Sermon Tone Analysis

“The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

[1]

Sometimes it seems that preachers spend more time explaining away the Word than they do providing exposition of the Word!

The trend can seem at times to be intensifying.

Perhaps, in light of Paul’s warning, such an observation is not as farfetched as one might imagine.

Perhaps it truly is correct to note that prominent “reverends” are jettisoning the Word in favour of creating a new set of scriptures to suit their own fallen tastes.

For instance, this week past, I listened to part of a sermon by the Very Rev. Gary Hall, chief ecclesiastical leader and executive officer of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

In a “sermon” designed to honour homosexual youth, this supposed cleric said, “In its wisdom, the church came to its senses and labeled both racism and sexism as sinful.

And now we find ourselves at the last barrier—call that barrier homophobia, call it heterosexism.

We must now have the courage to take the final step and call homophobia and heterosexism what they are.

They are sin.

Homophobia is a sin.

Heterosexism is a sin.

Shaming people for whom they love is a sin.

Shaming people because their gender identity doesn’t fit neatly into your sense of what it should be is a sin.” [2]

As I listened to this portion of his sermonette, my mind recalled the Word of the Lord delivered through the Court Prophet, Isaiah.

“Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,

who put darkness for light

and light for darkness,

who put bitter for sweet

and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,

and shrewd in their own sight!”

[ISAIAH 5:20, 21]

Imagine that!

Moses got it wrong!

And our Judeo-Christian heritage has had it all wrong for thousands of years!

The Dean of the National Cathedral would have us believe that either God has changed His mind or He got it all wrong in the first place and needed this brilliant idiot to straighten matters out!

What arrogance!

What chutzpah!

What hubris!

What insolence!

What an utter lack of sophrosyne!

Responding to his “comforters,” who were anything but “comforters,” Job spoke truly of such foolishness as exhibited by faux-ministers fawning over the denizens of this dying world when he castigated these fools with biting sarcasm:

“No doubt you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you.”

[JOB 12:2]

The audacity of unbelievers parading as Christians, much less as ministers of the Almighty, leaves one breathless.

Understand that people such as this fall under the opprobrium of the Apostle, who described those who stand opposed to the Faith once delivered to the saints as “False apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” [2 CORINTHIANS 11:13-14].

Nevertheless, the message this day is not about the perfidy of professed Christians, though the times are undoubtedly evil.

The message focuses on the apostolic instruction to the people of God concerning their conduct during evil days.

Paul has spoken of the congregation of the faithful as “the focal point and repository of the truth.”

[3] Then, as we witnessed in an earlier message, [4] citing what was likely an early hymn, the Apostle stated the core of the Gospel truth.

The Apostle opens this portion of his letter with the conjunction “now.”

By using the word “Now,” the Apostle speaks of the conditions in which the people of God must hold and protect that truth.

That becomes the message we consider as we look into the Word today.

*DOCTRINAL DRIFT* — “The Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”

Though there are notable exceptions, transitions from righteousness to wickedness are often imperceptible.

An example of such imperceptible transition may be provided by thinking of an apprentice carpenter who is told to cut lengths of wood for building a wall.

He is told to cut all the wood to the same length.

The man cuts the first piece of wood, carefully measuring to ensure the length is correct.

Then, he picks up the piece he cut and uses it to measure the next cut.

After that cut, he picks up the piece that he just cut and measures for the next cut.

He continues cutting wood, always using the piece that he has just cut to measure each piece.

When the foreman comes to retrieve the pieces, what do you suppose he finds?

Each successive piece is marginally shorter than the preceding piece!

After fifty pieces are cut, the difference is exaggerated; the problem is immediately obvious—the carpenter failed to use a proper standard, and as result the wood is ruined for the purpose required.

Something like this happens when people fail to measure their conduct by the Perfect Standard of Christ the Lord.

Perhaps a congregation, desiring to honour God, establishes rules for holiness.

They read that women are not to wear “that which pertaineth unto a man”; so they pass a rule proscribing pantsuits.

Of course, such rules will never create holiness, and they have a way of metastasising.

Soon, the church will pass other legislation, always adding rules to “clarify” God’s Word.

I grew up in an area near to a religious group that insisted married men must have beards and wear simple clothing; their women were required to wear long dresses made with rather plain cloth such as gingham.

Observing these people, I discovered that a man can have a beard to his navel, and have a filthy mind.

I learned that a woman can wear a dress that drags the ground with sleeves down to her fingertips and still be flirtatious, coquettish, prurient or even concupiscent.

What is on the outside does not make one holy; what is on the inside determines whether one is righteous and holy.

The group I described is no different from a thousand other sects that rely on mysticism, legalism or asceticism to validate their religious experience.

As I read what Paul has written, it appears that a group promoting asceticism had taken root among the Ephesians.

The cautionary words Paul wrote indicated that this group was arguing that denying oneself was the means to spirituality.

They were teaching that celibacy was a means to spiritual maturity; and they taught that diet could make one presentable to God.

Rather than looking to the work of the Master as their sole hope for salvation and godliness, they were focused on denying the appetites of the flesh through rules—rules which Paul characterised elsewhere as “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” [COLOSSIANS 2:21].

Of course, it is easy for us Evangelicals to read what the Apostle has written and imagine that they know precisely what cult or sect he would point out as “exhibit A” in this day.

However, I suggest that whenever we begin to create rules to promote holiness—however innocuous, however reasonable those rules appear in our estimate—rather than accepting and obeying what has been given in the Word, we fall under the very condemnation he presents!

Paul informs the reader that “the Spirit” explicitly speaks concerning this ecclesiastical drift.

Using the present tense, Paul indicates that the Spirit had given this message at other times and that He was continuing to press this point even as Paul was writing this letter to Timothy.

Let’s tease apart what the Apostle has said so we can get a handle on what is happening.

The adverb that is translated “expressly” is unique—it is a hapax legomenon, occurring only here in the New Testament.

It is possible that Paul used this word in order to stress the vital importance of this matter.

It is as though he erected a flashing neon sign to grab the readers’ attention.

Therefore, we should be able to find warnings throughout the Word of apostasy coming.

Though the Apostle is quite aware of the Great Apostasy coming at the end of the age, Paul is not at this point referring specifically to that great apostasy that will occur at the end of this age—he is speaking of a condition that was even then afflicting the congregation in Ephesus and which infects the people of God to this day.

He was speaking of the tendency for churches, and for some who present themselves as church leaders, to drift into error through creating novel doctrines arising from attempts to clarify the Word of God.

There is, however, a coming great apostasy; and now is a good time to recall that time.

In the Old Testament, Daniel, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, pointed to the coming apostasy when he described a disturbing vision that involved four beasts rising successively out of the earth; the fourth beast in his vision was especially frightful and disturbing.

He noted some exceptional activity surrounding that creature.

“I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions.

As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.”

“Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast,

there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,

which shall be different from all the kingdoms,

and it shall devour the whole earth,

and trample it down, and break it to pieces.

As for the ten horns,

out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,

and another shall arise after them;

he shall be different from the former ones,

and shall put down three kings.

He shall speak words against the Most High,