The California Collection/TheCaliforniaCollection.cdr/his119/swords.arj/SWORDS.TXT

Text File | 1990-12-06 | 18KB | 371 lines

                  SPIRITUAL SWORDSMANSHIP
                            or
          Defending Yourself against False Doctrines

                        THE PROBLEM

     It  is  obvious  from  Scripture  that  every  Christian  is
expected to be able to fight back and defeat false teachings,  no
matter  whether they are being proclaimed by an obvious cult,  or
by  a  brother who has fallen into error.  Practically  speaking,
though, the average Christian often feels outmatched in verse-to-
verse  combat  and  looks for help from people he considers to be
authorities.

     There  is  a  great deal of  very  good,   helpful  material
available,   but it usually  has  a  problem or two that makes it
difficult  to  use,   especially  if it is a situation  that  the
believer has never been in before.  This material will often give
the reader tremendous insight,   but ordinarily,  requires him to
research,   memorize,  study and practice it before he can use it
effectively.

  It will also  give  him  information about only ONE
group or teaching, without giving  him a general tool that can be
used in all situations.   The  average Christian doesn't have the
time  or  interest  to  pursue this avenue,  or  to  become  well
informed  about  ALL the errant doctrines being put  out.   As  a
result, he becomes discouraged, and gives up on EVER successfully
refuting false doctrine.

     This writer is convinced that each and every Christian,   no
matter how long  he  has been a Christian or how knowledgeable he
is about spiritual things has the means at hand to defeat any and
all  false  teaching.   All it requires is a  knowledge  of  your
weapon, how to use it, and what pitfalls to avoid.

                    YOUR PRINCIPAL WEAPON

     Nearly  every person who is teaching false doctrine seeks to
undermine  the  trustworthiness  of the Bible.  (A good sign  the
person  IS teaching false doctrine!) After running into a wall of
disbelief, you may be tempted to dispense with the Bible in favor
of other material,  in the hopes that you may convince him of the
error of his way.   DON'T,  unless you are VERY familiar with the
other  material,  and can use it WELL!  Even then,  your  primary
weapon should STILL be the Bible.

     This  may seem obvious,  but it is e exactly at  THIS  point
that  many  Christian  "defenders of the  Faith"   get  lost  and
confused. Much of the material available puts this Book, the Holy
Bible,  which is our real basis for power and authority,  into an
almost secondary position,  and  will rely upon other sources for
most of their arguments.

     If your friend - the one who is seeking to give you "another
gospel"   -   distrusts  the accuracy of the Bible,  it makes  NO
difference  in its being YOUR principal weapon. A sword remains a
sword,   even  if  the opponent doesn't think it  is  a  reliable
weapon.  The Word of God remains the Word of God,  "...living and
active; sharper than any  double-edged sword,  it penetrates even
to dividing the soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12), even if your
friend disbelieves it.

     This  is true even if your friend is a self-avowed  atheist,
or  part  of a non-Christian  religion  - although some  of  what
follows won't apply - STICK TO THE BIBLE!!! No other material has
a divine guarantee of total effectiveness that the Bible has! The
other materials can be used,  if you desire, to further establish
the fallacy of your friends claims, but your most reliable weapon
in fighting error  is  the Holy Bible.  Even  if  he INSISTS upon
disregarding the Bible,  and going elsewhere to find truth, DON'T
DO IT! If he gets upset,  ask him what he is afraid of finding in
the Bible.

                  EFFECTIVE DOCTRINAL DUELING

     Like the sword it compares itself to,  the Bible can be used
to  either attack or defend.  To carry the parallel even further,
it takes a fair  amount of practice and experience to use a sword
-  or  the Bible  -  effectively on the offense.  As you grow and
mature in your Walk with the Lord Jesus,  your ability to use His
Word will grow with you.  But many of those who are approached by
these "false apostles" (and sometimes led astray by them) haven't
had the time to become familiar, much less skilled,  in using the
Bible.

     When  a  soldier is being trained to fight,  he  is  usually
taught  how  to defend  himself LONG before he is taught  how  to
attack.   There is every  reason to expect this to be appropriate
for our spiritual battles,  as well.  When  talking with a person
from any organization (or teaching)  that is false,  but wants to
present itself or himself as "Christian,"  sooner or later, there
will be an attempt to use a passage from the Bible to support  or
defend  a  doctrine  that may be in conflict with  the  Truth  of
Scripture.

     When  ANYONE - even someone who is honestly seeking to teach
the True Word  of  God - uses the Bible to teach or illustrate  a
concept  unfamiliar to you (particularly when it is  in  conflict
with what you have  been  taught before!),  STOP THE CONVERSATION
RIGHT THERE!!!

 Get out a Bible, turn to he passage just used, and
read it - out loud, if possible, and include the entire paragraph
in which it is found. A teacher of Truth probably won't mind, and
a  false  teacher may or may not - their response at  this  point
won't tell you much.  If they object,  just inform them that  you
want  to find  out  if their use of the passage agrees  with  the
author's intention, and continue examining the section!  Under NO
circumstances  should  your discussion continue  until  you  have
checked  the passage to see if your friend and the author  agree.
Do  this in EACH INSTANCE!

 The friend may be A-OK in some  cases
just  to  get  you to believe that he knows what  he  is  talking
about,   but then divert into the "real"  false  teachings  after
having obtained your confidence.

                  BASIC INTERPRETIVE THRUST

     The  easiest  way  to  determine the AUTHOR'S  intent  in  a
passage  is to ask a series of simple questions -  WHO?,   WHEN?,
WHERE?, HOW?, WHAT?, WHY?, and even SO WHAT? (These are sometimes
referred to as the "journalism"  questions).  In order to  answer
the  questions,   you  will need to examine MORE  than  just  the
passage  quoted,  but will find the answers in the context of the
entire Book.  After doing that, see if either your interpretation
or his  interpretation,  should they be different,  is closest to
agreement with the Bible.  God NEVER contradicts himself! A  good
help  would  be to follow the cross-references that are often  in
the margins of the Bible.

     A  false  teaching  will ALWAYS  differ  from  the  original
purpose  of the author;   so  you can spot - and refute  -  false
teachings  quite  easily  and  effectively by using  this  simple
method.   It  may  sound like more work than  you'd  like  to  go
through,  and may even  seem to  be rude,  at times,  but it is a
workable means to keep  from being fooled by false teachings  and
deceiving spirits.  It may be much easier to  simply believe what
someone tells  you, particularly  if they sound authoritative and
have a  positive, glowing personality,  but Satan and his demonic
forces  prey  upon those who blindly follow - see II  Corinthians
11:3,4,13-15.

     The Bible commands each of us to TEST ALL THINGS and to TEST
EVERYONE  to  make CERTAIN that their teaching is truthful,   and
with  your eternal destiny at stake, you cannot afford to be lazy
- CAN YOU?

      "BUT   THAT'S  JUST  YOUR  INTERPRETATION."    Should   the
interpretation you receive differ from the teacher - as they will
if your friend is a false teacher - then the teacher may  attempt
to disregard  your interpretation  and dismiss it because it is a
variation, based upon your "pre-suppositions." This allows him to
retain  his interpretation as an acceptable interpretation,  even
more   correct   option,   which  ignores  the  fact   that   HIS
interpretation is based upon HIS pre-suppositions!

     Essentially  he  is  correct in his assertion that  this  is
merely  a  matter  of interpretation,  and you can  (and  perhaps
SHOULD)   agree  with him  about  this point - But point out  the
interpretative method that you used (the "journalism"  questions)
is  designed to  help you understand what the Author really meant
by what he said.

 Then ask him what HIS interpretative method (the
method HE  used  to determine the meaning of the passage)  is  or
was, and what he is trying to determine by using that method.

     Sometimes,  he will insist that it is the same one you use -
then ask to see the steps  that he took to reach his conclusions.

But, usually,   the significance of the real difference in  means
and purpose of interpreting Scriptures won't sink in until it has
been  repeated  several times,  which means you should,  at  this
point, invite him to continue in his efforts to show the Biblical
basis of his teaching.  Each and every time - even when it gets a
bit  tough to do - he uses the Bible,  go through the exact  same
procedure, asking the questions and explaining your purpose.

     Sooner or later (if his teaching is false)  he will begin to
realize that HIS method is to see in the passage what he WANTS to
see (often because someone else told HIM that it was there!), and
his  sole  purpose is to support the teaching.  He has taken  his
belief to the text to be supported, rather than going to the text
to learn what IT HAS to teach. Once that realization is made,  it
is usually a  simple matter to go on and teach the Gospel message
that the Bible really teaches.

     There are a few "traps" you need to watch out for:

1.   THE RETRANSLATION TRAP

     A  false  teaching or system that claims to  be  "Christian"
often  uses the EXACT same words you would hear being used  in  a
true,   Biblically sound  Christian gathering.  There is a subtle
danger  here.

   In  nearly  every case,  these special words  and
phrases mean something different to the false teacher or follower
than  they do to  you.  They  have been re-interpreted,   usually
without  your  friend even being  aware  of it.   They  now  mean
something  very  different  and foreign to the meaning  that  you
attach to them.

     There  are  a couple of things you need to remember  and  do
anytime you are dealing with someone that you suspect is teaching
heresy. First is to avoid  using  those  special meaning words of
Christianity that are so familiar to you,  such as "saved","Born-
Again","Savior","Son of God","Gospel" and many others. Try to use
phrases  that DEFINE these terms,  or other words that means  the
same  thing  that are not used in the cliche'  manner that  these
are.

     Secondly,   be certain that you both understand what each of
you  mean when  these terms ARE used when you are speaking  about
spiritual matters of any kind.  Make certain that you define what
YOU mean when YOU say "Christ dies for my sins"  or anything else
in  a spiritual sense.

 Ask HIM what "Jesus is THE Christ" REALLY
means  to him - get him to clearly and totally define it - or any
other term  you both may be using.  This may take a bit of doing,
but  keep  at it until you are positive that you both  understand
each other. If there is any complaint, just tell your friend that
with eternity "hanging"  on the very meaning of these terms,  you
are  required  to be absolutely certain that you both  understand
what the other means by what he says.

2.   THE "SKIPPING ROCKS" TRAP

     One  thing that often happens in a discussion on religion is
that  one  or all parties involved will jump from one subject  to
another, never staying  on  any  one  point  long  enough  to  be
thorough in investigating  the  Truth it may contain.  One or all
will keep jumping from the original Scripture under discussion to
others,  scattered throughout the Bible,  intending to support or
clarify  what  is  thought  to  be taught in  the  first  passage
considered. Both are to be avoided.

     Be polite,  but refuse to budge from the original text until
it  has been COMPLETELY  examined,  using the questions  we  have
noted  before.  Only  AFTER  that  is  done should you allow  the
discussion  to  proceed  to  other passages for  confirmation  or
refutation,  but keep referring back to the original text that is
"being justified".

     All the data you need to refute a misuse of Scripture can be
found  right  in  the immediate context - you don't  need  to  go
elsewhere  to  do  that,   and the impact  of  refuting  a  false
interpretation from the passage,  itself, is much greater than it
is  going  to  some  other text.  All you need is  the  immediate
context, nothing more, except to VERIFY an interpretation!

3.   THE BIBLE BASH TRAP

     This  is very similar to the "skipping rocks"   trap  above,
except it is a trap that  YOU  are  much more likely to fall into
than  your  "errant"   friend might be.  As soon as  you  hear  a
teaching  that  is obviously contrary to the Truth of  Scripture,
you  may be tempted to  begin  immediately to quote  other  Bible
passages  to  disprove  it.  At this point,  your  friend  starts
quoting passages just as enthusiastically,  proving  HIS point of
view (and seemingly disproving yours).

     Neither  of  you is really listening to the other  -  you're
just "spouting" Scriptures with no REAL reference to one another.

Nothing  is accomplished,  except that,  perhaps,  some  heat  is
generated,  but little LIGHT.  Stick to the original passage - it
will  get  and keep your friend's attention,  as you  are  giving
evidence that you are seriously listening to him.  If you want to
confirm  the true interpretation,  THEN and ONLY THEN,  go on  to
other passages.  But as before,  all the material you really need
has  been provided by God to be at your fingertips,  in the  full
context  of  the  verses  quoted - there is  little  need  to  go
elsewhere.

                       A PRACTICE RUN

     One  of  the most common errors is to teach  that  something
besides  Faith,  alone,   is needed for salvation in many of  its
facets. Usually this takes the form of a faith PLUS some personal
effort. (A "work" to be added to what God has TOTALLY provided in
Christ Jesus)

     The favorite passage to support this "works" theory is James
2:14-26 - "..faith without works is dead.." - and therefore, some
sort of personal "work",  which is usually "gladly spelled out in
detail" by your friend, is needed to REALLY get into God's favor.
Although  you  could  probably  quote  a  good  dozen  verses  to
discredit that concept,  for the time being,  lets stick with the
letter of James - particularly to the immediate context of  James
2:14-26   -   and  ask an "expanded"  form  of  the  "journalism"
questions we have mentioned already.

     Get out your Bible, some paper and pen,  and then answer the
questions, looking at ALL of James, but ONLY JAMES! Ready? - Then
start "rightly dividing the Word of Truth"!

o Who is the AUTHOR? What can you tell about him from this
  Epistle?
o Who are the original readers? What can you tell about them from
  this Epistle?
o HOW does he use and define his KEY WORDS in the  passage?
  (Words like Faith, Works and Dead)
o HOW do his examples illustrate and clarify his meaning?
o WHAT is he talking about? What is his primary subject, concept,
  teaching or whatever?
o WHAT is he saying about what he is talking about?  What is the
  point of the passage?  What does he want YOU to know about his
  subject, concept or teaching?
o WHY is he saying this?  Is there an error that he seeks to
  correct? Maybe a new knowledge to be revealed?  WHAT is his
  purpose?
o WHY is he saying it to these particular people? What are they
  thinking or doing or believing or hearing or preaching that may
  have prompted this letter to be written.
o SO WHAT? What response should you have? What response did the
  Author expect from his readers?
o Is there ANY SUPPORT from the rest of the Bible for your
  conclusions?

                          SOME HINTS

     Looking  carefully for the following will help to answer the
questions and keep you honest to he text and context:

o Watch noun and pronoun shifts - sometimes the author will include
  himself with the group that he is writing to or about, other times
  he may remain silent or separate. The difference is often very
  important. In addition, our example above didn't include a couple
  of questions - the WHEN and WHERE - as they would not have added
  much to the interpretation. However; in some cases, they are most
  important, and for this reason are outlined below:

o WHEN was it written? What events took place just before, just after,
  or at the same time as this epistle?

o WHEN does the action described take place? Past, present or future?
  Eternal or temporal?

o WHERE was the Author when these words were first written? Why was
  he there?

o WHERE were the original readers? Why were they there?

                      GET READY FOR BATTLE

     These   basic  questions,   based  on  simple   "journalism"
questions of WHO, WHAT,  WHEN, WHERE, HOW, WHY AND SO WHAT,  with
little  variation,   are  all  that is needed  to  determine  the
original intent  of any Biblical author through an examination of
the text,  in context. They  will enable you to detect and refute
false teaching EVERY TIME!

     Your main responsibility, now,  is to practice to make these
questions automatic,   so that you will always be ready to defend
yourself  when  under attack by those who would lead you  astray.
Your  own daily Bible study and reading would be a good place  to
start,   or you  could check out your pastor's text after you get
home  from  church  (Believe  it,   or not,   he  would  probably
appreciate it)! Enjoy your training, as you learn to be an expert
"soldier"   in  Service of the King  (Ephesians  6:10-18).   KEEP
PRACTICING!

J. Steven Smith

Computers for Christ