THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapters 1-2)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Kevin Pendergrass.
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls.’ But they said, ‘We will not walk it in it’” (Jer. 6:16). Sadly, so many people today have that kind of attitude. They have the attitude that they want to love Jesus, and they talk about how they want to have a personal relationship with Jesus, but they are not willing to go by the Word of God. Biblical ignorance is something that is seen throughout the religious world as a whole. Maybe people have grown up going to church all their lives, but they really don’t know what they believe, much less why they believe it. Notice what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:3—“I urged you when I went into Macedonia to remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine.” Paul was warning Timothy, and was commanding Timothy to make sure that there were no other people teaching doctrines contrary to the Bible, and to make sure that he, too, was not teaching other doctrines that were contrary to the Word of God. So many people are doing this today. They have these certain doctrines, and “doctrines” is just another word for teaching. One of those is that all a person has to do to be saved is simply believe. Yet that is not found in the Scriptures. James 2:19 says that even the demons believe and tremble. James further goes on to write in James 2:24-26 that faith without works is dead, and that we are not justified by faith only. When we go to the Scriptures, we see that that is a view that is contrary to the Bible. That’s another doctrine. That’s another type of teaching not found in the Word of God.
Another one is baptism for the remission of sins. That is found in the Bible, but so many people are not willing to teach that. They say, “Well, now, baptism doesn’t save.” But when we got to 1 Peter 3:21 we realize that it is baptism that does save us. In Acts 2:37 they asked the question, “What must we do?” Peter didn’t say, “All you have to do is believe and say the sinner’s prayer,” because the sinner’s pray is nowhere found in the Bible. That is not what he said. He told them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. So baptism for the remission of sins is something found in the Scriptures. But so many people are not willing to teach that.
So in this lesson we are going to be looking at other doctrines that so many false teachers and people are believing. But when we go to the Bible, we are going to see that is not found in Scripture. The first one I want us to look at is that it doesn’t matter what you teach or believe. People today will stand up in the pulpits in their church buildings and say, “It really doesn’t matter what you believe. It really doesn’t matter as long as you love God.” Yet “loving God” is so much more than just a mental mindset of saying, “I love Jesus.” In John 14:15 Jesus Himself said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” How do we show Jesus that we love Him? How do we show God that we have a true love for Him? We show them by keeping the commandments. Today we understand that we are no longer under the Old Law. In fact, the Old Law was for the Jews. But in Hebrews 8:10 and Colossians 2 it explains that we are under the New Law today. However, I want us to look at the principle found in Deuteronomy 4:2. The Jews were not to add to or take away from the Law. In Deuteronomy 12:32 we read the same thing. They were not to add to or take away. In Proverbs 30:6 the Lord says that if you try to add to His Word, the Lord will rebuke you and you will be found a liar. In Galatians 1:6-10 Paul uses some very strong language. In fact, he says that even an angel from Heaven tries to teach you something else, you are not to believe it. He not only said it once, but also goes on to say it again. He says, “I say again, even if an angel from Heaven tries to teach you something other than the Word of God, you are not to believe it.” In 1 Corinthians 4:6 Paul said that we are not to go beyond what is written. Yet so many people do today. Then finally we read in Revelation 22:18-19 that John was not to add to or take away from the things he saw when he was writing the Book of Revelation. So how important it is to make sure that we are not adding to or taking away from the Bible. It does matter what we believe. It does matter what we teach. Even though so many people out in the world say that it doesn’t matter if you add to or take away, the Bible states throughout the Old Law and the New Law that we are not to add to or take away from.
This principle is seen a lot of times in the use of mechanical instruments in worship to God. Just about every religious group that you will see, including the mainstream denominations, uses mechanical instruments. Yet when we go to the New Testament church—the church of Christ—we see that the church never used mechanical instruments. The church was never authorized to use mechanical instruments. Many people today will say, “Well, the New Testament doesn’t say that we can’t use them.” What is that? That comes into play with this principle. If you cannot find authority for it, then you are adding to what Christ said. You are adding to the Gospel of Christ. We are not to go beyond what is written. We are not to go beyond the doctrine of Christ (2 Jn. 9). So if the Bible does not authorize something, then we cannot add to or take away from it. We understand this today. If we ourselves told somebody something, we would not want them to change what we told them. What if they changed that a little bit? What if they added something to it or took a little bit away? We wouldn’t like that. So how much more we need to make sure that we are respecting God’s commandments when He tells us to sing (Eph. 5:19), and that we are only to sing (Col. 3:16) to one another. Those who use mechanical instruments are in sin. It is something that is contrary to the Word of God, and is leading many souls to Hell. So we need to make sure that we are not doing that, and that we are not adding to or taking away from the Word of God.
Now the next doctrine that I want us to look at, and that so many people have a misconception of is that it’s wrong to debate or wrong to dispute. Notice in 1 Timothy 1:4 what Paul says. He says, “Do not give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification, which is in faith.” People come to this verse and say, “Now see, the Bible says that we are not to dispute with one another. We are only to have godly edification. We are just always to love one another and have the mindset of ‘let’s just hug, and if someone sins, let’s just ignore them.’” That is not what the Scripture teaches. This Scripture is teaching that there are types of disputing and debates that are wrong. In fact, he explains that in 1 Timothy 1:4 when he speaks of the type that comes from fables, or the type of disputing that comes from endless genealogies. Those are the things that Paul is condemning. Have you ever talked to somebody, and they try to argue their opinion? Well, it’s easy to argue your opinion, but when we come to the Bible we must see what the Bible has to say. In fact, there are many types of disputes found in the Bible. There are ungodly disputes, such as the ones we just looked at (fables and things based upon tradition). Then there are ignorant disputes (2 Timothy 2:23). What is an ignorant dispute? An ignorant dispute is something that is condemned in the Bible. An ignorant dispute is when two people are talking about something they really don’t know about. One person says, “Well, I don’t see a problem with it.” And another person says, “Well, I do.” And they really don’t know much Bible, so they begin to debate. You may be witnessing that, thinking, “How ignorant! They have no idea what they’re talking about.” Titus 3:9 condemns a foolish dispute—a dispute over something that really doesn’t matter, or something that is not found in the Bible that has nothing to do with God or the church. It is just a foolish dispute, and that is condemned. However, in Acts 17:2 we read of “godly disputes.” It was Paul’s custom that he go and dispute (or literally debate) with men who did not agree with the Scriptures. In fact, in Acts 9:29 the Scriptures say, “He spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him.” That word “dispute” is where get our words “debate” or “argue.” So not all disputing is wrong. It’s so sad today that when you even try to talk to someone who you disagree with, and it’s not a disagreement of opinion, but you see that what they’re doing is not found in the Scriptures, and you try to talk to that person and they say, “Well, I don’t want to debate you. I don’t want to talk about this. You just believe what you want to, and I’ll believe what I want to.” That’s not the mindset of a true Christian. The mindset of a true Christian is, “If you disagree with something I’m doing, tell me about it.” We need to go to the Bible and see what the Bible has to say. We are not going to debate our opinions and say, “Well, this is why I believe what I believe,” and then give some sort of worldly reasoning. We need to go to the Bible and say, “Here’s why I believe what you’re doing is wrong.” John 7:24 commands a righteous judgment—a judgment that is based upon the Word of God. How do we know that homosexuals, liars, and murderers will not inherit the kingdom of Heaven? It’s not because of opinion. It’s because 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 talks about that. It says that they will not enter Heaven unless they repent. So we need to be able to debate our cause. We need to make sure that if we truly believe that what we are doing is right, we need to be able to put that up against what somebody else believes is right because the only way we can know is by going to the Bible. Look at Proverbs 25:9, where it says, “Debate your case with your neighbor, and do not disclose the secret to another.” What are we to do? We are to debate our cause with our neighbors. So, let’s put behind us this mindset of, “Well, you just believe your way and I’ll believe my way, and we’ll all be OK,” because the Bible doesn’t work that way. If two people disagree on an issue when it comes to the Word of God, then there is truth, and truth can be found. And we can both come to the same agreement if we are willing to see what the Bible has to say. So let’s be willing to debate our cause. Let’s be willing to go up to talk to people and show them what the Bible has to say.
A third doctrine that many people are teaching, and that is sinful, is that the Gospel is not enough to save. What do I mean by “the Gospel is not enough”? I mean that people want some kind of “nudging,” or need some kind of “whisper in their ear,” and if they don’t get that, they believe that they can never change. “The Gospel can’t change people” is the mentality of a lot of people. They’ll say, “Well, now that person can’t change. The Bible can’t change that person.” However, when we come to Scripture, we realize that the Gospel can change people, and that it will change people if people are willing to allow it to happen. Let’s think about Paul. In 1 Timothy 1:15-16, Paul was the chief of all sinners. What do I mean by that? What did Paul mean by that? In Acts 8 we read that Paul was a persecutor of the church and of Christians. He went from persecuting Christians to preaching to Christians and trying to help them. He was the chief of all sinners, and was going around persecuting the church. What really is interesting about this is that Paul thought he was doing the right thing. In Acts 23:1 we read that Paul had a good conscience. He thought he was doing the right thing. There are so many people today who think they’re doing the right thing. In fact, if you talk to people, their justification will be, “Well, I’m a pretty good person, and I ‘think’ that what I’m doing is right.” But it’s not enough just to “think” that what you’re doing is right; you must know what you are doing is right. Paul was wrong. He was a persecutor of Christians. Yet he went from persecuting Christianity to preaching it. His conversion is recorded in Acts 22:16 where Ananias asked him, “Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Notice in Romans 1:16 what Paul has to say. He says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” Why was Paul not ashamed of the Gospel? It was because Paul understood the power behind it. He went from being the chief of all sinners to being a faithful Christian—a faithful saint. How wonderful that is! You might have known someone who, from a worldly standpoint, was a terrible sinner. Yet they changed and became a Christian. They were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, and now they are living a faithful Christian life. The Gospel can do the same thing for us if we let it. We are set free from sin when we obey God (Rom. 6:7,22). I want to talk about the idea that some people try to use to justify themselves. They look at what Paul was saying and they say, “Well, Paul was the chief of all sinners, so therefore I can be the chief of all sinners.” They then use the justification of, “You sin; I sin; we all sin; and it’s fine.” Yet Romans 6:1-2 says that we cannot continue in sin so that grace may abound. Once Paul was converted, and once Paul was a faithful Christian, he was no longer the chief of all sinners. In fact, he was a faithful saint. Ecclesiastes 2:26 makes the distinction between a sinner and one of God’s faithful. Notice what the Scripture says. “For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.” There is a distinction made between a sinner and one of God’s faithful. In the New Testament, in 1 Peter 4:18, we read the same thing. “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” We need to get the mindset out of our heads that we are all sinners and that it doesn’t matter because ”everybody is a sinner.” The Bible doesn’t teach that. It’s true that a faithful Christian can sin from time to time. And if he wants to continue to walk in the light as 1 John 1:7-9 says, then he must repent of that sin and ask God’s forgiveness. If he does not, then he will err and fall from the grace of God as Galatians 5:4 says. But if have been baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, if we are living a faithful Christian life, and if we fall short, repent, and ask God to forgive us of that sin, 1 Corinthians 14:33 calls us “saints.” We are saints. So we need to make sure that we take away the mindset of “Well, I’m no saint. I’m just a sinner.” If you are one of God’s faithful, you are a saint. We need to be proud that we are God’s faithful, and that we are living lives with God.
The next false doctrine that so many people are saying today has to do with the political world. People say, “Well, that isn’t politically correct any more.” Their idea is that it is wrong to name the names of false teachers and mark them. People today say, “Well, now, that’s just mean if we mark people. That’s something we shouldn’t be doing. That’s harsh.” Yet when we come to 1 Timothy 1:19-20, we read what Paul had to say about false teachers. He said, “having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” Naming names is something that is quite often found in the Scriptures. When it comes to a false teacher, we must note that person. Look at what Romans 16:17 says: “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” Why are we to do this? We are not to do it to mock them or make fun of them, but we are to do it because we love them. We love their souls enough to try to do something to mark them —not just for their sake, but for the sake of all the other people who will hear them. Think about it this way. Suppose you know of someone who is doing something bad. Suppose there was a robbery near your area, and the man had not yet been found. Would you want someone to call you and let you know that there was someone in the area who was robbing houses but who had not yet been caught? Of course you would. You would want to know so you could be on guard and watch out for that so you wouldn’t fall into that trap. Yet when it comes to spiritual applications, there are many people who are running around and going in and taking people’s faith from them. They are going in there and they are teaching them false doctrines, and people are believing them. Yet we are not willing to warn people by saying, “Watch out for him because he’s a false teacher who will tell you things that are not true. He’s going to try to get you to err and not believe the Word of God.” We need to have that mentality of saying, “Hey, we need to note those false teachers and make sure that people are aware of them so they don’t fall into that trap.” Paul marked so many false teachers. So did John. In 2 Timothy 2:16-18 Paul marked more false teachers, as he does in 2 Timothy 3:8. This is something that is seen throughout the Scriptures (like 3 John 9). These are examples of marking false teachers. We need to make sure that we’re doing the same. Is it politically correct? Who cares if it’s politically correct?! It’s biblically correct and scripturally correct. That is what we need to be concerned about—not what the world thinks, but what does God think. Are we pleasing to God?
The next false doctrine I want to look at it is that Christians are to sway their hands in the air. If you really love God, then you are going to take your hands, raise them, and sway them in the air. People try to use 1 Timothy 2:8 as their text. “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” We must let the Bible interpret the Bible. People who want to take this literally need to understand that it is talking only about males, and it would be only during prayer. A lot of times when you see this, it is during singing, and it is males and females doing it. This verse is not even what people are talking about. It’s a figurative use of hands. The Bible often uses “hands” figuratively. In Acts 2:23 Peter was preaching and talking to the crowd. He says, “You have taken by lawless hands and have crucified and put to death Christ.” It wasn’t their literal hands that did it. It was their “lawless hands,” which was a figurative use of hands that was talking about their hearts. Romans 10:21 talks about God’s hands. John 4:24 says that God is a Spirit, so He doesn’t have literal hands. “Hands” is used to speak of the heart or something figurative. In James 4:8 we read, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Hands and heart go hand in hand, so to say. If we are lifting our hands, it is not our literal hands. It’s talking about our hearts. Draw near to God. Lift up your hearts to God. We are to make sure that what we are doing is pleasing to God. It is not talking about literally lifting up physical hands.
The next false doctrine I want us to look at is that there is not standard of modesty found in the Bible regarding the way we dress. How sad this is. When we look at the world, and we go to the mall, go out to shop, or go out to eat, we see so much immodesty in the way that both males and females are dressing. What does the Bible have to say about modesty? Nakedness is always a shameful thing in the Scriptures when it is not found in the marriage bed. In Genesis 9:23 we see that it was shameful for Noah’s own sons to see the nakedness of their father after he had gotten drunk. Lamentations 1:8 and Ezekiel 16: 37 show us that nakedness is a shameful thing. Yet people today are willing to go out and be half naked in public and make it something they are proud of. That is something that is condemned in Scripture. In 1 Timothy 2:9-10 we see that there is such a thing as being modest or immodest. In this situation they were overdressing. They were not dressing the way that a Christian should dress. They were trying to draw people’s attention. There might be times when something in one culture may be right, but in another culture, it may be wrong. I’m not talking about the amount of clothing. I’m talking about the type of clothing. I’ve been to a place where wearing blue signified something that was sinful. If I were to wear that color, people would associate me with that sin. Is wearing a blue t-shirt something that is sinful in and of itself? No. But I need to make sure that I’m always professing godliness everywhere I go.
Now I want to talk about the standard of modesty in regard to how much we must cover. Is there a standard? We are commanded to be modest. In 1 Peter 1:13-16 we are commanded to be pure and holy in all of our conduct. We have a command to be pure and holy in all of our conduct. If there is a command to be modest, then there must be a standard by which we must be judged as modest. The way we dress matters to other people. Proverbs 7:10 speaks of “the attire of the harlot.” Matthew 5:28 tells us that we are not to cause others to stumble. In fact, Matthew 5:16 says that we must let our lights shine before men. We always should present ourselves as good Christian people. Let’s go all the way back to the Garden in Genesis 3. It was an innocent time—before sin came into the world. Yet when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, they knew they were naked. Before, they didn’t know. Then they did know, which shows that it was something that had to do with right and wrong. Culture did not teach them that it was a shameful thing to be naked. They automatically knew. Genesis 3:21 tells us that God clothed Adam and Eve. The words, “tunics of skin,” actually mean from the shoulder to at least the knee. Culture did not cause this. It wasn’t a matter of them growing up and knowing that it was wrong for them to be naked. They automatically knew when they sinned. There may be times when in certain cultures we have to put more clothing on. But we never should take more off from at least our shoulder to our knees. In Exodus 28:42 we are told, “You shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness.” God then define what nakedness is: “They shall reach from the waist to the thighs.” This was their undergarment, so that nothing would be shown. God considers the thigh as being naked. Many people today consider that as “in style.” Isaiah 47:2-3 speaks of the thigh as something that is shameful and naked. In John 21:7, before Peter went into mixed company, what did he do? He put on his outer garment before meeting the Lord in mixed company. We are to test and prove all things we do (1 Thess. 5:21; Eph. 5:10). If we cannot find authority because there is none, then we cannot do it. The standard of modesty for being in mixed company is at least from the shoulder to the knee, which means that mixed swimming cannot be an exception, wedding dresses are not an exception, and sporting events are not an exception. It’s always from the shoulder to the knee. We must keep that commandment from God.
The last doctrine I want us to look at briefly is the idea that women can be preachers. That is a false idea. In 1 Timothy 2:11-12 we are told, “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” How clearly Paul teaches this to Timothy. Women cannot be preachers. Yet some today say that it’s just a cultural thing. Notice, however, what Paul’s reasoning was. In 1 Timothy 2:13 we read, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve.” It had nothing to do with culture. Paul went all the way back to the Garden to set that standard. We must do the exact same thing today. We need to make sure that there are no women preachers where we attend because that is condemned by God. The Bible clearly states that it is not a cultural issue. It’s something set in place from the beginning, and that will remain throughout all time.
Have you heard what the Bible has to say? Have you believed? Have you repented of your sins? Have you confessed Christ as your Savior? Have you been baptized for the forgiveness of your sins? There are so many false doctrines today that people have taught that are not according to Scripture. We need to make sure that we are always doing what the Bible says. If you have not obeyed the Gospel of Christ, we hope you will today.
Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. In Jeremiah 6:16, what command did God give Jeremiah to communicate to the people to whom he was speaking?
2. According to Jeremiah, 6:16, what was the people’s response to the command that Jeremiah gave them on God’s behalf?
3. What did Paul mean when, in 1 Timothy 1:3, he commanded Timothy to “charge some that they teach no other doctrine”?
4. What did Jesus say in John 14:15?
5. According to passages such as Deuteronomy 12:32, Proverbs 30:6, and Revelation 22:18-19, what are we never to do when it comes to the Scriptures?
6. What was Paul condemning in 1 Timothy 1:4?
7. What does 2 Timothy 2:23 command us to avoid?
8. What does Titus 3:9 command us to avoid?
9. According to John 7:24, with what kind of judgment are Christians instructed to judge others?
10. In 1 Timothy 1:15-16, how did Paul describe his past life?
11. What does Romans 6:1-4 command us not to do when it comes to sin?
12. According to 1 Corinthians 14:33, what is another word for “Christians”?
13. In 1 Timothy 1:19-20 Paul discussed two men by name. Who were those two men?
14. Why did Paul mention by name the two men discussed in question #13 (above)?
15. What two men did Paul mention in 2 Timothy 2:16-18, and why did he discuss them?
16. When Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:8, “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere,” what does the word “men” in that passage literally mean?
17. When, in Acts 2:23, Peter said to those assembled that they had “by lawless hands” crucified Christ, what did he mean by the phrase “lawless hands”?
18. When James wrote in James 4:8, “Cleanse your hands…,” what point was he making?
19. What command is given in 1 Timothy 2:9?
20. What principle is found in 1 Timothy 2:9 that is applicable to both males and females today?
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, 607 McLish Ave., Ardmore, OK 73401; (580) 223-3289; www.thegospelofchrist.com