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Spare Change - February

Combat False Teaching by Studying of God’s Word

Recently, we have been diving into 1 & 2 Timothy during our Wednesday Lunch Bible Studies.  This has been a great reminder to me of the importance of these two books. They are written to Timothy, a young pastor and prodigy of Paul.  Paul fearing that his life may end soon wants to impart knowledge that Timothy will need to carry on the legacy. One of the themes that is found in both of these books deals with adhering to and defending God’s Word.

I think Paul understands that people like to change things.  A foundational characteristic of people is our desire to upgrade, update, or improve virtually anything.  Buildings, technology, clothing, even ourselves are all things we like to improve. There are many things we should improve, but the truth of God’s Word is not one of them.

There is a temptation, or pressure, to come up with something new in the world of Christian religion.  The old stuff is boring, people have heard the stories, they know the instruction, they need something new, bigger, flashier.  This is the kind of thinking that many false teachers start with. I am sure that many are genuinely nice people that want to connect with people and create a following of their own.  They just find a way to "tweak" or "update" the truth of God. Some teachers might just simply take scripture and contextualize it to the here and now. Seems harmless right? The problem is that culture is always changing, it can’t make up its mind what it believes half the time.  However, we do know it is always skewing away from God’s truth. So, if we begin to interpret God’s Word by what is happening now, instead of how the author meant it we end up with false teaching.

This can happen very simply by well-meaning Christians not taking the time to study God’s Word.  When we don’t take time to study we can be tricked by false teachers. It is not hard to trick people, that haven’t been in the Bible, to believe a false interpretation.  That is why I am glad we challenge people by going through books of the Bible in our sermons and dive deeper into them in our Life Groups. We have trained people on how to read and handle the Word.  We're trying to do what Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:13-14:

“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

Christians need to know the Word and develop a theological background so when a false teacher crops up, they will be able to recognize it.  Our church holds to the Baptist Faith & Message as a basic theological belief. This is a good starting point. Check it out on our website at oakhillbc.org/about-us/what-we-believe/ and read the scripture listed with the statement and see how the entirety of God’s Word informs our belief system.
  
When you think you might be listening to a false teacher, compare them to 1 Timothy 6:2-10.  Paul has a great profile of how a false teacher operates. God has also provided the Holy Spirit to help us. Make sure to ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern the good teachers from the false ones. One simple way is; if all they do is make you feel good or give you warm fuzzies you might want to check them out closer.  A true Bible teacher will challenge and encourage you.
  
We do need other resources when we study the Bible.  We just need to be discerning on who we learn from. Find good resources like desiringgod.org or ligonier.org.  There are many others out there but that is a great starting point.  

God wants us to be people of the Book!  He wants us to study and know it, not just have a surface knowledge, but He wants us to wrestle with the truths found in His Word so He can shape us into Christlike believers.  I pray you take time to really study God’s Word this week! 

Spare Change - January

Typically, I am a person that looks forward.  I try not to look back too much; however, I think it’s a good practice once a year to reflect on the previous year.  Primarily to see what God has taught me in the last 12 months.

This past year for me has been a year of transition.  I traded administrative duties at church for children’s ministry.  That seems like an odd trade, but it has been amazing! I have cherished every minute of it.  I love partnering with parents in their child coming to know and love Jesus. I also relish getting to work with some amazing people in the children’s ministry.  I fully believe we have the best, most loving volunteers. It has been a very fulfilling year of  ministry. I hope to see God continue to do even more in our children’s ministry in 2020.

Amid the transition God has really worked on my heart.  If you don’t know me very well, I can be a little high strung, type A, control freak…you get the idea.  I like things to go a certain way, not just my things but everything! This past year God really worked on my heart in this area.  He taught me through the circumstances of ministry, and life, that I can’t control everything and shouldn’t even try. To make matters worse I usually worry about how things are going to go, playing out scenarios in my mind.  This robs my life of joy. I can’t get peace about anything when I am spending my time fretting. Worry began to consume my life to the point I became convicted about it.

I believe that excessive worry is a faithless act and borders on a sinful behavior.   Worry is, simply put, a lack of trust in the Lord. It all came together for me when I was reading Matthew 6:25-33.  One of the key verses is a rhetorical question that Jesus asks in verse 27. He said, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” The answer, of course, is that you can’t add any time to your life by worrying. In fact, worry doesn’t add anything to your life, rather it is a thief. It wastes time, steals joy, and keeps us from trusting the Lord.  Jesus’ prescription to rid your life of worry is faith! We must learn to trust the Lord instead of worry.

Faithlessness is often a problem for believers.  We know that we should trust God; however, we find it difficult to live out.  I’m not sure if it is because we think we can control every aspect of our life or we just think God doesn’t care, but the reality is both are untrue.  The answer to worry, whatever the reason is the same -- trust the Lord. Paul and Peter give encouragement on this subject.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”   Philippians 4:6-7 “…casting all your anxieties on [Jesus], because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

Instead of worrying we must look to Jesus for help.  First, we must realize that this type of anguish gets us nothing, rather it causes us harm.  It also is unnecessary when we have a loving Heavenly Father that has a plan. Worry says to God that we don’t trust His plan, instead we have a better one. I am certain that God’s plan is infinitely more superior to ours.  So instead of worrying we need to just trust the Lord. We should work hard, control what we can, live our lives for Him and leave the rest up to Him.

The Lord has given me so much peace this year with this type of thinking.  Of course, I still struggle. This is a battle that will most likely never be over; however, I do know where to go when I am tempted to worry.  I go straight to my loving Savior. I take all my fears and worry and trade them for His peace. I pray you can do the same in 2020!