WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.439 All right, well, good morning, church. 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:11.119 Please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of 2 Timothy, and I will meet you there in a second after I talk to you about an amazing thing that happened this week. 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:15.279 Did anybody see the Artemis II mission and what was happening there up in the skies? 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:20.399 For the first time in decades, astronauts have traveled back towards the moon. 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:26.879 You may have also noticed astronaut Victor Glover had some spiritual things to say up there. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:33.679 He's also a Christian, and he shared a reflection as he was up there looking backward toward the earth from space. 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:37.439 And as he was speaking, something he said to me was quite striking. 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:47.119 He said that from where he was, as he looked back at the earth, he saw the earth as one thing, one place, one home, one shared existence. 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:59.679 And though we have so many things down here that divide us, from that distance, many of those differences that seem so big to us all the time just didn't quite look the same. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:08.640 If that's true of humanity as a whole, how much more true should that be of the Church of Jesus Christ? 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:12.000 And yet, oftentimes it feels untrue. 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:13.120 And why is that? 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:16.879 Why does the Church of Jesus Christ seem so divided? 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:27.200 Why is it that people who share the same Savior, who share the same scriptures, who believe the same gospel, can become so divided. 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:31.280 Now, to be clear, not all division is wrong. 00:01:31.519 --> 00:01:41.519 There are some truths in Scripture that are so central, so foundational, that we have to stand firm on them and contend for that kind of truth. 00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:47.920 But there are also so many other things that are not so much worth dividing over. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:59.519 And one of the greatest challenges in the Christian life, and one of the greatest challenges of Christian leadership, one of the greatest challenges I have found as a pastor is learning to discern the difference between those two things. 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:05.760 That's exactly what the Paul is, the Apostle Paul is helping Timothy understand in this section. 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:09.599 2 Timothy 2 will be in verses 14 to 19. 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:12.639 The theme of this passage really has to do with conflict. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:17.919 Conflict, specifically in the church, but I think you can apply it more broadly. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:23.680 And we learn here that conflict in the church can go wrong in a few different ways. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:27.759 We see sometimes it goes wrong through arguments about trivial things. 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:35.840 We see sometimes it goes wrong through careless teaching, and then we see sometimes it goes wrong through actually heresy and false teaching. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:45.919 And so the title of my message today is it's all about passing on the faith to the next generation, but how do we pass on a healthy and unified church to the next generation? 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:47.520 Because that's what we really want to do. 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:52.960 And in this passage, we're gonna learn three things, three very practical, very relevant things. 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:55.840 First, we're gonna learn what not to fight about. 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:03.919 Then we're gonna learn what we must fight about, and then the million-dollar question, we're gonna learn about how to tell the difference between those two things. 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:06.639 That's really what we're talking about here today. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:12.000 Um, what hills to die on, what hills not to die on, and how do you tell the difference between those two? 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:14.719 Uh, before we dive in, let's let's ask for the Lord's help. 00:03:14.800 --> 00:03:16.800 Would you would you pray with me one more time? 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:20.080 Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning with a grateful heart. 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:25.599 What a beautiful day you've given us, what a beautiful church you've given us, what a beautiful body we have here. 00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:27.280 Thank you for the privilege of serving you. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:29.680 Thank you for the privilege of gathering with your people. 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:32.000 Thank you for your the Lord's day. 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:37.280 Thank you for the gift of your word, which is living and active and able to guide us in all truth. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:52.639 So as we open up this ancient letter as a part of the scriptures, we would ask that you'd quiet our hearts now and focus our minds and guard us from quarrels in our lives that don't honor you and from anything that would distract us from your calling and the truth of the gospel. 00:03:53.199 --> 00:04:03.360 And I just want to ask that your Holy Spirit would help us to rightly understand your word, give us wisdom to know the difference between what truly matters and what really doesn't matter. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:13.039 And would you shape us into a church and into people who love truth but also pursue unity and live in a way that honors you. 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:18.720 And so may your word really take root in our hearts, in our church, and bear fruit in our lives. 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:22.240 For we pray it all for Jesus' sake and his reputation. 00:04:22.399 --> 00:04:24.879 And everyone said, Amen, amen. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:27.920 If you're ready for God's word, let's look at verse 14. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:42.000 Together, Paul starts like this He says, Timothy, remind them of these things and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:43.519 Pause here for a second. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:48.240 What we have here in this first verse is a solemn charge, a serious oath. 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:53.279 Paul is invoking the very presence of God that Timothy is to give. 00:04:53.839 --> 00:05:00.240 And the first thing that Paul says here to Timothy is that he wants Timothy to remind them of some things. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:14.480 The term remind them is found in the present continuous tense, which means he needs to keep on reminding them of these things because sometimes we forget, especially in the midst of suffering, which this letter is talking about, a context of suffering, we tend to forget some things. 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.120 So Paul says, I want you to remind them of these things. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:18.319 Now, what things? 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:27.120 Well, the these things that he's talking about is the creed that we just read last week from the few verses earlier in this letter. 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:31.680 The creed that was a poem that the early church would recite. 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:34.240 You remember that poem that we read last week. 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:35.839 You can see it there in your Bibles. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:38.560 These things are the essential truths of our faith. 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:42.000 The gospel that's been outlined in this letter so far. 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:44.160 Remind them of these things, Timothy. 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:45.279 Now, who's them? 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:51.360 Well, them is most likely the teachers that were referred to back in chapter 2, verses 1 and 2. 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:58.639 You remember Paul said, Timothy, take these things you've heard from me and entrust them to faithful men who will be able to teach others. 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:01.279 That's who Timothy is supposed to remind. 00:06:01.439 --> 00:06:09.040 Remind them of these things, and I want you to solemnly charge them to not quarrel about words. 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:13.839 Literally, in the original, what that term says is word wars. 00:06:14.160 --> 00:06:16.639 Don't get engaged in word wars. 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:26.639 And so what we have here in our text is actually a contrast between word quarrelers and true teachers or literally truth teachers in our text. 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:28.720 But this is a problem that occurs. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:33.279 And it's not a problem that occurs outside the church, like the persecution Paul is experiencing. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:36.879 This is a problem that occurs inside the church that he needs to address. 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:40.560 Because churches are rarely destroyed because of persecution on the outside. 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:44.560 Actually, Tertullian famously said the blood of the martyrs is like seed. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:46.000 It's like the seed of the church. 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:51.040 Actually, most churches struggle with problems that come from confusion on the inside of the church. 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:53.360 Now, what are these quarrels about words? 00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:55.839 What are these word wars that's being discussed here? 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:56.639 What is that? 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:04.560 Well, what at what that is, is focusing on things in the church that are more peripheral, things in the church that are not essential. 00:07:04.720 --> 00:07:08.079 Paul says, do not do that, do not focus there. 00:07:08.480 --> 00:07:08.959 Why? 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:10.480 Because it's no good. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:12.560 Literally, the term there is useless. 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:13.680 It is useless. 00:07:13.839 --> 00:07:17.920 Timothy, it's a complete waste of your time, it's a waste of your breath, it's a waste of your energy. 00:07:18.079 --> 00:07:19.360 It is no good. 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:23.519 And more importantly, he says it ruins your hearers. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:28.000 Literally, the term for ruins here is the Greek term for catastrophe. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:30.720 It will create a catastrophe. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:39.759 The catastrophe word is a compound word made up of two words, troph, which means to turn, and then kata means upside down. 00:07:39.920 --> 00:07:42.720 So to turn upside down, that's what a catastrophe is. 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:44.319 When it gets turned upside down. 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:49.439 Timothy, if you do this, if you focus on word quarreling, that will lead to catastrophe. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:51.680 You will turn this church upside down. 00:07:52.319 --> 00:07:57.519 Now let me introduce you to a concept perhaps you're not familiar with called gray areas. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:06.079 A gray area is a spiritual issue that leaves room for legitimate differences of opinion based on sound biblical interpretation. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:18.319 Gray areas are also known as secondary issues or areas of liberty, lesser things, non-essentials, tertiary items, disputable matters, lower tier, tier three, peripheral issues. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:23.759 I'll give you some examples of gray issues that can come up in the context of a local church. 00:08:23.920 --> 00:08:26.319 And you need to buckle your seatbelts for this one. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:33.279 Back in the early church, would you believe there was great debate about eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols? 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:36.399 There was also great debate about holidays. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:39.440 They had a big disagreement about the date of Easter. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:46.720 In the first few hundred years, one of the major conflicts that arose in the church was a conflict about predestination and free will. 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:49.919 And Augustine had it out with Pelagius. 00:08:50.159 --> 00:08:56.399 The great schism of the church between the East and West of 1054 was about the procession of the Holy Spirit. 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:00.879 Did the Spirit come from the Father or from the Father and the Son? 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:05.600 The church split in half over that issue. 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:07.519 Then came the Reformation. 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:09.120 The church split again. 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:14.080 Now, some issues in the Reformation were definitely worth contending for. 00:09:14.480 --> 00:09:22.559 And other disagreements that came up in the Reformation, well, they seem a little bit more trivial looking back on them from our perspective. 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:30.080 If you study Calvin and the city that he founded in Geneva, Calvin's Geneva had a lot of laws. 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:34.720 Calvin's Geneva had standards, and he took stands against many things. 00:09:34.960 --> 00:09:37.200 He took a stand against all dancing. 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:40.240 He took a stand against all religious pictures and relics. 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:42.240 He took a stand against church bells. 00:09:42.399 --> 00:09:44.879 He took a stand against any altar candles. 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:50.720 He even took a stand against naming your child a name that's not a biblical name. 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:52.960 That was against the law. 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:58.879 So Calvin's Geneva had a lot of gray areas that they were taking stands on. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:05.039 Fast forward to the 1700s, there was great debate about the use of instruments in the church. 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:08.879 The organ was a scandal when that was introduced. 00:10:09.039 --> 00:10:18.159 Isaac Watts, many of whose hymns we love and enjoy today, someone we would never think of as progressive, was cutting edge. 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:22.480 Many people thought you should only sing the psalms in church. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:24.960 You fast forward to our modern era. 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:31.200 In the 1960s, there was great debate about whether Christians could listen to rock and roll music on the radio. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:37.039 In the 1980s, there was debate about Christian heavy metal and whether that was appropriate. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:43.039 In the 1990s, there was debate about Christians and reading fantasy series like Harry Potter. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:51.279 Today there are disagreements about parenting philosophies, which schools to choose for your children, public, private, homeschool. 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:58.320 There are disagreements about the Christian and our relationship with alcohol, total abstinence or moderation. 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:02.320 There are tons of disagreements about end times. 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:06.879 Are you premillennial, amillennial, postmillennial, panmillennial? 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:08.240 Will it all pan out in the end? 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:09.360 Do you believe in a rapture? 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:10.720 When will the rapture take place? 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:12.960 Covenant theology, dispensationalism? 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:14.639 What's your position on Israel? 00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:18.480 Should we unconditionally support the state of Israel as God's chosen people? 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:20.799 Or is there room for legitimate critique there? 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.039 Lots of disagreements about end times. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:25.679 People disagree about counseling. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:31.600 Should we exclusively use biblical counseling, or is it okay to have an integrative model of counseling? 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:38.000 Is it okay for a Christian to take psychiatric medicine, or does that violate the principle of the sufficiency of Scripture? 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:39.519 And what about holidays? 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:41.759 Are we allowed to celebrate things like Halloween? 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:43.759 Can we send our kids trick-or-treening? 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.720 What about things like Christmas trees and Santa? 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:48.320 Are we allowed to participate in those things? 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:49.759 What about the Easter bunny? 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:53.840 Does that violate someone's strong conviction there? 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:58.080 Then we like to discuss charismatic gifts with great fervency. 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:02.320 There are different views on tongues for today or healing or the gift of prophecy. 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:05.759 Are they for today in a continual sense or have they ceased? 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.039 There's different disagreements about church governance models. 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:10.159 Should we have elders? 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:12.080 Should we be a congregational government? 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:13.120 Should we have a bishop? 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:14.559 Is that a biblical role? 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.279 And then there's disagreements about creation. 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:19.039 How did creation occur? 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:20.320 Are you a young earth person? 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:21.519 Are you an old earth person? 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:23.519 Are you a theistic evolution person? 00:12:23.840 --> 00:12:25.519 There's disagreements about the Sabbath. 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:26.960 Are we allowed to work on the Sabbath? 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:28.720 Are we allowed to recreate on the Sabbath? 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:33.279 Are we allowed to, let's say, for example, have our kids participate in sports on Sundays? 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:35.600 Are we allowed to watch an NFL game on Sundays? 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:37.279 Where do we draw the line there? 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:42.000 There are disagreements and get your hard hats on this one about music and worship. 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:43.840 I know you could have never guessed that. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:46.399 We have the hand raisers and the non-handraisers. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:49.679 I think we should have different sections for the hand raisers and the non-handraisers. 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:51.279 We have disagreements about volume. 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:52.320 Is the volume too high? 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:53.840 Is the volume too low? 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:59.120 Believe it or not, I've received anonymous scathing criticisms just about this one particular issue. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:05.919 I mean, the way people write about these things to me is like with the tone of an apocalyptic uh end times catastrophe. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:11.360 People are passionate about volume, and they are equally passionate about the style of music. 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:12.960 Should we use traditional hymns? 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:14.559 Should we have contemporary music? 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:20.080 Should we try to blend the style and make everyone unhappy every single week, like the grumbling Israelites? 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:23.440 You should read the emails we get about this one. 00:13:23.679 --> 00:13:27.519 I mean, not just opinions, moral, right and wrong. 00:13:27.840 --> 00:13:30.240 And then there's the lyrics of the worship music. 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:38.639 There have been scathing articles about lyrics like David Crowder's sloppy wet kiss lyric, or the lyrics to reckless love. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:42.480 These phrases generated much angst in the church today. 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:45.039 And how about clapping during music? 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:53.440 Does that steal away God's glory, or is it appropriate and even biblical to clap your hands from time to time as a posture of worship? 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:55.440 And what about the worship team? 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:56.879 What are they allowed to do? 00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:03.360 Are they allowed to transition off the stage during the pastoral prayer, or is that some kind of unholy type of gesture? 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:07.519 Can there be music played softly underneath of the pastor when he prays? 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:08.799 And how about the lighting? 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:12.480 Should it be joyful and bright or should it be dark and contemplative? 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:14.480 How about the meet and greet time? 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.399 Does that have to be every single Sunday? 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:18.960 Is that an essential part of each service? 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:20.879 And how about the regulative principle? 00:14:21.039 --> 00:14:33.440 The principle of the regulative principle principle says Christians should only follow worship practices explicitly prescribed in the New Testament, as opposed to others who say there's freedom to practice anything that's not prohibited in the New Testament. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:34.960 There's different opinions about that. 00:14:35.120 --> 00:14:36.960 There's different opinions about prayers. 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:41.120 Are we allowed to use a prescripted, written-out prayer in advance? 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:44.399 Or does it have to always be extemporaneous prayers? 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:46.559 And what about Bible versions? 00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:50.399 You should see the passion people talk about Bible versions. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:54.320 There's ESV, there's NIV, there's the King James only person. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:56.320 You have to use word-for-word translations. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:59.120 No, it's okay to use a paraphrase sometimes, like the message. 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:01.200 There's a lot of passion about this. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:03.519 And then how about the sermon? 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:09.200 Man, you might not like this sermon very much, but how long should the sermon be? 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:10.720 Should it be 15 minutes? 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:12.480 Should it be 45 minutes? 00:15:12.720 --> 00:15:16.320 Is this an area of freedom that there's a right length here? 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:20.960 Or are we quenching the Holy Spirit by watching the clock instead of listening to the sermon? 00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:23.200 And what about Christocentric preaching? 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:28.000 Does the gospel have to be touched into every single sermon, or is there freedom there? 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:29.840 How about the Lord's table? 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:33.279 Should we celebrate the Lord's table every single Sunday as often as you gather? 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:35.600 Or is once a month sufficient, like we practice here? 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:37.919 Or should we do it less frequently, like every quarter? 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:39.759 Or is that not frequent enough? 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:41.840 Now let's get really serious. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:45.440 How about the dress code, particularly of the pastor? 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:49.679 What should the pastor wear? 00:15:49.840 --> 00:15:51.919 What is the appropriate attire? 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:54.960 And how about the other people on the stage, like the musicians? 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:56.480 What should they wear? 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:01.919 My position when it comes to clothes may differ from yours, or you may feel great freedom in this area. 00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:06.559 One person said to me one time, my position on the pastor and his clothing is yes, absolutely. 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:10.480 I think the pastor should definitely wear clothing, and I will not budge on that. 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:12.240 That's a good idea. 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:16.399 I could keep going on and on and on, but let me just ask you a true or false question. 00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:18.320 Christians like to fight. 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:19.519 True or false? 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:20.799 That's true. 00:16:21.039 --> 00:16:22.080 Everybody likes to fight. 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:23.600 Christians are no exception. 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:25.679 I hate to admit it, I like to fight. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:27.279 This is mostly true. 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:38.159 And my experience as a pastor over a couple decades is that gray areas are the most flammable fuel for the fire in these fights. 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:44.960 Differences in gray areas are the leading cause of church conflict. 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:49.279 And the second is like not even close, not even off the on the charts. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:52.080 It is the leading cause of church conflicts. 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:52.960 Gray areas. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:59.360 And it never ceases to amaze me how worked up people get over these gray areas that are areas of disagreement. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:05.359 And what's kind of disturbing is the energy people have around their opinions about these things. 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:10.480 Their energy just seems so disproportional to the importance of what they're talking about. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:15.519 Now, don't get me wrong, gray areas are not unimportant issues. 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.559 You may have an opinion on a gray area, that's fine. 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:22.079 You might even have a strong opinion about a gray area, that's okay. 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:29.759 But the encouragement, I think, from God's word today, from chapter 2, verse 14, is that we shouldn't quarrel about these things. 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:34.559 Meaning we shouldn't elevate our opinion about these things to the moral level of right or wrong. 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:39.200 I have it this way, I know it the right way, everybody else is doing it the wrong way. 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:48.799 When we elevate a gray area and our opinion about that to the level of right and wrong, we're now being divisive in the body of Christ, and that's a problem. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:50.559 You need to be more flexible. 00:17:50.720 --> 00:18:03.200 In fact, you need to leave room for maximum flexibility about your convictions regarding these things so that you don't lead to disunity in the church with those who may disagree with you in a legitimate sense. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:07.200 Now, what when we do that, sometimes it feels so right. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:10.240 When we fight about these things, it feels so right. 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:16.720 And we think we're fighting the good fight, but we're actually doing the devil's bidding, and it's discouraging. 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:27.839 Just to give you exhibit A, let me remind you of how divided we got six years ago in the church at large over COVID and the pandemic. 00:18:28.400 --> 00:18:31.519 So many gray areas came to the surface here. 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:34.720 Like, should we wear masks or no masks? 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.759 Is the six-foot rule a legitimate scientific principle? 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:40.640 Should we get the vaccine or is there vaccine hesitancy? 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:41.359 Is that okay? 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:42.880 Can we pass offering plates? 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:44.880 Is it okay to pass the communion kit? 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:46.720 Can we move church online? 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:54.559 There were disagreements about so many things: plexiglass, pew spacing, kids going back to school. 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:58.559 We debated, we argued, we grumbled. 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:01.839 Some people divided everybody into two categories. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:06.880 Suddenly wearing a mask became a test of Christian faithfulness. 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:19.119 Some Christians saw compliance with the CDC rules as a demonstration of loving your neighbor, whereas other Christians saw those ever-changing CDC rules for churches as an example of government overreach, which should be questioned. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:24.880 I could go on and on and on here, but you remember the kind of gray areas that were coming to the surface a few years ago. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:26.480 It really was almost endless. 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:31.039 The answers to those questions are not as clear as you might think. 00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:34.319 There are legitimate opinions on all sides. 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:39.680 It's very difficult for a church who faces something like that to maintain unity. 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:41.359 And the question is, how? 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:45.920 How does a church maintain unity in the midst of those kinds of circumstances? 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:47.519 How do we fight for unity? 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:49.680 Well, Paul would say something very simple. 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:50.880 Here's the deal. 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.720 Don't turn gray areas into gospel issues. 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:56.000 Don't do that. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:01.359 Accept those who may disagree with you and have a different opinion than you do on those things. 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:13.599 See, the temptation for the person who has a very strict conscience and a strict opinion about a gray area is to judge someone who doesn't agree with them and to look down on them, in a sense, to condemn them. 00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:24.480 And then the temptation for the other person who feels a little bit more of a liberty in their conscience on that issue is to ridicule the person who feels a little bit more strict. 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:26.400 Say, what are you so uptight about? 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:31.839 Paul looks at both of those people and says, You're both equally wrong. 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:36.400 You need to accept one another just as God in Christ has accepted you. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:38.880 There are legitimate differences of opinion. 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:47.039 You need to find a way to maintain unity even though you disagree about that, because your unity is in Christ. 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:51.440 This is exactly what Jesus is calling us to do. 00:20:51.759 --> 00:20:53.519 Jesus says to love one another. 00:20:53.839 --> 00:21:02.640 The Bible does not say be of one mind except in the area of worship music, except in the area of politics, except when there's a pandemic. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:05.359 If that happens, you don't need to be of one mind. 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:10.799 You can resist your neighbor and ridicule them and rebuke your friends until they see the light like you do. 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:11.440 No. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:16.559 We are to choose to love, even though we disagree or have a difference of opinion. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:18.880 There are no exceptions to that. 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:24.319 When we divide over gray areas, areas of a legitimate difference of opinion. 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:33.039 Peter Pendell used to say, the world laughs, the enemy rejoices, we hurt, and God weeps. 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:34.880 This is not good. 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:43.039 And I imagine Jesus himself saying, Do not split my church, do not destroy my bride whom I love. 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:43.440 Why? 00:21:43.599 --> 00:21:47.519 Because our unity proves that the gospel actually works. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:50.079 Friends, the stakes are really high on this. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:55.599 If we can't find unity inside the church, we're not going to have credibility outside the church. 00:21:55.839 --> 00:21:58.480 So we have to take this topic really seriously. 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:03.680 To help us here, let Call my chancellor up to the witness stand, Chuck Swindah. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.200 This Swindall quote is long, but it's worth paying close attention to. 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:09.279 He writes this in his book, Grace Awakening. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:16.079 He says, quote, one of the marks of maturity is the ability to disagree without becoming disagreeable. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:17.839 That takes grace. 00:22:18.079 --> 00:22:23.440 In fact, handling disagreements, he goes on to say, with tact, is one of the crowning achievements of grace. 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:31.119 Unfortunately, the older we get, the more brittle we become in our reactions, the more tedious and stubborn and fragile. 00:22:31.359 --> 00:22:36.880 For some strange reason, Swindah says this is especially true among evangelical Christians. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:44.880 He goes on to say, you would think that the church would be the one place where we could find tolerance, tact, plenty of room for disagreement and open discussion. 00:22:45.039 --> 00:22:45.920 Not so. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:54.640 It is a rare delight, Swindah says, to come across those in the family of God who have grown old in grace as well as in knowledge. 00:22:54.960 --> 00:23:08.799 Many a ministry lives on the edge of upheaval, he says, of borderline controversy, simply because there's no room for disagreement, no freedom to negotiate, no open ear to those who hold a different opinion. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:10.880 That is sad. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:15.839 But biblical unity is not the same as uniformity. 00:23:16.640 --> 00:23:19.440 We're not one because we're the same. 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:30.400 Biblical unity is born from different opinions of diverse people about disparate issues because we are one in the gospel and one in Christ and one in the Spirit. 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:35.119 Biblical unity is a much deeper unity than us agreeing on every single gray issue. 00:23:35.359 --> 00:23:41.599 Now, if we don't get this right, Paul says, you're headed for catastrophe. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:46.880 I don't want to understate what he's saying here because he is speaking in very strong language. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:49.440 Gray issues are important. 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:53.359 They're not unimportant, they're just not that important. 00:23:54.160 --> 00:24:00.000 They should never cause us to break fellowship with another brother or sister in Christ. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:02.079 As an example. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:07.599 Let me share about two great evangelists of the 1700s. 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:13.680 John Wesley and George Whitfield were part of the first Great Awakening in America. 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:20.160 They both preached to thousands and saw so many people converted under their ministries. 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:25.839 These two men of God disagreed about predestination. 00:24:26.240 --> 00:24:28.480 Whitfield was very Calvinistic. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:31.039 Wesley rejected that doctrine. 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:36.160 And their followers knew that, and their followers argued fiercely about that. 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:42.000 At one point, someone actually approached John Wesley and said, Mr. 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:47.119 Wesley, you and George Whitfield disagree on the topic of predestination. 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:50.480 Do you think you're going to see George Whitfield in heaven? 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:54.160 And Wesley replied, no. 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:57.519 And then he paused for five seconds. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:08.400 And he said, Because I think he's going to be so close to the throne of God, and I will be so far that I'll hardly catch a glimpse of him. 00:25:09.440 --> 00:25:15.759 That's the spirit of brothers in Christ who don't agree about a gray area. 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:20.160 Don't divide the body of Christ over non-essentials. 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:23.599 That's the body that Christ died to unite. 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:31.599 If you'd like to learn more about the topic of handling gray areas in the church, my friend Craig wrote a book called Gray Church. 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:40.720 It's full of wisdom and practical examples of how to deal with this topic, and I found it greatly helpful in preparing this message for today. 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:44.799 So Paul says, Timothy, don't do the word quarreling thing. 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:47.359 Don't let unnecessary divisions creep in. 00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:50.319 As a leader, quarantine those types of debates. 00:25:50.559 --> 00:25:54.720 But focus on something else instead, because avoiding foolish debates is only half the job. 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:57.599 It's not enough to just say what a church must not do. 00:25:57.680 --> 00:25:59.680 We also have to talk about what a church must do, right? 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:00.640 So that's point two. 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:06.799 We've talked about what we should not fight about, but now let's talk about what we should fight about. 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:10.000 And for this, drop down with me to verse 16. 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:12.079 I'll come back to 15 in just a second. 00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:23.759 Paul goes on to say this but avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. 00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:32.000 Among them are Himenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:35.440 They are upsetting the faith of some. 00:26:36.240 --> 00:26:37.920 Strong language here. 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:42.799 This false teaching Paul is talking about, he likens to a virus. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:45.680 A theological virus has crept in. 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:49.839 It's like an infectious, spreading, dangerous disease. 00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:54.480 Let me show you a picture, and as a warning, the picture's a little disturbing. 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:57.920 But Paul likens this false teaching to gangrene. 00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:03.039 Those of you in the medical profession, you know how serious this is and how it needs to be dealt with severely. 00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:04.720 It's a kind of a blood poisoning. 00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:06.559 Now that's a terrifying image. 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:12.559 In the ancient world, in fact, if gangrene were to set in, it would spread throughout your whole body and eventually kill you. 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:15.039 And the only way to stop it was radical action. 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:19.279 You had to remove the infected tissue before it spread. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:22.160 Let me get that nasty picture off there and go back to the verse. 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:26.079 Paul is saying false teaching is that serious. 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:28.559 It is infecting the body of Christ. 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:30.160 It needs to be severed out. 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:31.279 It is not healthy. 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:32.000 It's dangerous. 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:33.759 In fact, it's deadly. 00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:40.799 But this kind of false teaching rarely ever announces itself. 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:45.119 You know, wolves don't come to the front and say, hey, I'm a wolf. 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:48.720 Heresy never comes into a church that way. 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:54.799 Rather, it usually comes in quietly, it usually comes in nuanced and sophisticated. 00:27:54.960 --> 00:28:00.319 It sounds thoughtful, but you recognize it departs from the truth in some very important way. 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:04.720 And when it does that, it starts to spread slowly like a spiritual disease. 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:06.400 And then it brings havoc. 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:10.160 So this is why Paul actually names these false teachers. 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:12.079 Who's spreading this theological error? 00:28:12.160 --> 00:28:14.559 He says, well, it's Hemenaeus and Philetus. 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:16.240 Paul names them. 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:21.279 No, this isn't personal hostility, this is spiritual triage. 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:27.440 There were teachers in this church who were denying the future bodily resurrection for the saints. 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:29.200