, remember to put these on display for everyone; we ought not hide God’s goodness within the confines of the church. Rather, everyone should see these qualities in us!
Paul goes on to say in verse 23, “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.”
So, Paul has instructed Timothy to strive for holy living, to be ready for the good works God has for him, and to do so with fellow Christ-followers. He shifts to warn Timothy about the dangers of false teachers. False teaching and foolish matters that are not easily settled are detrimental to the construction and growth of the church; they only produce quarrels (The English Standard Version Study Bible. Wheaton: Crossway. Footnote on 2 Timothy 2:23). Back in Paul and Timothy’s days, the church was being built by the apostles and their followers. The church was being built on the truth of the gospel of Jesus. This was contrary to the Jewish religious system that the Pharisees, the religious leaders, had built over a long period of time. Add to this the fact that God, through Jesus, was becoming accessible to the Gentiles as well as the Jews, as the Good News spread throughout the Roman Empire and throughout Asia. Much fighting was taking place about Jewish laws and customs in the early days of the church as compared to the teachings of Jesus. If you have read many of Paul’s letters to different churches, he often has a warning about a falsehood that the people in that specific region was attaching itself to. I can imagine the shouting matches that likely took place regarding the teachings of Jesus!
Do we have false teachers today? Absolutely we do! It’s not hard to at least be exposed to false teachers in the age of information we live in today. There are falsehoods in much of what we see on our mobile devices or TV screens. Social media tends to amplify misleading, false, or half-true ideas, which brings the battle of falsehoods to a level likely never contemplated in Paul and Timothy’s days! How has social media changed or altered the way you receive information and then use it or engage in dialogue about it? There is a lot of information served up on social media platforms, and a good chunk of it is designed to be controversial or not 100% true. Sometimes the false teaching is packaged really well and appears to be true, making it difficult to distinguish from truth. When it comes to stories on social media, publishers are looking to accomplish a few things: provoke a strong emotional reaction in their audience; to have their story seem totally ridiculous or confirm almost perfectly with the target audience’s beliefs; to cause the audience to pull out their pocketbook to support a cause; or to get their audience to amplify the message by sharing or re-posting (Robertson, Adi. “How to fight lies, tricks,and chaos online.” The Verge, 3 Dec 2019, https://www.theverge.com/21276897/fake-news-facebook-twitter-misinformation-lies-fact-check-how-to-internet-guide). With enough people sharing and amplifying a false message, it can become part of the collective belief of a population, and they accept it as truth or a very plausible idea, or deny that it’s false. What’s more, this amplification and sharing does not normally invite critical thinking or dialogue, it tends to just make people angrier, and the algorithms governing news feeds spit out more of the same content. Exposés on Facebook found that the company’s algorithm change, meant to bring people together, instead fed into sensationalism and outrage, leading to higher engagement and in turn, higher revenue (Hagey, Keach and Horwitz, Jeff. “Facebook Tried to Maie Its Platform a Healthier Place. It Got Angrier Instead.” The Wall Street Journal., 15 September 2021.) Moreover, misinformation was one of the types of content that was reshared the most (Hagey). While social media is not the sole source of falsehoods, it’s important to mention as billions of people use the most popular social media platforms, and they are one of the main sources of news and culture for a lot of people. So, there is a high likelihood that social media users will be exposed to some sort of false information. We need to be careful how we react or engage with the posts, how we filter them, how we verify them, and if and how we share them. Paul warns us to avoid foolish controversies; argue when the gospel is stake, but abstain from arguing for the sole purpose of arguing or winning someone over to your side, as this just tends to escalate to more fighting. In the online realm, how many souls have come to a saving knowledge of the gospel through the comment section? My guess is that the number is rather low!
While Paul entreats us to avoid silly controversies and false teachings, what must we do to confront false teachings? He says in verses 24-26, “24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
Notice here that Paul isn’t saying to go into combat mode with false teachers. Or, we aren’t to become online vigilantes. We are to employ kindness, patience, and gentleness. Do these sound familiar? They are part of the fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:17, 22-26, we read, “17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
If we are to take false teaching to task with the fruit of the Holy Spirit, what will those conversations look like? Here it says we are correcting our opponents – what does Paul mean by opponents? He means unbelievers who are not saved or do not have knowledge of the truth of the gospel. But not unbelievers who are totally unattached or foreign to the gospel. The false teachers Paul writes about here are the ones within the church, spreading false doctrine. They appear as believers, much like the religious leaders of Paul’s day appeared to be right with God, but their hearts were considered wicked by the Lord. If we are engaging with unbelievers spreading false truth, we might want to fight with them. Instead, we are to approach these conversations with kindness and gentleness – which may be much harder for us compared to a defensive or offensive posture. We can certainly talk and debate with our opponents, with our false teachers. But, we want to be able to talk to them again, preserving the bond of peace. We are also reminded that repentance is a gift and work of the Lord. Our debates with our rebel friends should be full of Biblical truth. And when we talk with friends who don’t claim the gospel, we often feel a personal responsibility for their conversion as we deliver the truth of the gospel. But, God is the one who brings about this change in a person’s heart (John Calvin, Commentaries on The Epistles of Paul to the Galatians and Ephesians. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks, 2009, 2 Timothy 2, 232). These false teachers have been trapped by the devil, and the work that God may do through us in presenting Biblical doctrine and the truth of the gospel may allow for their eyes to be opened to that truth. Remember, though, it is the supernatural work of God that will change their hearts.
Paul goes on in 2 Timothy 3:1 to say, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”
Paul is warning Timothy about times of trouble in his ministry and the church. On this side of heaven, there is not a time where the church universal achieves a state of perfection; but, rather, the church will endure terrible times where false teachers inflict a lot of damage within it. Paul addresses the false teaching and apostasy in the church in 2 Thessalonians 1 and also 1 Timothy 4. Paul’s encouragement is that God is sovereign and knew that this would happen; therefore, believers can be encouraged and keep on in their faith (The English Standard Version Study Bible. Wheaton: Crossway. Footnote on 1 Timothy 4:1-3). During this time in church history, some false teachers were preaching that the Day of the Lord, or Jesus’ second coming, had already occurred. Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica serves to remind the church of the truth and set the record straight. What false doctrines is the church in our present day confronted with? One of the lies that has spread is that people do not need the church, and that they can have a relationship with Jesus on their own. We’ve talked already about how God calls us to pursue holy and right living. We are further instructed in other areas of Scriptures to be part of a church. In Hebrews 10:24-25 we read, “24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
When we come to church, we get to see each other, greet each other with smiles, waves, handshakes, hugs, high fives, and fist bumps! How refreshing it is for our souls to see familiar faces week after week! We worship God together in song – what a blessing to join together in song, praising Jesus, asking forgiveness, and being reminded about his character. We continue in worship by listening to God’s Word preached by our pastors. We can pray for one another while gathered together. Beyond attending, we can also serve the body, which is another way to love one another, and a way to spark new relationships and deepen existing ones. When we see each other face to face regularly, in and among the people that call our local church home, we have the opportunity to have relationships that are based on the gospel, meaning we might have friends whose only commonality is our love of Jesus (Dever, Mark and Dunlop, Jamie. The Compelling Community. Crossway. 2015). Have you ever been surprised by how God draws you to another person you would almost never choose to talk to, but now you cannot imagine life without that friend? And what happens among friends whose love for Jesus transcends any differences among them? In these type of relationships, we can encourage each other to live and act in a way that honors God. We can question each other when we seem to be drifting away from God’s call to holiness – we can get messy and talk about sin and its impact. We can pray with each other and encourage one another. God has called us to be in a church community. The connections God intends to occur between us occur when we gather and assemble as a church; they simply cannot be forged online only or between just you and Jesus.
We know that there will be false teachers among us in church, preaching something that might seem like truth, but really is not. How will we know about them? In 2 Timothy 3:2-5, we learn some of their characteristics, “2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
You might have thought, “Justin, you just described my 4-year old?!” While I won’t deny this description indeed might fit your child or my child at times, Paul gives quite the list of vices that we can spot in false teachers. These false teachers will have the appearance of godliness but deny its power. If they truly loved God, we would see evidence of holiness, perseverance, and a zeal for advancing God’s kingdom (The English Standard Version Study Bible. Wheaton: Crossway. Footnote on 2 Timothy 3:2-5). When we find the false teachers, what are we to do with them? When Paul writes “avoid such people,” he refers to removing them from the church, through church discipline. These would be the people that, after praying for God to bring them to repentance, stubbornly insist on spreading lies in the church that defame God and his Word.
Beyond the walls of the church, false teachers impact the family. Paul writes that they prey upon weak women. If the women of the day were ensnared in false doctrine, the teachers could gain influence also over the men in their households. Then, entire families would fall to believing the falsehoods about God and the church. False teachers display cunning and charm, and when near people who have a propensity for something novel and want to appear as if they are learning something new, they can easily win them over. But, novelty does not lead a person to salvation. And if even if a falsehood seems appealing, we have to measure it by God’s Word. Half-truths about the gospel need to be treated as lies. I think again of the lies that spread so easily on social media. One well-crafted tweet or edited video clip with a falsehood can go viral, which then leads to more of the same content being generated and clicked on, and hundreds or thousands of people are thus attached to that lie.
It seems like if we will be ever-exposed to lies and false doctrines, where is the encouragement or hope? Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:8-9, “8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”
Jannes and Jambres were not recorded in the Bible, but through other literary works and Jewish traditions passed down over generations, they are known to be the names of the magicians who opposed Moses and the miracles of God (Barnes, Albert. Barnes’ Notes on the Old and New Testaments. Ann Arbor: Cushing – Malloy, 1979. 1177-1178). We see in Exodus 7:11-12, “11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. 12 For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.”
Pharaoh had his magicians try to replicate the miracles of God that he worked through Moses and Aaron, but in the end, they proved that they had no authority. In the same way, false teachers in the church will look to subvert the gospel by making similar claims as the church’s leaders. Or, they may even appear to preach a version of God’s Word that seems true, but has a certain twist to it, attempting to lead weak or willing people to them. While the people of God are promised to endure false doctrines popping up in the church, we are told that they will not get far. There is a point beyond which God will not allow their controversies and follies to proceed. God will open the eyes of those around the false teachers, so that they can see the truth and power of the gospel instead. Their errors and lies will be seen for what they are – errors and lies (Barnes, Albert. Barnes’ Notes on the Old and New Testaments. Ann Arbor: Cushing – Malloy, 1979. 1178).
No sooner than we might rid ourselves of a false teacher, another one will undoubtedly pop up; we must always stay alert and on guard. It is important for us to be in God’s Word so that we know it and can test the doctrines we are hearing in church. It is important for us to follow and obey Christ; our obedience will produce fruit of the Holy Spirit that will be evident to those around us. The pursuit of holy living will allow us to be ready and equipped for the false teachers and ideologies that come our way. And what happens when we think we are hearing something false in our church? I encourage you to question it! If you hear your elders or pastors say something that doesn’t quite sit right, re-read the Bible passage they were talking about, and ask them about it! Or, pose a question about what you heard in a sermon to be answered in the Gateway Podcast! The more we engage in dialogue about the Bible and the messages from the Bible, the more we might know our Bibles and thus equip ourselves to fend off false doctrines! What happens when you have a friend or family member that has been lured into believing something contrary to God’s Word? As hard it is might be, sit your friend down and ask him about it. But remember to be kind and patient, and equip yourself with the truth so you can point it out in your conversation. Also, be sure to listen and ask questions, and ask for the opportunity to show how his belief or opinion may not line up with scripture. If the conversation is gentle and not an all-or-nothing battle, common ground is more likely to be found. Don’t forget to pray for your friend’s repentance and that their eyes would be open to the truth. And, if you don’t know where to start, ask your shepherding elder for advice or submit a question for the Gateway Podcast! And, remember, when we pursue holy living in community with fellow believers, we are strengthened and fortified so that we may be able to resist the snares of false teachers that seek to influence us. But, we know that always, the truth of God’s Word and the power of the gospel will prevail. Please pray with me.
Lord, we thank you that you created all of us for a purpose in the church. You have given us all gifts to be used to advance your kingdom, and we are thankful that you allow us to be part of your work. Please cleanse our hearts so that we may be ready for the good works you have prepared for us to do. We want to heed the encouragement and direction of the Holy Spirit in our lives to obey your commands. Please allow us to pursue holy living, and do so together as a church, so we strengthen one another in our defense against false teachers. God, let us be wary of those that might seem godly but who lack any true fruit in their lives. Help us to guard our congregation from false teachers who aim to divide us and lure us away from you. Please help us resist false teachings that go against your Word. Let us adhere to God’s Word and be Christ-like in our thoughts, words, and actions. Amen.
Prayer teams and I will be up front to offer prayer to you. If you have been stuck in falsehood and lies, please let us pray for God’s Word to pierce your heart to overcome those lies in your life. As we depart, let me pray. May the Holy Spirit help us to pursue holy and righteous living. God, help us to know and live out your Word in our lives, so that we can resist the temptation of false teachers when they come into our lives. We know that the gospel will always prevail. Amen. Gateway Church, you are sent.
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