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False teachers (5 things)
The result being the church grows – and the Gospel goes out to the lost!
1st – The problem of the Judaizers…
Dealing with the false teachers…
Paul had addressed the repentance of the Church – chapters 1-7…
He then had finalized the details for the gift to Jerusalem – chapters 8-9…
Now he turns his attention to a group called the Judaizers…
They had infiltrated the church in Corinth and were causing lots of problems!
Judaizers were religious teachers from Judah – who taught you had to keep the Law…
Paul had an ongoing battle with these false teachers…
His first encounter with them came after his return from his 1st missions trip…
Acts 15:1 – “Certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’”
They taught in order for Gentiles to go to heaven – they had to become a Jew!
They had to follow and keep all 613 commands of the Law!
Paul and Barnabus debated with these men – Acts 15:7-21
The argument became so heated they decided to go to Jerusalem to settle it…
Once there – Peter pointed out the Jews were never able to keep the Law…
So why would they try to place an impossible burden on the Gentiles!
The Jews and Gentiles were saved the same way – simply by Grace through faith!
James – the brother of Jesus – gave the final verdict…
The Law had been taught in the cites of the Gentiles for centuries – with no effect…
The point being the Law does not work – it had proved incapable of saving men…
So a letter was written and sent out to all the churches – salvation by faith alone!
The non-Jewish churches were in no way required to keep the Law of Moses
Unfortunately this did not stop the Judaizers…
Everywhere the Gospel went out – these false teachers were sure to follow…
The moment Paul left a city – they swooped in to try and ‘convert’ the believers…
The tactics of the enemy have not changed much over the years…
Even today cults prey on young believers – those who do not know the Word…
Mormons / JWs / Iglesia ni Christo – they will try and convince you Jesus is not God…
They will try to ‘convert’ unsuspecting believers – deceive them into believing a lie!
2nd – The accusations against Paul… vs. 1-2
1st – The Judaizers made the accusation – ‘Paul was weak in person’… vs. 1
Paul’s letters were strong – he did not hold back in rebuking the church…
But it seems Paul was not a very dynamic individual when you met him in person…
If you had seen Paul walking down the road – never known he was an Apostle!
He was meek and lowly (not far off the ground) when he was there in Corinth…
Paul was mocked because he followed the example given by Jesus!
Matthew 11:29 – “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
When we choose to follow – be like Jesus – be sure the world will make fun of you…
The world hates Jesus because He convicts the world of sin and righteousness…
John 15:18 – “If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you.”
The more we act like Jesus – less like the world – the more they will hate/mock us…
2nd – The Judaizers made the accusation – ‘Paul was only out for himself’… vs. 2-6
In other words he was only looking to see what he could get from the church…
They accused Paul of being after the money / the fame / the power…
Yet Paul had never taken a thing from the church – in fact he worked to provide!
I Thessalonians 2:9 – “Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.”
At that false accusation – Paul warned the church – a war was coming…
When he came he would not be so ‘meek’ or ‘lowly’ with these false teachers…
He was going to be VERY bold – in order to keep the church safe…
We need to pick and choose our fights…
We should not react every time someone makes a false accusation against us…
The time to stand up – is when the well being of others is at stake…
Young adult Bible study – false teachings confusing the young believers…
3rd – The weapons for the war… vs. 3-6
Paul would not fight the battle with weapons (knives or guns)…
Paul knew who his enemy really was – and it was not these false teachers…
They were just the puppets being controlled by a far more devious foe…
The real enemy was the spiritual powers – the demonic influence behind the teachers…
So often in life we miss who the real enemy is – we look at the people…
They are puppets – they are being told what to say and do by the God of this world…
Imagine the foolishness of trying to argue with a puppet – you do not get far!
The key is to go at the one who is in control – attack the root problem!
In order to fight and win the battle – Paul needed the right weapons…
The weapons of our warfare – are mighty in God – to pull down fortresses…
In Roman military battles – the hardest target to defeat was a fortress…
A high walled – well-defended city – was ready to repel any enemies attack…
If you came at them with sticks and stones – you were doomed to fail…
You needed specialized tools – siege ramps – catapults – to pull down the fortress!
If we come at satan in our own power/strength – we are doomed to fail…
The only way to take on our enemy is with in the power of God!
I John 4:4 – “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
Tearing down the false teachings…
Paul went after these false teachers with the truth – the Word of God…
Ephesians 6:17 – “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…”
The best way to stop false teachings – to disprove false teachers – the Word…
Jesus Word is the only Truth – it is how we know a lie from the Truth!
John 17:17 – “[Jesus said to the Father] Your word is truth.”
That is why it is so important for us to study our Bibles – so we KNOW the TRUTH!
II Timothy 2:15 – “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”
To tear down every argument that keeps people from knowing God!
Satan has put a lot of arguments in the world to keep people from seeing Jesus…
Countless false religions – Islam / Hinduism / Buddhism…
All the top universities teaching there is no God – we are evolved from moneys…
Everyone of them with only one purpose – meant to keep men from heaven!
To capture every errant thought – making them obedient to Jesus!
People are burdened down by superstitions – things they imagine in their mind…
And they are bound to these fears – so long as satan can keep them from the Word!
It is through the power of the Word – we can change the mind of the misled…
We can open their eyes – show them they have been deceived by satan’s lies!
4th – Do not look to men… vs. 7-11
The problem with the church in Corinth – the judged men by their outward appearance…
The suggestion is that these false teachers were handsome – eloquent…
When they walked into a room – they immediately grabbed your attention…
Too often men believe what they are told – because they are looking to a person…
We should not just accept the words of preacher – no matter who is teaching…
If we only know what the preacher has told us – then our faith is in their words…
But if we seek the Bible for the answers – then our faith is in the Word!
Acts 17:11 – “Search the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things are so.”
Paul had been strong with the church – in order to save the church…
He was not using his authority to tear the church down – but to build it up!
Paul saw how the divisive teachings of the Judaizers was endangering the church…
They were threatening to tear apart the work God had done through Paul!
When a church starts to follow men – rather then having Jesus – BIG problem…
The identity a church becomes a religion (Jews vs. Gentiles) – rather than Jesus!
We focus on our differences – rather than coming together as the family of God…
Causing division within the church of God – hindering the power of the Gospel…
Paul was not giving empty threats – his letters were not a scare tactic…
The Judaizers were telling the church they had nothing to fear from Paul…
They mocked that though his letters were VERY strong – he did not speak well…
Apparently Paul was not even a very gifted public speaker…
If you think you cannot share God’s Word because you cannot ‘speak well’…
You are just like the Apostle Paul – who had a hard time with public speaking!
But Paul reassured the church – he would be the same in person as in the letters…
5th – On the attack… vs. 12-18
Paul made 5 comparisons between himself and these false teachers…
1st – They thought they were wonderful… vs. 12
But Paul did not dare to say that he was as important as the Judaizers…
Providers 27:2 – “Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth…”
When people boast about themselves – praise themselves – it does not mean much!
It is when the Lord commends someone – that is something special!
2nd – They compared themselves to other people who were just like them…
Paul compared Himself to Jesus – He was following the Lord – I Corinthians 11:1
We need to be careful whom we choose to compare ourselves to…
If we are comparing ourselves to the world around us – thinking we are ok…
The problem is the world is getting worse and worse every day…
Meaning if we are comparing ourselves to them – we are also getting worse…
3rd – They measured their success by their own man made standards…
Paul measured his success by looking to the plan God had given to Him – Acts 9:15
The worlds measure of success – lots of money / authority – is not God’s measure…
We might think we are going really well in life – only to be failing by God’s standard
We might be like the church of Laodicea – thinking we are rich – we are really poor!
* Revelation 3:17 – “‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked…”
4th – They boasting in their authority – as if they were doing God’s work…
Paul did have authority over the church of Corinth – he had planted the church…
He was the first to come all the way to Greece with the Gospel message…
But Paul did not boast in what he had done – but in what the Lord had done!
One way we can spot false teachers is who they give credit too…
If they talk more about themselves – than about Jesus – likely a false teacher!
5th – They took credit for another man’s work…
Paul did not take credit for what someone else had done – Paul had done the work!
And he was not finished – he wanted to see the church grow even more!
So that the Gospel could be preached in other places even farther away…
The best way to spot a false teacher is by their fruit…
Where as false teacher will only seek to spread their word…
In an effort to build ‘their kingdom’ – they tear down the church of God!
A good teacher will always be seeking to spread the Word of God…
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