The Pillar and Ground of Truth

Old Testament Reading – Isaiah 28:1-15
New Testament Reading – 1 Corinthians 15:1-26

The Pillar and Ground of Truth
“The Primary Pillars of the Church”
Jude 1:1-25

Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor

   We are living in a time of spiritual and moral confusion, such as the world has not seen in many millennia.

• The root cause of this ethical uncertainty is the doctrinal and theological weakness of today’s church.
• What was once a difference of application and expression of certain doctrines has now become a complete restructuring of the foundational doctrines of the Christian Faith.
• The satanic movement of Progressive Christianity has completely infiltrated the evangelical church and seduced it into apostasy.
• Progressive Christianity is today’s theological liberalism that seeks to establish a system of Christian Faith detached from the historicity and divine authority of the Bible.
• Progressive Christianity promotes a social gospel based upon compassion, justice, mercy, and love, rather than a saving gospel based upon truth.
• However, the essential doctrines of the Christian Faith are eternal and absolute – two words that drive liberals insane, because they do not believe there is an absolute truth.

   To achieve the Marxist agenda of the political left, which is globalism, biblical Christianity must be destroyed.

• Rather than today’s pastor’s proclaiming, “Thus saith the Lord,” many of them are now asking the same question Satan asked Eve, “Hath God said?”
• Many pastors are turning their backs on the fundamentals of the Christian Faith: watering down the gospel to make it more palatable for today’s culture.

In so doing, they are leading the church into that apostasy the Apostle Paul said would occur just before the return of Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:2)

• By redefining the gospel, progressives think they are being inclusive to liberal-minded people when they are rendering the Christian Faith irrelevant and turning lost people away from Christianity.
• The Christian Faith is a defined system of beliefs built upon essential truths, which are called doctrines; teachings authored by God and communicated to man to “Make him wise unto salvation.” (2 Timothy 3:15)
• The epistle of Jude exhorts believers to “Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
• The phrase “once delivered” means once and for all time.
• God’s revelation of Himself was designed before the foundation of the world and delivered to man as a unit, a body of beliefs that cannot be altered or edited, or else the whole structure of “the faith” is compromised.

There are nine foundational, fundamental, essential doctrines of the Christian Faith.

• The Authority/Sufficiency of Holy Scripture
• The Triune Godhead (Trinity)
• The Deity of Jesus Christ
• The Sinfulness of Mankind
• The Literal Blood Sacrifice of Jesus Christ
• The Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ
• Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone
• The Existence of a literal, physical heaven/hell
• The Physical Return of Jesus Christ to Earth
  • False teachers who deny these doctrines are called heretics –
  • Religious groups who deny these doctrines are called cults —

   There are secondary doctrines that Christians can debate and disagree about, without breaking fellowship. However:

• If what a person believes about these doctrines differs from what the Scripture says, we are to confront them or avoid them. (Romans 16:17-18, 2 Thessalonians 3:6, Titus 3:10-11)
• If a church or a denomination undermines these essential doctrines, we are to rebuke them and to separate from them. (2 Corinthians 6:17, 1 Corinthians 5:1-7, 2 Thessalonians 3,6-15)
• God calls His people to abandon the world’s systems, even the religious systems, to sanctify their faith in the finished work of Christ, or else suffer the consequences of false religions. (Revelation 18:4)
• Some call this “judging,” but that is not how Jesus defined it in (Matthew 7:15-23)
• The only way to identify a false prophet is to judge them according to the Word of God.
• Jesus commended the Church at Ephesus because they “tried” those who claimed to be apostles but were not.
• Jesus condemned the Church at Pergamos because they tolerated those who expressed false doctrines.

   When it comes to attacking the Church, as well as individual Christians, Satan has never changed his goal – he simply finds new voices to ask the same question – “Hath God Said?”

• The greatest threats against Christianity have not come from the unbelieving world, or other religions, but rather through false teachers who lie their way into the fellowship and then use their positions to deviously lead people away from the truth and into apostasy.
• God has called every believer to be like the Bereans, who received the gospel with great eagerness, but they also examined what they heard according to the Scriptures.
• W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us,” and the only place we can discover the truth about God and ourselves is from the pages of Holy Scriptures.

   How to avoid being taken in by Progressive Christianity:

• Jude 1:20 – “Build yourselves up on your most holy faith.”
  • Determine to learn all there is to know about the One who loves you so.
• Jude 1:20 – “Praying in the Holy Spirit.”
  • Determine to learn how to pray according to the promises of God’s Word.
• Jude 1:21 – “Keep yourselves in the love of God.”
  • Determine to stay in the pathway of God’s blessing by your consistent obedience to God’s Word.
• Jude 1:21 – “Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
  • Determine to listen for the Lord’s call to “Come up hither” and to watch for His imminent return.
• Jude 1:22-23 – “On some have compassion. Other’s save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.”
  • Determine to be diligent, but discerning when witnessing to others, lest you become a victim of Satan’s lies.