Saved from the Sinner’s Prayer from I’ll Be Honest on Vimeo.

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Originally posted 2009-09-12 23:57:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Q: Who should I trust to teach me about faith in Christ, and how to live in Him?

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

2 Peter 2:1-3
1  But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2  And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
3  By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

It is a common attitude amongst Christians to think that one of the safest places to be, is in church, the safest T.V. and radio is always Christian media, and the safest books to read are always written by Christian authors. In fact, many Christians would never dream of testing what is preached in their congregation, for fear of upsetting the pastors and teachers they love and respect. Nor would many consider anything wrong with simply tuning into any Christian radio or TV station, or reading any book written by a Christian author, with virtually no sense of precautionary alertness at all. However nothing could be further from the truth, for the warning of Scripture is that there will be false teachers amongst us, and we can know from so many places in the Bible that the devil is very subtle in the way he twists the truth of Scripture in order to deceive.

1 Corinthians 11:1
1  Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

Hebrews 13:7-9
7  Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.
8  Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
9  Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited
those who have been occupied with them.

It is most often the case that when we come to faith in Christ, He will also provide us with those around us who have a more developed faith in Him, that we may
imitate them as they have imitated Him. However we must know without doubt that these people do not come with a convenient label attached, and many will
surround them claiming to take their place in your eyes. It is our responsiblity therefore, to follow or submit to no man, beyond the point that man
is submitted to Christ as Lord in their own life. To fail in this will result in us being carried away into various and strange doctrines, just as many are in the church
even today.

In His mercy God places these faithful believers to watch over us, but their only calling is to feed us from the meat of His Word, in order that we may grow to know
Him for ourselves. They are not responsible to lead us along the whole pathway to eternity, but only to the one true Shepherd, who is alone Christ Jesus. And as we
come to Him, that we may confidently know Him and obey Him as we recognise His voice, we may begin to also lead others in the same way. It is not something we
learn from Bible college, but it is through personal relationship with Christ Himself, knowing that He is the same always.

2 Peter 3:14-18
14  Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;
15  and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
16  as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
17  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;
18  but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Romans 12:2
2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

As it was pointed out clearly in the first study, “How do we follow Jesus?”, we hear His voice clearly through His own Word in Scripture. Every word of
instruction from every other mouth or pen, must submit to the authority of the Holy Bible. And to know intimately the Word of God through Scripture, is to know the
voice of the Lord to us. There is no short cut, or reliance upon others to do the work ascribed to us personally, but we must diligently give ourselves to seek Him,
through His Word prayerfully, and wholeheartedly. It is only through this place we may find the place where He alone is our Shepherd.

Q: If this is true, how can I know which church to join?

Acts 2:41-47
41  Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
42  And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43  Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44  Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common,
45  and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
46  So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

1 John 1:6-7
6  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

When many respond to the Gospel and receive Christ as their Saviour, it is often taken for granted that the next step should be to go out and find a church to join, almost as if your salvation depends on it. In my own personal opinion, and it must be made clear it is just that, I believe this can be the reason why so many become reliant upon others far more than Christ alone. There seems to be an automatic need to be “spiritually covered” by others in order to safeguard the work the Holy Spirit has begun. But in reality, this is simply not the case, for Christ alone is our covering in this way, and to put another in His rightful place is an offense to God.

1 Corinthians 11:3-4
3  But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
4  Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head.

1 Timothy 2:5-6
5  For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6  who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

At the outset of our walk in Christ, we must understand that He has chosen us, He has begun a work in us, and He will complete it. It is a work that will remain untouched by mans hand, and at whatever point it is, it will be corrupted. If someone has preached the Gospel to you in such a way as to awaken you to sincere belief in Christ as Saviour, you can know without doubt they are anointed by God, for nobody can be brought to that place of belief in His Son unless drawn by God Himself.

Instead of feeling any desire whatsoever to run off seeking anyone more “qualified” in the sight of man, begin to imitate the faith of the one who has been faithful to you, by being faithful to Christ Himself, and His command to preach the Gospel to every creature. Don’t look to ministries, churches, or any man made “thing” to support you in Christ, but look to Christ Himself, who will be pointed to by those who are imitating Him, not necessarily those who have the label that seems to fit the task. If we keep this frame of mind steadfastly, the Lord Himself will provide the fellowship with other believers that we need, and we will find ourselves rapidly being knitted together with others to carry out His will.

Acts 2:47
47  praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

When we understand fully that the “church” God adds to daily, has absolutely nothing to do with any earthly ministry or congregation in its own right, we can begin to relax a little more as to where we actually attempt to “go to” church. The church spoken of in Scripture with regard to the Body of Christ, comes from the Greek word “ekklesia”, meaning an assembly of believers, called out by God Himself. The physical location of this assembly is not something that can be defined in one particular place or another, but is rather defined by the location of those who are called out by His Spirit, and have assembled together in His name.

Matthew 18:19-20
19  “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
20  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

1 Peter 2:4-5
4  Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,
5  you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Matthew 16:18
18  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Do not be anxious about whether or not you can find a “good church”, or be pressure by other Christians into feeling that you must suddenly submit yourself fully to one church or another before you are able to live a life holy unto the Lord. Look to Him alone to lead you wherever He may, offering yourself as a living stone to be placed according to His will and purpose, and rest assured, you will find yourself in the perfect place of His choosing, wherever it may be. It may very well be a place that no other Christian seems to want you to be, but remain faithfully submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and your faithfulness will be openly rewarded.

Q: What should I do if I already hold some level of responsiblity in a church or Christian organization?

2 Timothy 4:1-5
1  I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
2  Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
3  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4  and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
5  But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Jude 1:3-5
3  Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
4  For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
5  But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

If you have found yourself in the position of teacher within the Body of Christ, regardless of how you came to be in that position, you must realise the weight of responsiblity that rests upon your shoulders. Your duty is not to know everything that is true and teach others what you know, nor as it ever been that way. Your duty is to know the Word of God, live according to it yourself, contend and fight for the truth that is spoken by it, and preach it undiluted to all that will hear it.

The outcome of who believes and who doesn’t is totally in the hands of God, but have no doubt, you will be judged according to your own faithfullness in ministering to others in this way.

Matthew 23:9-13
9  Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
10  And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
11  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
13  “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

James 3:1
1  My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.

If you truly desire to teach others in Christ, and to do it faithfully, then consider yourself not a teacher, but a servant to all. Lay your life down as if one dead, that Christ Himself may use you as an empty vessel to instruct others, as their only Teacher, and for His own glory. To do any less than this, and somehow make an attempt to lead those He has chosen by your own might, you will fail, you will lead them astray, and you will be held accountable!

Jeremiah 23:1-4
1  “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD.
2  Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the LORD.
3  “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4  I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the LORD.

Unless everyone saved by Christ realises that everything belongs to Him, and is worked out by Him and for His glory, we are in a perilous place. From the outset we must understand that it is He who leads us, it is He who will provide those who will feed us faithfully, and it is He who will call us to faithfully feed others. We must also fully understand that not everything is as it may at first appear, for those we often run to for protection are nothing more than wolves in sheep’s clothing, and will remain in that clothing until they are exposed and recognised for who they really are. Not that we should wander around in a state of fearful paranoia, never trusting anyone. But that we may pledge our trust and allegiance to Christ alone, through the knowledge of His Word, that we may never settle for any other place than in the loving guidance of the one true Shepherd of the Flock.

If I could give any advice whatsoever from my own understanding, it would be this:

Submit to no man further than the point that man is submitted to Christ, and exhort no man to imitate you further than the point at which you imitate Christ Himself!

Either in following or leading others, the only true test is for the persons words and deeds to be scrutinized in the light of Scripture, just as the believers in Berea scrutinized the apostle Paul himself, and were commended by God for doing so.

Acts 17:10-12
10  Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11  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.
12  Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.

Let us all begin to realise that we are all personally accountable to God for our lives, and cannot constantly try to pass on this accountability to others. Let us stop wasting our time listening to teachings that tickle our ears, and instead choose only to listen to those who preach a message that crucifies our flesh by the power of His Word, and breaks down every high place in our life that stands against Christ Jesus.

This message is also posted on the Faith Defenders community forum here: http://faith-defenders.com/forum/index.php?topic=603.msg3566#msg3566 if you would like to discuss these matters with other believers.

Originally posted 2009-06-10 06:52:18. Republished by Blog Post Promoter