Sunday, May 10, 2015 pm
FALSE STANDARDS OF AUTHORITY
Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seems right to a
man, But its end is the way of death.”
There is a reason why there is so much religious division today.
And while the details vary, what it boils down to is authority.
What standard are we going to use?
There are many false standards of right and wrong and tonight we
want to notice some of them.
a.
Our parents
– It is a fact that as a rule, children follow the influence of their
parents. Often times this
influence includes their faith.
There are many who belong to a particular church because of their
parents. “If it’s good
enough for them, it’s good enough for me” they might say.
BUT, what if your parents ARE wrong?
Jesus warned us to not love our parents more than Him - Matthew 10:37-38
Luke 9:59-60, Jesus called for one to follow Him, but excuses were made.
Jesus did not accept them.
b.
Our Conscience
–
The conscience is a good thing.
We often appeal to the conscience and typically that is good.
“Let your conscience be your guide” a noble mantra.
WHAT is the conscience – it is a part of man given to us by God to
help us determine how to behave ourselves.
When working properly we feel guilty and bad when we do evil, and
we feel good when we do right.
BUT, the conscience can be misled.
For it to work, information must be inputted and it will respond
based on that information.
For example: If your parents tells you something is wrong, you
will believe it to be wrong, until proven otherwise.
Your conscience responds to learning.
The Bible teaches conscience DOES matter.
Consider Prov. 16:25 – there is a way that seems right.
Paul is a great example.
In Acts 24:16 he stated how he strives to have a good conscience
toward God and man. Earlier,
in Acts 23:1, he said had lived in all good conscience – even as he
persecuted Christians. In
Acts 26:9-11 – he thought he was doing the right thing persecuting
Christians. 1 Tim. 1:12-13
notes that what he did before he did ignorantly in unbelief.
The conscience can be damaged – 1 Timothy 4:2
A good conscience will obey God – cf. 1 Peter. 3:20-21
c.
Our Emotions and Feelings – many follow what they feel to be right.
And while it seems right, it is a subjective standard that can be
wrong. We understand
this in matters of life – such as sickness and what we eat (you can eat
a piece of cake that looks and tastes good, but it can have poison in it
and kill you). In dealing
with others, we are often deceived and taken advantage of, this in spite
of our conscience. Some criminals today thrive on emotions to swindle
their victims. They appeal
to emotions and desires and they deceive many
. So do false teachers!
2 Peter 2:1-5 warns of how they
will exploit you with deceptive words.
Jude 16 speaks of false teachers saying, “These are grumblers,
complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth
great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.”
In religion, many go
with what they “feel”. But
what if that feeling is wrong?
What if your feelings contradict the feelings of another?
Who is right? Does it
matter? similar to our conscience, they can mislead us.
Emotions are often based upon what we know (or don’t know) and they can
deceive.
Prov. 28:26 says, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But
whoever walks wisely will be delivered.”
An example of this was Jacob thinking Joseph was dead (Gen. 37:31-35)
Today, some of the fastest growing religions are those that appeal to
emotions over objective teaching.
Jeremiah 10:23 says, “O
Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who
walks to direct his own steps.” Be
warned!
Don’t risk your eternity on “I think so”.
d.
The Majority
– we want to be accepted.
That is why many follow the popular path.
Most want to be accepted and many will compromise their values if
it means being popular.
Sadly, it is also true in religion.
There are many following the latest TRENDS in religion.
We are also seeing that as the teachings of scripture are being
maligned as politically incorrect.
Far too many are just following the crowds in endorsing
immorality (i.e. homosexuality, abortion, fornication, divorce,
ecumenicalism, etc.). BUT,
quite often, the majority is wrong.
1 Peter 3:20 – how many souls were saved in the ark?
8 – Noah and his wife, his 3 sons and their wives.
No one else snuck onto the ark to cause trouble.
Exodus 23:2, “You shall
not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as
to turn aside after many to pervert justice.”
In refusing to conquer Canaan the first time, 10 of the 12 spies refused
to go and influenced the people in that direction.
They were condemned by God for that (Num. 13-14).
Jesus taught that the few would enter heaven while many would enter into
destruction (Matt. 7:13-14).
e.
Traditions
– many follow what they have always done.
It’s familiar and comfortable.
And quite honestly, in some things we just don’t like change.
But what if traditions are wrong?
Matthew 15:1-9 – traditions had corrupted the law and Jesus condemned
it. Their traditions made
their worship to God vain (empty).
Paul warned in Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men,
according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to
Christ.”
Galatians 1:14 – Paul’s persecutions were based upon “the traditions of
my fathers”
NOTE: We need to understand that tradition within itself is not wrong.
IF it is based upon God’s word handled accurately then it is
acceptable. 2 Thess. 2:15, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold
the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.”
1 Cor. 11:2, “Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all
things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.”
Obviously, in these 2 passages, “traditions” was equivalent to the truth
of God’s word and that is why they were to be followed.
The lesson for us in this is that we need to follow God’s word,
even if it is “the old path” (Jeremiah 6:16).
HOWEVER, there are some traditions, not wrong within themselves
(they are personal preferences where God has given us liberties), that
can become sin when we become dogmatic with them and bind them on
everyone. Paul addresses
that in Romans 14.
f.
Religious leaders and preachers – realize that just because someone is a religious
leader does not make him right.
In our society, many tend to elevate preachers to a higher
office. That is NOT the
emphasis of scripture. In
Acts 10:25-26 when Cornelius fell down at the feet of Peter and
worshipped him, Peter said, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”
That is why we ought to not use religious titles (cf. Matthew
23:6-9). They tend toward
arrogance and also mislead many as they take the words of their favorite
preachers “at face value”.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 speaks of some being false apostles, deceitful
workers who look authentic but are actually servants of Satan.
Even Satan himself transforms into “an angel of
light”.
Jesus warned of false prophets in sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15-16).
“But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has
not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of
the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a
ditch.”” (Matthew 15:13–14)
That is not to say you reject everything a preacher or elder says.
Hebrews 13:17, 7 calls for us to
obey our elders which
involves listening to them.
BUT, you must open your Bible and make sure what he says is the truth!
Acts 17:11 – the Bereans, “These were more fair-minded than
those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all
readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these
things were so.”
a.
God’s word is the only reliable standard.
We need to respect God’s word as inspired – 2 Tim. 3:15- 17.
It is able to make us wise unto salvation.
We need to with confidence accept that we have “all things that pertain
to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).
We need to “receive with meekness the implanted word that is able to
save your soul” (James 1:21)
b.
We need to realize that
His word is complete
(Jude 3) and that we CAN understand it (Eph. 5:17, cf. 3:3-4)
c.
We also need to realize that God says what He means and means what He says.
Deut. 4:2 – under the Old Law, they were commanded to not add to it or
take away from it.
Rev. 22:18-19 – we are warned of the same thing (yes, it’s primary
application is that book, but if it is inspired the standard would be
the same for all of God’s word.
1 Cor. 4:6 notes that what Paul wrote was for them to learn to not go
beyond what is written.
2 John 9 warns of those who transgress and do not abide in the doctrine
of Christ does not have God and is to be rejected.
We MUST respect His boundaries!
The very first sin was a rejection of God’s boundaries to Adam
and Eve (Gen. 3:1-7).
d.
Friends, IF God’s word
cannot be understood than how can we know how to please Him?
Do you really want to live your life thinking that all you can do
is guess that you are pleasing Him?
Everything scripture teaches about making sure of your salvation
is meaningless if this is the case.
Jesus warned us, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive
My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will
judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48)
One day we will stand in
judgment before Him, let us make sure we are following the right
standard. Don’t be deceived!