00:00The danger of twisting Scripture, you shall not add to the word which I command you, nor
00:05take anything from it, Deuteronomy 4.2.
00:09Years ago, I sat with a young man who had left the church of his youth.
00:13He said, what I read in the Bible didn't match what I was hearing in church.
00:18He had been taught that wealth was a sign of faith, that suffering revealed weak belief
00:23and that doctrine divided.
00:25But in the Gospels, he found a Christ who was poor, who called the persecuted blessed,
00:30and who brought division with truth.
00:32That church experience wasn't an isolated case.
00:36Today, Scripture is routinely cherry-picked, twisted, or ignored entirely.
00:42Churches reshape God's Word to boost attendance, avoid controversy, or cater to culture.
00:48But Scripture is not a buffet where we choose what suits us.
00:52It is the authoritative, infallible, unchanging Word of God.
00:56To distort it, even slightly, is to mislead souls and endanger eternity.
01:02False teaching isn't always loud.
01:05It's often subtle.
01:06It sounds close to truth, but leads away from it.
01:09Paul's warning to the Galatians remains relevant.
01:12If anyone preaches another gospel, let him be accursed.
01:17Galb 1.8.
01:18If a church's teaching isn't rooted in rightly divided Scripture, it's not God speaking.
01:23It's man, and man's Word cannot save.
01:26Truth over tradition or trends.
01:28Sanctify them in the truth.
01:30Your Word is truth.
01:32John 17, 17.
01:34At a conference in the Midwest, an elderly woman tearfully told me,
01:39I've been in church my whole life, but I feel like I've never heard the real Word of God until today.
01:45Her church had prioritized keeping people happy over holy.
01:50That's the danger we face.
01:51Conviction exchanged for convenience.
01:55Flashy lights, feel-good sermons, and psychological jargon often replace truth.
02:00But the gospel was never meant to be trendy.
02:03It confronts sin, offends pride, and demands repentance.
02:07When Jesus preached, people often walked away.
02:11Too many churches today would rather lose the truth than lose the crowd.
02:15They soften sin, water down the gospel, and call it relevance.
02:21But God does not call us to be clever.
02:23He calls us to be faithful.
02:26Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
02:31That includes the hard parts, the warnings, the calls to deny self.
02:35We are not editors of His Word.
02:38We are heralds.
02:40Tradition is not the standard.
02:41Trends are not the standard.
02:43Truth is the standard.
02:44A church that bows to culture has already ceased following Christ.
02:49So I say again, stand on the Word.
02:51Preach it faithfully, whether the pews fill or empty.
02:55God never promised popularity.
02:57He promised persecution and His presence.
03:00The role of shepherds to guard doctrine.
03:03Preach the Word, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, 2 Timothy 4-2-3.
03:10I once spoke to a humble pastor who had served faithfully for over 30 years.
03:15A young couple told him they wanted more encouraging and less doctrinal sermons.
03:21He replied gently,
03:22The most practical thing I can give you is the truth of God's Word, because it changes everything.
03:29That is the role of a true shepherd.
03:32A pastor is not a life coach, a celebrity, or a crowd pleaser.
03:36He is a guardian of doctrine, a steward of God's revelation, and a shepherd of souls.
03:42Paul told Titus to appoint elders able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.
03:49Titus 1-9.
03:50Many churches are falling today because their shepherds have gone silent.
03:55When shepherds stop warning, wolves grow bold.
03:58Doctrine is dismissed as divisive or secondary.
04:02But Paul told Timothy to watch your life and doctrine closely.
04:071 Timothy 4-16.
04:08Doctrine is the rudder of the church.
04:11Without it, the ship drifts and wrecks.
04:14A church without sound doctrine is no longer under Christ's lordship.
04:18It's under the influence of man.
04:21And if the shepherds won't guard the truth, who will?
04:24False teachers within the church.
04:26From among your own selves, men will arise speaking perverse things.
04:31Acts 20-30.
04:32We often imagine false teachers as outsiders, but Scripture warns that they rise from within.
04:38I recall visiting a church with a beloved charismatic pastor.
04:42His sermons were inspiring, but they lacked the cross, repentance, and sin.
04:48An elder finally confronted him, saying, we're not preaching the gospel anymore.
04:52He was dismissed.
04:54That church still gathers, but it is no longer a church.
04:57It is a spiritual theater.
04:59Paul's warning to the Ephesian elders still applies.
05:02Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth.
05:07Acts 20-30.
05:08False teachers don't always look dangerous.
05:11They may wear robes, speak Christian language, and appear loving, but they preach another gospel.
05:17Jesus called them wolves in sheep's clothing.
05:21They tell people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear,
05:24and often gain the church's protection and praise.
05:28That's why the church must be discerning.
05:31Test every teaching by Scripture.
05:34Expose error, not to divide, but to protect.
05:38Eternity is at stake.
05:40When the church tolerates false teachers, she partners with them.
05:44And when truth is compromised, the gospel is lost.
05:48A call to return to biblical authority.
05:51But the word of the Lord endures forever.
05:531 Peter 1.25.
05:55A few years ago, a major denomination held a vote to redefine sin.
06:01I watched as leaders debated, not from Scripture, but from emotion and culture.
06:06One pastor said, we must adapt to stay relevant.
06:10And that's the poison.
06:12When relevance overtakes reverence, the church surrenders its authority.
06:16What separates the true church from the counterfeit is this, a total submission to the word of God.
06:23Not part of it, all of it.
06:26Even the parts that offend or challenge us.
06:29Those parts test whether we are standing on the rock or building on sand.
06:34Jesus didn't come to affirm man's ideas.
06:38He came to declare the truth of the Father.
06:40The apostles didn't change the world with inspirational talks.
06:44They preached Scripture, even when it cost them their lives.
06:47The early church didn't grow by mirroring the culture.
06:51It grew by confronting it with God's word.
06:54And so must we.
06:55It's not too late.
06:56Churches can return.
06:58Pastors can repent.
06:59Pulpits can be reclaimed.
07:01But only if we return to sola scriptura, Scripture alone.
07:05The Bible isn't a footnote in ministry.
07:08It is the foundation.
07:09The church that opens the Bible and believes every word.
07:13The church will shine.
07:15Maybe not in the world's eyes, but in God's.
07:18And that's the only approval that matters.
07:20So return to the book.
07:21Preach the word.
07:22Stand on the truth.
07:24For the word of God is not bound, and His truth endures to all generations.
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