HOLDING ON TO TRUTH - CHRIST, OUR FIRM FOUNDATION
We trust today’s message encouraged and guided you in your journey of following Jesus. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or be used for a sermon group discussion.
Sermon Title: CHRIST, OUR FIRM FOUNDATION
Main Scripture: MATTHEW 7:24-27; COLOSSIANS 2:6-8; 1 TIMOTHY 4:1-2; 2 PETER 2:1-3
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Summary:
As Christians, our lives and worldview are to be built on the Word of God and the Living Word, Jesus Christ. As the world grows increasingly wicked its influence has grown and has impacted the Christian church. The adversity the church is facing right now is the constant waves of false teaching. False teaching and movements are seeking to destroy what we have held fast to as Biblical and historical sound doctrine and truth. Jesus and the apostles regularly warned believers of false teachers, teachings, and deceitful spirits in their day. These scriptures also apply to us. In today’s sermon, Pastor Ryan encourages us to build our lives on Christ and took lookout for waves of false teaching. In this sermon, Pastor Ryan specifically mentioned progressive Christianity and its influence on the destructing faith explosion.
Notes:
Matthew 7:24-27 Build your life upon Christ, the firm foundation
This parable is a parallel. You have one builder who trusts in Jesus, listens to His teachings, and obeys them. The result is prosperity in the midst of storms and waves of adversity. The other builder hears the teachings of Jesus but chooses not to obey or follow them. When adversity comes, life comes crashing down.
The waves and wind remind me of Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. The new teaching and ideologies seek to undermine God’s Word and destroy our faith.
According to our scripture, Jesus is trying to say He’s a safe base, a sure foundation. Jesus is teaching us that His teachings are true. Jesus is teaching that following them will make us strong in the face of adversity and deceit. That doesn’t sound like oppression, it sounds like love for us.
Let me remind us that Jesus affirmed scripture to be truth and from God himself. Jesus wouldn’t disagree with the Bible’s positions. Our world says the Bible is used to oppress people. In the world’s opinion, God’s Word is oppressive because it prohibits sinful things the world loves to accept and enjoy. This is the fundamental tension we’ve lived in for millennia! Nothing new here.
Colossians 2:6-8; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Peter 2:1-3 (Please put these on slides using NLT)
THE WAVES OF PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY AND DECONSTRUCTING FAITH
The world holds different views of the Bible: There are those in the world who have yet to believe God exists so trusting in Jesus or God’s Word to frame their life is not on their radar. There are those who know of the Bible but have settled on not seeking to understand it. There are those who choose to be critics and skeptics. They may know God’s Word pretty well or not at all but they choose to criticize and deny its divine revelation to us.
Then there is the more recent and dangerous progressive view. This group questions the Bible as outdated and irrelevant to the times. Many in this camp know the Bible has significant historical evidence to make it irrefutable so instead of throwing it out completely, they conveniently ignore portions of scripture or reinterpret it to fit into a framework of life they want to live.
Of course, I would disagree with the notion that the Bible is outdated and not relevant to the times. The world’s philosophies, ideas, and ethics are constantly changing and contradicting themselves. On the other hand, it is the unchanging nature of God and the unchanging standard of the Bible that make it appealing and trustworthy. The Bible doesn’t have to and can’t change its mind because what has been written stands.
It used to be that the Christian church stood with the Word of God on all issues and the world stands on its own (Postmodernism, relativism, hedonism, polytheism, atheism, and agnosticism.) But in the progressive movement, we have the mixing (syncretism) of the two (and other views).
What’s concerning is this movement is causing deceiving many to fall away from the true faith.
But churches like Calvary, out of love for the lost and our families, are redrawing the lines that have been faded by these deceitful waves of new teaching. We are reiterating where God’s Word stands because we love people. We believe it is the truth that sets us free from sin and spiritual strongholds in this world. Truth is love.
Heavily influenced by progressive Christianity is the Deconstructing Faith movement
There has been an explosion of what’s called deconstructing faith. With respect to Christianity, apologist Alisa Childers offers this definition: “In the context of faith, deconstruction is the process of systematically dissecting and often rejecting the beliefs you grew up with. Sometimes the Christian will deconstruct all the way into atheism. Some remain there, but others experience a reconstruction. But the type of faith they end up embracing almost never resembles the Christianity they formerly knew.” -Apologist Alisa Childers
“Despite formal definitions, there is considerable confusion and disagreement over what deconstruction looks like in practice, and the word means very different things to different people. For some Christians, deconstruction is the process of disentangling from harmful and toxic cultural attitudes that have filtered into the church and embracing a purer biblical faith that better reflects the Gospel of Jesus. This is admirable, something all followers of Jesus should pursue. But in other cases, deconstruction involves redefining or rejecting core doctrines of the Christian faith to bring it in line with current cultural values. This is deadly to one’s spiritual health and often leads to total abandonment of the faith." -Focus on the Family https://www.focusonthefamily.ca/content/deconstruction-a-look-at-a-popular-and-polarizing-concept
WHAT’S FUELING DECONSTRUCTING FAITH?
Progressive Christianity has stirred up many questions because they oppose historical Biblical views that have not changed with the times. (Possibly show video)
Skepticism from schools and universities.
Moral and sinful decay. Sinful compromise. Defining right to be wrong and wrong to be right.
Societal pressure. Society is labeling Christians as hateful and oppressive so Christians are dissociating from the faith.
Social media has made deconstruction affirming and trendy.
Church hurt. Painful experiences with other members and leaders of the church.
Questioning God’s existence and goodness in light of death, sicknesses, and evil.
Lack of Biblical teaching, discipleship, and love. The church in America has not always provided solid teaching, guidance, and love that is patient and willing to walk with someone as they doubt or question.
There is a spirit of deception already at work in our world from our enemy.
What breaks my heart for Christians going through this is all of these situations are redeemable and restorable. However, it takes everyone coming together with humility and submission to God’s Word, but that’s what the movement has often rejected, God’s Word as truth.
RED FLAGS ABOUT THIS MOVEMENT
It’s healthy to ask good questions about what you believe and why you believe in Jesus Christ. However, these waves are more antagonistic than careful Christian thinking.
There’s no safe base or foundation to fall back on to measure what is truth, right, and wrong (the Bible). It’s basically demolition and then people are arbitrarily rebuilding on whatever beliefs they want. There’s no intent to reconstruct using the truth, God's Word. Most deconstructionists are abandoning the Bible.
People are deconstructing what is still under construction. They are deconstructing what little they have and demoing the truth with everything else. Many have quit before there has been a proper construction of the Christian faith.
The devil is behind the curtain using apostates and false teachers to exploit the vulnerable.
Instead of getting caught in the current of progressive Christianity and the antagonistic side of deconstructing faith let me offer an alternative. Build on Christ.
How to build your life on God’s Word and Jesus Christ
Biblical construction
Proper construction takes good blueprints!
We believe the Bible to be true so use the Bible, not the internet. Build and refine your faith in Christ.
Be a disciple of Christ. Start with a serious study of Christ and practice what He teaches.
Biblical correction
Be honest with what you are learning. If it’s true then admit it and apply it!
Use the Bible to decipher and discern what is true. Hold on to what is true and let go of what is false.
When we do this, the wrong things fall away and the right things remain!
Biblical community
Go deeper in Christ with other disciples of Christ who are grounded in Him.
Ask good questions and study good sources. Be careful of who you learn from.
Biblical conviction
Convictions are like the beams and posts of a beach house dup down into the bedrock. No matter what wave of new teaching comes, your beliefs and convictions do not give way.
Discussion:
What scripture verse stuck out to you from this sermon and why?
What spoke and or challenged you in this sermon?
What are some Christian positions and beliefs that have progressively become diluted and distorted by our culture?
Pastor Ryan shared to build our lives on Biblical construction, what did he mean?
Why is it important that your community is grounded in Biblical truth?
What do you need to go and apply from this message?
The most important decision you will ever make!
Are you ready to experience salvation and be transformed? We encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, amen!
We would love to know if you made the decision to accept this wonderful gift from God. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hoped you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!