Sermon Tone Analysis

March 26, 2012

By: John Barnett

Read, print, or listen to this resource on our website www.DiscoverTheBook.org

Before the celestial “shock and awe” judgments of the Tribulation are unleashed, God's Word describes a time characterized by false teaching and teachers SO strong, that it would even sweep away even true believers (Mark 13:22) if they were not sealed by the Spirit of God.

In Matthew 24 Jesus describes the world before He returns in His Second Coming, as a world where the love of most has grown cold because of false teachers (Matthew 24:11-12); and where “the Faith” will be nearly extinct (Luke 18:8).

The end of the church age is shown in Revelation 3 to be like the church at Laodicea where truth is light, self-centeredness is heavy; materialism and personal agendas run deep, and true Biblical spirituality is shallow.

As we have already seen, Paul foretold that the days would be a time of great “falling away”; and Peter, Jude and John all described this final time pervasive false doctrine across the world.

As we open to the tiny letter of Christ's other earthly brother named Jude look at verse 3.

Today we see such a sweeping array of deceptive false teachers as just the foretaste of this birth pang, which Jesus warned about and described--forming before our very eyes.

Never before has wrong teaching and beliefs about God been more widely proclaimed than in our day.

I a continuous, 24/7 river erroneous teaching about God flows around the world: on radio, TV, cable, webcasts, podcasts, simulcasts, books, magazines, and everywhere in between—*our world is increasingly filled with lies about God.*

And to this growing cauldron of darkness and lies comes the triumphant truth that—

*Jesus Christ is The Key*

Please stand with me and listen to Jude 1:3-4, 16-25.

The storm of lies raining down upon us today is a constant reminder why Christ's Church is to be filled with well grounded, grace-energized men and women who guard the truth that Jesus Christ gave us.

We should be constantly declaring the truths we hold from John 14:6, to the confused world around us that:

• *Jesus Christ is the Way*—there is NO other road to God than the Lord Jesus Christ.

Any belief system that is hostile to Him, denying of His deity, or claiming His insufficiency is FALSE.

• *Jesus Christ is the Truth*—at the center of all truth that leads to God is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul says that general revelation has two means: conscience and creation.

Jesus Christ is right in the middle of the human conscience as the Creator who breathed life into the dirt that was used to form Adam; and He is squarely in the center of the created Universe as He is also the Creator of everything in the heavens and on the Earth.

Any philosophy, religion, or science that is hostile to Him, denying of His deity, or claiming His insufficiency is FALSE.

• *Jesus Christ is the Life*—the only way to live a life that is guilt-free, fear-free, full and overflowing, is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those who come to Him find His complete forgiveness of every sin, and His complete transformation of their lives.

Any religion, church, denomination, or Bible teacher that is hostile to Jesus Christ as God in human flesh who died a substitutionary death for sin, or that denies His deity in any other way, or claims His insufficiency is FALSE.

But that absolute assertion of Christ in John 14:6 is not widely held by modern Christians.

George Barna recently reported that in America,

“Christians have increasingly been adopting spiritual views that come from Islam, Wicca, secular humanism, the eastern religions and other sources.

Because we remain a largely Bible-illiterate society, few are alarmed or even aware of the slide toward syncretism - a belief system that blindly combines beliefs from many different faith perspectives with God's Word."

That leads us to consider the—

*Ancient Heresies in The Church of the 21st Century*

It's axiomatic to say today that "There are no new heresies".

For example, looking closely us we can see elements of the following ancient heresies in modern religious movements around us today.

Because of a growing ecumenical, try-to-not-offend anyone (but God) movement around us today, we are often asked to overlook the deadly false teachings of groups, that often are made up of such warm and gracious people.

• We can see elements of the Arian Heresy in Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witnesses.

• We can see much Religious Syncretism in the Roman Catholic Church, the Emergent Church Movement, and the Unification Church (Moonies).

• We can see elements of Marcionism, Syncretism, Universalism, Gnosticism, and Nestorianism in all the New Age versions of "Christianity" like the talk show force Oprah Winfrey is always promoting.

• We can see elements of Islam's view of Jesus are similar to the Docetist and Ebionist Heresies.

• We can see elements of Roman Catholics fall into Semi-Pelagianism and, often, Mariolatry (the worship of Mary as equal with Christ and holding Divine attributes).

• We can see some Charismatics fall into Glossolalianism and Montanism.

• And many modern media-based ministries, especially televangelists, fall into almost every heresy known and unknown!

Here is a concise list of the false teachings that can be found in the writings of the early church.

This list is a good reason to be very careful in embracing the writings of someone just because they were an early Christian leader.

*The Known Heresies of the*

*Early (Post-Apostolic) Church*

*1.

“The Way” or Christ's Death as the Substitute for sinners was under attack.

These heresies were those that led to damnation.*

• *Arianism* (Arius, Eudoxius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, Eunomius): Reduces Christ from the Divine Son of God, to a first created being.

God-the-Father existed prior to God-the-Son.

This is the false teaching of the Jehovah’s Witnesses .

• *Docetism:* The Son-of-God didn't become flesh, only appeared to die on cross.

Christ descended upon Jesus at baptism, but exited just prior to crucifixion.

This is in Neo-Orthodoxy and Liberalism today.

The popular writer William Barclay held this view.

• *Ebionism* (Athanascus): Jesus only seemed divine, but was a prophet not the Son of God.

This is partly reflected in modern day Islam.

• *Gnosticism* (Greek mystery cults, Jewish Kabbalah, Zorasterianism, Egyptian religion): Salvation is acquired through secret knowledge outside of the Bible.

Envisions a hierarchy of spiritual beings that are progressively further from the evil material world.

Matter is inherently evil.

This is seen in much of so called New-Age Christianity today.

• *Nestorianism* (Nestorius): Christ was a god-bearing man (as we might become), rather than both fully-human and fully-God.

This is reflected in Haganism today.

• *Pelagianism* (Pelagius, Julian of Eclanum Coelestius): Man is born essentially good, and is capable of doing what is necessary for salvation.

This was the classic Albert Schweitzer type of Liberalism in America.

Semi-Pelagianism (John Cassian): God and man both cooperate in salvation, but man must take the initiative.

This is seen in extreme Arminianism.

• *Perfectionionism:* (AKA: Legalism) Belief that our works bring us to salvation, or are necessary to maintain our salvation.

Modern Pelagianism.

• *Unitarianism:* Denial of the deity of both God the Father and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit of God (or the Trinity).

This is all around us today.

• *Universalism:* The belief that all persons will ultimately be saved, and no one will be eternally punished.

The belief is growing among well-known Evangelical groups today.

*2.

“The Truth” of God's Word was under attack.

These heresies were those that led to confusion.*

• *Apollinarianism* (Apollinarius): Christ had no human spirit, the Logos replaced it.

Sort of Jesus as God clothed in flesh .

• *Baptismal Regenerationism*: The belief that baptism is essential to, and seals, one's salvation.

Present in many denominations today such as the Catholics, the Orthodox, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, the Church of Christ, and so on.

• *Glossolalianism*: The belief that only speaking in tongues proves a person's salvation.

• *Macedonianism* (Macedonius): The Holy Spirit as a created being similar to the angels.

• *Manicheanism *(Manicheus, aka: Mani or Manes): Gnostic variant believing matter is evil, God created our souls but rejected our bodies.

• *Marcionism *(Marcion): Gnostic variant distinguishing two Gods: An angry, vindictive one of the Old Testament, and a nice one in the New Testament.

The OT god having no validity for Christians.

This was also an early tenet of Liberalism.

This gave birth to Judaistism: Combines Jewish civil and ceremonial laws with New Testament Christianity.

• *Monarchianism* (Paul of Samosata, Theodotus of Byzantium): Jesus became Christ at baptism, was made Son of God at His crucifixion, God according Him these things because of Jesus' righteousness.

This is just like Docetism.

This is in Neo-Orthodoxy and Liberalism today.

The popular writer William Barclay held a form of this view.

• *Monophysitism* (Severus, Julius of Halicarnassus): Christ fully God, not human at all.

And closely related is Monothelitism (Sergius, Theodore of Arabia): Christ had no human will, only divine will.

• *Montanism* (Montanus): Promotion or practice of extreme and disorderly manifestations of the "Holy Spirit".

Present in some far out fringe Charismatic groups.

• *Noeticism*: God-the-Father was crucified as Christ.

And closely related, Patripassianism: God-the-Father and God-the-Son BOTH died on the cross.

• *Subordinationism*: Any subordination of one member of the Trinity to another (in position, not role).

• *Syncretism*: The combination of Christianity with anything else (esp.

Judaism in the Early Church).

We see this today in RCC, the ECM, the Contemplative Prayer Movement, and many other places.

* 3. “The Life” as set down for us in God’s Revelation to mankind was under attack.