Address—Nick Simon
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Begin by singing hymn #174 And I would ask someone to stop that opation. Spotless one, how hot and meekness train to bear thy yoke and learn of thee, that we may rest obtain.
I'd just like to begin by reading a verse in Titus chapter one. Incidentally, this is only a 45 minute meeting and.
As my custom is, I will be turning to many verses and we'll be moving along, Lord willing, quite swiftly. If you can't keep up and would much rather just write the verses down, I would encourage you to do that.
I'm not 1/4, I do not quote Scripture very well without butchering it, so I'd much rather read it. But we begin with Titus one and verse 9, holding fast. The faithful word is he has been taught that he may be able by sound doctrine both exhort and to convince the gainsayers. Recently I read something that seems to indicate that when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and we can read that in 2nd Corinthians 5 if we want to.
That God won't ask us about a religious background or our doctrinal views.
And that rather struck me, I thought, Really.
Umm. Incidentally, I don't think it's going to be a quiz of knowledge by any means.
But I, I, I pondered that. Certainly if you look at 2nd Corinthians 5, it says concern. It says, uh, we'll, uh, receive according to those things that have been done in the body seems to speak of the things done.
But nevertheless, I couldn't dismiss this concern that I had that this writer seemed to be making a doctrine of little significance.
And this is my meeting this afternoon. Essentially, what does Scripture have to say concerning doctrine? Is it important or is it not?
And I haven't exercised about it.
And what first question is, What is doctrine? Well, we had it in that verse in Titus that we just read. It says, Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine first to exhort and convince the gain says, doctrine is merely that which is taught in English. Taught and doctrine don't look like the same word at all. But if you will look in Greek, you would find that they were exactly the same word. 1A noun, one of a closely related.
So if when we think of doctrine, you can substitute the word teaching in there if you wish. But doctrine is simply teaching.
Christendom, I would say, as a whole has a bad view of doctrine. They say, oh, doctrines divisive. Let's see what Scripture has to say and I will ask the question, is that anything new? Let's look in John chapter 10 out of earth.
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John chapter 10 and verse 19 says there was a division therefore again among the Jews for these.
Sayings Yes, doctrine has been dividing since there was.
Truth and falsehood doctrine, you see, is that line between that which is true and that which is false.
Another verse in Luke chapter 12.
And verse 51, Why read verse 50? Because it connects Luke 12, verse 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straightened to let it be accomplished? Suppose you then I'm come to give peace on earth. I tell you nay, but rather division. You see, we cannot be both for Christ and against Christ. You cannot be both for the truth and against the truth.
And so it is.
True, that doctrine does divide, but I would ask the question, is doctrine to blame? Let's look at a verse in Romans Chapter 7.
You don't need to turn to this one. I just use it by way of example in Romans 7 at the end of the verse it says.
For I had not known lust, except the law has said, Thou shalt not covet.
And the beginning of the verse says, is the law sin? And so when law came in, law has that effect on us not only of telling us what is right and what is wrong, but it also has that effect of provoking the flesh to do that which is wrong. And so does the fault therefore lie with the law. And so doctrine has this effect of dividing. Is the fault therefore with doctrine? Well, the beginning of verse seven in Romans 7, I mean.
I'm sorry, in the middle of that verse says what should we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid or far be the thought far be the thought. And so to blame doctrine and to say, well, we shouldn't discuss doctrine because it's divisive is to completely miss the point. The problem you see doesn't didn't lie with the law. It lay with us. The problem you see, doesn't lie with doctrine, it lies with us. But let me just make this one comment. If you're thinking that I'm standing here advocating division, I'm not.
And the Lord Jesus never caused division for the sake of division.
And unfortunately, we cannot say that that has been true of the handling of doctrine and Christendom over the years. It has not been true. And I trust, if time permitting, will have a little chance to speak something concerning the handling of doctrine before this meeting is over.
You know the 1St, but I just want to touch on one thing. The first wholesale division in Christendom was over an individual cut areas and it's something called the Aryan controversy. Arias preached that the Lord Jesus was a lesser person of the Godhead, that he was a created being.
This was utterly false, and a man by the a man by the name of Athanasius stood against it, and those that stood with him we can be thankful for. And yet it resulted in the first wholesale division in Christian Christianity. There are still those that preach this false Aryan doctrine amongst them of the Jehovah's Witnesses. But if we were to give up the person of Christ, we undermine the entire foundation of Christianity. There are truths worth standing for.
And there are truths worth knowing. No, we already spoke of John 11 and said in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God.
And the word was God. Now let's turn to John 8. And there are some verses in here I'd like to look at. You know, people like to do 2 Things. They like to either separate the Lord Jesus from His words or separate the words from the Lord Jesus.
In John chapter 8 and verse 25, we've already read this verse.
It says at the end of that verse, uh, well, I read the whole verse. Then said They unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus said unto him, even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I'm going to read that in the new translation.
They asked him who are there, and Jesus said to him altogether, which I say to you.
The Lord was truly who He said He was, but not only that, the things that He said were entirely reflective of who He was.
We cannot separate the Lord from his words. You know, that what else I read there in Luke that I have not, uh, I, I can't even quote it, having just read it. But he mentioned how he, that division with result as of, because of his coming, you know, that's not a popular verse. And so people would say, I, we don't want to hear that verse. We want the Lord Jesus, you know, he was a kind, loving person. He showed kindness to the poor, but they want to separate the person from his words. Well, the other way is to separate the words from the person.
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And so in this chapter 8.
Umm, let's just begin in verse 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. If ye continue in my words, then ye are my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. See, people like that, the truth shall make you free. You know, that's taught in all of our universities. The truth is going to set you free. But let's read what it says a little bit further down, verse 36. If the sun therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. You see, you cannot have the truth.
Without having Christ, you cannot have the truth except in Jesus. You cannot take the truth of the Word of God and separate it from the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you cannot take the Lord Jesus and separate it from His words.
So as we talk about doctrine, and because this is a meeting on a particular subject, it may seem rather one sided, Doctrine is not going to keep us. I would not even say that doctrine was an important part of Christianity. You see, doctrine is an intrinsic part of Christianity. You cannot have Christ without the truth. You cannot have Christ without what he taught. And so we could turn to Psalms and we could find out there that.
Jehovah has said his word above his name. Just one comment. We've already talked about a little bit about the scriptures.
But for for this world, the scriptures have always been fair game.
To pull it apart, to undermine it, to question it, whatever it is my case may be.
We don't approach the scriptures from a human standpoint. We receive them as being the Word of God.
Let's move on now, having established the fact that as we speak of doctrine.
Let's have before us the Lord Jesus Christ in our minds, not to separate the two, but as we talk about, uh, let's see what Scripture now has to say about the importance of doctrine. And there's so many scriptures we could turn to. Let's begin with a verse already read Acts 2 and verse 42. These first early Christians, what did they do? Acts 242, They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine.
And fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. The apostles doctrine is what had this list and what was the apostles doctrine what we've been having it in first John, but it spoke of the Lord Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Those things, no doubt that he taught the disciples as he walked this earth, his death, his resurrection and his ascension into glory to the right hand of the Father. This is the apostles doctrine.
And our fellowship is built on the apostles doctrine. We cannot have fellowship one with another outside of the apostles doctrine. You know, it's very common in Christendom to refer to, to, to not use the word fellowship. It's considered old fashioned. And the word community will be substituted. Let me tell you, we can have a community of Christians without having the apostles doctrine. But you cannot. If we're going to have fellowship one with another, Christ is going to be the center of that fellowship.
And it's going to be founded on the apostles doctrine at the end of Ephesians that talks about Ephesians.
Umm, I forget which chapter it is now it talks about Christ being the cornerstone, the apostles being the foundation. OK, let's turn to First Timothy.
And chapter 4.
There was a young man, and in some respects I speak to the young people, but we are all young people and we all need these things. So first Timothy chapter 4, Let's begin with verse six. If they'll put the brethren remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine. Verse 13 till I come give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
Verses 15 and 16 Meditate on these things. Give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. Let's go on to Second Timothy. In Second Timothy, the day that Second Timothy was written, we know that all in Asia turned away from him. It wasn't Paul's gospel, Paul's doctrine were no longer, if they ever were popular, but they certainly weren't popular in the day in which the apostle Paul wrote his second letter to this young man called Timothy.
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But in that day when things were already being given up, the apostle Paul, like emphasizes and he says in the second chapter.
In verse two, and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also remember, teach and doctrine one and the same. Just keep that in your mind when we come across the word teach or doctor. And you can substitute either word in there, of course, having to, uh, you know, put it in the appropriate form of word. But then look at uh, umm, Second Timothy 2:15.
Study to show thyselves approved unto God, a Workman that needn't not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Let's turn to the third chapter.
And we're just going to read from.
Verse fif. We'll begin with verse 14, but continue thou in the things where thou has learned and has been assured of knowing of whom thou has learned them that from a child that has known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration to God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, a correction in for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God.
May be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. And then while we are here, let's look at.
The next chapter in verse 3. For the time will come when thou will not endure a sound doctrine. But after their own lust they shall reap heap to themselves, teachers having itching ears, and they shall turn away the ears from the truth, and we shall return unto fables. So based on the verses that I have read, and they are far from exhaustive, What is God's answer to that question? Doctrine. Is it important? Absolutely, it is important, you know it. It ended there, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. Which of you would hire a tradesman, a plumber for example, to come and fix your house, knowing that he has no license?
That he had never studied the trade.
Would you invite him into your home to do your plumbing?
And so you and I, as Christians, how can we expect to walk if we're not instructed in the truth? How can we be expected to to do His commandments if we don't even know what he has commanded us? How do we expect to know anything about the Lord Jesus if we've never read what God has written to us in his Word? We cannot, we cannot know any of these things, you see.
Doctrine shapes our behavior.
And so when it says we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ will receive those things that have been done in the body, the things that we do.
A result of those things that we believe and history is littered with individuals.
Sincere believers and in many cases, men who we can be thankful for what they taught and what they did, but nevertheless, their lives have ended in one way or another because of something that they have done as a result of the doctrine that they held. Let me give you an example, the one I always use, and I probably have used it here before, but Ulrich Vingley, and I'm sure I butcher his name, was one of the men of the Reformation in the 1500s.
And in some respects, he saw things far clearer or somewhat clearer than Martin Luther. Not the Martin Luther King that they always have to qualify this, this day, these days, but the Martin Luther that lived back in the 1500s and the times of the Reformation. But anyways, Vingley saw things clearer than Martin Luther. He saw that the remembrance of the Lord was just that, a memorial, and that the bread was just bread and the wine was just wine. And Luther never got clear of what's called.
Consubstantiation.
Which is not far removed from transubstantiation, but servingly what happens is of English. Well, he did not understand.
That God's Kingdom was not of this world. And the Lord says in John that if his Kingdom were of this world, then his servants would fight.
Was the Vingley took up the sword and thought and he died on the battlefield. This faithful man who stood against Roman Catholicism died on the battlefield because he did not understand the truth of the fact that his the church is heavenly. He did not understand that our battles are not physical in this world with swords and politics. You know, the Protestant movement is called Protestant because it's derived from the word protest. Well, that would pro that the the thing the protest that it's referring to was a document.
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That was signed. Who was it signed by? It was signed by the German Princess. It was not signed by a single ecclesiastic individual. It was signed by the Princess. In many respects, the Reformation became a political movement, and those that hold a doctrine called covenant theology still believe essentially the same thing and do not recognize that the Church's calling is heavenly. These doctrines that we hold shape our behavior.
They shape our behavior. We have a scriptural example of this in First Corinthians and chapter 15. There were those that did not believe the doctrine, the teaching that Christ rose bodily from the dead, and it shaped their behavior. Because as the apostle points out, if there's no resurrection, then this is it. We might as well, as it says in First Corinthians 15, verse 32, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.
Live it up, because this is it.
Your doctrine, whether you unders believe it or not, accept it or not, your doctrine will shape your behavior.
It will shape the way you view the assembly. It will shape whether you are here to remember the Lord or not.
There's a couple of interesting references.
In this regard, uh, so I'll just read in first Timothy chapter.
6IN verse one, first Timothy 6/1 is one, and then in Titus chapter 2 is the other. But it says, let as many servants are under the yoke, count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And then over a few pages in Titus chapter 2 verse 10, by the way, both these verses talk about servants working for their masters, talks about our secular jobs. It talks about the job that you were probably doing yesterday before or the day before before you left to come here.
It's talking about our secular work. But Titus 2 verse 10 says not purloining. That is stealing from your boss.
But showing all good fidelity that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things, you and I would probably have not put that word doctrine in there.
But God has chosen to do so. The way we live should adorn the doctrine that we hold. The doctrine was more than the doctrine that we hold, but we certainly should hold it. But the doctrine of God our Savior. You see, the doctrine we hold expresses itself in the things we do in the life we live. It shapes our world view. It shapes our view of this world. The doctrine that we hold, the teaching.
That we hold.
Let's consider a little now for the moment about.
Standing for the truth.
It wasn't brother Jim just said this to me and I'm not going to say it as eloquently as he did to me just now, but the seeds of era were present in the times of the apostles so that they might be addressed in his word. So when we say in first John that the apostle was writing to counter this, this false doctrine called Gnosticism, if you want to be technical about it, Gnosticism didn't actually come into existence to about 100 or so years later or so I understand, but that's a complete.
Technicality, and besides the point, because the roots of it were certainly present when the apostle John wrote his first epistle. And so in the days of the apostle Paul as well, bad doctrine was coming in, and so in First Timothy.
What was one of the reasons that the apostle was writing to Timothy was to address bad doctrine. So First Timothy 13 says.
I besought the divide still at Ephesus when I went into Macedonia, that that might have charged some that they teach no other doctrine.
You know, and this has already been mentioned. It's funny that when, uh, funny or whatever you wanna call it, but when you have a subject on your mind and you've, uh.
And I, and I was asked a few days ago to take this meeting. And so I've been thinking about it. And the subject of doctrine is one that I've been thinking about. In fact, my brethren from Denver know that not so long ago I spoke on it in an open meeting. But it's interesting to sit in meeting how the very verses that are on your heart that you want to use get already referred to. And so if you don't know what you believe, then Satan has liberty to tell you what you should believe.
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Yeah, hath God said. Now if you know what God hath said, why then it's simple matter to say, well, that's absolute nonsense. You know the day that they find the Lord's bones in a.
A box somewhere in Israel will not matter the least to you.
If your faith is resting on the Word of God, it will have no impact on you once whatsoever.
Because Satan's lies will have no place to gain a foothold. But if you're not sure what God has said, then Satan can tell you what he has said. You know there's a saying as well, that if you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.
Ephesians chapter 6.
The Armor of God What is the first component of the Armor of God?
Verse 14 of Ephesians 6 stand. Therefore having your loins gird about with truth. Loins, loins, loins got about with truth. That's the first component of the armor. And what did the what did that girdle of truth do? What did that girdle do? Well, it did two things. Number one, it kept the tunic in. You know, they wore a tunic more like a dress than what we are acquainted with. Perhaps in Egypt they may still wear.
Gametes similar to that to this day that Paul was writing, but they wore a tunic more like a dress. And you know, I have never worn a dress, but I watched girls trying to run in a dress and it looks most inelegant. And so if you want to run, you have to hoist it up. And that's what the girdle did. It kept it in so you could move about in battle. That reminds me of a verse that we have back a little bit in Ephesians.
In the fourth chapter where it talks about in the 14th verse of that 4th chapter, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness wherein they lie in wait to deceive. You know we don't have that girl of truth. Al Tunic just flaps about anywhere. Any wind gust that comes along can move in whatever direction it likes. That's what it's like to not have that girdle of truth. The other thing that girdle of truth did, that girdle was that's where the sword hung.
I, I'm, I'm, I'm no expert on Roman armor, but typically speaking, the sword hung from the girdle. And it says later in that, uh, 6th chapter, it says the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. That's the 17th verse of Ephesians 6. So the girdle of truth is our first line of defense in the armor of God. It's important that we have that truth, that we're grounded in that truth, that we know it so that Satan can't tell us what the truth is or pretend to tell us what the truth is.
Uh, let's just go back to First Timothy again.
You know a lot of effort and time is wasted.
In trying to discern what our gift is.
And number one in Christendom, and I don't want to speak of that as if we're not a part of Christendom, we are, but there is a confounding of ability and gift. Let me just be clear, ability is not gift. Don't look at your abilities and say, well, they are the gifts that God has given me. Now certainly God gives gift according to ability, that's Matthew 25. He gives gift according to our ability. But if we reason the other way, we can look at our abilities and think.
Oh well, God wants me to be this, and we can be LED quite astray. But the other thing is, is gift is never to be a focus in itself. Never. Gift is for a purpose, it's for a reason. And in first Timothy 6 verse 20, it says, Oh Timothy, keep that which I have committed to thy trust. Avoid profane and vain babblings in opposition of science, falsely so-called. And I read in the new translation, Otimotheus, keep the entrusted.
Deposit. So you and I have a deposit entrusted to us. That is the word of truth, and that's what we're called upon to keep. And any gift that we might have, the focus is not on the gift itself, but on what we're doing with it. Are we keeping that deposit that has been entrusted to us? What are you doing without a deposit? Do you even know what that deposit is? Do you even know it? Do you know why we're gathered the way we are?
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Again, these are things that.
Our. Our.
Very real. They're under attack and Satan is saying, yeah, hath God said.
And people were listening.
So how do we come by the truth? How do we acquire the truth?
I'm going to turn back to verses I've already read in Second Timothy because I think.
It covers the two ways we come by the truth BY. There's also a verse in Scripture that says by the truth and sell it not it has to be come at a price, a price we have to make it good to ourselves. We don't just come buy it. Umm, naturally we don't just infuse it by osmosis, but those verses in the end of Second Timothy chapter 3.
It says first of all, but continue thou in the things which thou has learned and has been assured of knowing of them whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child that has known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise and to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. So the 1St way we come by the truth, and I'm going to reverse it the way it's given here in Scripture. It's not that I think it's given wrong by any means.
But it just is the way Paul is bringing it out. The 1St way we come by the truth is by the scriptures. We have to read the scriptures. We have to read them and make them good to ourselves.
The Scriptures have to be our first source. I just saw a statistic the other day. I believe it was a survey done by the American Bible Society and it was done, I believe in 2014. So just this year it says from 2011 to 2013 there has been.
Well they the question that was asked was, is the Bible just another book of teachings written by men that contains stories and advice?
In 2011, 10% of Americans believed that wholeheartedly. By 2013, in two years, that had jumped to 20 percent. 20% A doubling of the number of Americans who believe the Word of God is just a book written by men. A doubling.
But the Word of God is not just a book written by men. It's in the Hebrews that says it's quick and powerful. That word quick means living. It's living. It's a living word. And if you ever want to doubt the veracity of that, I suggest you take this book and carry it under your arm through a college campus.
And then try the southeast. I'm not suggesting you do this, incidentally, but try the same thing with the book with the Quran and see whether it has the same effect.
See whether it has the same effect. The word of God is living, you know first, Peter.
A lot of a lot of people struggle with the word of God. They say it's too hard. I just don't understand it. Let's look at first Peter chapter two. First Peter chapter 2 Says in verse two, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. If you turn back a couple of books into Hebrews, the 4th chapter.
It says.
At the end of verse 12 Hebrews 4 verse 12 and a knot becomes such as have need a milk and not of strong meat for everyone that uses milk is skillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe, but strong meat belong with them in the full growing even those who by reason of use have their sense exercised discern both good and evil. Well, the first point I want to make let me just clarify where I'm coming from. The first point I want to make is this is spiritual milk.
Don't ever say the Word of God is too hard for me to understand. It is milk. What is the best thing to feed babies? Well, men have come a long way with formula, but still there are efforts in many countries, particularly Western countries, to urge mothers to feed their babies milk. Because that's the way God designed us. That's how we grow, if you want to grow. Now I read those verses in Hebrews to point out that the Word of God does contain strong meat as well.
But how do we go from milk to?
To meet well, we start by consuming the milk. And then if you have, if you had a baby, you know that you go from milk and you introduce them slowly to various foods and you build them up until they're eating meat. But you cannot ever digest that meat until you first digested the sincere milk of the word. You know, I, I was thinking about this other day and it just struck me that the word of God is not hard to understand.
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Calculus is hard to understand.
My son just did electromagnetics and physics and it was hard to understand.
Understanding DNA is difficult and I could and knowing even all the kings of and Queens of England is difficult to remember and then explain who they are. These are difficult things to understand. The Word of God is not difficult to understand from that standpoint. We are dull of hearing and as I said, there are those things in the Word of God that may be strong meat that we have to grow into understanding. I will grant you that.
I will grant you that, but don't ever think that the Word of God is too hard to understand. It is true as we have in First Corinthians chapter 2.
Verse 14 says The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness unto them, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. So there has to be an appropriate state of soul for the things of the word of God to be made good to us.
They are spiritually disowned.
In connection with the Spirit of God guiding us into all truth, I could read a verse from John 16 that says.
As John 16 verse 13 don't have to turn there, it says, albeit when He the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth.
And then going back to what I said earlier, the word of God, it cannot be separated from the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. So in John 5 verse 39 it says.
Search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.
So our first means then of acquiring an understanding of the teaching of Scripture. The doctrine of Scripture is by reading the Word of God itself. And I just want to read a verse from first John.
There's a lot of people. There are those on one hand that say the word of God is too difficult. Incidentally, 88% of American households have a Bible. Less than 20% of American households read it four times a week. And actually I was impressed with that 20%.
Because I think if you go to Australia, the percentage might be 2%, I don't know, 5%. I, I, I mean, I, I find that actually quite surprising. But so on the one hand you have those that say all the word of God is too hot. I can't understand it. Just remember, it's milk, it's what you need. But then there's the other side that says, well, I only need to read the word of God. That's all I need. I don't need meetings, I don't need ministry.
And they might quote this verse from first John.
That says.
It's umm chapter 2 verse 27. But the anointing that is the Spirit of God which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you. And there they stop. See it tells me I just need the Spirit of God and I don't need any man to teach me. Well this is where you really need to understand where the apostle John is coming from. You see when he speaks of the anointing, the unction in verse 20.
The Holy Spirit is spoken of one, in fact, he says in verse 20 of this chapter, But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
Well, there are plenty of things I don't know.
And I'm not boasting, but I believe I have the unction from the Holy One.
The indwelling of the Spirit of God. In fact, it says in Romans 8 that if you don't have the Spirit of God, you are none of His.
So everyone here that is a true believer, a Christian, has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Now, do you know all things? You see, this is where you really need to understand where John's epistle is coming from.
The Holy Spirit spoken of here is gives us the ability to discern between that which is right and that which is wrong. So what do we have in chapter 4 verse one beloved believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether of God. So we do have the ability to discern when we're confronted with that which is false and that which which is true we have the Spirit of God within us. But in no way does that verse in first John suggest that we don't need ministry because that was the other thing that.
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The apostle Paul mentioned to Timothy, he said.
Umm, continue that on the things which thou has learned, and being assured of knowing of whom thou hast loaned them, and that from a child that has known the Holy Scriptures. We need ministry, we need to be instructed, we need to come to meetings to hear the Word of God. I regret that this is what I call a meta meeting. You know, a meta language is a language that describes another language. It would probably be more profitable for me to stand here and outline some of the doctrines rather than be Speaking of the importance of doctrine. But sometimes it's necessary to remind ourselves of the importance of these things.
And so we have to be instructed, but we need to know who is instructing us. And I'm rather afraid that.
We are turning to the popular religious books that are being published today, rather than those writers that are true and tried and that we know.
Taught the truth. Was there no error in it? Did they never say anything that wasn't quite right? That's not what I mean. But when I began this meeting, I mentioned something that I had read and in that that person had written and said that when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, we're not going to be asked about a doctrinal views. We're not going to be asked about our religious background.
That same book says in it.
Except for a very few instances.
Where Scripture uses the Church of God to refer refer to all believers in the history of man, the Church of God refers to the local church. That is a false statement. Number one. It's not a very few times that the Word of God refers to the church as being the one body. That occurs many times. And furthermore, when it does, it is not referring to the believers of the Old Testament as referring to the believers of his present dispensation.
That book has a lot of that book I'm referring to. There's a lot of good things in it, a lot of good things, things I can say Amen to.
Umm, I fear, however. Oh well, let me put it this way, there's a lot of things in there that I found very challenging.
But you know, I rather fear that the flesh likes challenges. We don't need ministry so much that challenges us like that. And I let me qualify that. I think we do need to be challenged by ministry, but it's more important that we read ministry that speaks to the conscience that speaks to the conscience.
It won't make us feel so good. So many of the popular Christian books of this day are popular because they preach a feel good Christianity. That death does indeed challenge you and me.
But I'm afraid that there's an underlying.
Doctrinal foundation that so many of those writers are coming from, that's false and it's hidden in their writings and we need to be guarded against it.
We could, we're running out of time here, but I read those verses. In fact, we have, if you still got the page open to us now, we know that the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine. We're living in that day. Acts 20. The apostle Paul has has to warn about those coming in as grievous wolves.
Uh, I just, uh.
Wrap up my thoughts here.
In connection once again with those whose mini Oh I I, I did want to bring out some.
Just just bear with me a a couple more minutes. But you know, I mentioned that we need ministry, but I didn't give any verses on that. And I think that's important. We have verses. So we in Ephesians 4 it says when he's in Ephesians 4, verse eight, it says when he ascended up on high, he let captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. Verse 11, he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some apostles and teachers.
You see, to say that all you need is the Word of God and the Spirit of God, and you don't need ministry is to reject.
The fact that God has given gifts to man, spiritual gifts to men, so that the church might be edified, the church might be edified. And so we have the early writings which form a part of the Canon of Scripture, the apostle Paul, the apostle John, and so on. These men were instructed of God to write for our benefit. And we can be thankful for those who certainly were not apostles, but whose ministry we can read and know that it sounds and be confident in that it sound.
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And while I would just say this that not all modern ministry is evil.
They took what the early brethren wrote, and they.
There's a couple of things that they did with it that I that I don't like.
Number one, they systematized it and made it a system. I don't, I don't like that. Number two, they carefully trimmed from it anything that condemned the positions that they held. So we have men like Schofield who wrote.
Many sound things. We have men like Schaeffer who wrote Louis Perry Schaefer who wrote sound things, but they took what they learnt from brethren.
You know, the further you remove from the source of something, the more it gets changed.
If you really want to understand something, you need to go back to the source of it. And so why read what Schaefer understood by reading Macintosh? Why not go back and read Macintosh himself? Well, I know why we don't like to read Macintosh.
His writing is old fashioned. There's many excuses we can come up with.
But you know, of all the writers, Macintosh speaks to the conscience. We don't like what he has to say.