Clean Transcript

Pretend Christians

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• I appreciate the opportunity. I appreciate everyone coming, and I trust the Lord will use the messages. I want you to open your Bibles today, if you would please, to the book of John, chapter 8. We'll read verses 30 through 32. Although I'm not necessarily going to expound these verses, I am going to explain them and then come back to them before I end. Notice, if you would, John 8, beginning there with verse 30. The Bible says, "As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews who believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed."

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• "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." I want to bring a message which I've entitled, "Pretend Christians." Your pastor said in Sunday school this morning that he had heard and read about 70 or 80 percent of professing church members are in reality lost. Way back when R.A. Torrey was preaching—that was in the time of Dwight L. Moody—R.A. Torrey said that 90 percent of most church members are lost.

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• A modern-day evangelist has said the same thing. And I remember a pastor in Ohio who had a huge church, 5,000 members. And he made this statement: "If I can get 500 of them to heaven, I'll be happy." Now, he couldn't get anybody to heaven, but I understood what he meant. But what he was saying was 90% of his church was lost. And so I've come up with this message on pretend Christians, and I usually begin by saying I'm so tired of pretend Christians. Evidently, there are many professing Christians—church members, anyhow—that believe that Christianity is a game. They merely pretend to believe, to be Christians. They pretend to believe the Bible. They pretend to worship God. They pretend to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They pretend to be obedient, and they pretend to submit to the word of God.

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• I want you to very quickly turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, chapter 21, holding John chapter eight. But if you'll look in Matthew chapter 21, beginning there with verse 28 and reading through verse 31, you'll see exactly where I'm going with this because our Lord himself gives this illustration. In Matthew chapter 21, beginning there with verse 28, our Lord says, "But what think ye?"

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• "A certain man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. And he answered and said, I will not. But afterwards he repented and went. He came to the second and said, Likewise, and he answered and said, I go, sir, and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father?" They said unto him, "The first." Jesus said unto them, "Verily I say unto you that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you." So the first son, when the father said, "Go work in my vineyard,"

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• he said, "No, I will not do it." But then he repented and went. He represented the harlots and the publicans. He came to the second son and said, "Go work in my vineyard." And the second son said, "I go, sir," and went not. And therefore our Lord looked at those Pharisees and said, "The harlots and the publicans go into the kingdom of God before you." The interesting thing is when you read this verse, you find out that pretend Christians are usually very nice, very mannerly. "I go, sir." And they pretend like they're actually going to do the work, but they do not do so. Evidently, many, many professing Christians, many adults have never really grown up. I remember when we were children, we played pretend games. I remember playing cops and robbers.

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• By the way, you do know there are no longer any felons in the state of California. Did you know that? They are now called "justice-involved persons." That's the politically correct lingo. That is true. I saw a cartoon—in fact, I saw two—they were mocking and making fun of California, and here's one little kid talking to a bunch of other little boys and said, "Who wants to play cops and justice-involved persons?" And one little boy said, "Say what?" Well, I mean, you know. And I saw another one showed a picture of a man behind bars and it said "a justice-involved person." Then it showed a man in the hospital, in a hospital bed, it said "a medically involved person." And then it showed a man homeless, sleeping on the street, said "a plastic involved person." I mean, you know. So, but when we think about cops and robbers, those were pretend games. Cowboys and Indians, those were pretend games. Yankees and Confederates, those were pretend games. We knew when we were playing those games that they were merely pretend and we were not really cowboys and Indians or cops and robbers.

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• But you know, as we matured, we quit playing those pretend games. However, in the religious world, many still pretend. The Pharisees were notorious for pretending. They pretended that they were righteous. They pretended that they kept the law. They pretended that they were holy. You know what our Lord said regarding the Pharisees? I want you to listen carefully. In Matthew 23 and verse 14, our Lord said this: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!"

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• "You devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you shall receive the greater damnation." And then in Mark chapter 12 and verse 40, he still said it like this again: "Which devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers, these shall receive the greater damnation."

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• Now, the word "pretense" is from the Greek word prophasis, which literally means a cloak, a show, a pretext, something that is done under color, something that is actually a pretended cause. And so their long prayers that they made were actually a cloak or a cover for their covetousness and their wickedness in devouring widows' houses. Do you realize the law of God says in Exodus chapter 22 and verse 22, "You shall not afflict the widow or fatherless child." And then in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 18, talking about God, "He does execute judgment for the fatherless and the widows and loveth the strangers in giving him food and raiment." And then in Deuteronomy 24 and verse 17, God said, "Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger nor the fatherless nor take a widow's raiment to pledge." And then the Bible tells us in Psalm 68 verse 5 that God is a father to the fatherless and a judge of the widows, and God is holy in his habitation. And so what these Pharisees were doing, although they were pretending to keep God's law and obey God's law, they were using their long prayers as a pretense as they were devouring the houses of widows and orphans.

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• And so their pretense was nothing more than a cloak for their covetousness and their wickedness. They readily, willingly, devoured that which God says you shall not do. And hence, we have the same thing going on today in our churches. Let me give you an illustration. There are plenty of individuals that will use Christianity or use religion as a cover. For instance, in the San Antonio Express and the Houston Chronicle, which was written on February the 19th this year, 2019, here's the headline.

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• "Hundreds of Southern Baptist church leaders and workers have been accused of sexual misconduct over the past 20 years." The article went on to say that some of the victims were as young as three years of age. However, most of them were teenagers. Independent Baptists have also had their sins exposed over time as well. There have been men, pastors, that have been accused of such. Some I knew, some are now dead, some are now in prison, and some are still facing prison. What was it that made the Pharisees pretend? In reality,

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• it was their antinomianism. That is, they were actually against God's law. They pretended to be religious. They pretended to be right. And may I point out, it is exactly the same problem that we're having today in our churches. It's antinomianism. People are against God's law. They're not interested in following God's law. They're not interested in obeying God's law. And so they just simply pretend. And now, just like there are pretend Christians, there are also pretend preachers.

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• I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Philippians, chapter one. In the book of Philippians, chapter one, the apostle Paul is in prison and something is happening while he is in prison. Notice, if you would, in the book of Philippians, chapter one, and let's begin reading there with verse 12. Philippians chapter 1 verse 12. Watch what he says. "But I would have you understand, brethren, that the things which happened to me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel, so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds"—that is, by his imprisonment—"are much more bold to speak the word without fear."

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• And then he makes this statement. "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill. The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds. But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. What then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, and ye will rejoice."

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• So the Apostle Paul said there's some out there that are preaching. They're just pretending. And the reason they're pretending is they think they're going to add affliction to my bonds. They think it's going to be worse for me. But they're just pretending, and I don't care, he said, as long as they are preaching Christ. He said, that's what works for me. So it really doesn't bother me one way or the other.

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• So here's a good question. How in the world can you tell a pretend preacher from a real preacher? And the answer is twofold. You can tell who is a real preacher not only by the message, but also by the messenger. Because a real preacher is going to expound and explain and apply the word of God. I've often said, I don't understand these preachers who never, ever really teach the scripture, never explain it, never expound it. I've often believed it has to be an awful lot of work for a man to get up and speak for 30 or 45 minutes and never use the scripture. I don't know what all he can say, but you know what the Bible says in Isaiah 8 in verse 20? Listen carefully. "To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, there is no light in them." So if a man is not expounding and explaining and applying the scripture, he's not a real preacher. And the second way you can tell is by his manner, because his life is going to back up his message.

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• If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Matthew chapter 7, very quickly, Matthew chapter 7, and let's begin reading there with verse 15. And look what our Lord says. Matthew chapter 7. I'd watch if you would please verse 15. In this passage our Lord makes it exceedingly clear. He says this: Matthew 7 verse 15, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

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• So here's a man who pretends to be a real preacher, but he's not. He's a real ravening wolf. And our Lord said, "You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?" And the answer's no. "Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast in the fire. Wherefore, by their fruits you shall know them." So our Lord says you can tell a real preacher, number one, by the message, and then number two, by the messenger, because his life is going to back up that which he preaches.

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• And if you will skip down, since you're in Matthew chapter 7, to verse 21, I want you to see. Obviously there are a lot who have failed to hear and heed what our Lord just said, for in verse 21 He says this: "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?"—that is, preached in your name—"and in thy name have cast out devils? In thy name have done many wonderful works?"

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• "Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Note, if you would, what he says: "I never knew you." Not "I knew you and forgot you." I just never, ever knew you. You see, what we live and how we live is oftentimes more important than what we say. Do you realize a profession has never, ever saved anybody? Anybody can make a profession. It is not a profession that saves. It is Jesus Christ that saves.

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• And the truth of the matter is this. I have known and I still know preachers who have preached for years and then God saved them. In fact, one is a very dear friend of mine right now in Alabama. He preached for a number of years before he was actually saved. Now, listen to me very carefully. We're not perfect. We are not sinless. However, what I'm going to show you today is this. A real, genuine child of God wants to bring his life into conformity to the word of God. He wants to be holy. He wants to obey, he wants to change, and he wants to live as God would direct him. If you would turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Romans chapter 8, I will show you in black and white what God's will is for your life. I can point it out, I can proclaim it. It is here, and if you are a child of God, I can assure you, this is God's will for your life. Because He says so.

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• Look in Romans 8, and notice if you would please verse 29. Watch carefully. The Bible says, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." Do you realize it's God's will for you, if you're a child of God, to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ? It's God's will for you to be more like Jesus Christ every day. Jesus Christ was the perfect, obedient son of God. And now he said, it is my will that you be conformed to my son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So when people try to pretend, it's a scam. But you know, when you try to scam people, usually you get caught. You can scam me and you can scam others, but you cannot scam God. You know what the Bible says in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 19? Listen carefully. "Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

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• "The Lord knoweth them that are His, and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Now, the word "iniquity" is a very interesting word. The Greek word dikaios is the word for righteousness. When you put an alpha or an "a" in front of it, it negates it: adikaios. And that means unrighteousness. And the word "iniquity" there is unrighteousness. "Let everyone who nameth the name of Christ depart from unrighteousness." Well, you ask, what is unrighteousness? Well, 1 John 3 and verse 4 tells you that. Because the Bible says, very clearly, that "whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law." So, when you commit iniquity, you're transgressing the law. When you transgress the law, you're committing iniquity or committing sin.

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• You remember that question that Paul asked in Romans 6, verses 1 and 2? He asked, "What shall we say then to these things?" Now listen carefully. "What shall we say then to these things? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?" So what he's saying is this: if we truly died in Jesus Christ, if we were truly buried in Jesus Christ, if we were truly raised in the newness of life in Jesus Christ, how in the world can we continue what we were before? It's impossible. It's impossible. Because newness of life is in direct opposition to the old man in Adam. Now, let me just say this again. We are not sinless.

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• We are not sinlessly perfect. I never will forget years ago, I went into a dry cleaner establishment and I had a suit I needed cleaned. And I knew that the professing owner of that establishment was a Christian, or at least he professed to be a Christian. So he was standing behind the counter and I walked in and I said to him, "Isn't it wonderful to have your sins forgiven?"

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• And he looked at me and he said, "I don't know. I haven't sinned in 20 years." When I picked my mouth up off the floor, I said, "Well, you just broke your record because you just did." Because the Bible says, "He that saith I have no sin is a liar and the truth is not in him." We're not sinlessly perfect, but I want to show you something.

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• Look in your Bibles, if you would please, to 1 John chapter three. You see, here's a passage that has really confounded a lot of people. But I want you to look at 1 John chapter 3 and let's begin reading there with verse 6. I want you to look at it. Because a lot of people will try to take this passage and they will try to teach sinless perfection. So in 1 John chapter 3, beginning there with verse 6, the Bible says, "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not." Wow! "Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."

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• "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Wow.

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• When you look at that passage, you have to say, "Well, I've sinned, so that must mean I'm not a Christian." No, that's not what that passage means at all. Let me tell you, every one of these verbs in these verses is a present active indicative in the Greek. What does that mean? It means it is something that is continuing. So let's read it like this. Watch, if you would, please. He says in 1 John 3, watch verse 6: "Whosoever is continually abiding in Him is not continually sinning. Whosoever is continually sinning hath not seen him, neither known him."

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• "Little children, let no man deceive you. He that continually is doing righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that is continually committing sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God is not continually committing sin, for his seed continually remains in him, and he cannot continually sin because he is born of God." And then he says, watch verse 10: "In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil: whosoever is not continually doing righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." So he said, here is the deciding factor between whether someone is a child of God and whether someone's a child of the devil. The child of God is continually changing his life, continually bringing it into conformity to God. He may be a sinner, but he is not continually sinning.

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• He's not doing it over and over. Look in 1 John 2 and verses 1 and 2 there. 1 John 2, look in verse 1. Here he says this: "My little children, these things I write unto you that you sin not." I don't want you to sin, "but if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous." So now if John is going to be teaching sinless perfection, why would he say, "if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father"? He said, your goal is not to sin. That is for sure. But you are going to sin. And when you do, we have an advocate with the Father.

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• So you have to understand that all of these passages are in the present tense. It's kind of like Romans 6 and verse 12. Let me just quote it. You know what the Bible says there? The Bible says, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof."

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• Now, here's a very interesting truth. The Bible does not say, "Let not sin therefore be in your mortal bodies." It is in our mortal bodies. But he said, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body." In other words, you don't have to obey sin if you're a Christian. Sin is no longer our Lord. Jesus Christ is our Lord. Sin is not on the throne. Jesus Christ is on the throne. So he says, "Let not therefore sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof."

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• Now, if you look in 1 John 2 verses 3 and 4, you'll see the same truth. Watch carefully. 1 John 2 verse 3: "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." Literally, it says this: "And hereby we do know him if we are continually keeping his commandments." Watch verse 4: "He that saith, I know him, and is not continually keeping his commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him."

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• So here's a man that says he's a Christian and yet he constantly and consistently violates the law of God, goes contrary to God, contrary to the scripture. God says that man's a liar. He's a liar. He's not a Christian. That doesn't mean Christians are perfect. It doesn't mean Christians are sinless, but it does mean that the general character of our life is one of obedience.

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• Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter seven again, because I want you to understand this, that Christianity is not some off-and-on sport. There's no season to Christianity. It's not fall, therefore it's time for Christianity, or spring, therefore it's time for Christianity. No. Christianity is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Christianity, it's not being good and going to church on Sunday and living like a heathen Monday through Saturday. There's no time off for Christianity. Notice if you would in Matthew chapter 7. Look what our Lord says beginning there with verse 24. Matthew 7 verse 24: "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock."

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• "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon the rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell."

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• "And great was the fall of it." In other words, our Lord said, here's the difference. Here's a man who hears my sayings and does them. And here's someone that hears my sayings and does not do them. You see, obedience to the truth and the application of the truth is that which testifies to the fact that we are truly his. We cannot be pretend Christians if we are constantly and continually bringing our lives into conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ and his word.

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• Now, let me ask you a question. Don't answer it out loud, please, but try to answer it in your mind. Listen to this question. Why do some professed believers who have seemingly been faithful to his word suddenly forsake and cast off the truth? I could ask that another way. How could a real, genuine Christian turn his back upon Christ and act wickedly and refuse to repent and obey the Word of God? How can one seemingly turn off every vestige of truth that he's ever heard and ever learned and do that which is contrary?

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• Well, there are several answers that you can give. One of them is because of the flesh. Let me just show you. Look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Galatians chapter 5 and verse 19. By the way, I hope you know that our Lord said himself that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God. This is one reason that we die, because our flesh is wicked and wrong. And a lot of times, Christians blame things on the devil, and it's their own flesh. I want you to look at it. Galatians 5 verse 19, he says, "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like, of which I tell you before, as I've also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." But I want you to notice everything that is mentioned in these verses is a work of the flesh.

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• The devil doesn't have to tempt you to get drunk, that's the flesh. The devil doesn't have to tempt you to commit adultery and fornication, no, that's the work of the flesh. The devil doesn't have to tempt you into idolatry, that's the work of the flesh. There's another reason and that is because of the enticing and seducing and tempting power of this world. The truth of the matter is what does not appeal to the flesh. The world comes along and says, "Well, look, I'll give you something."

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• John Bunyan, if you've never read his book, Pilgrim's Progress, I would encourage you to do so. That book is only second to the Bible in sales. There is a character in Pilgrim's Progress by the name of Mr. Worldly Wise Man. And he's advising Christian, contrary, of course, to Evangelist, who's trying to tell him rightly. But one author said this about Mr. Worldly Wise Man. Listen carefully. He says, "Mr. Worldly Wiseman is a citizen from the city of Carnal Policy, which tells us that it is a place that is ruled by fleshly strategies meant to damn its citizens to the darkest confines of eternal punishment. This man, Mr. Worldly Wise Man, attacks the scriptures, the book that Christian is holding in his hand. Mr. Worldly Wise Man is a smooth, cool soul dressed in the garb of a pastor who is married up with the world. He works in a very seducing way toward Christian, and that sometimes is the most deceptive of all means."

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• "Usually it is not outright heretical views that entrap, but the subtle seducing spirits. All his actions are exactly the opposite of the honesty and purity of Evangelist, who is doing the real nitty-gritty of pastoral work. Mr. Worldly Wise Man is a deceitful man who is constantly swayed by changing winds of popular doctrine and uses that influence very effectively on the spiritually naive." Let me just change that just for a moment. Let me just put it like this. Mr. Worldly Wise Man is constantly using not only popular doctrine but political correctness to sway the spiritually naive.

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• Do you know why Demas forsook Paul? Do you know why Demas forsook Christ? The Bible tells you in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 10, Paul wrote, "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world." The world had an appeal to Demas. And he was willing to turn his back upon the Apostle Paul and upon Jesus Christ for the world.

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• Now let me tell you something. It is not just the allurements of the world. It is also the philosophy of the world. We are inundated with humanistic attitudes and humanistic ideas and dispositions. And worldly philosophy is directly opposed to Christian philosophy. It's directly opposed to the Word of God. And many fall prey because they rationalize their thinking and they come up and say, "Well, everybody is doing it." Or "Everybody believes it." Or "Everybody has this."

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• Or "Everybody's walking this way." You know what the Bible says in Exodus chapter 23 and verse 2? "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil." Just because someone is jumping off a cliff and committing suicide doesn't mean that you have to do it. Just because a hundred do it, doesn't mean that you have to do it. "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil." And when you think of feminism, transgenderism, socialism, communism, anarchy, pedophilia, these things are not only being excused by professing Christians today, many times they're being embraced by professing Christians. Why? I suppose there are many answers, but I'm going to give you one.

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• And I believe it's because there is a breakdown in the family. Because the family is the most fundamental unit there is. Have you ever stopped to think that God created only three institutions? He created the family, which is a ministry of education. He created the church, which is a ministry of grace, and he created the state or civil government, which is a ministry of justice. You know, which is the most fundamental? The family, because without families, you don't have a church or a state. And when the family goes, so does the church. So does the civil government. So does society. There's a breakdown in the family and what we see today in feminism

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• is where women are demanding an equal position with the husband or above the husband. Let me explain something to you. God created Adam and God created Eve. Man and woman both have equal standing before God. That means my wife and I are both creatures of God. God created us. Not only do we have the same Creator, but we have the same standing before Him in the sense that we can both be redeemed by Jesus Christ. Women can be saved just as equally as men can be saved. But just because we have an equal standing before our Creator, and just because we can be saved equally in redemption, that does not mean that we are positionally the same.

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• There's a difference in positions. Every family has to have a head. Every body has to have a head. If you don't have a head, you're dead. It's just that simple. But if you've got two heads, you're a freak. I mean, something is wrong somewhere. There can only be one head. Now let me tell you something. God has an order. I want to show it to you. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and look at verse 3. It is plain. It is spelled out.

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• There is no way in the world that we can misunderstand this. Look in 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 3. Here it is. God says, "But I would have you know"—this is something you must know—"I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God." So God has it like this. Here is God, here is Christ, here is man, here is woman.

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• Now, that is God's order. That is His created order. I have heard people rail against male patriarchy. I've heard people rail against white male patriarchy. If you've been listening to the news, you've been hearing people say the problem in this country is white males. Well, let me tell you something. If you do not like God's orderly way, and if you don't like the way God established things, your argument is not with me, it's with God. God says, here it is, He's the head, here's Christ, here's man, and here's the woman.

  #52 | 37:00 to 37:41 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Ephesians, chapter 5. Watch carefully. Ephesians, chapter 5. Galatians, Ephesians. Ephesians, chapter 5. Note, if you would, please, beginning there with verse 22. Ephesians 5, verse 22. The Bible says, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord." Please underline that "as unto the Lord." So part of the wife's submission to her husband is her submission to the Lord. If she's not submitted to the Lord, she's not going to be submitted to her husband. If she's submitted to her husband, she's submitted to the Lord. That's what he said. So watch verse 22 again. "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and he's the savior of the body. Therefore"—here's the conclusion—"therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."

  #53 | 37:43 to 38:47 | cleaned

• Biblical headship does not mean that the woman is inferior. Biblical headship does not mean that submission is somehow wicked or wrong. If I were to go to work for BJ, he hired me. Does that mean I can tell him what to do? No. He has to tell me what to do. He's the head. He's the employer. I would be the employee. There's submission even in business. You cannot escape submission.

  #54 | 38:48 to 39:29 | cleaned

• Although women are equally the creation of God and can be redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, positionally we are different. Did you ever notice as you read through the Bible that Jesus Christ is called the servant of the Father? One of the terms that he uses of himself over and over in the Bible is "the sent one." "I am the sent one." Just because Jesus Christ was a servant of the Father, and just because he was sent by the Father, does not mean that he was inferior to the Father. Because he said himself in John 10 in verse 30, "I and my Father are one." Submission is not wicked. Submission is not inferiority. Submission is not a denial of equality. The submission of a wife to her husband is not a denial of her person and worth. It is evidence of her submission to God. It is her glory and it is her honor to represent the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ himself was in submission to his parents.

  #55 | 39:32 to 40:37 | cleaned

• Look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Luke, Chapter 2. Do you confess and do you acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God? Yes. He is God in the flesh. Jesus Christ has always been God. He always will be God. There never was a time when He was not. But if you'll look in Luke, Chapter 2, I want you to note something. You remember the story in Luke, Chapter 2, of course, how Jesus Christ was found at the temple answering the questions there, and of course his parents turned back and found him sorrowing. But note if you would in Luke chapter 2 beginning there verse 51. After they found him, the Bible said, "And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man." Jesus Christ was far superior to his parents. He created them. And as God, he was omniscient. But as a child, he submitted to his parents.

  #56 | 40:38 to 41:45 | cleaned

• Submission is not sin. Submission is not wickedness. No, not by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever. So Jesus Christ was in submission to the Father.

  #57 | 41:46 to 41:57 | cleaned

• Now, listen to me very carefully. Just like the wife is to be in submission to the husband, listen, the husband is to be in submission to Jesus Christ. And the husband that is in submission to Jesus Christ will love his wife the way Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. That's why the Bible says in Ephesians 5 and verse 25, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it." The husband who will not submit to Jesus Christ and will not love his wife and his family the way Christ loved the church will end up destroying himself and his family. The children are supposed to be in submission to their parents. The wife in submission to the husband. The husband in submission to Jesus Christ. There's no way that you can escape submission. Everyone is in submission.

  #58 | 41:58 to 43:00 | cleaned

• But what we've done is this. We've reached the point in our society where oftentimes wives, if they cannot get their way, they will leave. They'll depart. They'll forsake their husband and their home. And in their claim of positional equality, they just desert their families and try to live an independent role. Do you understand that it's not just the allurements of the world, it's the thinking of the world.

  #59 | 43:01 to 43:33 | cleaned

• Feminism is totally contrary to the word of God. So if you're thinking, if your logic, if your reasoning is not in conformity to the word of God, the only other option is it's in conformity to the world. May I remind you what our Lord said in 1 Corinthians 1, verses 18-20. He said, "For the preaching of the cross to them that are perishing is foolishness. But unto us who are being saved, it is the power of God."

  #60 | 43:34 to 44:06 | cleaned

• "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." So there's the wisdom of the world and there's the wisdom of God. There's the philosophy of the world and there's the philosophy of the Bible.

  #61 | 44:07 to 44:39 | cleaned

• You see, everybody has problems. Husbands and wives have problems. Fathers and mothers have problems. Children have problems. I've often said, I never ever have a problem with problems. Do you realize that every problem has a solution? Every problem can be worked out. I never ever have a problem with problems. I have a problem with people. Getting people to do what's necessary to work out the problem. Do you realize if you want to do what's right, I can help you. But if you want to do what's wrong, I can't help you. And usually what happens is you've got somebody who wants to do what's right and you've got somebody that wants to do what's wrong.

  #62 | 44:40 to 45:25 | cleaned

• And there's a grave danger when you and I fail to submit in the areas of our life that we must submit. It's just that simple.

  #63 | 45:26 to 45:35 | cleaned

• Now, let me go a little bit further. Let me show you this, because I think this is very important. There's a grave danger if you understand the importance of obedience and the importance of bringing your life in conformity with Jesus Christ. If you've been keeping up with the news, you've heard about some preachers who've now turned and become an atheist. I heard one gospel music—I don't listen to most of that stuff—but one who was supposedly high in gospel music left the ministry, left his wife, left his family, and declared to be a sodomite.

  #64 | 45:36 to 46:21 | cleaned

• Now, my question is this: how can that happen? Well, let me answer it. I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 John 2 and look, if you would please, at verse 19. This answers that for you. Look in 1 John, chapter two and verse 19. Watch carefully. 1 John 2, verse 19. God says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out."

  #65 | 46:23 to 47:03 | cleaned

• "That they might be made manifest, that they were not all of us." Now, please look at that. "They went out from us, but they were not of us." Why did they leave? They were never converted to begin with. "For if they had been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might be made manifest, they were not of us."

  #66 | 47:04 to 47:29 | cleaned

• Let me repeat what I've said this week. The proof that you have ever savingly believed is that you continue to believe. And the proof that you've ever savingly repented is that you continue to repent. That does not mean that we're perfect, but it does mean that we're not going to leave the faith. We're not going to leave the house of God, the work of God, the worship. But we're not going to do that. Now, let me repeat this and then I'm going to show you one more verse.

  #67 | 47:29 to 48:05 | cleaned

• I want you to listen carefully. You remember what our Lord said to those people in John chapter eight? This is where I read. "Then said he to those who believed on his name, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed." Let me tell you what it really is. "If you continue in my words, then you are truly my disciples" or "then you are my true disciples." The true disciples of Jesus Christ continue in his word. If you do not continue in his word, you're a pretend Christian. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, chapter five. Hebrews, chapter five, and I want you to look closely at verses eight and nine. Hebrews, chapter five, look in verse eight, we're talking about Jesus Christ.

  #68 | 48:05 to 49:15 | cleaned

• "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."

  #69 | 49:18 to 49:23 | cleaned

• Now watch, "And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him." He is the author of eternal salvation to all those that obey Him. Obedience is mandatory. If you are a child of God, you're going to continue to obey him and follow him and change your life and keep bringing your life into conformity to his word. Obedience is the evidence of sonship and salvation. If there is no obedience, or at least no constant, continued obedience, it is evidence of being a pretend Christian. Because Jesus Christ is the author of eternal salvation to all those that obey him. Are you perfect? No. Am I perfect? No. Do I sin? Yes. Do you sin? Yes. But when we sin, if we belong to Jesus Christ, when we see it, when we hear it, when we know it, we turn from it.

  #70 | 49:25 to 51:04 | cleaned

• By his grace and by his power, and oftentimes we lament fiercely because we've done what we've done. We do it foolishly. We do it ignorantly. We do it presumptuously, but we do it. Because we're sinners. But we're saved sinners. And when God shows us our sin, we turn from it. We will not continue in it. Someone has said it like this. The difference between a hog and a sheep is very simple. When a sheep falls into a mud puddle, he gets up and gets out as quickly as he can and gets clean. When a hog falls in it, he wallows in it and loves it and enjoys it. So if you can sin, and continue to sin, there's something wrong.

  #71 | 51:06 to 52:00 | cleaned

• He became the author of eternal salvation to all those that obey Him. Our obedience may not be perfect, but it will be the general tenor of our lives, and it will be consistent. And when we hear and see and know that which is wrong in our lives, we'll be willing to repent and turn from those things and bring our lives into conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee.

  #72 | 52:03 to 52:40 | cleaned

• We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We thank you, Father, for the reality of salvation and the reality of being able to bring our lives into greater conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his word. Help us, Father, to love thee and to live for thee and to glorify thy name. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

  #73 | 52:40 to 53:04 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T16:31:47Z