Taking it to the extreme- Theology, doctrine, and ministry

Taking it to the extreme…

Theology, doctrine, and ministry

Rev Brian Moseley

Introduction:

During discipleship, one becomes more confident in one’s beliefs and understanding of the Word of God and His nature. Having this confidence but remaining submissive to the correction of the Holy Spirit, I have been led to begin the exploration into what the beliefs, doctrines, theologies, and ministries of our brothers and sisters in the Lord are and where they come from. My approach to what I am learning and have yet to learn, is simple. Realizing that the discernment of the Holy Spirit and His revelations which He gives us, are reliant on our intimate and ever deepening knowledge of God’s nature, we find that our understanding is distilled down to recognizing the contrast between what we see, hear, experience, feel, and what we KNOW to be true based on God’s unadulterated Word and the teachings of His Holy Spirit with it. Our response as humble servants of God in the light of truth, should then be to stand firm and unashamed where we are confirmed, and willingly repent where we are in error. Our pursuit should be only the Truth, no matter what theology, doctrine, or ministry it offends, and our only motivations should consist of our desire to serve God and love others.

This sermon is not an exhaustive explanation of the current religious landscape at all. There are too many variables in this topic to cover in an hour, so I am led today to mention the immediate issue which seems to be most prevalent in the body of Christ today. This issue is self-centeredness.

Fundamentalists/reformists:

• Extreme sovereignty- no accountability, little to no acts of Faith.
• No spiritual gifts- Cessationists
• Little to no evangelism – Clubhouse mentality
• Denial of the complete word of God “There’s a lot of things in the Bible that we don’t believe”.
• No interaction or mention of the Holy Spirit.

Charismatics:

• Prosperity teaching: “what I have to do to get God to do something”.
• Word of Faith: “name it/claim it”.
• Taking credit for things in the place of God: “claiming to be God/claiming to possess his power”.
• Teaching and acting on interpretations or incomplete scripture out of context. Adding to the Word of God
• Acting for personal gain not for the love of God

Weirdness

• Extreme works of the Holy Spirit. “Coat swingers cause a slaying of the Holy Spirit”.
• lying on graves to absorb the spiritual virtues of strong believers.
• Worship of angels
• False prophecy and false teaching: witchcraft
• Biblical tarot cards
• False teachings on giving for profit.
• ECT…

Possible results in both areas:

• Condemnation and judgment
• Witchcraft: Intimidation, Manipulation and Domination.
• Angry, and aggressive. Attacks other believers
• Hyper-grace: “it doesn’t matter what we do”.
• Hyper-faith: “It’s all about works”.
• Seeking gifts, instead of the gift giver.
• “Seeker friendly” churches and “woke” theology.

     – Compromises in doctrine, theology, and ministry.

• A misunderstanding or complete ignorance of God’s nature.
• Unrepentant in the face of truth.
• Straying away from the gospel, refusal to accept the complete word of God or going far past what the word of God teaches, resulting in antichrist behavior and heresy.

The Contrast: You shall know them by the fruit of their spirit and their love for one another:

• We are servants and instruments of God our creator, we are disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, and we are vessels and temples that house his Holy Spirit. We need to know who we are in Christ and how he sees us, but we have all these things in authority only to equip us to serve God’s Glory and his Kingdom. (2 Corinthians 5:20, Philippians 2:13)
• We do nothing, have nothing, and claim nothing that belongs to God. (Ephesians 2:8-10, 2 Corinthians 3:5)
• We measure all things against truth which is the word of God, and glory: “Does this thing, decision, experience, and action glorify God alone?” (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22, John 3:34, James 2:14-16, John 5:23, Romans 12:1)
• We humble our hearts to gain intimacy with Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 5:6)
• All gifts and blessings are to be given back to God for his purposes and we benefit, not because we benefit. (Luke 21:1-4, Psalms 103:1-5)
• Signs and wonders are for the unbeliever and those in the body of Christ in need. (Hebrews 2:4, James 5:14-16)
• We are lifelong disciples of Christ and are open to the entirety of God’s word, no matter what doctrine is offended but we diligently prove out all revelations against his word. (Psalm 1:2, Mark 7:13)
• We believe and act in faith only by God’s spirit and word and only pursue his glory. (Galatians 2:16, Hebrews 11:6, Isaiah 42:8)
• We are open to the understanding that all believers see in part and know in part and that we may be wrong or “missed it”. We must be accepting of the conviction of the Holy Spirit and open to repenting. (1 Corinthians 13:9-12), (John 16:8-11)
• We believe and follow the instruction of scripture which states, “the spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets”. (1 Corinthians 14:31-33)
• We relate, interact, praise, and worship all of God’s persons and believe in the Holy Trinity of God. Thanksgiving is praise and worship. (John 14:6, Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14), (I Thessalonians 5:18, Psalm 107:1, Philippians 4:6, 2 Corinthians 9:15, Psalm 106:1)
• We pursue truth of God, where it comes from, and where it leads us. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
• We submit to God, resist the devil, and strive to undo his works. (James 4:7, 1 John 3:7-9)
• We speak boldly and unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:16)
• We strive to decrease in order that he may increase. (John 3:30-35)
• We focus on our love for God and love for people. (John 13:34-35)

The uncompromising nature of God:

• In love: (1 John 4:7-12)

God Is Love

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

• In law: (Romans 1:22-25)

²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

• In Word: (Psalm 89:34)

 ³⁴ My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

• In spirit: (John 14:16-17)

¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,^[a] to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be^[b] in you.

• In his glory: (Psalms 113:1-4)

Who Is like the Lord Our God?

113 Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord,
    praise the name of the Lord!

² Blessed be the name of the Lord
    from this time forth and forevermore!
³ From the rising of the sun to its setting,
    the name of the Lord is to be praised!

⁴ The Lord is high above all nations,
    and his glory above the heavens!

 John 13:34-35

English Standard Version

³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵ By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Mark 9:35

English Standard Version

³⁵ And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

Galatians 5:13

English Standard Version

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Galatians 2:19-21

English Standard Version

¹⁹ For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness^[a] were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Matthew 6:33

English Standard Version

³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 7:21-23

English Standard Version

I Never Knew You

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Matthew 7:13-14

English Standard Version

¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy^[a] that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 22:34-40

English Standard Version

The Great Commandment

³⁴ But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. ³⁵ And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”