[0:00] About the middle of the feast, Jesus went into the temple and began teaching.
[0:14] ! The Jews therefore marveled, saying,! How is it that this man has learning when he has never studied? So Jesus answered them, The crowd answered, Jesus answered them, I did one work, and you all marvel at it.
[1:02] Moses gave you circumcision, not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers, and you circumcised a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well?
[1:23] Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. May God add a blessing to the reading of His Word. Would you please be seated? I don't know about you, but I know that I'm tired of the political attack ads.
[1:42] And it sounds like we'll get a little break from those maybe for a little while, but I don't think it'll be a very long one. And if there are not going to be attack ads about the presidency, there'll be attack ads about other offices that are up for re-election this year.
[1:58] But really, if you notice those attack ads, what the message really boils down to in all of them, I think, is this. The person that I'm running against is a deceiver.
[2:13] Don't be a fool. Don't fall for their deception. Instead, vote for me. Because I tell the truth. Even though, as Amy pointed out, they are also oftentimes a deceiver as well.
[2:26] The ads run because they can be effective, right? Nobody likes to feel like they are a fool. And we hate being deceived, don't we?
[2:38] I remember the first time I really remember as a kid being deceived was a time where I was playing in my neighborhood football with some of my other friends. And in our neighborhood, there was some older boys, one of which was a great athlete, was a popular kid, somebody that we all looked up to.
[2:58] And I remember on this Saturday, we were all playing, and he was playing with us. I felt like I had a pretty good game, a pretty good showing, and that he saw that.
[3:09] And so after the game was over, he ran over to me. He's like, hey, Mike. And he ran over to me. And what I was thinking at that moment was, well, he's seen an athlete of his caliber, right?
[3:26] A peer worthy of his friendship. I'm about to become the cool kid, the cool younger kid who's hanging out with the cool older kids.
[3:37] And I was so excited. And he came over, and he put his arm around me and started to talk to me. Again, I think, well, he's wanting to befriend me. But then before I knew it, he had slipped a worm down into my shirt and then ran off laughing and telling everybody else what he did, and they were laughing too.
[3:59] So he deceived me. Now, later on in life, we became better acquaintances, but because of what he had done, I always kind of held him at a distance, just waiting and watching for that worm to somewhere be in his pocket or in his hand, waiting to slip it down my shirt or somebody else's when they least expected it.
[4:23] We hate feeling deceived. And then when we are deceived, we have oftentimes animosity towards those who have deceived us. And so it's no wonder that so much time and money is spent by politicians trying to convince the public that their opponent is a deceiver, is a liar, is somebody who they cannot be trusted.
[4:47] And this ploy is as old or almost as old as time. It was contrived by Satan, the greatest deceiver of all time.
[5:00] The first mention of him is found in Genesis 3, where they're disguised as a serpent. He deceives Adam and Eve by attacking and challenging God's trustworthiness.
[5:14] His first words recorded in Scripture reveal his intent to portray God as a deceiver. And they came in the form of a question, if you remember, when he questions Eve, he questions God's truth by posing the question, did God actually say?
[5:37] Did God really say that? And in so doing, he casted doubt over God's Word. Then next, he casted doubt over God's character.
[5:49] When he said, God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be open, and you will be like God. And so Satan's game plan has never changed.
[6:00] He's the bird in Jesus' parable of the soils, who snatches the gospel up wherever he can. He's the enemy in Jesus' parable, who sows weeds among the wheat.
[6:16] He's the father of lies, whom Jesus said was the true father of his opponents, who sought to flip the script on him, challenging his words, attacking Jesus' character, just as Satan had done to God the Father, to Adam and Eve.
[6:37] And so in John chapter 8, Jesus there makes a searing indictment, saying all of this, making this searing indictment against the Jewish religious leaders who were antagonistic towards them.
[6:50] Let's read John 8, verse 39 through 47. They answered him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did.
[7:03] But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works of, you are doing the works your father did.
[7:18] They said to him, we were not born of sexual immorality. Again, here they're trying to cast doubt over his character. Did obviously not believe in his incarnation.
[7:28] And so they're doubting his words. They're challenging his character. We have one father, they said, even God. Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.
[7:41] I came not on my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father, the devil.
[7:54] And your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.
[8:06] When he lies, he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin?
[8:20] If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the word of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.
[8:34] So remember, Jesus' opponents here claim to be on God's side. But in reality, these men who knew Scripture, knew what it said, and who were viewed as righteous in the eyes of the people were in fact, Satan says, pawns of Satan.
[8:57] Sons of Satan. The father of lies. And Satan used them to spread deceit about Jesus.
[9:11] And Jesus exposed that. He rebuked them. And then he warned his disciples multiple times against Satan's attempts to infiltrate his church with his deception and with his deceptive teachers.
[9:29] Matthew 7.15, Jesus tells his disciples, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
[9:43] Remember later in Acts, as Paul is preparing to depart for Jerusalem, where he knows that opposition awaits him there, he gives instruction to the elders of the Ephesian church to beware of deceivers who will attempt to sneak into that church.
[9:59] and spread deceptive teachings amongst them. In Acts 20, 28-30, listen to the apostles' plea. Pay careful attention to yourselves and the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
[10:19] I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them.
[10:36] Likewise, in Romans 16, 17-18, Paul warns believers to be on their guard against such infiltrators who seek to create division within the church because of their deception.
[10:50] Romans 16, 17, and 18, I appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught.
[11:01] Avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
[11:14] So again, in John 7, 7, verses 14-24, Jesus has now arrived at the Feast of Booths and he's beginning to teach there. Verses 11-13 record that he has waited for the crowds who were there discussing and debating his identity and they were asking the question, who is he?
[11:36] Now Jesus is there, right? The Jewish leaders were also there. They had given the answer to that question to the crowd when they were asking who is he? Some thought he was a good man.
[11:47] They said, no, he's a deceiver and he's leading people astray. So now Jesus is here in verse 14. He's arrived at the Feast. He's here in the midst of this confusion over his identity and he declares there that he is the Christ, that he is the Son of God.
[12:06] Now the question being asked is, is it true? So his opponents were seeking to cast doubt over his true identity.
[12:16] Now they seek to cast doubt over whether or not what he was saying is true. And in this passage, Jesus reveals that his teaching obviously is true and explains to us why it is a teaching that can be trusted.
[12:32] He also exposes the deception of his opponents. He warns the people of their deception and he urges them, urges them to abandon their misconceptions about him.
[12:48] And so here's the main idea for this morning's sermon. Like Christ, Christians are called to confidently proclaim the uncensored truth about his identity and mission.
[13:06] Confidently proclaim the uncensored truth about his identity and mission. Christians are called to guard his church and advance his kingdom by exposing deceptive teachers and teachings.
[13:23] Exposing deceptive teachers and teachings. teachings. So how do we do this? How do we proclaim this truth? How do we expose these deceptive teachers and teachings?
[13:37] Well, we teach like Christ and we expose those like him who don't. These are divisive times obviously in our country and people are hungry for the truth.
[13:52] They're hungry for the truth that we have. A truth that God has called us to proclaim to them. And so what we as a church need to be doing now is pushing back, pushing out, pushing back upon the darkness, exposing the deception that is out there, but as we do so to stay on guard that no division and no deception, the same divisions and deceptions that take place in the world out there, no darkness infiltrates our local church.
[14:34] If we do, or if we, I should say, who have the truth are divided here, having been deceived, then we will not be effective.
[14:47] We will not be effective in pushing back the darkness. We will not be effective in guarding our church. We will not be effective in proclaiming the truth that we have to share.
[15:00] In these verses, Jesus shows us how to teach like him. How to teach like him and proclaiming the truth and how to identify and expose those who spread deceptions and deceptive teachings about him.
[15:15] As we walk through this text, I want you to be thinking about who you are listening to. Who do you listen to when you are at home during the week?
[15:26] What shows are you watching? What preachers or pastors or teachers are you listening to on the radio at home when you are on your phone watching YouTube or whatever?
[15:37] Who are you listening to? And I want you to think, are they teaching like Jesus taught? Are they exposing deceivers and deceptive teachings as Jesus did?
[15:51] Or if they aren't, are they leading you astray? Are they leading you astray? We see that many come in the name of Christ. Jesus told us that and they come and they are disguised as sheep like us.
[16:07] They know the lingo. They know the jargon we use. They know the Bible. But they don't know Christ as their Lord and Savior. They are wolves disguised as sheep.
[16:18] The church has faced this throughout the history of its existence. And so we've got to be making sure that we are proclaiming the truth.
[16:29] And as we do so, we are also exposing deceptive teachings and teachers. So I want you to think about who am I listening to? Do they proclaim the truth like Jesus? Do they expose the deception that I know that is out there?
[16:43] So first, let's look at how Jesus proclaimed the truth. And in proclaiming the truth and exposing deception, we must again teach like Jesus. How did he teach? Well, first of all, we see that Jesus proclaimed the truth.
[16:55] all the time. He was the truth. Verses 14 through 18. So as they were listening to Jesus teaching, John tells us that the Jews marveled as they heard it.
[17:12] And they had this question in verse 15. How is it that this man has learning when he has never studied? The question was more likely again posed by the Jewish authorities who already had taken an antagonistic position against Jesus.
[17:33] They were threatened by his teaching and perhaps also envious of his teaching ability. The question was posed here by them to challenge his credentials.
[17:47] Jesus did not possess the rabbinical training that they had received. And so in today's terms it would be the same as saying that, well, he never graduated from seminary.
[18:03] You know? How much can he really know about the Bible? How well can he really pastor this church if he's never graduated from seminary or been ordained by some ecclesiastical body, right?
[18:17] Since they could not refute his teachings, they attacked his legitimacy to teach. Well, what he says, yeah, well, forget that.
[18:27] He shouldn't even be teaching in the first place. That's really what they're trying to say. In Jesus' reply, beginning with verse 16, we are given the first principle of how we are to proclaim the truth as he did.
[18:40] Verse 16, we see Jesus stated the authorship of his teaching. Jesus stated the authorship of his teaching. There again, it says in verse 16, so Jesus answered them, my teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
[19:00] It was true that Jesus' knowledge was not derived from any human institution and his teaching opposed the tradition of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
[19:11] But that didn't mean that it was merely his own personal opinions as his opponents were implying here. It was a teaching derived from God the Father who had sent him and God's Son was in no need of going to any kind of seminary, was he?
[19:32] If you're God's Son, you don't need to go to seminary. I think we can trust what you have to say. And so Jesus was saying that his teaching and his doctrine came directly to him from God the Father.
[19:45] And this isn't the only time where he makes that assertion. Later on he'll make it again in John chapter 8 verse 28. So Jesus said to them, when you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak just as the Father taught me.
[20:04] And then again later in John 12 verses 49 through 50. For I have not spoken on my own authority but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment what to say, what to speak and I know that his commandment is eternal life.
[20:20] What I say therefore I say as the Father has told me. And so if Jesus' teaching was from God then that meant that theirs, his opponents wasn't since they opposed him, since they opposed his teaching.
[20:39] Their teaching by this point was based mainly upon man-made traditions of the past. Rabbis at that time taught often based upon the previous teachings of other rabbis who had come before.
[20:56] And so rabbis would during this time they would quote extensively other rabbis who had come before in whatever it was that they were teaching.
[21:10] And they did so in order to try to add validity to what they were teaching. Now you know, if you've been here I often like to use quotes. I often will quote Spurgeon or MacArthur or Piper or Dever sometimes Tozer Luther Calvin and other preachers whom you've heard of many of them.
[21:30] But I'll never get up here and preach an expositional sermon on a bunch of great quotes no matter how great they are. Because the source material and what we preach and what we teach is always to be the word of God.
[21:47] Always to be the word of God. This is the source again of what we have to say of what we have to proclaim this truth that's found in the word of God. No other thing will do because no other thing is the word of God.
[22:04] But these rabbis were more concerned with preserving their man made traditions than they were preaching biblical truth. Now it's interesting to note here if we go back to the Old Testament prophets we'll notice that they in a similar way to Jesus expressed that the authorship of their teaching also originated with God but there was one major difference.
[22:35] One major difference. The prophets would say thus says the Lord Lord but Jesus would say I say to you.
[22:50] Right? And he could do that and he could say that because he was more than a prophet. He was the incarnate son of God.
[23:02] He was the word of God who became flesh. The son of God whose words were the very words of God and we have that word here in our Bibles whose authorship is God.
[23:19] Therefore whatever we proclaim as a church must be rooted and grounded not in our man-made traditions but in God's word and God's word alone.
[23:34] Therefore whatever we proclaim again as a church must be something that matches and fits what we find in scripture. The word of God is foundational to our existence to our salvation to our teachings and our preaching and so what we must understand and make clear is that we are proclaiming it and not something that is derived from our human opinions or origins it has godly origins these aren't our opinions made doctrines these are doctrines that formulate our opinions.
[24:08] The word of God matters may we never turn away from it or question it or leave it or forsake it. I read a quote this week from Owen Strand a professor at Midwestern he said not psychology not therapy not anthropology not felt needs not history lessons the true church is fed by the word of God and the word of God alone.
[24:34] Amen. unbelievers are saved by the spirit as a result of their hearing the gospel hearing the word of God repenting of their sin turning to Christ God's word does that and our preaching of it and our teaching of it guards the flock from deception and deceivers.
[25:04] Look at Paul's instruction to Timothy 2 Timothy 4 2-5 this is so important for the church and for those especially too who preach and teach in the church preach the word be ready in season and out of season reprove rebuke and exhort with complete patience in teaching for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths as for you always be sober minded endure suffering do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry does it break your heart to read those words and see that such a time has come in our nation it's been here for a long time what are we to do be sober minded endure suffering do the work of an evangelist fulfill the ministry that God has given us to fulfill in this time in this day if you are called to vocational ministry then I do believe that seminary is a good option for you because you aren't
[26:35] God right because you aren't Jesus but that doesn't mean that he can't use you in mighty and wonderful names you don't have to have a seminary education to be a teacher and a preacher whom the Lord can use to educate and teach effectively in his church one of the best Bible teachers that I've ever had was Elma Ross my second and third grade Sunday school teacher she was over the age of 60 she was a single woman who grew up on the farm I don't think that she had anything more than a high school education but she knew the word of God and she proclaimed it Sunday after Sunday to a bunch of rowdy boys and girls so you you immerse yourself in God's word you share it and there will be results also we as a church need to be like the Bereans that Paul and Silas were sent to in
[27:42] Acts 17 if you remember they received their words with eagerness but then examined the scripture daily to see if these things were so and so I invite you and I encourage you to examine any message that is preached from behind this pulpit or any message that is taught in one of our Sunday school classes to make sure and verify that what is being said here or anywhere else matches what God's word says and I'll tell you that as we do that with patience the word of God will flourish in this church and our church will be made better for it as a result next Jesus stated the authenticity of those who speak truthfully for God is revealed by what their teaching glorifies Jesus stated that the authenticity of those who speak truthfully for God is revealed by what their teaching glorifies verses 17 verse 17 if anyone's will
[28:48] Jesus said is to do God's will he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority and so Jesus promised here that the person who honestly seeks the truth revealed by God is the one who is willing to do God's will and will be able to identify whether a teaching that they're hearing is from God or not because God has given us his spirit and as a result of that one of the many blessings that come from that we are able to discern or authenticate goodness goodness a message or teaching that we hear as we listen to the preacher or the teacher giving it claiming to speak for God look at 1 Corinthians 2 10 through 15 these things God has revealed to us through the spirit for the spirit searches everything even the depths of God for who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person which is in him so also no one comprehends the thoughts of
[29:56] God except the spirit of God now we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God that we might understand the things freely given us by God and we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the spirit interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual the natural!
[30:18] person does not accept the things of the spirit of God for they are folly to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned the spiritual person judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one I know in having conversations with some of you that I've spoken to that you've as you've watched a sermon on TV or as you've listened to one on the radio or what not something you heard as you heard that teacher teaching or didn't sound right to you and so you emailed me or you called me and you had questions about that and what happened there I like to say is like the Holy Spirit sends off alarm bells ringing in your mind and in your heart and you're like that's not right that doesn't sound right that doesn't fit what God's word says I remember many years ago when I was a youth pastor in seminary at that time we would often play these videos called
[31:26] Pneuma videos some of you are familiar with Pneuma videos the creator of these Pneuma videos or the star of these Pneuma videos was a man named Rob Bell and for a time we would watch some of these videos just as a kick starter to get into whatever the lesson was and I'll never forget watching one of these videos we didn't do it a lot but when a new one would come out sometimes we'd grab it and we'd buy it and we played it and they're only about five minutes long if that and I remember watching it and I can't recall exactly what was being said but I knew that it was bordering on heresy and I remember Danny and I at the same time just making eye contact with each other across the room with like this quizzical look of what is he saying you know what is he saying here this doesn't fit and so
[32:30] I remember pulling it out and afterwards being like well you know trying to tell her kids just kind of forget that for now let's turn our attention over here but if you know anything about Rob Bell from that moment on and really it had been happening I think even before that unfortunately is that he was revealing himself more and more to be being exposed I should say as a false teacher a deceptive in a book he wrote called Love Wins and has just proceeded to do more things that are heartbreaking and we notice right now have you noticed that there's a lot of these deconversion stories that are popping up on Twitter or social media or people are writing articles and they're talking about how they grew up in the church but now they've left a lot of times they're a well known Christian author or musician even a leader in the church and it's heartbreaking when we see that when we read those things but such has unfortunately been the case through again out the history of the church 1
[33:44] John 2 19 through 21 speaking of those who do this they went out from us but they were not of us so they were never truly of us if they had been of us they would have continued with us but they went out that it might be complained that they all are not of us but you have been anointed by the holy one and you all have knowledge I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you know it and examine the teachings of those whom you are listening to and examine also their lifestyles after I saw that video that was the beginning of the purge of Rob Bell from my life from my bookshelves from anything else still praying for the man knowing that he's not saved but hoping that he will be and so my question is you do the same as you pay attention to the teachings and the lifestyles of those that you listen to are they asking their congregations for
[34:53] Lear jets or fancy expensive cars to drive so that they can advance their ministry they'll say are they making large profits from the ministries that they lead do they seek to honor Christ and glorify God or do they seek to tickle the ears of those who hear glorifying instead those who are in the pews so that they can deceive them out of their riches and take them for themselves do they make prophecies that don't come true one did COVID-19 was supposed!
[35:29] to be over if you know what I'm talking about that obviously didn't come true do they make prophecies that come true or not do they portray themselves as heroes who have it all figured out who are without sin or do they portray themselves as sinners who are saved only by the amazing grace of God that they realize they do not deserve Jesus challenge to the crowd was simple if they would humble themselves before God's word to know and obey it they would come to a realization that God's word is true that it was authentic that it was from God and so Jesus says in verse 18 those who speak on his own authority seeks his own glory but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true and in him there is no false deceivers speak for themselves and they seek their own glory their goal is not to feed the flock but to fleece it examine them and if you see it stop listening to them next
[36:43] Jesus exposed false teachers Jesus exposed false teachers in verses 19 through 24 Jesus was always doing this always doing this and here he exposes the aspects of those who deceive at least two aspects first of all he exposes the fact that false teachers act hypocritically they act hypocritically beginning of verse 19 and then verses 21 through 23 Jesus asked them has not Moses given you the law yet none of you keeps the law then in verse 21 Jesus answered them I did one work and you all marvel at it Moses gave you circumcision not that it was from Moses but from the fathers and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath if on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision so that the law of Moses may not be broken are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well!
[37:41] Here Jesus makes a clear and truthful assessment of our total depravity no one he says keeps the law that is the reality of every human life though the Jews revered the law and sought to keep it and acquire salvation by their careful efforts to obey it not one person has ever entered heaven by means of obeying the law no one can the law was given to reveal sin not to save us in particular Jesus exposed their hypocrisy towards the Sabbath the miracles that he referred to or the miracle that he referred to that they marveled at was the one that took place in John chapter 5 if there you remember Jesus healed a sick man at the pool of Bethesda that miracle alone should have been sufficient proof that he was who he claimed to be but instead they responded to that miracle if you recall with unbelief and indignation that he would break their precious
[38:55] Sabbath tradition Jesus pointed out that according to the Mosaic law here every male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day now if that eighth day so happened to land on the Sabbath day where no one was supposed to work according to their tradition what they would do is that they would still perform the circumcision thus circumcision took precedence over the Sabbath and their keeping of it Jesus revealed this hypocrisy to them this is what he's saying to them in effect if a baby receives circumcision by you on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken then why in the world would you get angry at me that I have made a man completely well on the Sabbath day they were hypocrites they were hypocrites another aspect that
[39:59] Jesus exposes here about their deception and their being deceptive teachers is that false teachers hate Jesus when it comes down to it they act hypocritically but they do so because they hate Jesus the rest of verse 19 and 20 Jesus asked them why do you seek to kill me the crowd answered you have a demon who is seeking to kill you so understand at the core of every deceiver is a hatred of God a hatred of God a hatred of Christ they may speak in his name they may pray in his name but understand that these are the ones who when that day comes will hear from our Lord say to them depart from me I never knew you just as the Pharisees claimed to be spokesmen for God Jesus exposed the reality that truthfully they were far from him they were the ones who were leading the people astray not him health and wealth gospel preachers and legalistic rule followers hate the true gospel they hate it they claim to speak for
[41:24] Christ but if you'll notice the gospel is absent from their preaching and their teaching the message instead tends to be centered upon those who are in the pews either tearing them down because they're not perfect and telling them that you're just a sinner sinner sinner and declaring the wrath of God the wrath of God the wrath of God but not telling them about the Son of God who absorbed the wrath of God on the cross whom we are saved by through grace the gospel is absent in that kind of a setting likewise in the setting of a health and wealth gospel where it's all about how you can have enough faith you can back God into a corner where he's obligated to give you whatever you want and create heaven on earth for whatever right don't worry about denying yourself you use God to get whatever you want the gospel is absent in both but
[42:28] Jesus Christ fulfilled the law perfectly he died a wretched death sentenced! by sinful men willingly bearing their sins and enduring the wrath of God for again sins that he did not commit there he was crushed there he bled there he died in our place for our sins then on the third day he arose from the grave the tomb was empty it verified I mean to the to the millionth degree it verified right that this man is not an ordinary man this man who taught these things they must be true because look he was dead and now he's alive he said he was the son of
[43:28] God he must be because who else but God can come back to life from death we must proclaim this truth and we must expose those who don't in verse 24 Jesus says do not judge by appearances but judge with right judgment and so in his concluding exhortation this was both an indictment on his opponent's lack of moral and theological discernment but also it was a plea for them to have it we see that he's pleading for them to understand this truth that he's proclaimed urging them all to abandon their misconceptions about him and judge his claims with a righteous judgment who is he is it true what have you come to know if you know him as lord and savior if you have answered these questions he is the son of god and what he says is true then go and proclaim it and expose with patience and love those who don't and those who are falling into that deception because a person's assessment of jesus is the most important assessment that they will ever make of anyone let's look at our questions of application first what false teachings are christians most lured and tempted to believe we can be tempted to believe that you know what we hear from some on tv or what we read it's not the gospel a lot of us can be saved and tempted to lean towards thinking that i can have enough faith that i can get a ferrari or lean the other way and forgetting about grace and thinking that i've i've got to become this legalistic rule follower in order for god to love me we're all tempted in a lot of ways to do these things and then what false teachers are unbelievers most what false teachings are unbelievers most tempted to believe is a follow-up question to that one second what is the most effective way that christians can expose false teachers and their teachings and i'll tell you that i don't think that facebook and social media is the most effective way i think it's actually talking to people and looking at them in the eyes if we can that they would know that we're coming from a position of compassion and care for the for their eternal soul and pointing them to the word of god and we'll talk about these things tonight and then finally why is it important that christians work not just to proclaim truth but guard the church against error why is it so important that we be diligent doing both these things proclaiming truth but guarding from error why is it so important