The Holy Spirit (19)
By Abraham Eli
This study was first taught on September 18, 2012
Topic: Now That the Holy Spirit is in You (2.2): He Exposes Error (2)
No audio available for this study.Background
When we met last week, we saw that as the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit exposes error. We defined error as any teaching, prophesy, miracle, sign, wonder, etc., that is contrary to the word of God, but which is presented to the body of Christ as truth. We also said that error thrives and spreads as long as it is taught as truth; hence, the Holy Spirit seeks to halt its spread, and eventually destroy it, by shining the light of God on it, thus exposing it for what it truly is––error!
Among the several ways in which the Holy Spirit exposes error, we saw that the initial one is to make us, Christians, aware of its existence. The essence of making us aware of the existence of error is to keep us on the alert, and ensure that we do not gobble up every teaching, prophecy, miracle, etc., as though it were from God. Also, the Holy Spirit does not want us to take for granted that every place that bears the name of 'church' is a church of God; that everyone who claims to speak for God is indeed speaking from God; and, that every miracle, sign, or wonder, is a manifestation of God!
This is indeed a very important aspect of the work of the Spirit of truth in the believer, because, not being aware that there are false ministers and false churches, false teachers and false teachings, and, false prophets and false prophecies, is the reason why many believers have strayed from following Christ, imbibed all sorts of false and devilish doctrines, and, are now engaged in all manner of strange practices. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly difficult to disengage many so-called believers in Christ from practices resulting from error, as they have become so attached to such error, and do hold dearly and tightly to them as though their lives depended on it!
We concluded by noting that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, Who cannot lie, wants us to know that not everything called the 'word of God' is truly the word of God; not every message that the messenger prefaces with, “Thus says the Lord” is from God; not every song or chorus that has in its lyrics, “Jesus”, “God”, or “Holy Spirit”, is a song in praise to God; not every place of 'worship' is involved in the worship of the One true God! And, this is not a warning that has just been received, but one that the Holy Spirit had given long before this era, as did the Lord Jesus Himself, before He went to heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God!
Scripture Text(s)
John 14:17; 1 Timothy 4:1-2
We continue tonight as we move from awareness on to other ways by which the Holy Spirit exposes error to the believer in Christ. May we learn, and be able to avoid error as they are presented to us, in Jesus' name, Amen.
As we take a deeper look at the second scripture text, we see certain things which the Holy Spirit expressly speaks about error—its origin, nature, and the character of its proponents.
Genesis 3:1-5; Revelation 12:9; 20:2; John 8:44; Luke 4:1-13; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 13:13-14; 1 Timothy 1:4; Matthew 22:23-32; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Matthew 7:15-20; 1 John 3:4-10; 4:1-6; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Peter 2:10-22; Jude 1:8, 10-13, 16-19.
Conclusion
All error originates from one source––the devil! It may come as a teaching, a prophecy, a miracle, a sign, or a wonder, but it has only one origin––Satan! He is the 'old serpent' who deceived Eve, and brought all of mankind into bondage and captivity to sin. But thank God for the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord!
As he did with Eve, so he attempted to do also with the Lord Jesus Himself. He continues to do the same today, seeking to deceive men and women, by bringing confusion about truth, and in so doing, make them turn away from truth unto falsehood. He makes light of serious matters, and makes God's children chase after fables. He sets forth hypothetical cases that have no bearing on the truth, but which makes sense to the flesh. He plays down on the power of God, and of Scripture. Although the devil is the source of all error, he has agents whom he uses to propagate error. These are men and women who transform themselves into ‘ministers’ of light, and of the gospel. If one is unable to identify their characteristics, he can be easily deceived, because they are very good at making a lie look like the truth.
The agents of the devil––false teachers, false prophets, false apostles, false pastors, false evangelists, false brethren, and even false churches and their ministers––have certain characteristics by which you can identify them. Such identification may not easily appear, so sometimes, you may not immediately know who a propagator of error is, until you have spent some time with them, and understudied their behaviour in the light of the word of God. However, by depending on the Holy Spirit, you can easily know them, as He will tell you who they are! Be that as it may, you will find that propagators of error are hypocrites––they say one thing, and do another; and, they are sin loving and sin laden, and refuse to be delivered from it. They are sensual in every sense of the word; they speak contrary to the word of God; and, seek always to please their pleasure loving nature–– the flesh! These men and women are not grave in anything, and excel in plotting evil against the children of God. They promise what they are unable to live. There is no sobriety in their lives, and they are full of pride and arrogance concerning things that they know nothing about. They are not subject to God’s authority in any way whatsoever. From such men and women, no matter how popular and reasonable they may appear to be; depart, turn away, flee––don't just spend a moment more listening to their heresies!
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