(Sermon by Pastor Michael D. Schultz 08/26/07)

INTRODUCTION:

For some reason things don’t always go so well in church after a fiery sermon has been given on the false teachings of other churches.  Why do you suppose that is?  There’ve been a few times when I’ve caught some flack just for mentioning from the pulpit by name some other church or denomination or synod that teaches differently on a particular biblical point.  Maybe it’s viewed as unnecessary, because there are plenty of good things we can talk about from the Bible without venting about the errors of other groups.  Sometimes, naming the false teachings of other groups comes off sounding like a personal attack, because a person sitting here has a close friend or relative in the other group and it sounds like we’re making a judgment about that person’s faith.  And sometimes it sounds plain arrogant, as if we’re claiming bragging rights for being right, and putting down others for being wrong, even if those others are Bible-believing Christians themselves.

We have a responsibility to be sensitive and tactful as we talk about the teachings and teachers of other religious groups.  Yet, somehow, we do need to address the topic of false teachings because it’s not merely a matter of what we believe and how we interpret the Bible VERSUS what others believe and how they interpret it.  This topic of false teachings doesn’t have half as much to do with us and how we feel about it as it has to do with the Lord and what he says about it.  In a cutting kind of way, it’s the Lord who’s asking, “Do you think I’m so far out there somewhere that I’m unaware of what people are saying in my name?  Do you think I don’t care?  I fill heaven and earth and I hear everything people are saying in my name.”

The topic of false teachings does have a place in the preaching schedule of the church.  We don’t address the topic to pit ourselves against other people.  It’s a concern to us because it’s a concern to God.  When God sets false teachings next to true teachings and calls the false ones straw and the true ones grain, it brings us to believe and to say that

There’s Truth & There’s Trash

Without any arrogance, without ripping on other people, we can explore that topic, in fact we’re obliged to explore it, because the Lord does.

There’s no shortage of people claiming to speak for God.  A starting point for determining what’s truth and what’s trash is to look at the delivery system.  Because of where they are (in some kind of church) and because of what they’re claiming (to be speaking for God), preachers of all kinds usually start out looking good (they’re church people) and sounding good (they’re using God’s name all the time).  But all that can be nothing more than part of the hype.  In this case, most of the hype of the preacher’s message came from the claim, “I had a dream!  I had a dream!”  That’s the equivalent of, “You’ve gotta listen to this because God spoke to me!”  How often don’t you hear that!  “God spoke to me!”  As soon as you do, raise the red flag.

Trash needs to be dressed up to sell – dressed up with impassioned pleas, intense personal experiences, spectacular stories.  Not all emotional presentations are trash, but the truth from God doesn’t need any hype.  The truth from God sells itself.  It’s not any more believable coming from a hyped up, charismatic, dynamic speaker.  It’s not any less believable coming from a sedate, monotone, “uninspiring” speaker.  God’s truth sells itself.  To separate truth from trash, look at the delivery system and remember that the power is in the message, not the claims of the messenger.

You will, of course, need to take a look at the message itself.  There’s truth and there’s trash and God wants all of us to check out the sources.  How are you going to verify the message of the man who says, “I had a dream”?  Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, maybe it was from the devil.  In this case, God called it a lie because the source of the message was the prophet’s own deceitful heart.  There are clear markers for such messages: 1) Sin is not sin.  There’s no condemning of what God condemns.  In our day, sexuality statements are prevalent examples of saying sin isn’t sin.  There are countless more.  Another marker of a corrupt source?  2) Grace is not grace.  Conditions are placed on grace.  You can be sure you’re God’s child or certain that you're forgiven if…

Check out the sources.  Check out what I say.  If it’s truth and not trash, it will call sin a wicked, abominable offense against God.  It will call all my sinful thoughts and actions evil.  It will, in fact, call me (the sinner) evil, condemned and hopeless.  But if it’s truth and not trash, it will also emphatically call grace grace.  God’s love for you is boundless, unconditional and undeserved.  Jesus’ death destroyed your sin.  Jesus’ resurrection is proof that you are righteous.  That’s the unchangeable truth from God and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.

When people speak for God, there’s truth and there’s trash.  Analyze the results of the preaching, what it leads people to believe and do, and you can tell the difference.  Trash pedaled in God’s name leads people to forget who God is. You can be sure it’s trash when people are led to think sin is ok, repentance is not needed, man and woman roles need not be heeded, sexual behavior is a matter of your own choice, believers should expect prosperity and fewer troubles, the trinity is only one version of who God is, Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God or to be sinless, the practice of church fellowship is unloving, the teaching of hell is incompatible with a loving God – all such lies lead people to forget who God really is and to go far away from trusting what he says.  And these things are being preached not only in our world but in our communities and across our airwaves.

But look what the fire of God’s Word does!  God hates me the sinner but he loves me so much that he directed his hatred against Jesus instead of me.  That blazing truth fills me with the beautiful, stabilizing calm of peace with God.  The power of Jesus on a cross for me smashes despair as it says, “The holy, almighty God loves you!”  The power of Jesus’ resurrection makes me long for heaven because he’s taken the fear out of death – death has no sting.  The power of God’s Word enables me to turn the other cheek instead of bearing grudges or seeking revenge.  It makes me willing to deny myself to serve others, to let go of things because I have a treasure in heaven.  It enables me to overcome adversity and temptation because God himself will see me through it, to still have joy on the inside in the very worst of times because nothing can separate me from God’s love in Christ. 

The truth about who God is is a raging fire and a rock smashing hammer that obliterates false teachings.  It’s a power-packed promise from God that he has replaced my wickedness with Jesus’ goodness.  It’s an explosive charge that has changed the landscape of my life, turning me into a person who wants to stop living for himself and to stay busy living for Christ.

(3 John) – I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.  The Lord will keep you in his truth and away from all the trash.

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