Table of Contents

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross

75 Free Online Commentaries

by James P. Shelly

CHAPTER ONE

Perverting the Gospel

The Ultimate Sin Against Humanity

Jesus says in Matthew 16:26, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" It should be evident to all who profess a faith in Christ that the loss of our temporal earthly life is of little consequence in comparison with the eternal loss of the soul. He says in Matthew 10:28, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Therefore, contending for "the faith once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3-4), the only means whereby the soul can be preserved from eternal destruction, should be a chief and primary concern for all who claim to be Christian. It is difficult to even apprehend, with our finite limitations, the unfathomable consequence of its corruption. To pervert the gospel is to do away with the only eternal hope of humanity. A hope whereby life is promised to be restored in all its fullness and glory. A hope substantiated and evidenced by the resurrection of Christ. Not life as we know it in the present, but a life without the restraints of time and the fetters of pain, sickness, sorrow and death. A life absent the cause of all such misery, which is sin. No pride, envy, jealousy, gossip, hatred, etc., but rather a place wherein perfect love and righteousness dwells. Apart from the truth of the gospel all such hope is lost and the grave would be the finality of our existence. Life in its entirety would be nothing more than "a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (Jas. 4:14, NKJV). Subsequently, life would have no more significance than that of any other living creature as stated in Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20;

What happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity.

Apart from the promises of the gospel, the rich and poor, the educated and ignorant, the healthy and sick, the young and the old, a man and a dog, would all return to the dust with no recollection whatsoever of what their life consisted of and not the slightest sense that it was ever even a reality. There would be no ultimate advantage of being in one condition or circumstance over another or even of one kind of being rather than another. The same fate would await both the rich and powerful as well as the maggot that feeds on their dead carcass. If at some point we have no recall of ever having existed, common expressions such as "make the most of your life" or "live life to the fullest" become nothing more than empty rhetoric. Making the most of a life we have no memory of is farcical and pointless. In fact, whether we would live one year or a hundred years becomes entirely irrelevant. Those who imagine that living to make the world a better place gives them purpose and meaning in life would be grasping for the wind if all who inhabit the world simply perish and have no consciousness of it ever having existed. All would be to no avail once the cognitive and perceptual powers of the mind come to an abrupt end and everything that came before would be as though it never was. All that we do in this world would be of no ultimate worth or value. All would be vanity and a striving after wind (Eccl. 1:17). What then will it profit a man if he gains the whole world; the power, status, prominence, honor, riches, comforts, and carnal pleasures it has to offer and yet forfeit eternity? The answer is he loses everything and profits nothing. As C. S. Lewis stated it, "All that is not eternal is eternally useless."

However, in contrast, "through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim. 1:10), the entire scenario is reversed. Death is no longer inevitable, for Christ says, "everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die" (Jn. 11:26) and "to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life" (Rom. 2:7). Through the gospel, there is eternal meaning and purpose for our existence and we discover that our worth as beings created in the image of God is infinitely above all other creatures. We discover as well that all our decisions, thoughts, deeds, experiences, and accomplishments, have eternal consequence and significance and will directly affect not only our own eternal existence but that of others. Once the eternal promises of God are truly apprehended and grasped, being fully convinced of their reality, which is the case with every believer (Rom. 4:20-22), it becomes entirely irrational to think it possible to afterward be more concerned about our temporal existence with its limited number of years at the expense of our life with an infinite number of years in the kingdom of God. As the Apostle Paul says, "we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18). The truth of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, "the true God and eternal life" (1 Jn. 5:20), is a truth apart from which we are left with nothing of lasting value and thus of no actual value at all. Success or failure in this present life will have nothing to do with fortune and fame, wealth and status, health and longevity, etc., but solely by our faithfulness, or lack thereof, to the Person and teaching of Christ (Matt. 25:21, 30). "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Cor. 5:10). Therefore, it should be readily apparent to all who call themselves Christians that there is nothing in this earthly life that is more vitally important than the preservation of the truth of the gospel.

We read in 1 Timothy 2:4 that God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." In Ephesians 1:13 of "the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation" and in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 "God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth." 2 Peter 2:2 describes the gospel as "the way of truth." We can begin to see here the emphasis Scripture places on the truth and its preeminence in relation to the saving of the soul. In contrast to those who come to the knowledge of the truth, we read of "those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved" (2 Thess. 2:10). In other words, apart from the knowledge of the truth there is no salvation. Therefore, safeguarding this truth was of the utmost concern in the minds of the early church as much is written in the New Testament to warn of those who would seek to pervert it. They understood that the only means whereby the soul can be saved from eternal death must be preserved in its purity no matter the cost and must be zealously and carefully guarded as the priceless possession it is. To corrupt the only hope of humanity, whether knowingly or in ignorance, is an offense against God and mankind of such enormity that it is without parallel. The Apostle Paul understood this in a very personal way as he sought to sabotage the gospel before his conversion and even though he did it in ignorance (1 Tim. 1:13) he recognized it as the chief of all sins and therefore himself the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). To pervert the gospel is indeed the very antithesis of the greatest of all the commands; to love God and neighbor. Thus, the Apostles went to great pains with relentless suffering and persecution to preserve the unadulterated truth of the gospel. When we as Christians, particularly those in the role of leadership, complacently and idly stand by and tolerate its corruption, allowing the erosion of that which cost so much affliction and tireless labor, is not only profoundly unloving, but disgraceful. It is a blatant disregard to the mandate of Scripture to the church of the living God in that it is called to be a pillar and buttress of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15).

We find as well in Scripture that the greatest hindrance in keeping one from coming to the knowledge of the truth is sin. "For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed" (Jn. 3:20). "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth" (Rom. 1:18) — "That all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:12). Thus, error and falsehood in Scripture is always associated with the sinful and ungodly, as is love and truth with the righteous. "You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked" (2 Pet. 3:17, NKJV). "For the fool speaks folly, and his heart is busy with iniquity, to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the Lord, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink" (Isa. 32:6, emphasis added). Therefore, if we have any concern for the salvation of souls, including our own, we must be resolute in determining the saving truth of Scripture. Carefully and conscientiously guarding against any suppression of the truth on account of our own unrighteousness that might result in misinterpreting the intended meaning of the words written therein. We should also keep in mind, lest we think it a simple task, that after 2000 years of church history we are still debating the truth of the gospel and how the soul is saved; Not because God's truth is too difficult to comprehend but rather because the deceptiveness of sin is so powerful and blinding. We find throughout Scripture that, without exception, the majority of those claiming to know God were deceived. Living in rebellion to truth and righteousness and ultimately condemned by God. Despite their claims, they remained as "Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Tim. 3:4) allowing the deceptiveness of sin to destroy them. In other words, beginning in the garden, deception has always been the rule rather than the exception in both the religious and the irreligious throughout the history of humanity and the root of it is an innate love for sin. "There is nothing new under the sun" (Eccl. 1:9) as even now the majority of humanity are deceived by it and kept from coming to the knowledge of the truth, including multitudes who profess to be Christian. God's words to Cain, as to all of humanity, are no less relevant today; "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it" (Gen. 4:7).

Sin is the greatest obstacle to our happiness and wellbeing, both temporal and eternal. It is cunning in that it has the uncanny ability and power to deceive by promising that which results in the polar opposite of what it actually delivers. It offers happiness, comfort, relief, ease, and pleasure while the end result is sorrow, hardship, suffering, disease, pain, and death. It deceives in that the thought of its initial pleasure, or the presumed gain by it, is so dominant that it suppresses entirely any thought of the miserable consequence it inevitably brings with it. All the while convincing its gullible victim that righteousness is oppressive and contrary to their own best interest. In essence, persuading them that love is contrary to their own best interest in that the root of all such righteousness is love; "For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law (Rom. 13:9, 10). "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments" (1 Jn. 5:2). How wicked and powerful such a deception that would convince the majority of humanity that love is contrary to their own happiness, contentment and well-being. God is love (1 Jn. 4:8) and subsequently cannot tolerate that which stands opposed to it. Therefore, those who live in rebellion to love, as defined by Him, must necessarily be judged and condemned. In other words, it is indeed a fearful thing for those who live contrary to love to fall into the hands of the living and loving God (Heb. 10:31). The gospel is the only available means of escaping loves wrath as our union with Christ is the only means of producing a love that has the power to overcome that which is at enmity with it, namely sin, that we might "rule over it" (1 Jn. 4:7, Rom. 6:14).

So it is that sin remains the greatest enemy of mankind and the enticement to succumb to it is Satan's most lethal and successful weapon in bringing about our demise. Thus, we are constantly warned in Scripture of the satanic influences that are ever at work to disarm and defeat us by distorting the truth concerning the gospel. We read in Jude v. 3, 4,

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Apostle John writes,

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works (2 John 9-11).

Paul writes,

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed (Gal. 1:6-9).

Peter writes,

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction (2 Pet. 2:1).

We find that these false teachings that distort the doctrines of Christ, whether it be legalism, license, etc., have one common thread which ties them all together; the result of continued bondage to sin and the ability and necessity to "rule over it" either perverted or denied. Recognizing this is vitally important to aid us in discerning error. Scripture continually warns us against such deception. Paul says,

I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Cor. 11:3, emphasis added).

So then, when it comes to error concerning the gospel, we cannot simply "agree to disagree" in the name of love, fellowship, and peace, in fear of being divisive, narrow-minded, intolerant, or unpopular. Such sentiment reveals such shallowness of thought that those with the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) should find it repugnant. We ought not ever fall prey to such superficial thinking. Moreover, it is literally in opposition to true biblical love, fellowship, and peace. Love, according to 1 Corinthians 13:6, "rejoices with the truth" and therefore naturally bemoans and opposes error. Scripture states that truth is light and error is darkness and "what fellowship has light with darkness"? (2 Cor. 6:14). The gospel is "the way of peace," Romans 3:17, therefore error concerning the gospel is antagonistic to peace. We read in Romans 13:10 that "Love does no harm to a neighbor" and surely no greater harm can come to our neighbor than that which would be destructive to the eternal well-being of their soul. Therefore, if we are truly concerned with pursuing biblical love, fellowship, and peace, we must be passionately opposed to error, particularly in connection with the gospel of Christ. We are to have the heart of Paul, when he says in reference to his fellow Jews who were walking in error, "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart" (Rom. 9:2).

God warns against the false teachers that say, "'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace" (Jer. 6:14) and "Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets" (Luke 6:26). Christ made it plain that the true gospel would be a cause of division. He says in Luke 12:51-53,

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

In other words, Jesus says that the truth of the gospel is, and always will be, divisive. Not because God is not a God of peace, but rather because of the innate malevolence in man (Jer. 17:9). The light of truth and righteousness can never be at peace with the darkness of falsehood and sin. However, among those who have come to "the knowledge of the truth," there is to be unity. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:10,

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

And in Ephesians 4:1-6,

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Nevertheless, as much as Paul sought unity within the body of Christ, he drew a clear line of distinction when it came to the truth of the gospel. Non-essential truths of the gospel are of such consequence as warrant vigorous debate while we can still maintain peace, however, truth in connection with a person's ultimate destiny is of such consequence that it must be argued without compromise and unyielding fervor, severing fellowship, if necessary, with any who stand opposed. Again, Paul says, "If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed." What stronger words could Paul have used than that those who would pervert the gospel are to be eternally damned? He makes it clear that we cannot compromise when it comes to the single most critical issue of man's existence. He understood that the loss of the soul is not only that which is irretrievable, but such loss is so dire that it is beyond the bounds of our ability to fully conceive as we are constrained by our finite nature.

Paul says in Romans 16:17, "I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them." When Paul speaks of the doctrine that you have been taught, he speaks of teaching that was to be received and established with no room for variation or negotiation. The church is to be "of one mind," not through compromise, but in full agreement with "the knowledge of the truth." In other words, those who rigidly uphold the truth established by Christ and His Apostles are not the cause of divisions and offenses, but rather it is those who deviate from the truth, whether deceptively or to "go along to get along," that Scripture vehemently opposes.

Invariably, when discussing Scripture, one is confronted with the statement "that's your interpretation." What is generally meant is that the interpretation does not meet with their approval, not because it is contrary to Scripture, but to their own feelings, emotions, or opinions, based on their own thoughts and experiences. These will seldom ever take the time, nor do they have the inclination, to study the matter for themselves that they might have a sound interpretation of their own. Thus, in their indolence they will never be able to rightly discern whether any interpretation is correct or not, though they are often the most adamant in their opposition to that of others. It is certainly true that we have the liberty to interpret the Scriptures in whichever way we prefer, however, we are not at liberty to interpret the "truth" in whichever way we prefer. Truth is by definition "the actual state of things." Abraham Lincoln was once asked the question, "How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?" he answered "Four; calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." A misinterpretation of the truth does not alter the actual state of things, but rather gives one a mistaken view as to what the actual state of things is. Furthermore, it is nonsensical to declare that there are no absolute truths because to do so is to claim, in essence, that there is no truth because truth by definition is absolute. The notion that truth is according to one's own preference or to imagine there are no absolute truths is delusional. Rational and coherent thought can never allow for such a senseless proposition. If, for example, one would choose to believe the earth to be flat, we would consider it absurd. We would readily concede that the one who believes so, is, without doubt, deceived. Why? Because it would be contrary to the actual state of things. If the earth is round it is so irrespective of how one interprets the scientific data or in the absence of any scientific data. Likewise, the truth of the gospel is absolute and cannot be altered by a misinterpretation of the Biblical text. So then our concern should be, not in that there are many interpretations of the data available to us in reference to the gospel, but whether or not our own interpretation is correct. When we stand before God, we will be personally responsible for either our own interpretation or the interpretation we accept from others.

Those who would insist that truth in any absolute sense is unattainable directly contradict the words of Christ and His entire purpose for coming to this earth. He tells us in John 18:37, "For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." In other words, to deny that we can know the truth in any absolute sense is to call Christ a liar. When He says in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me," He was either deceitful, conniving, and deranged, and among the most wicked of men or He was indeed who He claimed to be; the personification and conveyor of absolute truth. To believe the former makes Christ's entire ministry on earth a fraud, His doctrine of no ultimate value, and thus leaves mankind in a state of utter hopelessness and despair. If the latter be true, the fate of all humanity will be determined by the unmitigated, absolute truth of His words.

That truth is an uppermost priority in the mind of God is stressed throughout Scripture. Its significance in the life of the believer cannot be overstated. It is said in reference to God's word in Psalm 119:160, "The sum of your word is truth." God's law is truth (Ps. 119:142). The word of truth is the gospel of our salvation (Eph. 1:13). "God is the Spirit of truth" (1 John 5:6). We are sanctified by His truth (John 17:17). God desires truth in the inward being (Ps. 51:6). "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). The word must leaves us without option. We must worship Him in truth and this truth is bound up in the person of Christ. He is the Word of truth — the gospel of truth — the fulfillment of the law in truth — the truth which dwells in our inward being by the Spirit of truth — which enables us to worship God in spirit and truth; the Truth that sets us free from sin (Jn. 8:36). He who does not come to know Him in truth will most certainly suffer the consequence, namely, eternal damnation. "That they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness" (2 Thess. 2:12).

We find the most subtle, and therefore the most dangerous and deceptive teachings through those who profess to accept the authority of Scripture as inspired by God, yet misinterpret, misquote, and twist their true meaning (2 Pet. 3:16). We are all guilty of an honest misunderstanding of Scripture at times, however, with the false teacher it is characteristic. Even as Satan is referred to in Scripture as "the father of lies," his children, the false teachers, take on the same attribute (John 8:44), even though they themselves may be entirely unaware of their true spiritual state (John 8:39). The most terrifying aspect of deception, whether by self or others, is that those deceived are often oblivious to the fact that they are deceived. Scripture tells us that many worship God, but they do so in vain. "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matt. 15:8, 9). We understand here that it is not enough that we would worship God. For according to this passage, even if it is the God of Scripture we worship, if we do not do so "in Spirit and truth," "according to the doctrine of Christ" we do so in vain. For we find in this passage that God is not referring to those idolatrous souls who openly seek after other gods, but rather He says, they worship "Me" in vain. With their mouth they draw near to God in His proper Name, but it is in name only. They distance themselves from true doctrine and hold fast to the doctrines, traditions, and commandments of men. Whosoever does not draw near to the Word in truth, is one whose heart is far from God. God has revealed His person and character through His Word, and there can be no true relationship with the person of God without a growing understanding and knowledge of the Word of God. In Acts 3:22, Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18:15, in reference to Christ, "The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you." How are we to listen to him in whatever he tells us? By the words breathed out by God's revelation in the Scriptures and therefore to profess to be a Christian while remaining ignorant of the teachings of Christ is a contradiction in terms. The Christian life is not based on opinion, feelings, emotions, or philosophical insights, but on the teachings of Christ, the Author and Founder of the faith. In other words, to embrace the person of Christ we must embrace the doctrines of Christ as delineated in His word. Charles Spurgeon wrote:

We cannot separate Christ from His Word. In the first place, He is the Word. In the next place, how dare we call Him Master and Lord and not do the things that He says, rejecting the truth He teaches? We must obey His precepts or He will not accept us as disciples; especially that precept of love that is the essence of all His words. We must love God and our brethren. We must cherish love to all men and seek their good. Anger and malice must be far from us. We must walk even as He walked. If Christ's words do not abide in you — both as belief and practice — you are not in Christ. Christ and His gospel and His commands are one. If you will not have Christ and His words, neither will he have you or your words.1

J.C. Ryle whom Spurgeon called "the best man in the church of England," wrote:

The times require distinct and decided views of Christian doctrine. I cannot withhold my conviction that the professing church is as much damaged by laxity and indistinctness about matters of doctrine within, as it is by skeptics and unbelievers without. Myriads of professing Christians nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. Like people afflicted with color-blindness, they are incapable of discerning what is true and what is false, what is sound and what is unsound. If a preacher of religion is only clever and eloquent and earnest, they appear to think he is all right, however strange and heterogeneous his sermons may be. They are destitute of spiritual sense, apparently, and cannot detect error. The only positive thing about them is that they dislike distinctiveness and think all extreme and decided and positive views are very naughty and very wrong!... These people live in a kind of mist or fog. They see things unclearly, and do not know what they believe. They have not made up their minds about any great point in the gospel, and seem content to be honorary members of all schools of thought. For their lives they could not tell you what they think is truth about justification, or regeneration, or sanctification, or the Lord's Supper, or baptism, or faith or conversion, or inspiration, or the future state. They are eaten up with a morbid dread of controversy and an ignorant dislike of party spirit; and yet they really cannot define what they mean by these phrases. And so they live on undecided; and too often undecided; they drift down to the grave, without comfort in their religion, and, I am afraid, often without hope.… Now I do beseech all to beware of this undecided state of mind in religion. It is a pestilence which walketh in darkness, and a destruction that wasteth at noonday. It is a lazy, idle frame of soul which, doubtless, saves man the trouble of thought and investigation but it is a frame of soul for which there is no warrant in the Bible. For your own soul's sake, dare to make up your mind what you believe, and dare to have positive, distinct views of truth and error. Never, never be afraid to hold decided doctrinal opinions; and let no fear of man and no morbid dread of being thought party-spirited, narrow, or controversial, make you rest contented with a bloodless, boneless, tasteless, colorless, lukewarm, undogmatic Christianity.2

In the book of Revelation, when Jesus spoke to the various churches (Rev. Chapters 1-3), He taught a vital principle — most often the soul, individually, takes on the characteristics of the body to which it is attached, bearing the consequences thereof. It is evident that irrespective of the means by which the errors were being propagated in the various churches, Christ held every individual personally responsible for their doctrinal beliefs and practices. Christ rebuked each church for any deviations and defections from the truth with stern warnings if they did not repent. To the church at Sardis Christ says,

But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels (Rev. 3:4, 5, NASB).

There were a few that did not soil their garments with the error and prevailing corruption of the majority in Sardis and therefore their names would not be erased from the Book of Life. In Rev. 3:17 Christ says to the lukewarm church in Laodicea, "For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." In other words, Christ says they were self-deceived and apparently entirely unaware of it. They were the exact opposite of what they imagined themselves to be. This is a chilling statement. Surely, if they had been cognizant that they were in such a church they would flee for their lives. However, because of the blindness of those who lead them, and the "deceitfulness of sin" their own eyes are blinded from seeing their true spiritual condition. As David Clarkson well said, "Satan blinds one eye and self-love closes the other, and the deceitfulness of sin seals both, and thus they assure themselves that they are on the way to heaven when they are on the high road to hell."3 If those who lead are blind, then so it is with those who follow after them, and in the last Day, both will find themselves in the ditch of everlasting darkness (Matt. 15:14). If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked (Prov. 29:12). The only remedy for error being the "eye salve" of God's Word, which when applied to the eyes by the Spirit will heal them of their blindness that they might see the truth in Christ (Rev. 3:18).

Christ says in John 4:23, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father is seeking such to worship him." Here we find what Scripture calls "true worshippers" and therefore by implication "false worshippers." The question to which all professors of Christianity must come to terms is under which category do we find ourselves?

Again, Peter says in 2 Peter 2:1-3,

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words.

The warning in this passage is not of false teachers outside the church, but those that rise up from within. How are heresies brought in secretly and without notice? Through willful ignorance, indolence, idleness, and complacency on the part of the congregation. Scripture warns us continually of such teachings and it is imperative that we would take heed of its counsel:

Matthew 7:15, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."

Matthew 24:11, "And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray."

Matthew 24:24, "For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect."

2 Corinthians 11:13-14, "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."

2 Peter 2:18, "For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error."

2 Peter 3:17, "You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability."

1 John 4:1, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world."

1 John 4:6, "We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error."

How do we test the spirits to see whether they are from God? By prayerfully searching the Scriptures daily to find out whether or not their teaching and walk line up with the Word of God. When the Apostle Paul preached to the Bereans, he states that they were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that, "they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11). Paul commends the people, as any good teacher does, for verifying his teachings with Scripture. In other words, they recognized that Scripture alone was the only authoritative source whereby all teaching or tradition could be substantiated. If scrutinizing the teaching of the Apostle Paul was commendable, how much more so any modern-day teacher regardless of their education, fame, status, position, or popularity. It is a noble task and essential to the wellbeing of the soul that we search the Scriptures daily to find out if the teachings of those who profess to represent God are indeed representing Him by proclaiming the truth according to His revelation. Having no other motive but that of understanding God's intended meaning of the words written therein, not only for our own soul's sake but for that of all of humanity. We are without excuse when God's word is more abundantly available to this generation than any generation in history. We have been exceedingly blessed even to surpass those followers of Christ in His earthly ministry. For they had only their ears to hear the truth as it came forth from His lips. However, we have available to us the complete inspired revelation of God in the Scriptures — The God-breathed teachings of the Prophets, Christ, and the Apostles in one orderly collection of writings. We can study the words of Christ by searching, reflecting, and meditating upon them at our own convenience. With modern technology, we can study God's Word in a way that past generations could only dream of. Scripture tells us to whom much is given, much will be expected (Luke 12:48). May God have mercy on us if we neglect such glorious privileges.

Arthur W. Pink wrote,

The apostles of Satan are not saloon-keepers and white-slave traffickers, but are for the most part ordained ministers.… In addition to the fact that today hundreds of churches are without a leader who faithfully declares the whole counsel of God and presents His way of salvation, we also have to face the additional fact that the majority of people in these churches are very unlikely to learn the Truth for themselves…. The Bible is not expounded in the pulpit and it is not read in the pew. The demands of this rushing age are so numerous, that the multitudes have little time and still less inclination to make preparation for the meeting with God. Hence the majority who are too indolent to search for themselves, are left at the mercy of those whom they pay to search for them; many of whom betray their trust by studying and expounding economic and social problems rather than the Oracles of God.4

He further states:

Never were there so many millions of nominal Christians on the earth as there are today, and never were there such a small percentage of real ones…. We seriously doubt whether there has ever been a time in the history of this Christian era when there were such multitudes of deceived souls within the churches, who verily believe that all is well with their souls when in fact the wrath of God abideth on them.5

David Wells, in his book, "No Place For Truth," writes:

We need reformation rather than revival. The habits of the modern world, now so ubiquitous in the evangelical world, need to be put to death, not given new life. They need to be rooted out, not simply papered over with fresh religious enthusiasm. And they are at this point so invincible that nothing less than the intrusion of God in His grace, nothing less than a full recovery of his truth will suffice6 (emphasis added).

Inasmuch as our hearts would ache with compassion over the grief of a parent's loss of a child, or over any number of sorrows which are common to life, how much more so should a Christian's heart ache over error in the church causing multitudes to die, not a mere physical death, but an eternal death with no hope of recovery. We who profess the faith are to put on the character of Christ and His Apostles, truly loving God and neighbor enough to study, recognize and refute such errors that, if not corrected, will keep countless souls from ever entering the kingdom of God. Oh! how the Christian should cherish, seek, know, discern, and share God's truth as no greater form of love can ever hope to be expressed to a dark and fallen world — fulfilling the command of Christ to be "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world." "That we may be fellow workers for the truth" (3 John 8). Charles Spurgeon understood the painstaking battle for truth when he wrote:

Sooner than deny truth, we must forego every...honor, every particle of deserved esteem, every rag of repute.... In the battle for the truth, let your personal comfort and reputation go to the winds.... My Lord, for Thee I will rejoice to be 'the off scouring of all things,' that I may be found faithful to Thee and to Thy truth, even to the end.7

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call on Him in truth (Psalm 145:18, emphasis added).

Let us therefore proceed being ever mindful of the words of Paul in 2 Cor. 13:8, "For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth." Having the heart of the Apostle John, 3 John 4, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." Understanding that those who do not worship God in spirit and truth, no matter what they might profess with their lips, will find themselves, in the last Day, clinging to a counterfeit cross.

CHAPTER TWO
The Gospel of Salvation - Part I - Faith and Obedience

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Footnotes

1.The Power of Prayer in a Believer's Life, C.H. Spurgeon, Emerald Books p.40

2. A Sermon by J.C. Ryle entitled, "The Danger of Christian Complacency"

3. The Conviction of Hypocrites, David Clarkson (1622–1686)

4. Sermon On the Mount, Arthur W. Pink, (Grand Rapids: Baker House, 1950, 53), p. 377

5. Ibid

6. No Place For Truth, David F. Wells, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), p. 301

7. Quoting Spurgeon, Charles Hadden Spurgeon, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994), p.145

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