The Love That Must Be Stopped (an exposition of 1 John 2:15-17)

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17, NIV 2011 update)

There is this idea that love is a matter of the heart and not of the head. That it is an emotion beyond the power of the will. The cultural usage of the phrase "falling in love" suggests that it is uncontrolled and inevitable. In his book What Jesus Demands From the World, John Piper confirms that love is indeed an emotion, but he adds: "Jesus does command the feelings. He demands that our emotions be one way and not another".¹

To support  his assertion, Piper marshals these Bible proofs:

a.With regards to rejoicing, he demands that we rejoice in persecution (Matt.5:12)

b. With regards to fear, he demands and that we fear not those who can harm only our bodies but fear him who could kill the body and send you to hell (Luke 12:5)

c. He demands that we not feel shame over him (Luke 9:26)

d. He demands that and that we forgive from the heart (Matt. 18:35)

In verse 15 of our text, God through his apostle John issues another command regarding our affections: "Do not love the world or anything in the world". Since this is a command, it demands our obedience. As followers of Christ we are told to not love the world, and if we feel we are having some sweet affair with the world, we have to stop² it at all cost.

But first we have to clarify what this command does NOT mean. The command to not love the world and the things in the world does not mean that we are to hate the physical created universe. After all, it is God who created this universe and was delighted to see its beauty (Gen.1:31). It does not mean we cannot enjoy works of art like secular music and movies (there could be expressions of worldliness in them but not necessarily). It does not mean we have to distance ourselves from pop culture. This is not about hairstyles or fashion. It does not also mean we have that we hate the unbelieving world. After all, we were commanded to love our enemies even those who persecute us. We are mandated to reach the world with the gospel of grace.

What does it mean then? The word "world" in this context means:

"an organized earthly system controlled by the power of the evil one that has aligned itself against God and his Kingdom" (Daniel Akin)³

"This is not a reference to the physical, material world but the invisible system of evil dominated by Satan and all that it offers in opposition to God, his Word, and his people." (John Macarthur)⁴

Whenever you see the prevalence of anti-God ideas and anti-God agenda, that is a part of worldliness (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Wanna feel the power and influence of this system? Go to U.S.A. and speak against the evils of the LGBT agenda. They will surely gang up on you.

Another verse to consider is Romans 12:2a "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." The Greek word translated as "world" here is different from the Greek word translated as "world" in 1 John 2:15. Some say that it should be translated as "age". Yet when correlating bible verses, you just don't match words; you also match concepts. The concept Paul is conveying here is the same or at least very close to the Johannine concept of worldliness:

"Better translated “age,” which refers to the system of beliefs, values—or the spirit of the age—at any time current in the world. This sum of contemporary thinking and values forms the moral atmosphere of our world and is always dominated by Satan"⁵

In his exposition of Romans 12:2, James M. Boice mentioned several -isms of worldliness. The -ism of course is a suffix added to a word conveying distinctive doctrines or ideas. Not all -isms are worldly like Calvinism or Dispensationalism, but many of them are. Below are some of the -isms in Boice's list⁶ :

humanism-- humanity is of prime importance, not divine or supernatural matters.
relativism-- no absolute truth; it may be true for you but not for me.
hedonism-- the pursuit of pleasure is the highest goal
materialism-- physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life
pluralism-- all belief systems are valid; Christianity is okay but it needs supplement from other systems

These are just examples of worldly expression of man's hostility to God and his revelation in Scripture. If you subscribe to any of these ideas, you love the world. 

You Might be a World-lover if...

1. You want to fulfill your desires outside of God's revealed will ("the lust of the flesh"  verse 16)

The lust of the flesh is "any sinful desire, any sinful interest, that draws us away from God or at least makes continuing fellowship with him impossible"- Gary Burge⁷

There is nothing wrong with the desire to earn more, for the sake of your family and for the needs of others; but if you earn by dirty business deals or other corrupt means, then you might be a world-lover.

There is nothing wrong with the desire to have a partner but if you want to fulfill it by marrying a unbeliever, then the world could have had captivated your heart.

There is nothing wrong with watching movies, surfing the net or playing video games; but if these activities cause you to neglect prayer, personal bible study and other spiritual disciplines, you  might be in love with the world.

2. Visual delights arouse your desire for sinful acts ("the lust of the eyes" verse 16)

This point is closely connected to the previous one because the eyes are "often the means by which sinful desires are introduced into the mind of the individual." (Danny Akin)⁸ -- Sinful desires could be awakened by sound or smell and other senses but the most often means is the sense of sight.

~ Eve stared at the forbidden fruit and it was pleasing to the eye (Gen.3:6).
~ Achan stared at a luxury robe, silver and gold, and kept them against the Lord's instruction (Joshua 6-7)
~ David stared at bathing Bathsheba, and ends in adultery (2 Samuel 11)
~ The trick is so effective the devil even tried it on Jesus (Matt. 4:8)

Two Philosophers could be helpful here: Plato and Augustine⁹

For Plato: the good, the beautiful, the true, the real is essentially the same thing. That is if there is one beautiful, it must also be good, and true, and real. Using this criterion, the woman on the magazine cover may be visually pleasing but if her appearance is devoid of goodness and truth, then it is not beautiful

Augustine added a Christian flavor to Plato's musings. For him, there is only one good; only one real; only one true; only one beautiful. In saying this, he was not denying that there are other things good, true, real and beautiful. They do exist but only as reflections of God's infinite perfections. Because of that:

a. God is the SOURCE of anything good, true, real and beautiful
b. God is the JUDGE of what is good, true, real and beautiful
c. God's glory is the CHIEF END of all things good, true, real and beautiful.

Thus, when you are captivated by what you see but fail to honor God, you are in love with the world.

“The problem is not that God created the material things in the world. The problem is that people have made these things into idols” (Daniel Akin)¹⁰

3. You measure the worth of yourself and the worth of others by possessions and accomplishments ("the pride of life" verse 16)

The pride of life is "an attitude of pretentious arrogance or subtle elitism that comes from one's view of wealth, rank, or stature in society. It is an overconfidnce that makes us lose any notion that we are dependent on God"-- Gary Burge¹¹

I'm somebody because of my assets and income.
I'm somebody because of my degree and alma mater.
I'm somebody because of my position.
I'm somebody because of good looks.
I'm somebody because of my medals and trophies.

Some Biblical examples
~ Nebuchadnezzar's pride on his projects (Daniel 4:30)
~ Herod's pride on his oratorical skills (Acts 12;21-22)
~ Even religious people can be guilty of this like the Pharisees who were proud about their religious standing and looked down on others(Luke 18:9-12)

Reasons for Breaking this Kind of Love

1. Because if you love the world, you don't love God

I John 2:15b "If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them"

The text says that you either love God and hate his rival or love his rival and hate God. Take one of the world's ideas-- materialism for example, "the idea that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life"¹². The Lord Jesus says,

"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." (Matthew 6:24)

James 4:4 says "... don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God"

If we are divided between loving God and loving the world, it will not end in a 50-50 division. Rather, it will end 0-100, that is zero for God and 100 percent for the world. And if you have two hearts, you will not give one heart for God and one heart for the world. Rather, you will give both hearts to the world.

The Psalmist seems to have understood this, so he prayed "... give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name". (Psalm 86:11)

2. Because of this love's unhappy ending

Fairy tale endings are quite predictable. When the Prince finally marries his Princess, expect the last line to be "and they lived happily ever after". I guess it is a time-tested formula for fictional love stories. People like happy endings.

Soon, unbelieving people will realize that they pursued worthless things. Soon they will see that they have invested in the wrong place. The text says "the world and its desires pass away" (verse 17 a). It's like enjoying your stay at Sodom and hoarding possessions there, only to realize later that you will perish with them. For one of the reasons why God burned Sodom and Gomorrah is to make them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly (2 Peter 2:6).

If you want a happy ending to your love story, love God. Scripture says, "but whoever does the will of God lives forever" (verse 17b). What he prepared for those who love him is not just a happy ending but an eternity of endless joy in his presence.

"May thy dear Son preserve me from this present evil world, so that its smiles never allure, nor its frowns terrify, nor its vices defile, nor its errors delude me."  (The Valley of Vision)¹³

-----------------------------------
NOTES

1. John Piper, What Jesus Demands from the World
2.  In his online free bible commentary on the Johannine corpus, Bob Utley says that the grammatical construction conveys the meaning "to stop an act that is already in progress"
3. Daniel Akin, 1,2,3 John, New American Commentary

4. The Macarthur Study Bible
5. The Macarthur Study Bible
6. James M. Boice, Mind Renewal in a Mindless Age
7. Gary Burge, The Letters of John (NIV Application Commentary)
8. Daniel Akin, 1,2,3 John, NAC
9. See Albert Mohler's "A Christian Vision of Beauty, part 1"
10. Daniel Akin, 1,2,3 John, NAC

11. Gary Burge, The Letters of John (NIVAC)
12. American Heritage Talking Dictionary
13. The Valley of Vision's Facebook Page, March 5,2012 

Holy Unbelief (1 John 4:1-6)

Ang dating nahahati sa anim na paskil ay iisa na lang ngayon

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1 John 4:1-6 (NIV)

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood."

*** *** ***

Introduction:

A debate starts with a proposition. One will be on the affirmative side; another on the negative side. A college debate may have this proposition: “Charter change will be beneficial to our nation”. One will agree with the proposition, one side will disagree. Then the debate happens.

When the Word of God expressed in propositions is preached, we must accept it as it is. We have no right to reject it. We don’t even have the right to propose amendments to the word of God. The word of God is perfect, so to modify it or revise it is indeed to destroy it. Spiritual people are believers. They say “AMEN” to biblical propositions.

But there is also a sense where spiritual men must not believe. The Macarthur Study Bible describes it as “healthy skepticism”—“doubting the validity of what is being said". Aside from John Macarthur, I will quote other respected bible teachers who espouse the same thing:

S. Lewis Johnson: "just as belief is an aspect of spiritual maturity so is unbelief a mark of spiritual maturity. In other words, to believe not certain things is just as significant as to believe other things" (from a sermon titled "Test the Spirits")

Ray Stedman: "To be a Christian you must be a believer, but it is equally true that every Christian is also called to be an unbeliever. There is a time when unbelief is the only right thing. The very same Scriptures which encourage us to believe likewise urge us not to believe. In fact they not only urge us, they command us not to believe. This is no contradiction, any more than to say that in order to live it is necessary both to inhale and to exhale. These are contradictory things: you cannot inhale and exhale at the same time, but both are absolutely necessary to maintain life." (Life in the Son, Expository Studies in 1 John)

You see, not all propositions are true. Some are lies such as:

“Ang uling ay kulay puti”

“Ang yelo ay mainit”

“Si Bro. Manny ay guwapo” 

(I hope my mother will take the affirmative side;

How about modifying the proposition by adding the word “medyo”… LOL)

Not all propositions stated by a teacher/preacher are biblical. There are times when what is being taught has no scriptural basis. Even worse, there are times when a doctrine being stated directly opposes what the bible teaches. There are times when the holy man must withhold his “Amen”, even when everybody shouts “Amen”. In some circumstances, to believe is evil and to doubt or disbelieve is holy.

The Source of False Teachings
Apostle John commands believers not to believe every spirit. Rather we are asked to “test“ the spirits. The Greek word is dokimazo- “to try to learn the genuineness of something by examination and testing” (Louw & Nida lexicon). For not everything that glitters is gold; I know at least two store owners in our baranggay who were deceived by nice looking fake 500 peso bills. Same is true when it comes with doctrines. Not everyone who looks like an angel of God is from God.

Our text says that many false prophets have come into the world. “marami”—naglipana—nagkalat kung saan-saan at sila ay naghahasik ng lagim. They are not harmless. In his farewell address to to the Ephesian church, Paul referred to them as savage wolves (Acts 20:29).

They are the initial installments of the final anti-christ. In the end times, someone will emerge to ”oppose" and “exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped”, and shall proclaim himself to be God (2 Thess. 2:4). He will be hostile to Christ and to truth. That is the future anti-christ. Yet smaller versions of him are already in the world by means of false teachers, promoting doctrines that are hostile to God.

As to the source of these anti-God ideas, it seems clear to me that here in our text and elsewhere, that such thoughts are diabolical.

1 Tim.4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons”(Yikes!!!)

2 Cor. 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.”

—If your idea of demons is drawn primarily from watching horror films (yung mga biglang sumusulpot sa likuran; duguan ang mukha kasabay ng nakakakilabot na sound effects; o di kaya ay yung halimaw na lumalabas sa banga—at sabi ni Matet ay “Takot ako eh,”) then you know very little about demons.

One of the main activities of Satan and his minions is deception. He was present in Eden to deceive Adam and Eve and he would be present in Gog and Magog to deceive the nations. So Scripture testifies that from the beginning of history (Genesis) to the end (Revelation), Satan and his assistants are active deceivers.

These are not merely differences in opinion:
“behind the false prophet or false teacher is an evil spirit. Men simply do not speak out of their own intellectual attainments. Quite unconsciously they are being guided--really misguided--by an evil spirit, a “spirit of error,” (Ray Stedman)

Herbert Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) now Grace Communion International (GCI) taught some perverse doctrines during his lifetime: Legalistic observance of Mosaic feasts; Saturday as the only true worship day; dietary laws; WCG’s exclusivity as the true church. He also define God as a family (Father & Son are members). After resurrection, believers become a part of that God-family. And when you finally become a member of the God family, you will not find the Holy Spirit there for he is not a person but a force.

After his death, WCG moved to more orthodox positions on various essential issues of the faith. Yet WCG never declared Armstrong as a false teacher. I have read two books written respectively by WCG/GCI’s current leaders: Transformed by Truth (Joseph Tkach Jr.) and Liberating the Worldwide Church of God (J. Michael Feazell). In both books, it is implied that Armstrong was saved and is in heaven!

I was disturbed. So I asked my WCG friend if he himself is hopeful that Armstrong was saved. He affirmed it.

In defense of Armstrong, he reasoned out that his former shepherd was just uneducated that’s why he fell into such ideas. I replied gently that though we are not the judge of men’s eternal destiny, we should also hold that a man who has rejected the gospel is presumed to be lost. I would add now based on 1 John 4 that the source of Armstrong’s false teachings is not his lack of education. By John's apostolic authority, I believe that Satan gave birth to such dangerous doctrines.

In fact, you can be very educated and still teach anti-God and Anti-christ ideas. Bart Ehrman is a case in point. He is a top scholar. He studied at some of the best evangelical theological schools: Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College. He studied under top textual critic Bruce Metzger. Yet he now denies the reliability of Scriptures. He is now an agnostic.

Good education or lack of it is not the source of false doctrines-- demonic influence is.

The Creed Test
The first test that we have to do according to Apostle John is the creed test— what do they believe?; what are they teaching?

Is it consistent with Apostolic doctrine (Galatians. 1:8-9)?
Is it in harmony with previous revelation (Acts 17:11)?

In our text, John was addressing a particular Christological problem in their day—“a combination of elements, including emerging Gnosticism, docetism and Cerinthianism” (Craig Blomberg, The NT Definition of Heresy, JETS Mar. 2002). This is the reason why he laid down a Christological test.

Yet John does not intend here that the creed test will only be Christological. There are many other things that the Bible lays down as essential tenets of the faith. One helpful tool for this matter is Robert Bowman’s A Biblical Guide to Orthodoxy and Heresy (Parts 1 & 2).

The suggestion of Bruce Demarest and Gordon Lewis is also worthy of consideration. They stressed the importance of using provisional authorities like confessions of faith and historic Christian creeds:

“when new in the faith. Like young children under the authority of their parents, Christians wisely depend rather heavily on their received traditions… They function as authorities until we have been able to check out their faithfulness to Scripture for ourselves” (Integrative Theology, Vol.1)

The Congregation Test 1: Worldly people listen to worldly teachers with worldly messages

In this test, we will ask these questions:
Who listens to them?
Who celebrates when they teach?

They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world,
and the world listens to them. (1 John 4:5 NIV)

For the unspiritual message of unspiritual persons will be received by an unspiritual congregation.

Nasa likas ng makasalanang tao ang ipagbunyi ang masama:
"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:32)

What does John mean when he says “they are of the world”?
Worldliness is opposed to what is heavenly and it appeals to carnal pleasures: envy; self-seeking; sensuality. It is associated with the demonic (James 3:13-15)

False teaching is enjoyed by sensual people; by a congregation hostile to God. Ang mga nakikinig sa mga gurong makasanlibutan ay yung mga kapwa nila makasanlibutan.

Nasa likas ng makasalanang tao ang ipagbunyi ang masama :

"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:32)

So a rapper can release a perverse album and receive a platinum award.

So an ungodly book like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code could sell 80,000,000 copies.

That’s why they love documentaries such as James Cameron’s “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” which would tell them that Jesus’ bones were found in the Talpiot Tomb. They like those lies very much because if Jesus’ bones were found, that means the resurrection was a hoax. And if Jesus is dead, that means there is no Lord to obey. They could do whatever they want.

John 3:19 says ”men loved darkness instead of light” that’s why they love men from the dark.

Same is true with regards to false teaching.
Minsan, naiisip natin: “Kawawa naman, niloloko sila ng false teacher na ito”. But the bible reveals that they are not innocent. They are willing participants in the crime

2 Timothy 4:3-4: For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

From these verse we glean the following:
a. The demand for false teachers increases the supply. They collect false teachers around themselves
b. They listen to satisfy their itching ears; they want messages which are suited to their carnal desires
c. They deliberately turn their ears from what is true to listen to what is false.

~ What they want is not God. What they want is a BMW, that’s why they hired Kenneth Copeland so that someone will frequently tell them that God wants them to have a BMW.

~ They want to belittle Jesus, and so they hired an executive minister who will deny the deity of Christ. And when that executive minister dies, worldly people in the government will declare a National Day of Mourning in honor of the one who belittled Jesus Christ.

~ They love cursing that’s why they will gladly listen to their “Sugong Palamura” At habang pinagmumumura ng kanilang pinuno yung katunggali sa debate, nagdiriwang sila kasi mahilig sila sa pagmumura.

~ Who will celebrate at Brian Maclaren’s call for a 5-year moratorium on making pronouncements on homosexuality ? Only worldly people will celebrate that.

~ Who will celebrate Antinomianism? Who will rejoice over a notion that a a thief converted in 1999 can remain as a thief until 2009?

The unspiritual message of unspiritual persons will be receive by an unspiritual congregation.

The Congregation Test 2: Holy People listen to holy teachers with holy messages

Spiritual messages from spiritual teachers will be received by spiritual men

John 10:27: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."

John 10:5: "But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

The word of God will come upon his people with great conviction (1 Thess. 1:4-5)

In the process of testing, we should also ask,"What is the church's attitude towards this teaching?"

“if the community we have always trusted, if the church as the historic custodian of truth refuses this prophesy, we should be warned” (Gary Burge, NIVAC)

In the Roman Catholic church, the final authority is Sola Ecclesia- whatever the church says. As evangelicals, we are for Sola Scriptura. Yet it is wrong to think that the church has no value in teaching the truth.

“Those who claim that the church has no value and isn’t instrumental in teaching Scipture are wrong. The church is the pillar and foundation of truth and this “community of God” is instrumental in keeping us in check with the rest of the Christian community.” (Ray Aviles, BARM Public Square)

On his appearance on the June Cain Miller show Dr. Walter Martin pointed out that though he wrote a book on cults (The Kingdom of Cults), he was not the one who classified groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Cristian Science, etc. as cults. He said that it was the Christian Church who classified theses groups as cults.

My favorite contemporary statements on the essentials of the evangelical faith is.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration

.
Aside from contemporary statements, ancient documents are also helpful: the Heidelberg and Westminster cathechisms; The Apostles creed, Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed.

These are helpful tools for testing the spirits.
Ano ba ang paniniwala ng mga taong banal noon at ngayon?

I have a friend from Grace Communion International (GCI), formerly the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). He is very much into theology; we discuss theological issues once in a while. Recently, GCI has embraced Karl Barth soteriology. What I am trying to do is to show my friend that Barth’s view is far from the evangelical consensus. I’m trying to warn him about the effects of these recent developments within GCI. This will surely affect GCI's standing in the evangelical community. I even think that GCI’s position is worse than Barth’s now, for they mix it with their long-held error of post-mortem salvation.

Test everything. Hold on to what is good. Shun evil.
Let us ask ourselves:
Will godly Christians celebrate this teaching?
If they treasure this doctrine, why would I reject it?
If they abhor this doctrine then why should I accept it?

Godly men will accept truth; and when you offer the same to ungodly men, they will reject it. They will find no beauty in it.

“He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God" (John 8:47)

The One in us vs. the one in them
The ministry of discernment can be a very intimidating task. Some leave it ONLY for the gifted. But you know what, you may not be especially gifted in this field of ministry, but I want to assure you that you can discern. Yes you can.

1 John 4:4 "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

You have overcome them, not because of anything inherent in you. Our text sets out the reason why: because he who resides in us is greater that those whose resides in them.

Rom.8:14, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God”

The same Holy Spirit who leads you to a holy living will also lead you into holy believing, and if necessary, he will also lead you to holy unbelief.

Be like Jesus, not Cain

I'm holding in my hands a copy of Faithwalk Vol.2 No.4; the theme of this issue is the precious gospel itself. On page 10 is an excerpt of the document The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration. It is a consensus among evangelicals of different traditions and backgrounds on what the gospel is. Let me read a portion:
 
"God's justification of those who trust Him, according to the Gospel, is a decisive transition, here and now, from a state of condemnation and wrath because of their sins to one of acceptance and favor...”

This part is very relevant because there's a recent sad development within Grace Communion International (GCI); formerly Wordwide Church of God (WCG)-- that former bastion of Armstrongism which gradually moved into more orthodox positions in the mid-90's. This sad development is that they have recently embraced Karl Barth's view of the atonement. In this view, the efficacy (not just the potentiality as in the Arminian camp) of the atonement is all-inclusive. Christ's death effectively reconciled all men to God.

With his pen, Barth writes:

“We must think of every human being, even the oddest or most villainest or miserable as to one whom Jesus is brother and God is Father”

He also wrote:

“The so-called outsiders are really only insiders who have not yet understood and apprehended themselves as such.”

I asked one of their pastors to read the Evangelical Celebration document; he initially says he has no problems with it. So I read aloud the part which says: “God's justification of those who trust Him, according to the Gospel, is a decisive transition, here and now, from a state of condemnation and wrath because of their sins to one of acceptance and favor...” And then I asked him, “Do you accept that pastor?” . He admitted that they disagree with that.

For some, they may treat this as a small thing. “That's a non-essential” they may say. But the same document on evangelical consensus says:

“In things necessary there must be unity, in things less than necessary there must be liberty, and in all things there must be charity. We see all these Gospel thruths as necessary”

As for me, I don't know how to evangelize without saying that man is separated from God because of his sins.

But this post is not about the atonement; it's on the theme: “Loving One Another in the Church”. I am introducing this post this way because last year, a friend of mine who belongs to that denomination was asked to preach once a month. He chose to preach verse-by-verse on the First Johannine epistle. What happened was he cannot reconcile their newly embraced soteriology with what he was seeing in 1 John. Because here, John does make a distinction between INSIDERS and OUTSIDERS.

1 John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”

Here, John does make a distinction between those who are of God and of those who are of the devil:

1 John 5:19: “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”

1 John 3:10 “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”

We are finally one verse away from our text.

1 John 3:10 is a conclusion to the previous section (3:4-10). In this section, John makes a distinction between those who are God's children and those who are not. He is simply saying in this section that God's children practices righteousness. Those who live in sin are of the devil because the devil has been sinning since the beginning.

Yet aside from concluding this section, 3:10 also introduces the next section. After discussing that true Christians are known by their righteousness, they are also known by how they treat their fellow Christians.

For this post, I will just follow the structure of the Apostle John in developing this thought.
1.The Admonition (3:11)
2.Principles from a negative example (3:12-15)
3.Principles from a positive example (3:16-18)

THE ADMONITION: “ We should love one another”

No doubt, the princliple of love should be applied to all, not just on our fellow Christians. Our Lord Jesus himself said that the second greatest command in the Law is that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Matt. 22:39).

At one point, an expert in the Law asked him, “Who is my neighbor?”. What was Jesus' response? He told the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. Thieves took away his possessions; he was stripped of his clothes, and he was fatally wounded He is dying. The first man to see him was a religious man. He was a priest; but he passed by the other side. Another religious man saw him, this time a Levite (a temple worker), but he did the same as the priest.

Here comes a Samaritan. This difinitely made an impact to the first century audience. When Jesus ask for water from a Samaritan woman, she replied “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink? ((For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. There is a hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans. But look, two religious Jews ignored a dying man. Here comes someone who is perceived as an enemy yet he got something the religious Jews don't have. Verse 10 says that when he saw him, he had compassion. He helped the dying man. After that Jesus asked the question ”Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man...?” The expert of the Law correctly answered “The one who had mercy on him.”. Jesus then told him to go and do likewise.

Jesus' point is clear. We should be a neighbor to everybody. And we should love them as much as we love ourselves.

But the text at hand limits its application on how we should love our brothers. Our fellow believers in Christ.

Galatians. 6:10 says “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

While we are to love all men, we should love our brethren in a special way or greater extent. That is also implied in what God requires of Christian employees.

1 Tim. 6:1-2 "All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them."

We are to love the authorities God has place above us; but we are to love them even better if they are our brothers in Christ.

We must not be lazy and say “Okay lang magpakatamad ng konti kasi si Brother_________ naman amo ko eh. Maiindindihan niya yan. Mabait yan eh." We have to work harder for the one's dear to us.


What I'm saying here is our love should apply generally to all people but it must be intensified when the recipients are our brothers. I really can't understand Christians who are happier sharing their life with their highschool batchmates or Facebook friends than with their fellow believers in Christ. I can't understand people who are more excited in a class reunion than in a worship gathering. There is nothing wrong with keeping in touch with your highschool and college friends or even online friends-- I do. But my affections for them can never match the affections I have for my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Two quick points from the admonition part:

1. Loving the brethren is not optional-  the text says we should. If you are a Christian, God requires you to love your brethren. Even if one of them holds a different political view than yours (Republican vs. Democrat; Pro or anti Charter Change). Even if you don't like his personality (baduy). The family of God knows no class: rich or poor; dark-skinned or light-skinned; Vilmanian o Noranian; Kapuso o Kapamilya)

2. Loving the brethren is inherent in the gospel message itself- John says this message is not a new lesson. From the moment the apostolic message was given, loving one another was an integral component of the Christian life. In 1 John 1:3, John says that they have proclaimed the gospel so that the recipients may have fellowship not just with God but with the proclaimers themselves. And so in following the footsteps of the apostles, we also share the gospel with outsiders for the purpose of drawing them into fellowship with us.

Just as love for other Christians is essential in the beginning, it continues as an essential all throughout our Christian life. We proclaimed loved when we first met, w continue to teach you that you must love each other says John.

After giving the admonition, John goes on to give a negative example..

NEGATIVE EXAMPLE
John teaches us how we should love by presenting the opposite of love: hatred. He found a classic example of hatred by moving backwards in time. A time when the universe was so young-- even Adam and were still young. He uses the case of Adam and Eve's first two sons. The account in Genesis 4 tells us that Adam and Eve had two sons. Cain's calling was that of a farmer while Abel's was that of a shepherd. In the course of time, both offered an offering to the Lord. Cain brought some products from his field while Abel brought animal offering from his flock. Abel's offering was accepted while Cain's was not.

There are various opinions as to why Abel's sacrifice was accepted while Cain's was rejected. The most popular being that Abel's involves blood while Cain's was bloodless. For these teachers it is a typology for Christ's death and the acceptable sacrifice he offered on the cross.

But I find those opinions unconvincing since the Bible writers themselves are silent about it. Those are just speculations and conjectures. (Kesyo ipinag-utos daw ng Diyos na hayop ang ialay-- pero wala namang nakasulat na ganun dito) The Genesis account doesn't even say its a “sacrifice”. It simply says “offering” and there are examples of acceptable bloodless offerings in the Scriptures like grain offering and drink offering. But one thing is certain, Abel's sacrifice was accepted because it was from a righteous man. In Matthew 23:35, the Lord Jesus talking to the Pharisees says “And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah”.

The focus of John is what led Cain to do such a horrible thing. The ultimate cause was because he was of the devil. (v.12). He did not become of the devil because he murdered. It was the other way around. He murdered because he was of the devil. If you will moved backwards to verse 8, John writes “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning” The reason why you inflict harm upon the brethren is because you are just imitating the devil who owns you.

Elsewhere, John records a conversation between Jesus and some religious leaders who were planning to kill him. They claimed "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus responds "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him..." (John 8:42-44)

The other thing that led Cain to murder was because his unrighteousness was exposed when it was juxtaposed with the righteousness of his brother. The Genesis account reports that he was very angry when his offering was not accepted. God confronted him saying, “if you do well, will you not be accepted?”. The rejection of his offering revealed that he was not doing well and he was angry about it. The murder was premeditated as he deceitfully asked his brother to go with him in to the field. Abel was unsuspecting. He trusts him fully. He is his brother, isn't he? They grew up together in the same home. They received the same instruction from their parents. They used to play together (walang ibang kalaro; wala naman kasing kapitbahay ang kanilang mga magulang). But the trust was repaid with violent hands.

That's how a professing brother in the church works, you trust him fully, yet he'll repay it with evil.

From this negative example, John draws out some principles:

1st, Christians should not be surprised when they are hated by the world.

Since their father the Devil hates us, his sons also shall follow what their father is doing. It doesn't mean they hate us all the time. There were moments in the lives of Jesus and John the Baptist when crowds sought them and admired them. But when by the light that we possess, their unrighteousness is exposed, they will begin to hate us. John 3:19 says, 'People loved darkness rather than light...” and since they love darkness, they will take it as an offense if you will ask them to abandon it. Why was John the Baptist imprisoned and subsequently beheaded? Because he boldly exposed the sinfulness of Herod's unlawfulmarriage with Herodias, his brother's wife (Matthew 14:6-12)

When we are hated by the world because of Christ, that is not a strange thing. 2 Tim 3:12 “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”

Those who are in the habit of defrauding the brethren and other people do so because they are not God's children. They belong to a different family. They have Satan as their father, not the God who is good all the time.

The 2nd, principle that John draws out from the negative example is that the love for the brethren is a proof that we are of God-- that we have passed from death to life.

That phrase was lifted from Jesus' words in John 5:24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.“

No wonder, there's immesurable joy and thanksgiving in Paul's heart everytime he hears some news that a particular church practices love within the body:

Colossians 1:3-4: “ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints--...”

Ephesians 1:15: “ For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers...”


3rd, those who hate the brethren are of the devil.

Notice that they may not actually shed innocent blood; just a plain hatred for a brother makes you a murderer.

Matt.5:21-22 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell”

Perhaps the equivalent of this in our time and place is saying T-A-N-G-A or B-O-B-O to our fellows. Just plain anger that leads to verbal abuse is a murderous act.

THE POSITIVE EXAMPLE 

1.The Standard for loving our brethren is Christ sacrificial love (v.16)

John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Loving our neighbors was required since the Old Testament times. It becomes a new commandment here because we now have a standard on how we should do it. We must love one another to the extent that Christ has love us. That is to the point of death.You don't have to do it now, but if the circumstances require it, we must be ready to sacrifice our very lives for the sake of the brethren. Who was your seatmate last Sunday service? Are you ready to die for him or her?. If not, you are below the standard and you must work on your heart until you match the standard.

2.Our love for the brethren is reflected not merely in words but in practical needs. (v.17-18)

There is nothing wrong with love expressed in words. The problem is when love is expressed merely in words It is easy to say “I am willing to die for you.”. Peter found it easy to say "Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will." But at crunch time, he denied the Lord.

John is saying here that our claim to love our brethren is back-up by what we do at crunch time-- when the real need arises. (read v.17).

The One in us vs. the one in them (part 6 of 6: HOLY UNBELIEF-- Insights from 1 John 4:1-6)

The ministry of discernment can be a very intimidating task. Some leave it ONLY for the gifted. But you know what, you may not be especially gifted in this field of ministry, but I want to assure you that you can discern. Yes you can.

1 John 4:4 "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

You have overcome them, not because of anything inherent in you. Our text sets out the reason why: because he who resides in us is greater that those whose resides in them.

Rom.8:14, “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God”

The same Holy Spirit who leads you to a holy living will also lead you into holy believing, and if necessary, he will also lead you to holy unbelief.
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The Congregation Test 2: Holy People listen to holy teachers with holy messages (part 5 of 6: HOLY UNBELIEF-- Insights from 1 John 4:1-6)

Spiritual messages from spiritual teachers will be received by spiritual men

John 10:27: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."

John 10:5: "But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

The word of God will come upon his people with great conviction (1 Thess. 1:4-5)

In the process of testing, we should also ask,"What is the church's attitude towards this teaching?"

“if the community we have always trusted, if the church as the historic custodian of truth refuses this prophesy, we should be warned” (Gary Burge, NIVAC)

In the Roman Catholic church, the final authority is Sola Ecclesia- whatever the church says. As evangelicals, we are for Sola Scriptura. Yet it is wrong to think that the church has no value in teaching the truth.

“Those who claim that the church has no value and isn’t instrumental in teaching Scipture are wrong. The church is the pillar and foundation of truth and this “community of God” is instrumental in keeping us in check with the rest of the Christian community.” (Ray Aviles, BARM Public Square)

On his appearance on the June Cain Miller show Dr. Walter Martin pointed out that though he wrote a book on cults (The Kingdom of Cults), he was not the one who classified groups such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormonism, Cristian Science, etc. as cults. He said that it was the Christian Church who classified theses groups as cults.

I could recommend contemporary statement on the essentials of the evangelical faith:

The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration
The Cambridge Declaration by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy

.
Aside from contemporary statements, ancient documents are also helpful: the Heidelberg and Westminster cathechisms; The Apostles creed, Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed.

These are helpful tools for testing the spirits.
Ano ba ang paniniwala ng mga taong banal noon at ngayon?

I have a friend from Grace Communion International (GCI), formerly the Worldwide Church of God (WCG). He is very much into theology; we discuss theological issues once in a while. Recently, GCI has embraced Karl Barth soteriology. What I am trying to do is to show my friend that Barth’s view is far from the evangelical consensus. I’m trying to warn him about the effects of these recent developments within GCI. This will surely affect GCI's standing in the evangelical community. I even think that GCI’s position is worse than Barth’s now, for they mix it with their long-held error of post-mortem salvation.

Test everything. Hold on to what is good. Shun evil.
Let us ask ourselves:
Will godly Christians celebrate this teaching?
If they treasure this doctrine, why would I reject it?
If they abhor this doctrine then why should I accept it?

Godly men will accept truth; and when you offer the same to ungodly men, they will reject it. They will find no beauty in it.

“He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God" (John 8:47)
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Photo credit: http://sharecare.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/the-good-shepherd/

The Congregation Test 1: Worldly people listen to worldly teachers with worldly messages (part 4 of 6: HOLY UNBELIEF-- Insights from 1 John 4:1-6)

In this test, we will ask these questions:
Who listens to them?
Who celebrates when they teach?

They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world,
and the world listens to them. (1 John 4:5 NIV)

For the unspiritual message of unspiritual persons will be received by an unspiritual congregation.

Nasa likas ng makasalanang tao ang ipagbunyi ang masama:
"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:32)

What does John mean when he says “they are of the world”?
Worldliness is opposed to what is heavenly and it appeals to carnal pleasures: envy; self-seeking; sensuality. It is associated with the demonic (James 3:13-15)

False teaching is enjoyed by sensual people; by a congregation hostile to God. Ang mga nakikinig sa mga gurong makasanlibutan ay yung mga kapwa nila makasanlibutan.

Nasa likas ng makasalanang tao ang ipagbunyi ang masama :

"Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:32)

So a rapper can release a perverse album and receive a platinum award.

So an ungodly book like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code could sell 80,000,000 copies.

That’s why they love documentaries such as James Cameron’s “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” which would tell them that Jesus’ bones were found in the Talpiot Tomb. They like those lies very much because if Jesus’ bones were found, that means the resurrection was a hoax. And if Jesus is dead, that means there is no Lord to obey. They could do whatever they want.

John 3:19 says ”men loved darkness instead of light” that’s why they love men from the dark.

Same is true with regards to false teaching.
Minsan, naiisip natin: “Kawawa naman, niloloko sila ng false teacher na ito”. But the bible reveals that they are not innocent. They are willing participants in the crime

2 Timothy 4:3-4: For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

From these verse we glean the following:
a. The demand for false teachers increases the supply. They collect false teachers around themselves
b. They listen to satisfy their itching ears; they want messages which are suited to their carnal desires
c. They deliberately turn their ears from what is true to listen to what is false.

~ What they want is not God. What they want is a BMW, that’s why they hired Kenneth Copeland so that someone will frequently tell them that God wants them to have a BMW.

~ They want to belittle Jesus, and so they hired an executive minister who will deny the deity of Christ. And when that executive minister dies, worldly people in the government will declare a National Day of Mourning in honor of the one who belittled Jesus Christ.

~ They love cursing that’s why they will gladly listen to their “Sugong Palamura” At habang pinagmumumura ng kanilang pinuno yung katunggali sa debate, nagdiriwang sila kasi mahilig sila sa pagmumura.

~ Who will celebrate at Brian Maclaren’s call for a 5-year moratorium on making pronouncements on homosexuality ? Only worldly people will celebrate that.

~ Who will celebrate Antinomianism? Who will rejoice over a notion that a a thief converted in 1999 can remain as a thief until 2009?

The unspiritual message of unspiritual persons will be receive by an unspiritual congregation.
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The Creed Test (part 3 of 6: HOLY UNBELIEF-- Insights from 1 John 4:1-6)

In my previous post, we have tackled the need for testing the spirits to see whether they are from God or not. The first test that we have to do according to Apostle John is the creed test— what do they believe?; what are they teaching?

Is it consistent with Apostolic doctrine (Galatians. 1:8-9)?
Is it in harmony with previous revelation (Acts 17:11)?

In our text, John was addressing a particular Christological problem in their day—“a combination of elements, including emerging Gnosticism, docetism and Cerinthianism” (Craig Blomberg, The NT Definition of Heresy, JETS Mar. 2002). This is the reason why he laid down a Christological test.

Yet John does not intend here that the creed test will only be Christological. There are many other things that the Bible lays down as essential tenets of the faith. One helpful tool for this matter is Robert Bowman’s A Biblical Guide to Orthodoxy and Heresy (Part 2: Guidelines for Doctrinal Discernment).

The suggestion of Bruce Demarest and Gordon Lewis is also worthy of consideration. They stressed the importance of using provisional authorities like confessions of faith and historic Christian creeds:

“when new in the faith. Like young children under the authority of their parents, Christians wisely depend rather heavily on their received traditions… They function as authorities until we have been able to check out their faithfulness to Scripture for ourselves” (Integrative Theology, Vol.1)
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The Source of False Teachings (part 2 of 6: HOLY UNBELIEF-- Insights from 1 John 4:1-6)

Apostle John commands believers not to believe every spirit. Rather we are asked to “test“ the spirits. The Greek word is dokimazo- “to try to learn the genuineness of something by examination and testing” (Louw & Nida lexicon). For not everything that glitters is gold; I know at least two store owners in our baranggay who were deceived by nice looking fake 500 peso bills. Same is true when it comes with doctrines. Not everyone who looks like an angel of God is from God.

Our text says that many false prophets have come into the world. “marami”—naglipana—nagkalat kung saan-saan at sila ay naghahasik ng lagim. They are not harmless. In his farewell address to to the Ephesian church, Paul referred to them as savage wolves (Acts 20:29).

They are the initial installments of the final anti-christ. In the end times, someone will emerge to ”oppose" and “exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped”, and shall proclaim himself to be God (2 Thess. 2:4). He will be hostile to Christ and to truth. That is the future anti-christ. Yet smaller versions of him are already in the world by means of false teachers, promoting doctrines that are hostile to God.

As to the source of these anti-God ideas, it seems clear to me that here in our text and elsewhere, that such thoughts are diabolical.

1 Tim.4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons”(Yikes!!!)

2 Cor. 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.”

—If your idea of demons is drawn primarily from watching horror films (yung mga biglang sumusulpot sa likuran; duguan ang mukha kasabay ng nakakakilabot na sound effects; o di kaya ay yung halimaw na lumalabas sa banga—at sabi ni Matet ay “Takot ako eh,”) then you know very little about demons.

One of the main activities of Satan and his minions is deception. He was present in Eden to deceive Adam and Eve and he would be present in Gog and Magog to deceive the nations. So Scripture testifies that from the beginning of history (Genesis) to the end (Revelation), Satan and his assistants are active deceivers.

These are not merely differences in opinion:
“behind the false prophet or false teacher is an evil spirit. Men simply do not speak out of their own intellectual attainments. Quite unconsciously they are being guided--really misguided--by an evil spirit, a “spirit of error,” (Ray Stedman)

Herbert Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) now Grace Communion International (GCI) taught some perverse doctrines during his lifetime: Legalistic observance of Mosaic feasts; Saturday as the only true worship day; dietary laws; WCG’s exclusivity as the true church. He also define God as a family (Father & Son are members). After resurrection, believers become a part of that God-family. And when you finally become a member of the God family, you will not find the Holy Spirit there for he is not a person but a force.

After his death, WCG moved to more orthodox positions on various essential issues of the faith. Yet WCG never declared Armstrong as a false teacher. I have read two books written respectively by WCG/GCI’s current leaders: Transformed by Truth (Joseph Tkach Jr.) and Liberating the Worldwide Church of God (J. Michael Feazell). In both books, it is implied that Armstrong was saved and is in heaven!

I was disturbed. So I asked my WCG friend if he himself is hopeful that Armstrong was saved. He affirmed it.

In defense of Armstrong, he reasoned out that his former shepherd was just uneducated that’s why he fell into such ideas. I replied gently that though we are not the judge of men’s eternal destiny, we should also hold that a man who has rejected the gospel is presumed to be lost. I would add now based on 1 John 4 that the source of Armstrong’s false teachings is not his lack of education. By John's apostolic authority, I believe that Satan gave birth to such dangerous doctrines.

In fact, you can be very educated and still teach anti-God and Anti-christ ideas. Bart Ehrman is a case in point. He is a top scholar. He studied at some of the best evangelical theological schools: Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College. He studied under top textual critic Bruce Metzger. Yet he now denies the reliability of Scriptures. He is now an agnostic.

Good education or lack of it is not the source of false doctrines-- demonic influence is.

Photo credit: http://rachidian.blogspot.com

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Intro: HOLY UNBELIEF (part 1 of 6-- Insights from 1 John 4:1-6)

1 John 4:1-6 (NIV)

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood."

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If you have watched debates, you may have noticed that a debate starts with a proposition. One will be on the affirmative side; another on the negative side. A college debate may have this proposition: “Charter change will be beneficial to our nation”. One will agree with the proposition, one side will disagree. Then the debate happens.

When the Word of God expressed in propositions is preached, we must accept it as it is. We have no right to reject it. We don’t even have the right to propose amendments to the word of God. The word of God is perfect, so to modify it or revise it is indeed to destroy it. Spiritual people are believers. They say “AMEN” to biblical propositions.

But there is also a sense where spiritual men must not believe. The Macarthur Study Bible describes it as “healthy skepticism”—“doubting the validity of what is being said". Aside from John Macarthur, I will quote other respected bible teachers who espouse the same thing:

S. Lewis Johnson: "just as belief is an aspect of spiritual maturity so is unbelief a mark of spiritual maturity. In other words, to believe not certain things is just as significant as to believe other things" (a sermon titled "Test the Spirits")

Ray Stedman "To be a Christian you must be a believer, but it is equally true that every Christian is also called to be an unbeliever. There is a time when unbelief is the only right thing. The very same Scriptures which encourage us to believe likewise urge us not to believe. In fact they not only urge us, they command us not to believe. This is no contradiction, any more than to say that in order to live it is necessary both to inhale and to exhale. These are contradictory things: you cannot inhale and exhale at the same time, but both are absolutely necessary to maintain life." (Life in the Son, Expository Studies in 1 John)

You see, not all propositions are true.
Some are lies such as:

“Ang uling ay kulay puti”

“Ang yelo ay mainit”

“Si Bro. Manny ay guwapo” (I hope my mother will take the affirmative side; How about modifying the proposition by adding the word “medyo”… hahaha)

Not all propositions stated by a teacher/preacher are biblical. There are times when what is being taught has no scriptural basis. Even worse, there are times when a doctrine being stated directly opposes what the bible teaches. There are times when the holy man must withhold his “Amen”, even when everybody are shouting “Amen”. In some circumstances, to believe is evil and to doubt or disbelieve is holy.

Photo credit: http://www.promotionalpro.com/

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