Why This Heresy Hunter INSULTS So Much?

Of all the heresy hunters out there, who's the meanest? Well, one guy stands out and it's not even close. >> [music] [music] >> The term that's out there is heresy hunter or maybe even for some people on YouTube or Facebook or other social media platforms, you might see the term discernment channel or you name it. And it has a kind of a negative stigma. Now, I would never consider myself to be a heresy hunter or a discernment channel at all because most of what I do is not for that. But are there times where I do? Sure. As a matter of fact, are you supposed to? Yes. But there are some people out there who can go a little bit overboard. Some people who can be just downright ornery, sometimes mean. I'm talking about the people though who are actual Christians who have a real disdain for bad doctrine, for heresy, for blasphemy. There is one person who stands out above all and for a good reason, who stands out above all, who would throw out insults, who would do some name-calling, put-down. You because what would you call a person that would call people dogs or call them idiots or call them fools? What What would you call that person? Who would you call that person? Well, I know. Paul. Yep. Paul. You can't find anyone in the Bible as harsh as he was, which means if it's Paul and whatever he said was under the guise of the Holy Spirit, then there might be a pattern to follow and a reason. Now, remember, we're talking about Paul. Look what Paul says. As a matter of fact, it it wouldn't even come across if one person says this, if one person says what what Paul says and then turns around and says something else Paul says, it will come back as hypocritical. Look what Paul says. He says, "Let your speech always be with grace as though seasoned with salt so that you will know how you should respond to each person. Yeah, that Paul said that. Paul said, "Let no and here here's I want I want to focus on this real quick." He says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment so that it will give grace to those who hear." That sounds good, Paul. The problem is though, Paul, you call people foolish. You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? You said here in this text right here. This is Galatians 5:12. I wish those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves. Well, this word mutilate themselves does not do justice to the actual word. The word that's used here is the word to castrate yourself. Paul says, "Castrate yourself. Do that." How about calling someone a child? You're like little children, you should grow up. First Corinthians 13:1, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants, like little babies." "And I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, cuz you couldn't even handle it." Now, listen. I understand we're reading this and it's the Bible, but listen to how he's saying this, what he's saying. And even now you're not able uh for you are still fleshly. Paul is reading them the riot act, is he not? He calls certain people uh false apostles, deceitful workers, disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. Even Satan, cuz you're doing just like what Satan does. Paul does not mince his words or hold back at all. How How about the very same Paul who said, "Let your words be seasoned with grace." Look what he says here in Titus 1:12. He says, "One of them, a prophet of their own, uh said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true.'" So, Paul is saying, "I thought we weren't supposed to call people fools." But Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:36, he says, "You fool." Well, he's speaking about 35, so let's go there. But someone will say, "How are you How are the dead right raised? And with what kind of body do they come? You fool. That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies." You're calling people fools. I thought we couldn't call people fools. What about calling someone dogs? Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of false circumcision. How do you beware of dog You call that person people that Paul was referring to, they exist, and Paul calls them dogs. What But, let's let's figure this out though. How could that possibly be if you say, "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth." Those words that you're using, Paul, don't sound like wholesome words. Paul, you're mean. Paul, you're mean. You're being unkind, uncharitable. This doesn't make any sense. As a matter of fact, it seems a bit hypocritical. Until we examine a little bit closer. He says, um but only such words as is good for edification according to the need of the moment. In other words, there are times where harshness is needed. Where being stern and being forceful and choosing the right words, even if the words cut, sometimes they are needed. Sometimes it's what you need. Imagine yourself, and many of you have done so, as a parent talking to a child, and how do you start off? You start off by giving them instructions or warning them in a nice, kind voice. But then, they don't listen, and so you ramp it up. And then you ramp it up again. The next thing you know, you're yelling. You might There might be some anger in your voice. You tell a child, "Hey, be careful. It's hot. Be careful. It's hot. It's hot." And you yell at the kid to get their attention because what you tried to do earlier did not work. As a matter of fact, Paul actually says something like that. He says, "My children with whom I am again labor until Christ is formed in you." This is Galatians 4:20. Remember these these believers are being pressed by the Judaizers, and so they should know better and they're getting pressed by people and they're not really sure. Well, Paul has used some harsh language already calling them foolish and things like that. He says, "But I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone for I am perplexed about you. I would like to change my tone with you." And so there is a need at certain points in time to kind of change your tone to make things a little bit harsher. That that makes sense. If someone is headed down a the wrong road and the bridge is out, you might yell at them rather than just saying a nice in a nice tone, "Hey, be careful." You might yell. You might say something in a way to get their attention. Paul says this in 1 Thessalonians 5:14, "We we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone." So, he says, "Admonish the unruly." This is this is kind of stern, ladies and gentlemen. Now, you warn them, but I would say that the tone of that he's saying this is kind of harsh. The unruly, encourage. We're going to see this word in a second again. Encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. So, you should be patient with everyone. Even if you come with a harsh tone. Paul comes with a harsh tone often. Not all the time, but often he does. As a matter of fact, let's read some of the reasons why and I'll come back to this harsh tone and doing so kind of constantly encouraging people. But Paul gave a warning. Paul says in know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock. Savage wolves. So, when we see today, what does Paul call those people? Savage wolves. He says, "And from and from among your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them." Their goal is to draw people after them. And what does he call them? Perverse. He calls them savage wolves. How about Titus 1:9, "Holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching so that he will be able to do what? both exhort in sound doctrine, the same word to to encourage sound in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict. So he's Notice the word the verbs that he's using. Refute these people. Uh for there are many rebellious men, empty talkers. Again with the insults, Paul. Why? Because he wants you to know what they really are. Rebellious men, empty talkers, and deceivers, especially of the circumcision. Look what he says, who who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach. Often times we'll take a sort of game, but still even if it's not, still teaching things they should not teach. Paul says this, preach the word. Now this is the command. Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season. Reprove. Look at the words he's saying. Re- We've We've already seen the word refute. Reprove. Rebuke. Not a kind word, is it? Those are harsh. That's That's doing something in a harsh fashion. You know better, and now I have to rebuke you. Exhort. This is the encouraging part. How so? With great patience. So to be patient with one another and instruction. And so even if the tone changes, notice how how it goes. We've got three different ways of doing things. Reprove, that's not necessarily a harsh way, but it's just trying to correct someone. But the rebuke part, that's the harsh part. No one wants to be rebuked. No, you might not like being reproved, you certainly will not like being rebuked. And then exhort, this is the encouraging. Now the encouragement can come in different ways, different tones, but this is Listen, I'm trying to work with you to get you to the right spot, and in this case right doctrine-ly, and do so with patience and instruction. Why? For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. So you have to at certain times be harsh with people. You have to call out the bad and point them towards the good. That's what Paul is saying. Because the time has come now they will have their ears tickled or wanting their ears tickled, and will find teachers for themselves. Now when they do so, they're going to bring um other people along to listen to this false teacher, and the more the crowd grows, more people want to go to hear this false teacher have to say. And they're going to turn away from the truth and turn be a turned aside to fables and to myths. Look what he says here in 2 Timothy 3:13, "But evil men and impostors." He calls these people evil men and impostors. Evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. Ephesians 5:11, "Do not participate in the uh in the deeds of darkness, but instead expose them, reprove, refute, rebuke, expose." Uh Jude goes on to say, "Contend." Paul later later on in 2 Timothy says to fight. You know, he's fighting. So, that's the goal. How about 2 Corinthians 11:12? Look what he says, "But what I am doing, I will continue to do." What's that, Paul? The same thing that we've even doing, calling people out, also encouraging them in love. The goal is to bring all of them, whomever he can, to the full knowledge of Christ, and so that they can grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. But there are people out there who are not part of our team. So, what does Paul say he's doing? He says, "What I'm continu- what I'm doing, I will continue to do." Why? So that the people who are not believers, who want to be called believers, want to be seen as believers, these wolves in sheep's clothing, these dogs, these false teachers, these wicked people, these evil men, these impostors, so they can know people can know that they're not on the same team. He says, "I'm doing so that I may cut off an opportunity or undermine." The ESV would say, "Cut off an opportunity for those people who I just described, who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are, or who regard who won't look for an opportunity to be seen like we are seen, to be known as Christians when they're not." He says, "I want to cut off their opportunity for that. I don't want them I don't want anyone thinking that that person, that wolf, that false teacher, that false apostle is a believer. So, I'm going to continue to do so. That's the goal, and sometimes you have to use harsh language. Paul is without question the harshest critic of false doctrine, of false teaching. And what Paul does not One thing Paul does not do Paul does not suffer fools, so to speak. Again, when you call someone a dog, a fool, an evil beast, a liar, deceitful, you're a child, tells you to grow up, castrate yourself, calls you a calls you foolish. These are harsh words, but they're they are necessary for a particular person Paul would have a a purpose. Paul would rather speak in a nice tone, but sometimes it's necessary to be harsh, and Paul will never shy away from that. Look at how Paul even deals with the church who's trying to be nice. Sometimes, the church is more interested in being nice to the people who are offensive than trying to protect the one whose name is being offended. That is the name of Christ. And so, Paul's in 1 Corinthians 5 speaks about this man who is having his father's wife. And he says, "You all should not should have put him out." He says, "You have become arrogant, and you have not mourned. Instead, um so that the one who had done these deeds would be removed. You didn't want to do that. You wanted to be nice. You wanted to be cordial. You want to be warm and welcoming. You want to err on the side of caution and love. That's not love to allow someone to stay in sin or to promote heresy or any of those things and to leave them alone and just pray for them. That is not the way that we are supposed to operate. For I, on my part, though absent in the body, present in spirit, have already judged him who has who has so committed this uh as though I were present. And so, he says that you all have have uh no idea what you're doing. I, though, have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. You but your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? And so, Paul has a passion towards protecting the name of Christ. He has a zeal for it. He had a zeal and a passion for persecuting the church, and he thought he was doing the right thing. since he's knows the truth, what is he going to do? With that same passion, that same zeal, fight for the promotion of the gospel and to protect the gospel. It makes no sense to protect something, I mean, promote something and not be willing to protect it. We have too many believers who are not even barely wanting to promote it and not at all willing to protect it. It is up to us. God has given us that particular ministry. We want to lead people to Christ. We want to love on them, but at the same time we want to love on the word of God and love on the name of Christ and make sure no one comes against it. Why? Cuz you don't want people who are unsuspecting, unwitting to be duped, to be deceived by people and there's no Christian that's standing there helping to protect. And so Paul says that we need to put people like that out, separate ourselves. He says later on, he says, "I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people. I did not at all mean with immoral people of this world or with the covetous or swindlers or that idolaters. No, not the people of the world who do those things. No. But I actually wrote you not to associate with any so-called brother, a person calls himself a Christian and lives this way and promotes certain things." He says, "If he is an immoral person or covetous or an idolater or reviler or a drunkard or swindler not to even eat with such a person. For what do I have to do with judging the outside? No, do you not know that we that those who are within the church, those are the ones who we judge? Those who we uh keep our harshest criticism for. Not for the unsaved. The unsaved are unsaved. They act like they're supposed to act. We're the only ones often times who don't act the way we're supposed to act. That is that we that should be a clear difference. And so Paul has a harsh um tone with people and he seems to when you read the text, he seems to reserve his harshest critics or criticism for those who know better. And so he offers grace and then less grace and then he's going to be harsh. All so that you would not um be found as either an unbeliever or duping yourselves and other people in our godly walk. And so yeah, Paul Paul tells us not to devour one another. He tells us to use these are words that have been seasoned with with grace. And to use edifying words. The problem is though, we think that edifying words are never harsh. Edifying words anything that will build you up, that will move you in the right direction. Anything is fair game. If it's nice words, gentle words, or harsh words. Because the goal is to keep you from sullying the name of Christ and proving that you are a true believer. And so yes, Paul will call people idiots. Paul will call someone more use the word or fool. Call you foolish, call you evil beast, gluttonous, dogs, lazy, children. Tell you to grow up. Or you know what, if you don't want to, fine. Castrate yourself. Paul will use these terms to get his point across. And so while there are people out there who just want to be mean for the sake of being mean, that's not Paul's goal. Paul's not trying to say and use evil or mean words just to be just to get a rise out of people, just to get someone's attention. No, Paul's point behind using these words, and there's the key if we want to do the same thing, is that our intention is correct. Not the intention of trying to prove ourselves right. The goal is to point people to Christ in love. Start off as gentle as you can, and then work your way if need be to certain harsher tones. But that should that shouldn't be the default. It's like it was not the default for Paul. So it's not a contradiction to use harsh terms while loving people at the same time. Again, we take our cues from Paul. Amen. >> [music] >> Lows. Lows. >> [music] >> Lows. la