We did hear that twice, didn't
we? We sure did, and I enjoyed both of them immensely. I've entitled the message for
tonight, Oppositions of Science. We got that from where Paul said,
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding
profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science. falsely so-called. Now, what
did Paul mean by oppositions of science? I asked Lynn if she
could remember in grade school and junior high the scientific
method when we were taught that, and I was amazed she did. Why did I say that? She was not
into science. That's why I said that. She remembered
it. She told me when she was in school,
all she was interested in was boys. When Paul wrote this, this scientific
method had not come around just yet. As a matter of fact, it
wouldn't be introduced into the 16th century. The method of asking
a question, doing research, constructing a hypothesis, test by experiments
that can be repeated, done by many people. You see science
has built into it a healthy skepticism of human nature, knowing people
will try to get what they want. So these tests have to be repeated
continually by different people in order to verify the truthfulness
of them. Then there's an analysis of the
data. There's a forming of a conclusion and a stating of your results.
That's called the scientific method. And it did not appear
in history until about the 16th century. And Paul is not speaking
of scientific theories that would call into question what the Bible
teaches. That's not what he's talking
about. Like we've had the theory of evolution and that's called
into question God and creation or the origin of species or the
different scientific theories that seem to challenge what the
Bible says. Now, what's held true today will
be laughed at tomorrow. That's been true very many times
with regard to science. What's held true today will be
laughed at tomorrow, and it will be seen in the end that nothing
was able to contradict God's holy word. But that's not what
Paul was speaking of when he was speaking of oppositions of
science. He's not talking about the Big
Bang Theory or anything like that, implying that the Bible
is not true. Now the word science is the Greek word knowledge. It's the only time this particular
word is translated science in the New Testament. It's the word
knowledge. The word opposition is where
we get the word antithesis from. The word means contrary positions
that cannot be brought together as a hybrid or both of them believed. Now Paul speaks of the false
knowledge and the antithesis, it being the antithesis of that
which is true. Oppositions of science, falsely
so called, but more on that in a moment. Now Paul says in verse
20, oh Timothy, and can't you feel the passion in him speaking?
Oh Timothy, he loved Timothy and he wanted this greatly for
him. Oh, Timothy, keep that which
is committed to thy trust. Now, every believer has been
given by God a sacred trust. The gospel. What a sacred trust. If you're a believer, God has
committed to you. That which is most precious to
himself. What an honor. What a sacred
trust. The truth. The truth concerning
who God is in his character. Not everybody knows God to know
God. And you know what the evidence that you actually know who God
is. You find out who you are. Everybody who knows who He is,
they find out who they are in their own sinfulness. And someone
who can't see that, it's quite frankly because they've never
seen who He is. And you've seen, God has committed
to you this sacred trust as to how He saves sinners by His grace. What a precious, sacred trust. What special knowledge. Now I realize There's a kind
of knowledge that puffs up with pride. You know, Paul said, knowledge
puffeth up. Knowledge without grace, that's
all it does. It puffs up with pride. I know something you don't
know, so I have an advantage over you. I have power over you.
But that's not the knowledge of the gospel. It fills one with
humility and thanksgiving. You think of the things that
you can say you know. Thou hast given Him, our Lord
said, power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to
as many as Thou hast given Him, and this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent." What an infinite Privilege what a blessed trust
that he's given us the knowledge of himself to where I know him. I know the living God and He
knows me when I would be speaking of his name. It wouldn't be name-dropping. He knows me Our Lord said You
shall know the truth. I You shall know the truth and
the truth's a person. That's not just talking about
accurate doctrine. You shall know the truth. I am the truth
and the truth shall set you free, shall make you free. It's not
your knowledge of the truth that makes you free. It's the truth
himself who makes you free. Paul said, and we know that all
things work together. for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose. Well, I don't
know that, Paul says, but I do. I do. We know. This is not just
secondhand information. We know. You know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ. That's true of every believer.
God has committed to you that which is most precious to himself.
What a sacred trust. that God has committed this glorious,
sacred trust to me and you. He hadn't given it to everybody.
What a blessed privilege of grace. Oh, Timothy, keep that which
is committed to your trust. There's no greater honor than
to have this sacred trust, the knowledge of God, the knowledge
of the gospel, the knowledge of him. What a blessed privilege. You know, that makes it in a
believer's life where there's no such thing as something mundane.
Everything is sacred. Everything is glorious. If a
believer takes out the trash, he's to do it to the glory of
God. If he washes the dishes, he's to do it to the glory of
God. There's nothing mundane. It's all sacred. It's all glorious. God has committed that which
is most precious to himself, to you. Turn with me for a moment
to John chapter 2. Verse 23. Now, when he was in Jerusalem
at the Passover and the feast day, many believed in his name
when they saw the miracles which he did. They were convinced by
what they saw. But Jesus did not commit himself
unto them. He didn't commit anything to
their trust, because he knew all men, and neither doth that
any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. My dear
friend, if God's done something for you, he's put something in
you, and he knows what's there. And he's committed that which
is most precious to himself to you. What a sacred trust. Now, Paul says to Timothy, keep
it. Guard over it. Keep it pure. Watch over it. Be on your guard.
It's a sacred trust committed to you. Don't allow it to be
changed in any way. What a privilege to have the
gospel. Will I allow it to be changed out of fear of man, out
of caving in to what humans think? Don't let men speak ill of it
because of the way you live. Let me repeat that. Don't let
men speak ill of it because of the way you or I live. What do
I mean by that? Somebody watches me and says,
is that what the gospel produces? Grumbling, complaining, worrying,
loose living, a judgmental, pharisaical attitude that everybody despises
and you just make people uncomfortable being around you. ungenerous,
unmerciful, unforgiving, uncaring people. I don't want to be that
to you. I want somebody, when they see
me, they see something in me that makes them ask me a reason
for the hope that's in me. Now, that ought to be the goal
of every one of us, that we live in such a way and our conduct
is such that an unbeliever looks at me and sees my generosity,
my caringness, my quickness to forgive and says, what is it
about that guy? I want to know what's behind
this. I want to know a reason for the hope that's in you. May we adorn the gospel with
holy lives. May God give us grace. That's
part of keeping the trust. I want to keep it and bless it
with my life in that sense. And he gives us two ways by which
we can keep that which is committed to our trust. Look back to our
text. He says in verse 20, Oh, Timothy,
keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane
and vain babblings. I think that that's a pretty
accurate description of most of the preaching that goes on
in our day. Profane and vain babblings. Now profane means
accessible. Accessible. You can cross the
threshold. You can be bought. The wise man
said, buy the truth and sell it not. Don't be someone who
is profane, who can be bought. When something is profaned, when
this sacred trust is profaned, it means it's been polluted and
it's no longer of any value. The truth of the gospel has been
profaned and polluted when something is added to it. or when something is taken from
it, or when it's changed. At that point, it's been polluted
and profaned and is of no value whatsoever. I think of Paul when
he said in 1 Corinthians 17, Christ sent me not to baptize,
but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, not trying
to dress it up and package it to make it more appealing to
the flesh, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none
effect. That's what it is to profane
the gospel, to preach it with wisdom of words. Vain babblings
are empty and useless religious jargon, empty sounds, meaningless
words, useless and pointless discussions and divisions. The gospel, now listen to me,
the gospel involves great mysteries to believe. Not so much to be
understood. I don't understand anything I
believe. I believe it though. Do I understand how God is one
God in three persons? Of course not. But I believe.
Do I understand how I'm actually justified by somebody else's
righteousness? I can't get a hold of it all
intellectually, but I believe it. I believe. The gospel is
great mystery of God to be believed. not to be argued over. Great mysteries that speak of
the person and work of Christ and not the vain babblings of
religious rhetoric. Now Paul says avoid profane and
vain babblings. And next he says to avoid oppositions
of science, falsely so-called. Now, the next thing I need to
do in order to keep that sacred trust, which was committed to
me, I'm to avoid oppositions of science, falsely so-called. Knowledge, which is falsely called
knowledge, is not real knowledge, although it's touted to be. Oppositions are the antithesis,
the opposite of true knowledge. I think it's very much like Paul
was speaking when he said we didn't come with yay nay preaching.
I love that passage of scripture. He said our word to you was not
yay and nay. And that would describe most preaching. Is salvation
really by grace? Well, yes, of course it is. Yay! But nay, you need to do your
part to make it work. You need to accept it, and if
you don't accept it, all you do when you do that is make grace
an offer, not something that saves, just an offer. Does the
blood of Christ really save? Oh, yes. The blood of Christ
washes away all sins. If Christ died for you, your
sins are washed away. But it won't work unless you do something
to make it work. You have to accept him as your
personal savior. His blood was shed in vain for you. Didn't
do you any good at all. All that does is take away the
power of the blood of Christ. There's no truth to that. Now, I can give so many examples.
of oppositions of science falsely so-called. I'm going to give
you a bunch of them. Here's one. God is sovereign and man has
a free will. You know, I've never met a free
willer that would say God's not sovereign. Everybody says God's
sovereign. But if God is sovereign, man doesn't have a free will.
You see, if man has a free will, that means man's will is sovereign
over God's will, doesn't it? That's exactly what that means.
That's an opposition of science, falsely so-called. That's a direct
contradiction of the truth. Both cannot be true. That's an
opposition of science. The Bible contains the word of
God. The Bible contains the truth.
Now that's an opposition of science, falsely so-called. The Bible
doesn't contain the truth. If all it does is contain the
truth, well, you hope it's in there. But if all it does is
contain the truth, it's no different than a production of Shakespeare
or Milton or something like that. The Bible doesn't contain the
truth. The Bible is the truth. Thou hast magnified thy word
above all thy name. The Lord said, sanctify them
through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Now how you and I view God himself
is seen in how we view this book. To merely say it contains the
word of God, which part's the word and which part is not? Which
part is true and which part is not? Do you have the ability
to ascertain and discern which part? That is foolishness. It's an opposition of science,
falsely so called. Salvation is by grace. Aren't you thankful for that?
Salvation is by grace. But there are things you do or
need to do to make that grace work. That grace will be vain
concerning you if you don't do something to accept it and to
make it work and bring it into operation. Now that's an opposition
of science, falsely so called, because grace, now listen to
me, grace is saving grace. Grace doesn't make salvation
possible. Grace doesn't make salvation
available. Grace like that won't do this
sinner any good. saving grace. It's electing grace
that chose me before time began. It's justifying grace that caused
me to be just before God. It's redeeming grace that paid
for all my sins. It's calling grace that calls
me when I'm dead, it seems, and gives me a new heart. It's preserving
grace that keeps me from falling away. It's glorifying grace that
brings me into the very presence of God, as we just read in Jude
24, faultless. Now that's grace. That's saving grace. That's the only kind of grace
there is. Saving grace. You know, I love
the grace of God. I even love the way the word
sounds. I love to even use this word, the grace of God. Don't
you love that word? The only word I love better is
the Lord Jesus Christ. Other than His name, I love the
word grace. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, Romans 11, 6 says, if by
grace it's no more works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if
it be of works, you put a work in there anywhere that makes
salvation dependent upon you. It's no more grace, otherwise
work is no more work. Now here's another opposition
of science, falsely so-called. We're not under law. I'm glad, aren't you? I tell
you what, when we bring somebody into the law, we're in trouble. Because you bring somebody else
under the law, you bring yourself under the law. We're not under
the law. Thank God for that. We're not
under the law, but the law is our rule of life. And you know, that almost makes
sense. I mean, take the 10 commandments.
They are, we love God's law, don't we? I'm not going to in
any way speak disparagingly of the law of God. I love the law
of God. I love all 10 commandments, but
let's say the law is your rule of life. You know what that means? You failed. because you haven't
kept one commandment one time. And look what's even in the Ten
Commandments, first of all, if you take the law, if the law
is your rule of life, that means if you don't keep the Saturday
Sabbath perfectly, you know what it means? You're to be stoned
to death. Now, if the law is your rule
of life, you want that law? If you have a disobedient child,
what is supposed to be done to that disobedient child under
the law? They're to be stoned to death. If someone is caught committing
adultery, what does the law say? Stone the two of them that both
committed. Do you want to have a law like
that? Now, we admire God's law. God's law is holy, like it's
own character, it's just. But if the law isn't your rule
of life, how have you done? Thank God we're not under the
law. And when we say that, that's
not in any way speaking ill of God's holy law, but we're not
under the law. We're under grace. Isn't that
a wonderful place to be under? Under the grace of God. So that's another opposition
of science, falsely so-called. There's so many of these. Election is true. I want you
to listen real carefully, everybody here. Election is true. But you
can preach the gospel without preaching election. That's the
position of most people. You know, election's true. I
wouldn't deny election, there it is in the Bible, but I don't
have to preach election to preach the gospel. My dear friend, election is just
as essential to salvation as the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you believe that? I'm even
scared when I say that, but I know it's so. Election. God's choice of His people before
time began. And that choice was not because
He foresaw they would believe, but because they were accepted,
chosen, and loved in the Beloved without respect to any works
they had. Election is just as essential
to preaching the Gospel. as preaching the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And I say that with fear and
trembling because of the high view we have of the blood. But
the work of the Father is just as essential in salvation as
the work of the Son and the work of the Spirit. And for someone
to take the holy truth of election and relegate it to a doctrine
of secondary importance that, yes, it's true, but you don't
have to preach it to preach the gospel, that's an opposition
of science falsely so called. You can't anymore preach the
gospel, not preaching election, and it just can't be done. I
love what the Lord said, and I find such comfort in this.
In John chapter 15, verse 16, he says, you've not chosen me,
but I have chosen you. Doesn't your heart ring true?
That's the truth. I know that. Amen to that. You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you. and ordain you that you should
go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain. Here's another opposition of
science, falsely so-called. Christ died for the elect, but
He made salvation possible for everybody. He died for every
man, but his intention was only to save the elect. It's what
we call four-pointers. I like what Tim James said, the
four-pointer is pointless, and I agree with that. Why would somebody say something
like that? You can't defense it in the Bible, and it doesn't
even make sense. The only reason for something
like that is compromise, trying to make the gospel more palatable
and more acceptable to the natural man. Maybe they'll be more likely
to receive election if we say he died for everybody. That's
foolishness. That's all it is. It's foolishness.
It's an opposition of science, falsely so called. My dear friends,
if Christ died for my sins, I can't possibly have to die for them
as well. I must be saved. I can't have
Christ pay for my sins and I'll wind up in hell. That's what
this view of Christ can die for you, but his intention was only
to save the elect. That's an opposition of science
falsely so-called. Well, God has all power. The Lord said, all power is given
to me. God is omnipotent. He has a monopoly
on power. God is all powerful, but men
have some as well. They have the power of free will.
They have the power to do certain things or certain things. Now,
when I talk about men not having any power, I'm not, listen, you
have the power to come in here and sit down and listen to the
truth. It's only because God gave you that power. You've got
a brain just like anybody else. You can listen to what's being
said and judge from the scriptures whether it's true or false. You've
got that, but still, that power's not yours. What did the Lord
say in John 15 for? Without me, you can do what? Nothing. Nothing. All power is given to me in heaven
and earth. Now, man is dead in sins, we believe
that, men are dead in sins, but men have some ability, the same
thing. Men are totally depraved, we
believe that, but the heart can be reached and improved. God
the Holy Spirit can take that totally depraved heart and cause
it to change it and make it better and make it to where it believes
and repents and so on. That's an opposition of science,
falsely so-called. That's completely contrary to
the truth of the scripture. Thank God, God gives a new heart
that was not there before. And I'm made to see who he is. And I'm made to see who I am.
That's not the old heart improved. That's a new heart he gave in
the new birth. It's the work of God. It's the
creation of God. Who can bring a clean thing out
of an unclean? not one, not even God. He doesn't bring a clean thing
out of an unclean thing. No, he gives a new heart. I love what my sister said. She
said, she, it was my little sister Cindy, she went, she was at a
campus meeting of some kind. She said, the preacher said,
won't you give Jesus your heart? And she thought, well, what would
he want with it? I understand that. What do you want with your
old wicked heart? He'll give you a new heart. I want a new
heart that comes from Him. Faith and repentance are the
gifts of God. Faith in Christ, repentance,
a change of mind. There's no salvation apart from
faith and repentance. If I don't believe the gospel,
If I don't repent, if there's not a change of mind, I won't
be saved. Faith and repentance are the
gifts of God and they're conditions you need to meet in order to
be forgiven. As you hear that. Faith and repentance,
yes, indeed, they are the gifts of God, but they're conditions
you need to meet in order to be forgiven. And that's an opposition
of science, falsely so-called. If there's anything you need
to do to be forgiven, that makes salvation by works. It really
does. Now, salvation. I love thinking
about this. I say it all the time. I want
to say it again. Salvation begins with the forgiveness of sins.
It doesn't come to you because you did anything. You see, my
sins were forgiven before I was ever born. Now, I didn't know
it until God gave me a new heart. I didn't do anything to be forgiven.
I found out I'd been forgiven through the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now, if you're forgiven, you
will believe. You will repent. You will come
to Christ. You will love God as he's revealed
in his word. And you will love his son. You'll
love his gospel. And you'll love the brethren.
If you've been forgiven, you'll love the brethren. If you've
been forgiven, you'll forgive too. That's what happens when
people are forgiven. But salvation, and don't you
love thinking about this? Salvation doesn't end with the
forgiveness of sins. I follow the Roman's road, and
I do the right things, and then God forgives me. No, salvation
begins with God saying, you're forgiven because you're justified. Salvation is by grace, but it
can be resisted. God can want to give his grace
to somebody and they won't let him. And that once again is an
opposition of science, falsely so-called. If grace can be resisted,
it ain't grace. It ain't grace. Not the grace
of God. I don't know what it is, but
it's not the grace of God. You know, there are those who
present the fact that Christ can be your Savior. and not the
Lord of your life. He's your Savior. You've been
saved, but you're a carnal Christian. You're a worldly Christian. You
kind of like you got saved and by Jesus see you in heaven. You
know, I'll live my life here. That's an opposition of science,
falsely so-called. If Christ is your Savior, he
is the Lord of your life. He's your master. You're a faithful
dog who follows him, and that's your great privilege, is to follow
the Savior. That's the summary of the life
of the believer. He follows Christ. He follows Christ. That's what
he does. And this begins with the Lord saying, follow me. It
doesn't begin with me saying, I think I'm going to start following
Christ. No, the Lord says, follow me, just like Matthew sitting
at the receipt of customs, minding his own business, a wicked man.
And the Lord said, follow me. And he rose up and forsook everything
and followed the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that's the call of invincible,
irresistible grace. And that's what God's people
do. They follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, salvation is by grace.
But a believer can fall away. You can be saved one day and
lost the next. That's an opposition of science, falsely so-called.
There's no truth to it. Somebody who believes that way
doesn't believe the gospel at all. Now, Christ is all. I love saying that. The Lord
Jesus Christ is all in all. He's all in faith. He's all in
repentance. He's all in doctrine. He's all in the Bible. And anything
that calls any of that into question is an opposition of science,
falsely so-called. It's not true. It's contradictory
to the truth. Now, what if you hold one of
these oppositions of science, which are falsely so-called?
Well, look what Paul says in verse 20 of Timothy. Keep that
which is committed to thy trust. What a precious trust. Avoiding
profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science, falsely
so-called. They're not really true. With
some professing. What a horrible thing have erred
concerning the faith. Now, I don't want to be somebody
does that to you. I don't want to be somebody who wanders off
and strays away from the faith. You see, if I err concerning
the faith, I err concerning life. I err concerning salvation. If
somebody holds on to these oppositions of Sias, falsely so-called, they've
erred from the faith. Now, what in the world will keep
me and you from doing that? The last line, grace be with
thee. The only thing that will keep
me and you from erring from the faith and from holding on to
these profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science, falsely
so-called, the only thing that will enable me and you to keep,
to guard over that which has been entrusted to us, this sacred
trust, the only thing that will enable us to do that, and what
a high, holy privilege that is, is this, grace. the unmerited, unearned favor
of God. Grace be with you. Amen. You know, that's my desire
for myself and that's my desire for you. Grace. The grace of
God, the saving grace of God be with you. Let's pray together.