1 Corinthians 16, 13, these final
exhortations in these letters to the churches are easy to sort
of pass through quickly. But seeing as every letter to
the churches has them, and that really the last words of a letter
are in some sense most important. Your final thoughts when you're
writing a letter to someone that's of consequence. It's not just,
hello, how you doing? It's a letter of great consequence. You want to close it out with
a sort of a summary of what you've said. And with heartfelt words that express your desire
and your what matters, what matters. And I believe verse 13 is heavy
with that sentiment. Watch ye, watch ye. Pay attention, be cautious, be
aware. We've seen his warnings throughout
this letter. We've seen the the precious nature
of what the Lord has done, and we see that here, we experience
that. We see what the Lord has done
here and how fragile because of who we are, because of our
nature, because of our personalities, our sins, let's just call them
what they are. Watch ye. What are we watching for? Well,
the scriptures are full of answers to that. For one thing, wolves
in sheep's clothing. Please turn with me to Matthew
chapter seven. Some are obvious, some are not
so much. Some you can look at and say,
look how stupid that wolf looks like trying to wear a sheep costume. Others, not so easy to spot. Listen to Matthew 7, 15 and look
at it with me. Beware. Well, that's our tech,
pay attention. Be aware, beware. Be cautious
of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly, They are ravening wolves. And here's what I want us to
see when we're watching. We have some clear instructions
how that happens. What do you look for? You shall
know them by their fruits. They're gonna talk a good game.
They're gonna say sweet, pleasant, benign. Use Bible words when
they talk. And you might wonder why you
know, warning us about this, you know, nobody here is gonna
go off and listen to a false preacher. It wouldn't be the
first time it happened. We're all vulnerable. We're sheep. We're sheep. But beware, he'll look like one
of us, you see. We're sheep, and he looks like
a sheep. but he's gonna be a wolf on the inside. And you shall
know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns
or figs of thistles? You're not gonna get good things,
nutritious, wonderful fruit off of bristles and briars and thistles. Even so, every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. They talk a good game. Oh, they
know their doctrine. But what's the result of what
they say? Division, discord, more questions than answers,
arguments. We could talk about that for
a long time. Lots of bad results. That's what
you look for. Watch ye. Turn with me please
to 2 Timothy chapter three. We're gonna turn to a lot of
scripture tonight, and I believe that's gonna be more and more
the case as time goes on. I think one
of the Lord's teachings as we get older is that nothing reveals
scripture like scripture. Look at 2 Timothy 3.1. This know
also that in the last days perilous times shall come. Be aware. Watch ye. For men shall be lovers
of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents. Well, that seems like a thing,
you know, every kid's disobedient. No, no, no. That's rejecting
God's authority on every level. That's what that is. It's just a day-to-day thing
in the home, but it's something that's visible to us, but if
there's rebellion against God's authority, it goes all the way
up the chain. Unthankful. unholy without natural
affection truce breakers false accusers incontinent fierce despisers
of those that are good traitors heady high-minded lovers of pleasures
more than lovers of God But they have a form of godliness having
a form of godliness Again, they're gonna quote scripture. They're
gonna want to talk about you know, I Sometimes scriptural things or
be, you know, all goody goody and everything. But it's hard
to hide all of that, isn't it? It can be done, though. That's
why we're warned. It can be done. But here's the
thing, they have a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. From such turn away. Be aware. Watch ye. Look out for them,
be careful. That's what's gonna happen in
the last times, and that's where we are. Just as sure as I'm standing
here, people are gonna be all about themselves, and they're
gonna talk different. They're gonna act like they're
not. Turn with me please to Philippians
chapter three, verse 17. Philippians 3 17 Brethren be followers together
of me and Mark them which walk so as you have us for an example
in other words he's fixing to tell you how they walk, but he's
saying I There are examples of how true believers walk. And
he said, you be a follower of me now in this. He said in other
places, as I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, we know what he's
talking about. He's not bragging on himself.
But look at verse 18, for many walk of whom I have told you
often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of
the cross of Christ. Why would he be weeping about
that? Because it may be someone we care about. They may be somebody
we love. It may be heartbreaking to find
that they're the enemy of the cross of Christ, whose end is
destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in
their shame, who mind earthly things. And then what I wanted
you to particularly notice in this passage now, notice how
Paul characterizes the opposite of that. He's fixing to flip
the coin here. And we're gonna see what's the
opposite of your God being your appetites, your glory, you glory
in that which is shameful. Isn't that the world? Is that
possible that could creep into the church? Things which are
abominations unto God, they're proud of it. They dance around
it, celebrating it. Could that come into the house
of God? whose glory is in their shame, actually glory. And we know from Romans one,
they not only do such things, knowing that the judgment of
God is against that, whatever it is, many, many, they not only glory in it, but
they glory in those that do. Romans chapter one. But listen,
all of that, what's the opposite of all that? What's the flip
side of the coin? For our conduct, our citizenship, that word conversation
there is citizenship. Our citizenship is in heaven.
We're not permanent citizens of this world. Our citizenship
is in heaven from whence also we look for the Savior. That's the opposite of all that
other stuff. All you care about is yourself. Your God is yourself, your appetites,
your lusts, your fulfillment, or fleshly fulfillments, whose
glory is their shame, who mind earthly things. They're looking
at earthly things. They wake up in the morning and
all they care about is succeeding and thriving in this world and
promoting themselves in this world. They mind earthly things,
but what do we mind? What are we looking for? The
Savior, a person. Not even heavenly things, a person. Some people say, well, my citizenship
is in heaven. I can't wait to walk the streets
of gold and see the pearly gates and have my mansion on the hillside.
That's not what we look for. We look for the Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. See the difference? Watch ye,
watch ye. Mark them. Know who's who. It doesn't mean that you're not
compassionate toward people that are mind-earthly things in some
cases, in many cases. But mark them. Know who's who. Be aware. We're not looking at the same
things. Turn with me please to Romans chapter 16. If you don't have one of those Bibles
with the little tabs on it, you might wanna get one. No, I'm
just kidding, I don't have one of those. But this is what I wanna do more
and more, is to see what scripture has to say about scripture. This
is how the Lord teaches us, Romans 16, 17. Now I beseech you, brethren,
and this is something that's common in the church. Mark them
which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the teaching which
you have learned, the doctrine which you have learned. And avoid
them, mark them, be aware, watch ye. And this is not just something
to say, oh yeah, that's a good idea. No, do it. That's what
the scripture says. Watch ye, you. Yeah, people ought
to be careful. No, watch ye. For they that are such serve
not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. There that is
again. Again, that's just the appetites of the flesh is what
that's talking about. Can't serve God and mammon. Why
do people love mammon so much? Because they like what it does
for them. Their God is their belly, fulfilling
their own fleshly appetites. Money does that for them, and
that's why it's their God. The love of money being the root
of all evil, not money itself, but their own belly. And by good
words and fair speeches, they deceive the hearts of the simple. for your obedience has come abroad
unto all men. I'm glad therefore on your behalf."
Thank God that he's taught you some things. But, yet I would
have you wise unto that which is good and simple concerning
evil. That doesn't mean, because when
the Lord is warning us about evil, he's saying, now be you
wise as serpents and harmless as doves. He's not saying be
stupid about what's evil. He's saying, Be wise concerning
that which is good, but when it comes to evil, don't have
anything to do with it. Some people want to learn all
the false doctrines so that they can say, I know more than you.
I don't care what they believe. If it's not Christ, I've got
no interest in it. I'm not going to study false
doctrine. That's not what the Lord's called me to do. There's Christ and there's anti-Christ. There's not Christ in this, this,
this, this, this, and this. There's Christ, and as Paul put
it, not after Christ. Be simple concerning evil. And
the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
You just look to him and trust him and count on him And it won't
be long. He may trouble you some. The
Lord's just using him as a pawn to do what you need to happen.
He's gonna bruise Satan under your feet. Sure enough, completely, forevermore,
before too long. But he's never gonna let Satan
have dominion over you. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. Amen. That's what our hope is.
That's what our help is, that's what we desire. He's just saying, watch, watch. Like our Lord told them in the
garden, watch. Watch ye and pray, lest you enter
into temptation. Turn with me to one more verse
for now, 1 Peter 5, 8. I believe this is an important
exhortation. Watch ye. It'll always be something
that we're doing. And it doesn't say judge ye.
It doesn't say examine everybody and get into everybody's business
to see if they're up to something. Just keep your eyes open. By
their fruits, you shall know them. You're gonna know them,
but you gotta pay attention. Because fair words, They're words
and good speeches. You gotta be careful. 1 Peter
5, 8, be sober, be vigilant, watch ye, because your adversary,
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he
may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith. That's the next
part of our text. Stand strong in the faith. knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. You're
not alone in it. I know, it seems like it. Believe
me, I've laid awake at night thinking, man, nobody understands
what I'm going through. Yeah, they do. Yeah, they do. And God, listen, but the God,
verse 10, the God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, Clearly they were suffering. And he said, once the Lord has
done what he's gonna do in that situation, and you've suffered
for a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle
you. See that? Watch ye, stand. It's gonna say in our text in
a minute. The Lord does that for you. The
Lord does that for you. What he gives us to do, which
he works in us, as he gets all the glory, is to watch, be aware,
look to him and not the things of the earth, as we read. Strengthen you to him be glory
and dominion forever and ever, amen. Again, final exhortations. And then the next phrase in our
text is stand fast in the faith. We saw a lot of that in what
we've read about watching. Stand, be firm, be settled. The
Lord settle you, establish you. This word is to persevere. And I like this word about it
because this is what's necessary. This is what the Lord does with
us here. Persist, persist. Because there's a lot of setbacks,
aren't there? To persist is to get beat over and over and over
again and get back up over and over and over and over again. By the strength of the Lord,
not in our own strength of our flesh, but I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me. Persist. Don't be moved about,
stand fast. Don't be moved about with every
wind of doctrine. but it is a good thing that the
heart be established with grace. That's the language of scripture. Stand fast in your conviction.
That's part of the definition. And remember that though there
are truths that we hold dear, there are doctrines that we proclaim
and we stand fast in those things, in those truths. But I want you
to understand something very carefully here. You can't list
them. Few people love to do that. Here
are the things that we stand on. These are the truths upon
which we stand. You can't list them. You can
hold them up. How are you going to list them?
You think maybe they missed one or two? Have you ever looked
in a theological book of some kind? I've read them that thick,
man, and enjoyed them. But I never saw in any of them
the doctrine of being kind. Do you know how much of that
is in the Scripture? Just be kind. In fact, the Bible calls
you a liar if you know all the doctrine up here and you're not
kind. You don't know anything. If the love of God is not in
you, What's it for? Knowledge puffeth up. You know
what builds up? Love. So we stand on things. How are
you gonna list the things that we stand on? These are our doctrines,
really? These are our doctrines. And
I'm not just being cute with that. You can't list them. These are the things that a sinner
needs to know in order to be saved. Here's what you need to
know in order to be saved. How are you gonna argue with
that? Paul said, I've not shunned to
declare unto you the whole counsel of God. There's our doctrine. That's what we stand on. But
I want us to never forget or lose sight of how, that our conviction, our doctrine, What we persist
in is a person. It's the Son of God. Paul put
this very plainly. Turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter
one. And this is familiar scripture in here, but there's more context
to it than we normally will hear in a message. 2 Timothy one,
verse eight. Stand fast in the faith This book is about a person is
it concerns a person Paul spoke of the gospel in Romans
1 1 through 3 He speaks of the gospel concerning
God's Son Jesus Christ That's the gospel 2 Timothy 1.8, be
not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor
of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of
the gospel according to the power of God. He's talking about the
gospel and standing firm in the God, don't be ashamed of the
gospel. But look at what his testimony
is, who hath saved us. Our gospel is according to the
power of God. What did we read a while ago?
They have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.
What does the power of God have to do with? Who hath saved us?
He didn't give us a chance. He didn't give us an opportunity.
He didn't give us a decision to make. He saved us and called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works. That's
the gospel according to the power of God right there. that God
saved you without your cooperation against your rebellion. God saved you anyway. That's
the gospel that's according to the power of God. But according
to his own purpose and grace, his grace is powerful. His grace
doesn't influence and woo, it saves. It's miraculous, powerful, irresistible
grace. His purpose shall stand. In a man's heart are many devices,
but the purpose of the Lord, that shall stand. That's the
gospel that's according to the power of God, verse eight. But
look at verse 10, the rest of verse nine, which was given us
in Christ Jesus. before the world began. God gave
me something before he ever made a world? Yes, he did. In Christ
Jesus, he saved me and called me. He purposed that I would
be like his son and his grace was bestowed upon me. I found
grace in his eyes before I was ever born. A long time before
I was ever born. but now is made manifest. He
told me about it. He taught me about it when a
preacher came along, when he sent a preacher my way. He made
it manifest, and it's manifest by the appearing of our Savior,
Jesus Christ, not only into this world, but in the preaching of
the gospel. I didn't see him when he came into this world,
but I saw him in his word. Who hath abolished death, and
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. The gospel is about what he did,
what he did. Where unto I'm appointed a preacher,
and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles, for the which
cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I'm not ashamed,
for I know whom. You see that now? That's critical. There's a big difference between
I know what and I know whom. The gospel, when you know the
gospel, you know whom you have believed. To stand fast in the
faith is not to look to tenets and statutes. The statutes, that's
what the Pharisees did. They looked in the scriptures
and they said, oh, I know that, and I know this, and I've learned
that, and I know more than you. I can teach you what this says.
But all of this points to Christ, and you will not come to Christ
that you might have life. Life is not in the statutes and
the tenets and the doctrines. It's in a person I know whom
I have believed. Stand fast in him. I know whom I have believed and
I'm persuaded. That's what standing fast is.
I'm convinced. Don't want to argue with you
about it. Don't want to debate it. Don't want to hear your ideas
on it. If you want to tell what God
said, I'll be on the front row, but I don't want to hear what
your ideas are on it. I don't want you to tell me what God
meant by what he said. Somebody just tell us what God
said. I know whom I have believed,
I'm persuaded. That's what God does. When he gives you faith, he plants
your feet on the rock, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And David
said, I shall not be moved. I'm persuaded that he is able,
that he's able. "'to keep that which I've committed
unto him "'against that day.'" And then look what he said in
verse 13. "'Hold fast the form of sound words "'which thou hast
heard of me.'" Hold fast, stand fast in the faith. Those words
concern him. Look at the last, "'In faith
and love, which is in Christ Jesus.'" It's knowing him. It's standing
on the rock. That's when you won't be moved.
To stand fast in the faith is to persevere in the simplicity
that is in Christ. Listen to 2 Corinthians 11 to,
I'm jealous over you with godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one
husband. that I may present you as a chaste
virgin to Christ. But I fear. Hence the exhortations. I fear. I've seen it happen. I know how it happens. I know
why it happens. I fear less by any means as the
serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should
be corrupted. That's exactly what Paul is exhorting
us regarding in our text. Lest your minds be corrupted.
Stand fast. Don't let your minds be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ. These exhortations have everything
to do with him. Remember that Satan When he makes
reference to the garden here, as the serpent beguiled Eve through
his subtlety, I fear that you, in that way, would be removed
from the simplicity that is in Christ. Remember, Satan deceived
Eve with lies, direct contradictions to what
God said. But the way Paul characterizes
that, again, in this text that I just read is by moving away
from Christ. Think about it with me now. The
way that Satan beguiled Eve was with lies, untruth, antichrist, falsehoods,
contradictions of the word of God. But Paul characterizes it
this way. Not that you didn't know the
right doctrine, you believed the wrong doctrine. He characterizes as a moving
away, as a being corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Paul doesn't make it a matter
of intellectual compromise, though that's part of it, that's included
in it, but ultimately it's a matter of divorcement from a person. And I'm gonna tell you something
right now. Even where the truth is known and preached in our
day, and I don't say this lightly, and I include myself, Even where
the truth is known and preached in our day, there's way too much
emphasis on what the scripture calls in 1 Timothy 6, four strifes
of words and way too little just simply exalting and simply preaching the Lord Jesus Christ. Do I need
to say that again? For myself, I'm gonna say it
again. Even where the truth is known
and preached in our day, there's way too much emphasis on stripes
of words and not near enough on the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, whom to preach is to preach the gospel. The preaching of the cross is
the declaration of who it is that died there and what he accomplished
on that cross. the spotless Holy Lamb of God. Listen to 1 Timothy 6.3. If any
man teach otherwise, other than the gospel, in the context there,
it's clear, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words
of our Lord Jesus Christ. What are wholesome words? What
he said. Could that be clear? How many times do we see that
in the scriptures? What you figured out, what you
deduced from the scriptures is not wholesome words. Well, I thought about it a long
time. That doesn't measure up to the standard. Wholesome words
are what he said. The doctrine, the words of our
Lord Jesus Christ is what he says here is the doctrine which
is according to godliness. And again, we looked up the definition
of the word godliness not that long ago. Everybody thinks, well,
we should all be godly. Godliness there is not you being
like God. The doctrine which is according
to godliness is the doctrine that we believe that makes him
God. Godliness is not me acting like
God, it's me acting like he's God. Does that make sense? That's what people refuse to
do by nature. They refuse to acknowledge Him
as God. Godliness is acknowledging Him
as God and glorifying Him as God and bowing to Him and pledging your allegiance
to Him as God. If a man will not consent to
those words, the words of Christ, The doctrine according to God,
he's proud. That's the first reason. He thinks what he has
figured out is more important than what God said. I should have had you turn there.
Look over there with me, 1 Timothy 6.3, and I'll try to close soon. Although, we'll just have to
look at the last phrase next time. But I want us to see this
now. 1 Timothy 6.3, and I'll close
with this, I promise, and we'll look at the last phrase of this
next time. If any man teach otherwise, and
consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Do you see how clear that is? and to the doctrine which is
according to godliness." He's proud and he doesn't know
anything. If you don't know Christ, how
many times have we talked about this? You don't know anything.
You may think you do, but the knowledge of things is only important
and valid if it honors Christ. It doesn't matter what knowledge
it is. If you're proud to know it, and you think you figured
it out on your own and it's all about you, you don't know it. They don't know anything. But
doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy,
by their what you shall know them? What's the result of that?
What's the result of, let's argue over the meaning of that one
word in scripture. What's the result of that? Strifes,
railings, and evil surmisings. To surmise what God said is evil. It's evil. You see the importance
of these exhortations? Watch ye. Stand fast in the faith. What does faith say? I know whom. And I'm not gonna be moved by
stripes of words and by people that talk a good game. I'm not
gonna be carried about with every wind of doctrine. I'm gonna lay
hold of him and not let go by his grace. I'm not gonna let
go. I'm gonna persist. To whom coming? Well, I came
to Christ when I was 10. To whom coming? It's a persistence,
isn't it? Persist, to persist in the faith. Now listen, this is important
now. The word translated strifes of
words, it's one word in the original, strifes of words, it means to
contend about words. I know I'm getting in the weeds
a little bit here, but you might think that that means to use
words to contend with one another, but why would you say that? How
else are you gonna contend? By ESP, it's to contend not with
words, but about words. That's the context, isn't it?
Because it causes strife. To contend about words. Here's the rest of the definition.
To wrangle over empty and trifling matters. The gospel's not complicated. The gospel is this whole book.
And you don't learn the gospel by looking at, I wonder what
that word thee means right there. Every verse of scripture shouts,
What did our Lord say about them? These are they which testify
of me. We just need to know who he is. That's what the Bible, is that
not what it says? These are written that you might
believe that Jesus Christ is who he is. He's the Son of God
and that believing on Him, you might have life through His name. So to stand fast in the faith
is to wrap your soul around the Son of God and never ever let
go to persist, to hang on like there's no tomorrow, to hang
on like your soul dependent on it. Paul said, I'm gonna put
everything behind me, everything that I thought was good about
me or I thought that was advantageous about me and I'm gonna press
toward the mark, I'm gonna persist in my pursuit of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that last phrase is quit
you like men, be strong. Let's talk about that next time.
Grow up, be strong. Don't succumb to anything. God give us grace. I think the
Lord's made us strong, don't you think? A little bit. The
minute we say that, we'll fall, won't we? You see how he does that, don't
you? You see how he does that.