August 17th, 2014. WINDS OF TEACHING VERSUS CHRIST That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive. Ephesians 4:14 When we do not have the proper focus of Christ, we are always subject to distracting and even heretical things. These distractions are very unsettling to our souls. Acts 15:24 says, Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, You must be circumcised and keep the law-- to whom we gave no such commandment. Legalistic teachings and tones are not focused on Christ and are always unsettling to our souls. Paul calls these teachings winds of doctrine. Only being rooted and grounded in Christ Himself can save us from these kinds of things. We need to have the same value system that the Triune God has in this universe-- Christ. It is Christ that must be our emphasis and our atmosphere. If something else comes in and replaces Christ, regardless of how good it may be, it is a wind of doctrine. It may be a good teaching from the Bible, it may be a particular practice, it may be a gift of the Spirit, it may be an emphasis upon a gifted person. Whatever it may be, it will have the effect of unsettling our soul. Anything that brings us down to a level lower than Christ is not the church. The churchs emphasis and focus is always Christ. With the full assurance of understanding that Christ is all and in all, we are solid, just like a rock. Nothing can change or influence us. We are not left to blow in the wind, wondering what direction we should take. Our course is set and our way is clear because we are under revelation. It is not a matter of speculation, negotiation, or experimentation. Christ and the church is a matter of revelation. Revelation motivates us! Revelation is our leading! Revelation is our mandate! Once we see the revelation of the church as Christ, that very revelation becomes a mandate to practice the church life on this earth (Eph. 1:9- 10). We have no choice. Indeed, the revelation is referred to by Paul as the command of the eternal God (Rom. 16:25- 26). The command is made known for the obedience of faith. This is the ultimate issue of understanding the church as Christ-- that we rise up to gather together to experience a rich Christ for the church life. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; [Ephesians 4:14] THAT WE MAY BE NO MORE CHILDREN. Having spoken of that perfect manhood, towards which we are proceeding throughout the whole course of our life, he reminds us that, during such a progress, we ought not to resemble children. An intervening period is thus pointed out between childhood and mans estate. Those are children who have not yet advanced a step in the way of the Lord, but who still hesitate, — who have not yet determined what road they ought to choose, but move sometimes in one direction and sometimes in another, always doubtful, always wavering. Those, again, who are thoroughly founded in the doctrine of Christ, though not yet perfect, have so much wisdom and vigor as to choose properly, and proceed steadily, in the right course. Thus we find that the life of believers, marked by a constant desire and progress towards those attainments which they shall ultimately reach, bears a resemblance to youth. At no period of this life are we men. But let not such a statement be carried to the other extreme, as if there were no progress beyond childhood. After being born to Christ, we ought to grow, so as not to be children in understanding. (1 Corinthians 14:20.) Hence it appears what kind of Christianity the Popish system must be, when the pastors labor, to the utmost of their power, to keep the people in absolute infancy. TOSSED TO AND FRO, AND CARRIED ABOUT. The distressing hesitation of those who do not place absolute reliance on the word of the Lord, is illustrated by two striking metaphors. The first is taken from small ships, exposed to the fury of the billows in the open sea, holding no fixed course, guided neither by skill nor design, but hurried along by the violence of the tempest. The next is taken from straws, or other light substances, which are carried hither and thither as the wind drives them, and often in opposite directions. Such must be the changeable and unsteady character of all who do not rest on the foundation of Gods eternal truth. It is their just punishment for looking, not to God, but to men. Paul declares, on the other hand, that faith, which rests on the word of God, stands unshaken against all the attacks of Satan. BY EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE. By a beautiful metaphor, all the doctrines of men, by which we are drawn away from the simplicity of the gospel, are called winds. God gave us his word, by which we might have placed ourselves beyond the possibility of being moved; but, giving way to the contrivances of men, we are carried about in all directions. BY THE CUNNING OF MEN. There will always be impostors, who make insidious attacks upon our faith; but, if we are fortified by the truth of God, their efforts will be unavailing. Both parts of this statement deserve our careful attention. When new sects, or wicked tenets, spring up, many persons become alarmed. But the attempts of Satan to darken, by his falsehoods, the pure doctrine of Christ, are at no time interrupted; and it is the will of God that these struggles should be the trial of our faith. When we are informed, on the other hand, that the best and readiest defense against every kind of error is to bring forward that doctrine which we have learned from Christ and his apostles, this surely is no ordinary consolation. With what awful wickedness, then, are Papists chargeable, who take away from the word of God everything like certainty, and maintain that there is no steadiness of faith, but what depends on the authority of men! If a man entertain any doubt, it is in vain to bid him consult the word of God: he must abide by their decrees. But we have embraced the law, the prophets, and the gospel. Let us therefore confidently expect that we shall reap the advantage which is here promised, — that all the impostures of men will do us no harm. They will attack us, indeed, but they will not prevail. We are entitled, I acknowledge, looking for the dispensation of sound doctrine from the church, for God has committed it to her charge; but when Papists avail themselves of the disguise of the church for burying doctrine, they give sufficient proof that they have a diabolical synagogue. The Greek word κυβεία, which I have translated cunning, is taken from players at dice, who are accustomed to practice many arts of deception. The words, ἐν πανουργίᾳ, by craftiness, intimate that the ministers of Satan are deeply skilled in imposture; and it is added, that they keep watch, in order to insnare, (πρὸς τὴν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης.) All this should rouse and sharpen our minds to profit by the word of God. If we neglect to do so, we may fall into the snares of our enemies, and endure the severe punishment of our sloth. August 17 MORNING Pray one for another, that ye may be healed. Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which [am but] dust and ashes: peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for [lack of] five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy [it]. Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.-- Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.-- Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word.-- Bear ye one anothers burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. JAMES 5:16. Ge 18:27, 28. Lu 23:34.-- Mt 5:44. Jn 17:9, 20.-- Gal 6:2. Jas 5:16, 17. August 17 EVENING [As for] man, his days [are] as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom.-- What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Surely the people [is] grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.-- The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Behold, now [is] the accepted time; behold, now [is] the day of salvation.-- Use this world, as not abusing [it]:for the fashion of this world passeth away.-- Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. PSA 103:15, 16. Ps 90:12.-- Mar 8:36. Is 40:7, 8-- 1 Jn 2:17. 2 Co 6:2-- 1 Co 7:31.-- Heb 10:24, 25
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 09:34:40 +0000
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