Wednesday, March 02, 2011

No Tolerance of False Teachers Or Apostates

Here comes Jesus at His Second Coming and it is a massacre of all the ungodly on the face of the earth. And they are all together at that point judged and executed physically. And then...and we'll say more about this in a little bit. There is a kingdom of a thousand years. At the end of that kingdom is the tribunal to which all those spirits in torment are brought and the judgment is made final and they receiving a body suited for eternal punishment are then cast into their eternal torment. That is a picture of judgment.

Let's go back then to Jude and what turns out to be a rather provocative reference that Jude uses to this judgment. Black darkness, divine judgment awaits these false teachers. In fact, verse 14 begins, "And about these, also Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied saying, 'Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment.'" About these...these refers back to the hidden reefs of verse 12, the clouds without water, the autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead and uprooted, the wild waves of the sea, the wandering stars, the false teachers, the apostates for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever, about these, Enoch prophesied the Lord would come to execute judgment. This then is the final touch on their portrait. And this really is the most important component because not that we might know the fact of judgment, but that we might understand that the fact of judgment gives us God's view of these false teachers.
How severe are we to deal with them? How severe does God deal with them? You cannot be accommodating. You cannot be tolerant. You cannot be accepting. You cannot be open. You cannot be welcoming. We remember, don't we, from John's epistle that if you bid, "God's speed" to a false teacher, you become a partaker in his evil deed. Any deceiver fits into this category, any false teacher, any apostate. And this is how God Himself feels about them and therefore it's about how we must feel about them, not that we can execute judgment on them, not that we want to burn them at the stake, as has been done in the past, not that we want to string them up or crucify them. Not that we want to take them to the guillotine. Not that we want to take vengeance into our own hands, but we must view false teachers the way our Lord God views them.

~ John MacArthur on Apostates and their Judgment

Definitly NOT what many "Christians" say we should do--listen to the "good" parts of false teachers nor are we to "throw out the baby with the bath water" even though God commanded we shouldn't even GREET such a person.

Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

1Jn 2:22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. ..26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.
2Jo 1:9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
1Co 5:11 But now I am writing to you NOT TO ASSOCIATE with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler--not even to eat with such a one.

Mat 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Mat 7:17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

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