Separatism Serves Unity

Introduction

I recently finished a fascinating biography on the life of Abraham Lincoln. One random tidbit I found interesting is that Lincoln loved going to the theatre, which obviously didn’t turn out so well in the end. But it was fascinating to learn that way back in the 1860s conservative Christians and pastors grieved over Lincoln’s love the theatre. They saw it as an enemy of godliness, and a teacher of heresy and loose living. Therefore, godly people should just stay away.

In the 1860s that sort of simple standard could effectively cut off a lot of bad influence. Afterall, there were only a handful of places a person could be exposed to ungodly influences. But today, it is not so easy. Instead of one theatre we have endless streaming options you can access from your couch. You are not limited to the books at the local store; you can find any book you want on the internet. The local paper is no longer your only news source. You have endless options from every imaginable perspective.

And if you want to study religion, your local pastor is not the only teacher; there are endless types of preachers and teachers on the internet. That can be a wonderful blessing. Many of us greatly benefit from good content that is free and easily accessible.

But it is also terrifying to ponder all the destructive content that is trying to sneak into our homes and our church. Much of it looks innocent and attractive. But Satan is the master deceiver. He weasels his way into a crack, destroys a soul, and splinters churches. He’s done it over and over. Therefore, we desperately need the warning and instruction of today’s text (read). Satan is a slippery deceiver; therefore, we won’t accidentally stay faithful. Rather, the central challenge of this passage is that you must actively stand for God’s truth. To do that, you must obey 3 commands. The first is…

I.  Separate from false teachers (vv. 17–18).

A lot of Christians mock the idea of separatism. “It is so harsh, legalistic, and arrogant.” “We just need to love each other, and everything will work out fine.” But that thinking is incredibly naive.

A good shepherd doesn’t put his arms around a wolf when it approaches the flock or give it a lamb chop as a show of good will. The wolf doesn’t think, “Oh, he gave me a lamb chop. What a nice guy. I guess I won’t bother his flock again.” No, the wolf has evil intent, and a good shepherd aggressively drives it away. You don’t make peace with a wolf.

Similarly, you don’t make peace with a spiritual wolf. Verse 17 says love demands that you mark them and avoid them. If that’s going to happen, you must follow 4 steps. First…

Know the truth. The center of v. 17 is “The teaching which you have learned.” That’s apostolic doctrine and Christian doctrine. He assumes it is not up for debate. We don’t need to sit in a circle and discuss it, talk about how it makes us feel, and work to improve it. No, Jude 3 says “the faith (i.e., essential Christian truth) (has been) once for all handed down to the saints.”

You are responsible to know that truth so you can spot falsehood. Sure, pastors have a unique responsibility. Paul constantly challenges pastors to know the truth and oppose heresy. They must be good theologians; otherwise, they’re no use to the sheep against a wolf.

But our text is addressed to the entire church. You must know essential doctrine and how to defend it from Scripture. And you must know how God expects you to live and why certain things are righteous and unrighteous. Why? You live 7 days a week in a world bubbling with heresy and rebellion. You must know the truth. You must be discerning. Only then can you obey the 2^nd step, which is…

Identify false doctrine. Again, God commands you, “Keep your eye on (i.e., mark, identify) those who cause dissensions and hindrances.” I love that because many Christians think that doctrine is impractical, and that doctrine is what is divisive.

For example, “Why should I care about the intricacies of the Trinity. That has no effect on my life, and that discussion will only prove divisive.” But church history has repeatedly demonstrated how foolishness that is. Just consider the practical differences between Islam and Christianity. You can trace many of them to the nature of God and the fact that Allah is not Trinitarian. Doctrine is practical.

And strong theology is not divisive; rather, heresy is divisive. Again, that may be surprising. A lot of churches believe the path to unity is to avoid theology or controversial ethical issues. “Don’t talk about that stuff. If we just love each other, everything will be okay.”

But in the past month, the United Methodist Church has proven Paul right. A long time ago, the UMC decided not to talk about that stuff. “Inspiration is not that important.” Or, “It’s okay he denies the virgin birth. He has such a Christian spirit.” “We’ll get along by allowing on women pastors, but it won’t go beyond that.”

That philosophy failed miserably. 7,000 conservative churches left the denomination in the past few years over accommodations to the sexual revolution, and they’ve taken much of the money and membership with them. That’s because conviction, not compromise builds a church. Then what’s left of the denomination voted two weeks ago to sell the denomination’s soul to the sexual revolution. Ignoring theology and failing to take strong convictional stances proved far more divisive and destructive.

Compromising with heresy and rebellion never serves God’s people well in the long run. Error is always divisive and destructive. Therefore, we must know the truth. Then we must identify or “keep your eye on” falsehood. The 3^rd step is…

Resist the ruse (v. 18). This is powerful verse. The false teachers are not slaves of Christ; they are slaves of their own appetites or literally their bellies. They’re like a fat king who eats and eats.

We’ve all heard the stories of false teachers who fly around in private jets and relax in extravagant homes. Steven Furtick went viral a few weeks ago for wearing a $1,000 pink sweater to preach on Easter Sunday. It looked ridiculous, but he spent $1,000 on the silly thing.

We’ve also heard the stories about very popular false teachers who, behind the scenes, are abusive leaders and sometimes abusive husbands and fathers. Joseph Smith seemed genuine, but behind the scenes he had multiple wives and a very messy home.

And even if his testimony is sound, every false teacher shakes his fist at the truth of God. He might really believe what he says, but he thinks he knows better than God or that he can defend God better than God can defend himself. They have a God-complex that betrays unbelief and rebellion.

So, why does anyone listen to them? It’s because they hide their ungodliness behind “smooth and flattering speech.” Satan appears as an angel of light, and false teachers follow his strategy.

For example, if a self-proclaimed prophet walked into Life Point with green hair, a pride flag, and a “Free Palestine” shirt, you’d drive him out before I had a chance. But if he dresses like you, talks like you, and gripes about your fears and concerns he has a far greater chance of getting you to listen.

So, Satan finds a man with a charismatic personality. He’s funny, he’s charming, and he is so genuine. You think there’s no way someone so likeable could be evil. Or Satan takes note of some fear or desire in your heart, and he builds a teacher who vents all your fears and frustrations about politics, culture, and religion.

They come in all shapes and sizes for all types of people—in Wranglers and Armani, with nose rings and 3-piece suits, academic notoriety, or down-home straight talk. You love it. Your defenses go down, and Satan plants seeds of doubt or rebellion against God.

Do you ever wonder how a guy like Hitler became so popular? Why do people keep sending money to shysters like Kenneth Copeland or Benny Hinn? Why does a pastor like Mark Driscoll who has said all sorts of creepy things and was booted from his church for abusive leadership keep getting speaking invitations and book sales?

People are stupid, and they are slaves to their passions. They want what they want so badly that they almost welcome deception. And we are so proud that if someone makes me feel important or like I have insider knowledge, we kick discernment the curb. Why else do so many ridiculous conspiracy theories get a hearing?

It’s a scary world. Therefore, you must be discerning. Don’t think with your stomach. Cultivate a godly mind and cultivate a godly heart. Good discernment begins with a transformed mind and the fruit of the Spirit. Christ, not your flesh, pride, or fear must rule your life.

From there, filter everything you hear through Scripture. If it doesn’t match, throw it out. Watch for the fruit of the Spirit. Does this teacher manifest them and does listening to him encourage or discourage them in your heart.

Here’s another one, does this teacher push me toward the body of Christ and godly leadership or away from it? Or what is the force of his persuasion? Is it all stories and emotional manipulation? Or does he use sound logic anchored in Scripture? Don’t listen with your belly. Resist the ruse because that’s all it is. The 4^th step is…

Separate from rebellion. God is clear about what to do with false teachers. We must “turn away from them.” That’s hard. No one wants to be a bad guy.

For example, let’s suppose the churches of Apple Valley plan a joint service at Civic Center Park. It’s going to be huge. The mayor will speak, and the press is coming. Evangelicals, Catholics, Mormons, JWs, everyone is going to be there in a show of Christian brotherhood.

What’s the problem? We aren’t all Christian brothers because many in attendance deny the gospel. Calling them brothers when they are not betrays the gospel and it is potentially deadly to their souls.

We’d look like divisive jerks for declining, but we must obey the Lord. “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God…If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds” (2 John 9–11). God says we cannot act like a heretic is our brother.

As well, confronting and disciplining a false teacher who has made inroads into the church is painful. Sometimes, you don’t just lose the teacher; they take people with them. That’s why churches so often try to make peace and just hope the problem goes away.

But Paul took a different strategy, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed” (Gal 1:6–9)!

Even if it’s painful, you must cut off the gangrene immediately. In the short term, tolerance might keep the peace, but in the end, heresy will only create “dissensions and hindrances.” It will not produce true unity or godliness, just a bubble that is sure to burst. Even if it doesn’t, it will not hold up at the final judgment.

Again, church history proves time and again that if we want to effectively build a healthy, fruitful church for the long-term, we must build it on a robust theological core and absolute commitment to the revealed will of God. That means you must love those things yourself. Love the Bible and obey what it says. Push the people around you toward the same. We don’t just need pastors who love the Word; we need an entire culture of people who are zealous for God’s will.

And in your personal life, carefully guard what influences your soul. Don’t play with fire just because you like it. “Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched” (Prov 6:27–28)? Heed God’s warning.

Then we as a church must have the will to fight for truth. We are a separatist church. We don’t revel in that, and I certainly don’t enjoy fighting. But we love the truth, and we have a great stewardship. God commands pastors, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock. (Why? Paul warns)…I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.Therefore be on the alert (Acts 20:28–31a). We must separate from false teachers. The 2^nd command is…

II.  Master the truth (v. 19).

Paul is clear that the Roman church was not caught up in heresy. He rejoiced over the reports he had received about their faithfulness and obedience. But they must be ready when the threat of heresy arrives. They must be “wise in what…” Paul says that if we are going to build a strong immunity to falsehood, we must do two things. First…

Learn Christian doctrine and practice. We must be “wise in what is good.” We’ve probably all heard the illustration that the best way to recognize counterfeit money is to know the real thing extremely well. Similarly, there’s no end to the potential heresies Satan can devise. You can’t possibly know them all. But you can be ready for them all by knowing the truth well.

That’s why churches have catechized kids and disciplined them to memorize Scripture for centuries. The fact that they aren’t overwhelmed with worship by everything they are learning does not mean its wasteful or legalistic. They are building spiritual immunity that will reap benefits in the long run assuming, certainly, that it is merged with genuine conversion and godliness.

Obviously, we want to provide compelling, understandable teaching, but your child’s sense of a lesson’s value is not what really matters anymore than their love of sugar drives your dinner menu. We must teach them truth.

And you must cultivate a godly appetite for yourself. You must train yourself to come to church wanting to be challenged to think hard, wanting to learn, wanting to be confronted, wanting to know God in all his glory, and wanting to know his will even when it’s hard. I like to say you need to build an appetite for strong meat, not cotton candy.

Your life outside the church is essential to building that appetite. Read good books, listen to good music, listen to good preaching. Spend the other 6 days a week building the appetites that will love a biblical Sunday diet.

You must be “wise in what is good.” Learn Christian doctrine. Learn God’s commands. Think about how to apply them. Build a philosophy and set of standards for your life that will provide strong immunity against deceit. 2^nd, if you are going to build strong immunity, you must…

Avoid falsehood. This is such an important principle in many areas, not just theology. Christian parents often think their kids need to be exposed to wickedness to build discernment. They let them watch filth so they can talk with them about it. But if your child is naïve enough to believe in Santa Claus, he’s probably not ready to sort through complex worldviews. Keep them “innocent in what is evil.”

Sure, there’s a limit to that. You must teach them how to function in this world, how to minister to people, and how to discern truth from error. But generally, you should heed God’s wisdom in v. 19.

The same goes for you. Watching a filthy movie won’t help you bring your coworkers to faith and repentance. I heard Pastor Doran say this week that one of the great lies in the church today is that we have to win the lost to ourselves before we can win them to Christ. We may succeed in winning them to ourselves, but then we never get around to winning them to Christ.

Yes, there’s an important place for understanding what others believe and what their assumptions are; otherwise, you may talk past each other. But be careful. Don’t buy Satan’s lie that immersion is the best way to faithfulness. Stay “innocent in what is evil.” Instead, master the truth. The 3^rd command is…

III.  Trust God’s promises (v. 20).

Maybe all this talk of heresy, deception, and discernment has you feeling overwhelmed. “Pastor, I’m not that smart. I didn’t grow up knowing the Bible. I’m scared for myself, and I’m scared for my children because this world is dark and deceitful.”

My first answer is, praise the Lord for the local church. God has placed you in a community of complementary gifts. God has given you pastors and other godly and gifted saints who can compensate for your weakness. Do the best you can but take advantage of the resources all around you.

But second, take comfort in the promise of v. 20. The “God of peace” won’t be so peaceful with Satan in the end. He will “crush Satan under your feet.” God told Satan way back in the garden that he would build our heels, but the seed of the woman, meaning Christ, will bruise his head.

Satan will not win the ultimate victory over God’s people. Christ already rose from the dead, and he is coming again to put every enemy under his feet. In the meantime, God is consistently answering prayer of v. 20, “The grace of our Lord Jesus (is) with you.” “He will hold you fast.”

Don’t be discouraged by your spiritual enemies. Don’t stop fighting the battle. Trust God’s promises and run to the means of grace he has provided. God will keep you, and the gates of hell will not prevail against his church.

Conclusion

Of course, he will only keep you if you know him as your Savior. The first truth you must know is that you are sinner, but Christ is the Son of God. He died for your sins on the cross, and he can save you if you believe on him. You don’t just need to think better; you must be born again by repenting of your sin and receiving Christ as Lord and Savior. If you’ve not done that, please receive him today.

Then Christian, stand for the truth of God. Love this book. Invest in knowing this book inside and out. Submit your mind, your will, and your emotions to this book. Stand courageously on this book. It will save your soul and the souls of those you love.