Doctrine vs. issues

Now let's turn to the epistle of Jude. Now we've been hearing about unity. Nothing like the person of Christ to bring unity.

And then our brother has finished with prayer. That brings unity when we pray one for the other. And a sight of the coming kingdom.

If we all had our eyes, if I had my eyes always on that, that would make a lot of the issues of earth seem very small. I want to think of another thing that can bring unity and that's doctrine. And that's what we're going to look at here for just a moment.

Look at Jude chapter three, verse three, beloved, when I gave all diligence to write onto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write onto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered onto the saints. Now we're very familiar with that phrase that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered onto the saints. Now let's go to John, the gospel of John, please.

And chapter 16 for an expression the Lord Jesus used in his Pharaoh ministry. John chapter 16 in relation to truth. And I understand the context here is looking at the canonization of the word of God, but we're going to pick a principle out of it.

John chapter 16, verse number 13, referring to the spirit of God, which is called the spirit of truth, spirit of the truth. John 16, verse 13, how be it when he, the spirit of truth, is come, referring to the day of Pentecost, he will guide you into all truth. It's just that expression I want.

He will guide you into or onto, toward all truth. Now, finally, come over to First Timothy. First Timothy, this is where we're going to center our comments with those two verses that we have read.

First Timothy, chapter one, I've been enjoying a study of First Timothy, Second Timothy and Titus, particularly First and Second Timothy. This relationship between this older man and this younger man, you know, Paul the apostle and Timothy. And you can't help but enjoy the warmth between them and the desire of this older man for this younger man.

And it's amazing how much how many times you read the word doctrine and faith, the faith. And this is really the this is the heart desire of Paul, the older man, as he looks at this younger man. And Paul has come through an awful lot of attacks from within, from without and everything else.

You can you can let his let his life go through your mind. And here he's looking at this young man and really he's looking at him going, now, what will hold this man? Doctrine, nothing like it. It's the anchor of the soul.

And we're going to find that in just a minute. Now, look at First Timothy, chapter one, verse 18. This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before in thee, that thou mightest war a good warfare.

Timothy, and all of us today, we're at war. We'll explain that in a minute. There's a war ongoing.

You can't see it with the natural eye. You can by times. This is a spiritual warfare that we find ourselves in.

And here we go. Verse 19, holding faith and a good conscience. I'm not going to pick up this theme here today, but it's amazing the amount of time conscience comes up through this epistle.

And there's a tremendous link between understanding the doctrines of this Bible and holding the doctrines of this Bible with a good conscience. That is how my God speaks to me. So we just don't want to emphasize that right now, but come back to verse number 19, which now that's a single, a singular word, which referring to the good conscience.

These men let go of a good conscience, look at the result, which some having put away concerning the faith, we have the definite article in the Greek, the faith have made shipwrecked. If I was to ask you a question today, how many believers here today would like to become a shipwrecked? Oh, glad to see no hands. Not one of us would desire that personally, and we wouldn't desire that for any other believer that we know.

Isn't it? It's like someone drives a knife through your heart when you hear of a believer who was going on well and now they're derailed. And that's sad. I find that to be the saddest thing.

Someone who you once shoulder to shoulder with. And now they're slowly slipping on doctrine. That's really what I want to get down to.

So we have these two men identified in verse 20 of whom is Hymenes and Alexander, which I, in the context, do not believe they are apostates. I think they are believers that have gotten away from the Lord. Now, let's just drop over to chapter four for a minute.

I'm going to start to read in just a second in verse number one. We're going to look at chapter four in a few minutes, but I just want to make a few comments based on what we have already spoken about. Okay, the importance of doctrine.

I have been really concerned over the last couple of years. We have got to separate doctrine from issues. Okay.

Coming back to what my brother Larry said here earlier. I believe a lot of our conflict is over issues today. We are fighting over issues.

Now, issues, that's a whole other subject, but I don't want to get too deep into it. I was enjoying this just recently. We were speaking in West Union.

Unity in the Bible is not based upon what you like and I like. It's based upon doctrine. Truth.

That's what makes the assembly of God unique. That is what should make every New Testament church unique. Acts chapter two.

They continued steadfastly in a light for one another. Thank God that's not what it says. They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine.

Which produced the fellowship. There's a very unique. It can't be found, dear child of God, anywhere else in this world.

A unique fellowship that has as its foundation the apostles doctrine. Doctrine, truths that have come from the God of eternity. Not men.

Not a council of men. But what has come from the word of God is based upon the word of God. Now, I think a lot of us are trying to find unity over here in.

Well, you like the same car I like. You go to the same place as I go to. Now, we can challenge ourself very easy on that.

At your dinner table in your home on Sunday or whatever. Do you always have the same people from your assembly at your table? Well, you say, I don't really get along with that Murray guy over there. Hey, does he believe the same doctrine that I believe? That's the key issue.

It's not whether I like his personality or I don't like his personality. That's not what brings unity. And what the spirit of God is looking for is to direct every believer into truth.

It's the only direction he can move. That's why I read in John chapter 16. The Lord Jesus has given us a tremendous statement.

The spirit of God. He can only direct in one direction. Truth.

I could have read a verse from first Timothy where Timothy is encouraged to keep the truth by the Holy Ghost, which is in us, which is given to us. So the spirit of God not only directs to truth. But the spirit of God is the one that is trying to encourage us.

He wants us to lean on his power to hold on to that truth. Why? Because we're in a warfare. The devil does not want to see any of us embracing truth.

None of us. Those of us that preach the gospel, we pray that the devil will not get the upper hand and hinder a sinner from coming in to sit in the meeting. I've been with this man, Murray, long enough to know this.

Every time a sinner comes into our meetings to hear the gospel being preached, we thank God for that. That they're under the sound of the truth of the gospel. Marvelous thing, isn't it? And then we trust.

We pray that the devil will not hinder them from obeying the truth of the word of God. So here's the spirit of God. And I could go further.

We could go into Matthew chapter 16. We could link it up with John chapter three. No man can receive anything except to be given from above.

All truth is revealed. It's not something that is the product of my human intellect. It's not me sitting down like a mathematical formula saying one plus one equals two.

Aha! That's mine. It's all given by God. Think of what was said to Peter.

The question is asked, who do men say I am? And finally, who do you say that I am? Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. What did the Lord Jesus say? Your mother and father didn't give that to you. Flesh and blood.

That has come from my father in heaven. So I want us all just for a minute. Those of us in assembly fellowship.

What a privilege. Think of the doctrines, the truth relating to how a New Testament church is fun. Think of those truths that have been revealed to us.

Given to us. The spirit of God directing us into, toward that truth. And then holding on to it.

That's why in June he would say earnestly contend for the faith. You see, you have to understand, dear child of God, that truth, the canon of Scripture, it's not some evolving thing. That as we've now moved into the 21st century, oh, there's things that God forgot back here.

And now he's injecting additional truth. It is looked upon in Scripture as a body of truth. That has been deposited.

It's complete. It's whole. It's lacking nothing.

God has anticipated. Every single attack that the devil will ever bring us. In the Bible, the answers in the Bible.

God has anticipated every single culture. That his word will be spread in and doctrine works in every single culture. I'm getting statements from individuals today that are trying to tell us that.

Well, I've had this from a fellow preacher. Scott, you don't understand the culture that I'm working in. That has the hiss of the devil behind it.

I'm going to prove that to you. God knows this world. God knows all of time.

God has a program for all of time. And God has given us truth. Now we're majoring on New Testament truth, doctrine at the moment.

And we have to rightly divide the word of God. And I just cringe when someone stands on a platform and they try to pick up an issue. Which can alter based on culture.

And they try to attach thus saith the Lord to it and make it into a doctrine. When it's not a doctrine. Doctrine is what rests only upon what the Bible teaches.

So I just want us to be absolutely clear in that. And this is what Paul is doing to this man, Timothy. He's trying to get Timothy.

There's a lot of stuff swirling out there, Timothy. It's all around us. We're going to read in a minute.

There are seducing spirits. In contrast to one spirit, the spirit of God. The spirit of God can only direct one way.

The seducing spirits can only direct one way. Away from truth. That's all we have, dear child of God.

There's no neutral ground. There's no neutral spirit. You're either holding truth.

Or you're letting it go. Some people are letting things go. And they're using this word.

That is just gospel hall tradition. No, no, no. We want to clearly distinguish between traditions that are issues.

And thank God traditions that are based on doctrine. Very, very important. Now here's my question.

Another question. I'm just about to spit the ice cube back in the cup. Might be a bad thing to do.

Good job there's more cups. Here's the question. How much truth would you and I have to hold before we become a target of the devil? Just one.

Go to the book of Genesis. One simple commandment from God. Don't eat of that tree.

The devil didn't sit back in the garden and go. Going after those people for one truth. I'm going to sit back and wait until they have nine more.

Because then I can take all ten. It's not how the devil works. The devil saw individuals that were connected to God.

And they just simply had one commandment. Bang. He's right there.

They're a target. You see the devil doesn't want any of us holding anything that belongs to God. But how precious it must be to God when he sees people willing just to bow to his word.

Leaning upon the spirit of God that he's given us just to hold it. Hold it in love. My holding of doctrine should never turn that fist into an iron fist.

It shouldn't make me hard. I like a brother at home that tells me it's the iron fist with the velvet glove. There should be a firmness.

But then there's a tenderness. That is the effect that truth should have upon me. So quickly, come to chapter four and verse number one.

Now, I find this. I've been going over and over and over this chapter for so long. It's fascinating.

I don't have enough time to go into everything. But we'll just pick the highlights. Look at this.

Now, the spirit speaketh expressly, clearly. Now, we just pause for a minute and we would have to ask ourselves, well, how is the spirit speaking expressly? Well, here's this man, Paul, being guided by the spirit of God, inspiration. So here we have the spirit of God, which you cannot see with the literal eye.

But we can see the penman with the physical eye. So behind the pen of this man, behind this whole person, Paul, there is the spirit of God directing him. To give us truth.

All right. Now, the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith. Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.

OK, how do we understand that? Well, just as behind the physical man, Paul, there's the spirit of God directing him, filling his mind with truth and using his whole personality to give us truth. There are individuals, physically we can see them. They rise up and they start to teach things in opposition to the word of God.

What's behind them? Seducing spirits. It's not the spirit of God. Spirit of God can only direct one way.

We can go through this Bible and we would be encouraged, particularly the first epistle of John. Try every spirit. Put the spirit to the test.

When you do that, you're looking at the man on Larry for a minute. Larry comes delivering a message. What am I supposed to do? I take the full and complete doctrine that has been given to me and I prove him.

And by testing his words, I find out which spirits behind them. If it's the spirit of God, it lines up. If it's in contradiction to the word of God, he's being influenced by a seducing spirit.

There's your two options. So if someone ever stood on this platform. And tried to tell you that.

Well, you know, I have been discovering the word of God, reading the word of God. And I have just realized that now this is false doctrine for those that are going to listen to this recording. Just don't misunderstand.

A believer can lose their salvation if they don't persevere. What's behind that? Not the spirit of God. Because we've got the word of God that tells us salvation is eternal.

Salvation doesn't depend on a mixture of, as we heard last night, what Christ has done and what I'm doing. Salvation depends 100% upon the work of the Lord Jesus, the person of the Lord Jesus, where he is at the right hand of the Father in heaven. You see my point? Sometimes though, teaching, this is what's happening.

This is what I fear is happening to an awful lot of our people today. I'm going to try to make this not to be a critical comment. The internet has a lot of positives, but it also has a lot of negatives.

We need to be aware of it. And it is literally bringing into the living room, the bedrooms of all of us. Teachers from denominational systems that do not believe the doctrines of this Bible.

And behind them are seducing spirits. Not the spirit of God. You have to understand that.

The spirit of God can only promote and direct and encourage one direction. Hold on to truth. Don't alter it.

Don't change it. Don't water it down. Thus saith the Lord.

Remember the lovely Sunday school song we sang with the children? God said it. I believe it. That settles it.

Period. But the devil is crafty. He can start to word things through these individuals.

In a way that our young people, our middle-aged people, our older people are starting to waver on things. I know from where I come from in Canada. I can tell you right now what is being taught by some individuals that is a direct attack upon this Bible.

Now some are starting to encourage an open table reception. Based on the sole fact that you're saved. You have a right to break bread.

That is against the doctrines of this book. It is only a New Testament church that breaks bread. Never the body of Christ.

There is a clear distinction in this book between the body of Christ. The bride of Christ. You want to use the word universal church.

Which is composed of every single believer. No matter where they come from on the face of the earth. No matter how old or young they are.

There is a very clear distinction between a local entity. Of a body in a location. Formed and held together by the spirit of God.

The Lord Jesus in the midst. Very very distinct. There are people teaching the opposite of what I just said.

What is behind them. Not just spirits. Seducing.

I've said this. I've been saying this. I'm not getting tired of saying it but I'm going to say it again.

Dear child of God. Always remember. The devil is so crafty.

So subtle. That he made a temptation to Eve sound appealing. She actually wanted it.

It actually caused her to long for. That could make me wise. This is going to move me into more and greater light.

It's actually going to bring me closer to God. Because you'll be like God. And all the while it's sin.

Totally sinful. What you're about to do. This is still around us dear child of God.

Why are these warnings consistently throughout the word of God? Because the devil knows humanity. And he knows us. And he hasn't had to change his tactics.

The attack in the garden can be broken down into affecting the three parts of us. And it's amazing how he changed the whole order from which God has it in 1 Thessalonians. God says sanctify your holy spirit, mind, soul, heart, body.

You know what the devil did? He did it in the garden. He did it with the Lord in the desert. He reversed it.

His first attack hit the body. Then it went to the heart, the emotion. Then it ended up with the mind.

You get those things reversed. You will fall. I will fall.

God gave us the word of God to anchor our minds on. Irregardless of how I feel. I can tell you right away, talking to an individual, whether they're anchored on the doctrines of this book.

You ever spoke to somebody who used to hold a truth? Let's just go back to the one I mentioned. Linked with the open table will come away with the idea that we do away with the seed of the unlearned. Which, by the way, is a doctrine in the word of God.

The seed of the unlearned. That clear distinction at that local level between those in and those without. Then they start this emotional argument.

Well, we're all saved by Christ. That's true. And we all have the spirit of God.

That's true. And the word of God tells us that we should love one another. That is true.

Do you see the emotional argument? You can pick them out, right? God doesn't. They have left. This is what the Bible says.

I don't need an emotional argument after I state what the Bible teaches to fortify this. This stands alone. This stands on the authority of the word of God.

Quickly. Come here now. I gotta go here.

Look at this. Now, the spirit speaketh especially in the latter times. Some shall depart from the faith.

Look at what you have at the end of verse three. The truth. Look at the middle of verse four.

The word of God. I love the different titles used in the Bible for the doctrine for the truth. In this epistle, it's called the good thing.

The good thing committed on second Timothy. Okay. I want you to look at this now.

Here's another thing I want to address before I sit down. You're hearing this. Now, I understood what my brother said in his comments.

The essential truth. I understand. This is not a critical comment, Larry, because I know what he believes.

You're hearing people say this today when it comes to assembly truth or whatever it might be. Okay. Okay.

Okay, Scott. We got all this truth. Can you pick out from it core truth? The important truth.

The essential truth. Use it the negative way. The opposite way my brother used it.

Listen. All truth is truth. There's no graduation on a scale where the doctrine of the deity of Christ.

Now, that's number one. But the truth concerning one loaf. Little lesser.

No, it's not. Its source comes from the same God. Now, I'm going to prove that to you.

Look what we had here. First, number one. Now, the spirit speak of the expression in the latter times.

Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Speaking lies in hypocrisy. These are the these are the individuals affected by these seducing spirits, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry.

We just read about the faith. Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meat. Which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

For every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving for it is sanctified, set apart by the word of God in prayer. Now, if I was reading First Timothy chapter four, I would think seducing spirits. Doctrines of devils.

Well, surely they're going to deny the virgin birth. First John will take that up. Oh, surely they're going to deny the fact that Christ is God.

First John will take that up. These seducing spirits are encouraging these willing vessels to deny marriage. Why? Because marriage has come from God.

And it's just as valuable. The doctrine of marriage and the doctrine of meat in this Bible is on the same level. As the deity of our Lord.

The sinless perfection of our Lord. It all comes from the same person. God has given us this truth.

That's what I mean. It's set apart. God didn't confer with mankind.

God doesn't have 10% of man's input into it. This is truth that has come from outside of mankind, outside of this dominion, from eternity. It makes excited.

And to think that I've got it in my hand. And all around us are swirling. Look what we have in verse number seven.

But refuse profane and old wise fables. Words of men. Ideas of men.

Theories of men. In contradistinction to the word of God. Man has got his own set of words.

God has his unique set of words. Behind them, God and the devil. That's what we're down to, dear child of God.

I need to move quick. Look at what you have in verse number seven. And exercise thyself rather unto godliness.

That word exercise is train. It's the idea of discipline. Oh, look.

I see. I was looking at those two young boys over there. And I'm sure there's a lot of other young people.

I'm telling you. If I could encourage you one direction. You build an habitual lifestyle.

That gets you into this book. My sakes. What you'll find is when you start to study it.

It's like the roots of a tree. It just starts going. It just branches everywhere.

You can look at the doctrine of the Godhead. Let's look at Christ. And let's look at the father.

Let's look at the spirit. And then that will just start. And then spirit in the believer.

Spirit in the local church. Spirit in the bride. Spirit in the... You can just keep on going.

It is a full-time job. And guess what? It's exciting. It's thrilling.

It's thrilling. Okay. One more point.

I'll end with this. Go over to verse number 14. Obviously, I would take it into context.

Verse 13. Timothy was a man gifted to teach. Till I come give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the prosperity. Listen. Verse 15.

Meditate upon these things. The doctrine. The truth.

Give thyself holy to them. You know that one Greek word? Give thyself holy to. It's just a simple verb.

Be. Be in them. That preposition in.

It's two in our English Bible. It's really in the Greek. You get Newberry's chart.

It's a dot resting in the center. And I just thought of this. You know where God wants me? You know where the spirit of God wants me? Scott, just sit in the center and surround yourself with truth.

Everywhere. Every direction. Be in them.

Meditate in them. And here's the final thing. Verse 16.

Verse 15. Meditate upon. Be in them.

That thy profiting may appear to all. Preposition there, too. It's really in.

In all. And we read a number of those things back here in the chapter. I don't have time to touch that right now.

Verse 16. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. Continue in them.

Here it is. For in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself. Not soul salvation.

Saved from shipwrecked is a believer. And them that hear thee. Do you know, dear child of God, the best thing I can do for you? And the best thing you can do for me? It's right there in the verse.

If I give myself to doctrine. And live it. It will not only save me.

But it will be a preservation to you. It's the best thing I can do for you. So may God help us.

To value truth. And hold on to it. Not by our own power.

But just resting on the spirit of God.