Apostasy of the Church
March 7, 2020
I want to teach today on the apostasy of the Church so we will begin in 2 Timothy 2:24-26 and study what Paul wrote about the Church and believers. Here, Paul is saying that those of us who know the truth should not strive with them that do not, but with patients we should teach them and if peradventure they acknowledge the truth and repent they can recover themselves out of the snare of Satan. This means there are many, many Church members that are in Satan’s snare and are being taken captive at his will by buying into to what Satan says rather than what God says. Therefore, those of us who know the truth must patiently teach those who are in the snare out of the situation they find themselves in. It’s important to understand that Paul’s talking about believers who have been taken captive by Satan’s doctrine and not God’s doctrine. Believe me, there are members of the Church who have been taken captive and they don’t even know they are in Satan’s snare!
We read in 2 Timothy 3:1-5;10-11 that in the last days the snare of Satan is going to intensify and will be more intense then it was during the time when Paul wrote this letter. Here is the condition of the Church, it’s going to look just like the world and it’s going to have a form of godliness but it’s going to deny the power of the Holy Spirit. Also, the Church is not going to walk in love because you cannot wholeheartedly love someone else when you love yourself more. Do you understand this? Paul instructs us to look at his doctrine and his manner of life because it’s not of the world. He says, listen, if I were self-centered I would’ve never gone to Lystra!
God brought the revelation of Scripture to us and it’s profitable for our doctrine and it’s profitable to instruct and correct us. Remember, it is the Word of God that sets the standard and changes us. We cannot get it right on our own! Man left to himself will not find God or the will of God. This is why we look to the Scriptures to teach us doctrine to correct and instruct us. But, when you have a Church that is melting away and morphing into the world and not adhering to the Word of God then you have a Church that is spiritually dull and cannot stand under the persecution that is coming! Amen.
Be Blessed,
Sebastian