Well, it's good to see you all
out this morning. Remember those who requested prayer, especially
remember Arlene and her family, and also the Conklin family at
the loss of Fred, who died this week. Sad day. Hard for me to deal with. For some reason, difficulty with
Fred was more difficult than many I've had to bury. But I
remember the family in prayers. The funeral's today at three
o'clock at Chris's funeral home in Bryson City. And he'll be
buried at the Husky Cemetery in Yellow Hill in Cherokee. And the family will receive friends
two to three at the funeral home. This Wednesday night we'll have
regular services, but next week we'll have no services at all.
No Sunday service and no Wednesday service. That's next week. 8th
and the 11th, the two dates of services, we'll not be having.
I'll be preaching at my brother's old church in Winston-Salem,
North Carolina. So remember us as we travel and
go preach the gospel there. That church has had some difficulties. Since my brother died, he had
been their pastor for over 50 years, and the pastors asked
me to come and sort of restate the solid doctrine that that
church was formed on, so that's why I'm going up there at that
time. So remember me and those, and
we'll get on with our worship service. Let's begin our worship
service with your handouts, complete in thee. Complete in thee, no work of
mine may take, dear Lord, the place of thine. Thy blood hath pardoned, bought
for me, and I am now complete in thee. Yea, justified, O blessed
thoughts, And sanctified salvation wrought, Thy blood hath pardoned,
bought for me, ♪ Glorified I too shall be ♪ ♪ Complete in thee
♪ ♪ No more shall sin ♪ ♪ Thy grace hath conquered rain within
♪ ♪ Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee ♪ ♪ And I shall stand complete
in thee ♪ ♪ Yea, justified, O blessed thought ♪ ♪ And sanctified salvation
wrought ♪ ♪ Thy blood hath pardoned, bought for me ♪ ♪ And glorified
I too shall be ♪ ♪ Complete in thee ♪ Each want supplied ♪ And
no good thing to me denied ♪ Since thou my poor child, Lord, will
be ♪ I ask no more complete in thee ♪ Yea, justified, O blessed
thought And sanctified salvation wrought, Thy blood hath pardoned
not for me, And glorified I too shall be. Dear Savior, when before
Thy bar All tribes and tongues assembled are, Among Thy chosen
will I be At Thy right hand, complete in Thee. If you have your Bibles, turn
to the 2nd Epistle of John, 2nd John. going to read the entire chapter,
which is only 13 verses. The title of my message this
morning is For the Elect. 2 John, verse 1. The Elder, that
is John, the Apostle unto the lady and her children, whom I
love in the truth, and not only I, but also all they that have
known the truth, for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and
shall be with us forever. Grace be with you, mercy and
peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son of the Father, in truth and love, I rejoice greatly that
I have found of thy children walking in truth, as we have
received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee,
lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that
which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And
this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the
commandment, that as ye have heard from the beginning, ye
should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world, Confess
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver
and an antichrist. Look to yourselves that you lose
not those things which have wrought, but we receive a full reward.
Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ
hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. There come any unto
you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house,
neither bid him God's speed. For he that bid him God's speed
is partaker of his evil deeds. Having many things to write unto
you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come
unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The
children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, We bless you and
thank you for your word, which is a lamp unto our feet and a
light unto our path, a comfort to our hearts, a strengthening
of our souls. We don't know where we'd be without
it. We pray, Father, for those who
are going through this loss of our dear brother and beloved
friend, Fred, that you've taken him on to glory. Father, we know
that this is your business we all stand recognizing that the
last great mystery for any of us is when one of our own dies
death remains a place that our mind cannot naturally go before
we've not experienced it we will someday as it appointed unto
men once to die after that the judgment We are thankful that
you brought Fred into our lives and we got to spend time with
him. Pray for Arlene, the loss of her lover. Pray for those
children who count him as their daddy. For the brothers and sisters
and kinfolk, we ask Lord your help for them. Our hearts are
heavy. We know that he's better off,
but we mourn and grieve Help us, Lord, to look to Christ in
these things and know full well that though providence is often
painful, it's always for the good of your people and for the
glory of your name's sake. Father, we ask that you be with
us this day. Cause us in our hearts to worship
you in spirit and in truth. To hear the word of the Lord.
Plant it deep in our souls and minds. and cause us to worship
you. You're worthy of all worship
and praise. It is in the name of your blessed
son that we ask these things. Amen. Hymn number 17, Come Thou
Fount of Every Blessing. Thou fount of every blessing. Streams of mercy never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount, I'm fixed upon
it, mount of thy redeeming love. Here I raise mine abeneezer,
hither by thy help I've come. and I hope by thy good pleasure
safely to arrive at home. Jesus saw me when a stranger He to rescue me from danger interposed
his precious blood. Oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be. Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee. Lord, I feel it, prone to leave
the God I love. Here's my heart, oh, take and
seal it, seal it for thy courts above. Not many here this morning. Stan, would you receive the honor
this morning? Let us pray. Father, again, we
approach in the name of Jesus Christ, our great and glorious
Savior, who died in the room instead of his people and secured
their salvation forever. We ask, Lord, that as we render
unto these these things that you have freely given us, that
we do so with joy and thanksgiving, knowing that we have a privilege
here in this world to preach the gospel here and in other
places, to send missionaries. And we do it through the free
gifts of your children. We thank you, Father, in Christ's
name, amen. This is a short personal letter
from John the Apostle to this elder lady whom he holds in great
esteem and has great love for her. And in this little epistle
John writes to this elect lady concerning truth and love in
the Lord Jesus Christ and what it produces. Now, we're not told
a great deal about this lady, and yet we are told everything
important about her. We know that she was one of the
elect, one of those chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world unto salvation. Therefore, we'll meet her one
day in glory. She is our sister. She's one
of those just women made perfect, spoken of in Hebrews chapter
12. We know she is elect because
God has inspired John to write down that fact that she is elect. And the reason for electing is
known is that she lives in truth and love. And that truth and
love live in her and also in her children. So this is known
of her that before the world was, God the Father, And God
of all glory said His affection upon this lady before she existed. She was a daughter of Adam, a
sinner by birth, by nature, and by practice. And God in His grace
chose to save her and chose her to save. He sent His Son. to die in her
room instead and pay her sin debt and put her sins away by
his blood and by his death. He made Christ to be her righteousness. He accepted her in Jesus Christ,
revealed this to her through the preaching of the gospel and
gave her faith to believe she was elect. We know that she was
a lady. He says she's an elect lady.
And this was not only specific to her gender. This was a title
in those days, especially as the English was written, English
translation was written. This title applied generally
to those of wealth and nobility. And this reference is to one
who has a revered place in society. Note well the chronology of events. Her election preceded her standing.
She was the elect lady. Her wealth and noble birth had
nothing to do with God choosing her. She was not the lady elect,
but the elected lady. God does make some of his people
rich. I have some friends who are rich,
some who are millionaires, and have never had to worry about
another dollar in their lives. But they're also some of the
most generous and kind people I've ever met in my life. generous
to a fault, often supporting missionaries with a great amount
of money each month, setting up clinics to go to different places
to fix teeth and help with health and so forth. God has made many
of his people rich. Some are even noble. But neither
of those things play into the election of grace. because that
was given to us before the world began. That's what God says in
2nd Timothy chapter 1 and verse 9. God who saved us and called
us with a holy calling not according to our works but according to
his own purpose and grace which was given us in Jesus Christ
before the world began. We had it before we knew it.
Had it before we heard about it. And when we heard about it
we found out that we had it. That's what the gospel does.
That's the good news. She was a lady of renown among
those who loved the truth. She was a mother who had children,
and it said of them that they walk in truth and love. And John
wrote this letter to her. He said, For the truth's sake.
So truth was important here. There are those who, if she had
not already encountered, would soon encounter, that denied Christ.
He told her this. Those that abode not in the doctrine
of Christ. And this letter was penned to
inform and warn this dear lady of the possible impact that such
might have on her. John assures her that the truth
and the cause of the truth abides in her forever. He said it abides
in you forever. That's found in verse three.
Her salvation is not in question, but those who teach error could
have a debilitating influence on her if she's not careful and
watchful. So this book is not only a story
of John�s love for this woman, but a warning to all believers
concerning false doctrine and false teaching. Though the salvation
of the elect is secure, that�s never in question and never WILL
be in question. Though the salvation of the elect
is eternal and unchangeable, the warnings of Scripture to
the believer are not without foundation. These things can�t
have an effect on us, and an ILLATORY We have but to read
the book of Galatians and Colossians and Hebrews to see that even
a well-beloved disciple, a member of Christ's inner circle, such
as Simon Peter, can fall under the influence of false teachers.
He fell, and he fell hard. John urges her to hold on to
that which she has received, to center her mind and focus
on what she's heard, to center her mind and focus on the truth,
In another place, he said to another church, as you have received
Christ, so walk ye in Him as ye have received Him. How do
we receive Him? Through the Gospel. How do we walk with Him? In the
Gospel. John exhorts his dear lady to mind the things that
she has received. Now to do so, he does not tell
her to look at her works, or her kindness, or her nobility,
but to return to the basics of Scripture. He says in verse 5,
ìAnd now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment
unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that
we love one another.î This is a commandment that God has given
His children. If you read 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, and the Gospel
according to John, this concept of loving one another is of PREMIER
importance, because if we donít love our brothers and sisters
in Christ, we donít love God. Itís that simple. It is that
simple. The love of God in us creates
love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. As he says in chapter
5 of 1 John verse 1, Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ
is born of God, and every one that loveth him that begat, that
is God, loveth him also that is begotten of him. And that
is just a fact. Now we know that our love is
not perfect. We know that we get angry, we know that we sometimes
are full of ourselves, and we don't always love as we ought,
but I'll tell you this about the child of God. Though the
world may pass away, and the world seems like it's going to
hell in a handbasket, we have love for one another. And that's
the greatest thing here on this earth, and nothing's a pass it,
that sweet fellowship and communion. The original commandment is to
love one another, to love God with all your heart and to love
your neighbor as yourself. This is not referring to the believer's
love for humanity in general, but love for the brethren, which
always has to do with what? It has to do with the truth.
It has to do with the truth and the deeds that accompany the
truth. Our Lord said in this 1 John
chapter 3 verses 15 through 18 that if you don't love your brother,
you're a murderer. If you hate your brother, you're
a murderer. And if you have the love of God
in your heart, then you will make sure that your neighbor
is taken care of, your brother is taken care of, your sister,
if she's hurting, is taken care of. that teaches in 1 John chapter
3. The admonition is this, as ye
have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. As you've
heard from the beginning. The things that the believer,
that keeps the believer on the narrow path is not some new wave
energy, it's the old story, the old gospel, the good news. living for the sake of the truth
and love. Nothing else will do. We, being
weak and feeble, must be under the constant, continual, and
consistent rehearsal of the truth, which is in Jesus Christ, and
it is indeed Christ and Him crucified. We are kept not by rules and
regulations, or church covenants, or bylaws, or any such thing.
We are kept with the power of God. and that power is clearly
stated and defined in the Word of God and revealed and declared
only one way. Paul said in Romans chapter 1
and verse 16 the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. In first Corinthians he said
the gospel preaching Christ and Him crucified is the power and
the wisdom of God. We don't have any power but the
gospel does. And it always does its business.
And nothing else will motivate and free up a believer to gladly
and faithfully serve his master than the gospel will. That will
do it. Every other thing engenders bondage
and leads to destruction, no matter how humanly reasonable
it may sound. He says that as you have heard
from the beginning. What does that mean? First time
you heard the gospel. first time it penetrated your
soul. And as you've heard from the beginning, that's where you
walk. That's where you live. You live in the Gospel. And the
reason John gives for holding on to that which he heard from
the beginning is that many deceivers have entered into the world.
These deceivers are Antichrists. I know in this day and age with
all the things going on, men of eschatology are big time. They studied the last days. Boy, they're reading their newspapers
and their magazines and listening to stories and they're all lining
up, trying to line it up with the book of Revelation, the book
of Daniel, chapter 9. They're all trying to fix that
up. And they're talking about the
Antichrist as if he's one character. he said john said all of these
deceivers are antichrists and he said that in chapter uh... first john chapter two in verse
eighteen he said his little children it
is the last time now this is written two thousand years ago
and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come even now there are
many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time what
is antichrist somebody's against christ anti-christ. You say, well, not many people
like that. Most people like him. Well, they like him in a certain
way, but they don't like what he has to say. These anti-christ,
they are teachers, diabolical educators of all that is false. Those who deny that Christ has
come in the flesh. Now, there is no doubt John is
alluding to the Gnostics, which he had a problem with at the
time. They would believe that all matter, physical matter,
is evil. They believed in what is called
a platonic duality, which means that a man, as he's born in this
world, is both spirit and flesh. And his spirit cannot sin. That's
his ethereal creature, where he imagines and wonders great
things. But his flesh can do nothing
but sin. And therefore the flesh is evil,
therefore Christ could not have come in the flesh because that
would have made him evil. That was their thinking in those days. So he's alluding somewhat to
that. They said Christ must only be spirit and not flesh because
flesh is matter and therefore evil. They held that man was
a dual being, as I said, literally two people. one spirit and one
flesh and that flesh the body was matter and therefore evil
and would do evil and also gave them license to do evil they
willingly could live a life of debauchery and concupiscence
all they wanted to because the flesh is evil but their spirit
man he was good and he didn't sin he didn't sin And not only
in Greek philosophy, Plato and Aristotle, men like that, it's
trickled down and is often misused even in teaching of the scriptures
of the flesh and the spirit. It's often misused there. The
one had no effect on the other, they thought. Therefore a person
may live in utter debauchery because that is what his body
is. It's matter and it's evil. Yet while being at the same time
righteous because that's what his spirit does. That kind of
language does not apply to Scripture. They could not believe, for instance,
that the body could be used as an instrument for righteousness,
though Scripture says it can. Romans chapter 6, verse 13 says,
Yield your bodies as instruments of righteousness for the glory
of God. Your body can be used for good. Your flesh, in and
of itself, is not able. When it talks about the flesh,
it is talking about the carnal nature in Scripture. not talking
about the physical flesh, it's talking about the carnal nature.
In both cases, righteousness or lack thereof is about doing. makes them spiritual or fleshly. This teaching prevails today
as many who live like demons never consider that a state because
they do good things or are philanthropic to take up good causes and call
themselves spiritual people. That's a thing that's bandied
around a lot. How many of these leaders today,
we saw one yesterday, some guy who was big on fighting against
child pornography Being about you know child trafficking is
big against it. They found on his computer Infant pornography and child
pornography Now they're trying to excuse it because that's what
they do they're trying to excuse it, but they found it on his
computer I don't whether you go to jail or not, but he was
a big dog in politics and Big dog. But you see, he's kind
of like, oh, what's his name down in Louisiana, that Louisiana
preacher, can't think of his name, saying there is a river,
you know, Jimmy Swagger. He was so against prostitution
and illicit sexual activity, and they found him in a motel
with a prostitute. Why is that? Because he felt
that though he had these proclivities, that if he talked bad against
it, that somehow relieved him of the responsibility of his
own actions. And that's what this flesh and
spirit idea that's in this context here. Jesus Christ did not come
into flesh and make him evil. The flesh is not evil. The fleshly
nature is. However, the phrase denying that
Christ has come in the flesh means much more than Gnostic
philosophy. To deny that Christ has come
in the flesh is that it's based on a denial of the necessity
of Him coming in the flesh. It's a denial of sin. It's to
deny His sacrifice and consequently the accomplishment of His sacrifice
that was accomplished in His flesh. In His flesh. His sacrifice was done in a body. It is not to deny the existence
of Christ, for very few do that, or the Cardinal Doctrines of
the Incarnation and the Resurrection. Most everybody under the umbrella
of Christianity says they believe in the Incarnation of Christ,
the Virgin Birth of Christ, and the Resurrection of Christ. It's
to deny the effects of that perfect human sacrifice that He made. He came in the likeness of sinful
flesh to destroy sin in the flesh. and that's what he did. The Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. That
glory, that grace, that truth is only seen in the effectual
sacrifice wherein He died as substitute for sinners, for the
elect, and redeemed them by His precious blood, having paid the
debt that they owed. He didn't owe the debt. We owe
the debt. WE COULDN'T PAY IT! WE COULD
NEVER PAY IT! HELL IS FOREVER, BECAUSE WE COULD
NEVER PAY THE DEBT! HE DIDN'T KNOW THE DEBT, BUT
HE PAID THE DEBT FOR HIS ELECT, FOR HIS PEOPLE! TO DENY THAT
HE HAS COME IN THE FLESH, AND TO DENY THE EFFICACY OF THAT
FLESH AS A PERFECT, SUCCESSFUL, GOD-GLORYING, JUSTICE-SATISFYING,
SIN-SAVING OFFERING! THIS IS THE TRUTH! THOSE WHO
KNOW IT, LOVE IT! and they love everybody who loves
it. They do. They know it and they build their
abode precisely there where Christ died. That's why Paul said, I
determine, I determine. He didn't say, I am determined,
though he was. He said, this was a decision I made. This was
a determination I made in the light of all that's going on
in Corinth. This was a determination. I'm not going to preach anything
among you save Jesus Christ. and him crucified. John admonishes
the elect lady to look to herself. That's an interesting thing,
but he is not suggesting for her to look at her works or to
involve herself in introspection, but to look to what she's heard
and what she knows to be true and to beware of those who teach
otherwise because hearing them can cause you to fall into error
and the fruit which you have brought forth until now can be
brought into question God's relationship with us never
changes. He loves us unconditionally and
has always loved us, and because He loved us, He drew us to Himself
through the preaching of the Gospel, through teaching us the
truth, and that never changes. God does not, when we foul up,
say, I don't like you no more. And that never enters the question.
Never enters the issue. God loves His people. And that
relationship never changes. And I'm so thankful. Because
so often my relationship with Him changes. Because of something
that's going on in my head or in my heart. Or some failure
or falling that I have done. Suddenly I feel like I don't
even feel like I ought to pray. I'm ashamed to pray. embarrassed
before God. Sin messes me up with my relationship
with God, but never his relationship with
me. And when he says look to yourself, he's not saying look
at your life, or your works, or your dedication, or your fidelity. Look to Christ, look to yourself,
to the truth where this all started. Where this all started. The truth
and love which you possess may be replaced by bitterness and
strife. This is not speaking of her salvation, that's secure,
but rather what she is known for. The love of truth and the
love that produces may be lost and she may have to start all
over again. Thank God we can. By grace we can. but it often
leaves a bitter taste in our mouth, having to do that. John is saying, dear lady, you
abide in the doctrine of Christ. Don't allow anything else or
anyone else who does not abide in the same doctrine to enter
into your haven. And when he's talking about her
house here, her abode, he's not talking about her physical house.
He's talking about the house of the church, the house of believers,
the body of Christ. The false teachers of whom John
is warning, the elect lady, are those who do not abide in the
doctrine of Christ. They don't abide in that. They
don't abide in the teaching of the truth and love. And it's
no small thing that John has compressed the gospel into this
simple and yet all-expressive Siamese twins of truth and love.
It is here that the false teachers do their evil business. They
attack the truth. They diminish the truth. They
do not abide in the truth, they do not abide in the doctrine
of Christ. The doctrine. There, I've said
it. Doctrine. It's all about the
doctrine. For you don't know Christ without
doctrine, and you don't know doctrine without Christ. But
if you know Christ, you know doctrine. You know what God teaches,
because the only thing we know about Christ is doctrine. Our feelings come and our feelings
go and we may feel his presence sometime and sometime we don't.
Is he gone? No, he ain't gone, we're gone. Doctrine. These false teachers
attack doctrine itself as if it were some crass four-letter
word, some expletive to be deleted. They call it dry and dead and
of no value. I can't remember how many times
people have actually said to me, I preach Jesus, but I don't
preach doctrine. You're a liar, because Christ
is the doctrine of God. If you preach Christ, you preach
doctrine. You preach all the counsel of God. The Lord makes it abundantly
clear that if you do not abide, if you do not live, if you do
not reside, if you do not make your home, set up your housekeeping
in the doctrine of Christ, He makes it pretty clear here that
you are a transgressor and you do not know God and you do not
know His Son. That's pretty clear, isn't it?
That's exactly what he says. Whosoever transgresseth, in verse
9, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not gone. Can you get any clearer than
that? Well, let's see if we can make some kind of... No, you
can't. You can't weasel out of that.
You can't lessen it. You can't pervert it and make
it sound like something it's not. It's that simple. Verse
E, that abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, the teaching of God
about Christ. Don't know God. And to abide
is to live there as old Scott Richardson said,
Pinch! Pinch! You're tense there! Camp
out there! Take up headquarters there! If you don't, you're a transgressor
and you don't know God! What is the doctrine of Christ?
What is all that involves the teaching of Christ from Genesis
to Revelation? And we know this, if it is the
doctrine OF Christ, it�s the doctrine ABOUT Christ. It�s the
doctrine that comes FROM Christ. It�s the doctrine that HONORS
and GLORIFIES Christ. It�s the doctrine that concerns
His PERSON and His WORK. It is WHO He is and WHY He came
and WHAT He did and WHERE He is now. And the doctrine of Christ
may generally be summed up in six things, I The sovereignty
of God, for Christ is Lord over all. The total depravity of man,
which is why Jesus Christ was made sin for us. The unconditional
election of those whom God saves. Christ came to save His sheep
and His people from their sins. The limited or particular redemption
of those whom God has chosen. Christ didn't die for everybody.
He died for His own. He died for his sheep. He died
for the elect, for this elect lady and for all those others
whom God has chosen unto salvation. The doctrine of Christ is the
effectual calling by the Spirit through the gospel. How does
that happen? It happens when the gospel is
preached and the Holy Spirit takes it and plants it in the
hearts of men and it finds purchase there. And that person is made
to realize that Christ has died in their room instead. Not that
there's something for them to do or something that they're
to feel, but they've given faith to believe that when Jesus Christ
died, they were redeemed. That's the good news of the gospel
and the effectual calling of all whom God chose and all for
whom Christ died. And the gospel of Christ is the
perseverance and preservations of the saints. my sheep have
our voice, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life, and no man is able to pluck them out of my hand. My Father
which gave them is greater than all. No man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. I and
my Father are one. John tells the elect lady, if
there are those who do not make this truth their home, they live
elsewhere, they attack it. They do so by attacking the love
of God and your love of the truth. They teach the lie of God's universal
love and attack the believer's narrowness of mind. John says
don't hear them. Don't pay attention to them.
Abide in the doctrine of Christ. One of the tactics of these false
teachers is to assert a philosophy of religious tolerance. They say things like, I know
we don't agree on everything, but we all serve the same God. We both love Jesus. Don't be
so hard and narrow as to count those who believe the universal
love of God and universal redemption. It's just semantics and the difference
is just a matter of degree. Kind of like the Why can't we all get along? Let's get ecumenical. Everybody's
okay. Everybody's okay. I got a lady
on a plane one time with Jay Wimberly and she asked what he
did. He told her he was a preacher.
At the time he was an assistant pastor at 13th Street. He was
flying on a jet somewhere. She says, I'm a Christian too.
She said, I believe heaven's got a whole lot of doors. And
doors for the Muslims, and doors for the Christians, and doors
for the Presbyterians, and doors for the Baptists. And Jay said,
man, if there's that many doors in heaven, somebody would fall
out. Somebody would fall out. Why can't we all get along? We
can't all get along because the doctrine of Christ is where we
live. It is where we live. John does
not get ecumenical here. He gets downright medieval. He
gets postal on these people. Look at verses 9 and 11. He said,
Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ
hath not God. That is pretty clear. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If there come any unto you, and
bring not this doctrine, receive him, bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. Don't let him in where you live.
Where do you live? You abide in the doctrine of
Christ. That's the house you live in. And don't let him get
into it. And it would seem that some think
that these verses were invented in the 1800s in America so folks
would be able to turn away all the religions that popped up
between 1830 and 1860. And there were tons of them that are going
on still today, whose followers have an affinity for ramping
on folks' doors and spouting out their cultist pap. This passage
is not about the Jehovah's Witnesses or about those who abide in Christ. It's about those who do not.
abide in the doctrine of Christ. Whosoever does not abide in the
doctrine of Christ is a transgressor. Broken God's law. Whosoever does
not abide is a transgressor. You mean that he drinks and uses
tobacco and goes to the movie show? No, that's not what I mean.
He denies the person and the work of Jesus Christ and it is
clearly set forth in the Word of God. These folks aren�t irreligious. They come with religion. They�re
false teachers, but they teach SOMETHING, and they teach religion. Evidently, these folks are zealous, yet without knowledge. They go
from door to door hawking their snake oil. He speaks of human
righteousness and universal love, tolerance and acceptance. Transgressors
are those who do not abide in the doctrine of Christ. Such
have not God. Clear enough? Plain enough for
you? If any comes to you and does
not bring the doctrine of Christ, don't let him in your house.
That's not talking about your physical house or your abode,
though I won't let him in mine. I remember many years ago, Scott
Richardson was out raking leaves in his yard, and these two fellows
come up with black pants, white shirts, black tie, and had a
blue name tag on their shirts. And Scott walked them into his
yard and said, what can I do for you fellas? He said, we want
to talk to you about the Bible. He said, well, where's your Bible?
They didn't have the Bible. He said, where's your Bible?
I said, well, we didn't bring our Bible. Scott hollered out, Martha
was on the front porch, watching Scott. He hollered at the top
of his lungs, I perceive you fellows are false prophets. Get
off my lawn. Oh, for that kind of zeal. But
that's what he said, any man comes into your house, but don't
let him inject his poison into the truth or pervert the truth.
and mess with the love where you live, don't even say have
a nice day, don't wish them God's speed, because if you do, you're
giving credence to and sanctioning their lies. You're saying what
they're saying is okay. I know we're different, but you
know, we can get along. No. No, we can't. Paul the Apostle, right in the
Galatian Church, said if anybody That means anybody from Heaven,
or an angel, or any human being, preach any other gospel than
that which I preached to, let him be accursed. Anethema Maranatha,
accursed when the Lord comes. Then he repeated, I say again,
if any man preach any other gospel than that which I preached to
you, Let him be accursed. Let him be accursed. And he said
of those who did preach another gospel, he said, I wouldn't give
them time, no, an hour and a day. And then he finally said in the
same epistle, I wish they were castrated. I wish they were cut
off. That's what I want. He said,
well, that's harsh. He that abideth not in the doctrine of Christ,
the transgressor, knows not God nor his Son. Beware, John said. Don't let
the transgressors influence you. They're not going to change your
salvation if you're a child of God, but they can have a bad
effect on you if you give them the time of day. Don't tolerate
error for it will harm you. Live where you live and don't
let error into your house of truth and love. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. Not long ago, a few weeks ago I think it was, they'd come,
some JW's come to my house and knocked on my door. They said,
we'd like to talk to you, and they handed a watchtower to me,
and of course, that's a good little pamphlet, it's good for
lighting fires. And I said, well, I just have
one question for you. Is Jesus Christ God? Because
they don't believe He is. They said, well, is He the Son
of God? I said, that's not what I asked. I said, is He God, the Creator?
the standards consummate of all things well we don't believe
that we have nothing to talk about adios should have said
that because adios means that God is in there somewhere in
that world abide in the doctrine of Christ
that's where we live it's what makes us what we are what keeps
us going on in this world that alone is our strength and our
salvation abiding in the Doctrine and Covenants.