Message 11 - By Leroy Surface
The
Wisdom of Man
VS
The Life of God
This I say therefore, and testify in
the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of
their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of
God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness,
to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ….
Ephesians 4:17-20
Our message actually begins in Ephesians
4:11: “And He gave some,
apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers.” These are the ministry gifts our Lord gave to the church, “for the perfecting of the saints, for
the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” He told us how
long these ministry gifts would continue in the church; “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ.” The words “till we all come” speaks of the time that every “member
in particular” of the body of Christ is so joined together, “compacted” into one body in Christ that it is no
longer many members that are manifest, but a “perfect (complete) man” that is the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” That “perfect man” would be Christ,
His body on earth, no longer just many members, but one body. “For as the body is one, and hath many
members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so
also is Christ” (I Corinthians 12:12).
The necessity of the ministry gifts to accomplish His working in
the body is twofold. First, “That we henceforth
be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive.” Oh how long will the church follow the “fads of religion?” How long will it be “tossed” and “carried about with every wind of doctrine?” How long will the
church fall prey to the “sleight of men,
and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive?” It will be so
until the true ministers of God stand up and “plead for truth” (Isaiah
59:4). It will be so until apostles once again lay that foundation “that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 3:11). Christ crucified is the foundation. He is the “chief corner stone.” Until the people
are “rooted and grounded” in Him, they will be “tossed,” “carried about,” and “deceived.”
The ultimate purpose of God for His church is expressed in the fifteenth verse of this chapter, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow
up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” Imagine that! God’s purpose for a church that is
presently “tossed to and fro, and
carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and by the
cunning craftiness” of false teachers and deceivers, is that it should “grow up into Him in all things.” How can this be?
He gave the answer in the same verse; “But
speaking the truth in love.” It is important to note that the “truth” must be spoken in “love.” The truth is a direct
contradiction to almost everything that is taught in the modern church. It is a
“slap in the face” of the deceivers
that have so manipulated the people for most of this generation. It is
correction for those that have in all sincerity been carried about by fads and
winds of doctrine. The church is on a course that may increase its numbers a
hundred fold, but will leave it totally impotent in a world that desperately
needs Christ.
The Vanity of the Mind
We come to our text for this message in Ephesians 4:17. It is Paul’s admonition and warning to the church
at Ephesus that has been totally forgotten in our generation; “This I say therefore, and testify in the
Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk….” Almost everyone
in Christianity today would agree that we should not “walk” as those who still worship devils, and images made of stone,
wood or gold. We would speak with almost unanimous voice, “Walk not as they walk.” This, however, is not what Paul was warning
of. Instead, he was warning of those who walk “...in the vanity of their mind.” This cuts to the heart of the major
problem we find in Christianity today, for the vast majority of “believers” follow those teachers that
have nothing more to offer than the “vanity
of their mind.”
Paul describes those who walk in the vanity of their mind in the
eighteenth and nineteenth verses; “Having
the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who
being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work
all uncleanness with greediness.” What could
better describe the vast majority of those who wander in religion, seeking
answers but finding none, tossed to and fro, at the mercy of cunning teachers
that will not give them the truth lest they should be made free. Rather than “growing up into Him,” they finally
despair of any reality, lose all feeling, and “give themselves over,” or as the Greek says, “surrender themselves to lasciviousness, to work all uncleaness
with greediness.” What two words could better describe the end result of
modern religious thought than “uncleaness,”
and “greediness?”
The first result of walking in the vanity of the mind is to have
the “understanding darkened.” The
second is to be “alienated from the life
of God.” This places the “vanity of
the mind” as the chiefest of villains against the child of God. The person
that walks in the vanity of their mind will never “grow up into Christ.” Instead, they will be “alienated from the life of God.” The life of God cannot cohabit with
the vanity of the mind, thus they are adversaries. Paul said, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to
be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God” (Romans 8:6-7). The “carnal
mind” and the “vanity” of that
mind is the enemy of God, yet I will show in this message that these are the “method of choice” that vast multitudes
have chosen to “walk with God.”
Philosophy
As ye have therefore received Christ
Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished
in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the
tradition of men, after the rudiments
of the world, and not after Christ.
Colossians 2:6-8
Again Paul gives both an admonition and a warning, this time to the
church at Colosse. The admonition, to walk in Christ Jesus just as they had
received Him; to be “rooted and built up
in Him, and stablished in the faith.” Notice it is all about “Him.” Have you received Him? If so, you
have received life. Paul tells the Colossians
in chapter 3:4, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear….”
To “walk in Him” is to walk in the “life of God;” to be rooted and built up
in the life of God; to be established in the “faith which is by Him” (Acts
3:16). It’s all about Jesus: knowing Him, walking in Him; the knowledge of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” To be moved away
from Him is to lose all life and reality. Paul’s warning is of an “enemy” that is come to move you away
from Him (Christ).
“Beware lest any man spoil you...” Your margin reference probably
tells you that the word “spoil” means
to “rob,” or to “disarm.” The Greek word translated “spoil” is much stronger. It means, “to lead away as booty.” In this case it is not just what you have,
that the enemy has come for; it is you. The enemy would take you away in
chains. He would lead you about with a rope around your neck. In ancient times
when a conquering general returned to his homeland, he not only brought the
riches of the nations he had conquered with him, but he would march through the
streets in triumph, leading the conquered king as one would lead a dog on a
leash. The men, women, and children of the defeated nations would be carried
away in bonds to become slaves in a foreign land. They were not only “spoiled” by the enemy, they were “the spoil.” The warning then is “Beware lest any man bring you into bondage
and lead you away from Christ into slavery.” What possible weapon could any
man use to accomplish this upon the church of Jesus Christ? The answer reveals
that great enemy of God and the church. It is an enemy that has infiltrated
almost every church in the land today; an enemy that first robs the people of their
armor of truth and righteousness, their great riches in Christ, and finally
leads the people as slaves into a land of darkness, foreign to all who truly
know Christ. That great enemy of God and truth that has successfully “spoiled” millions in this present
generation, is “philosophy.”
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit…” Philosophy is simply defined as “the love of wisdom,” yet it is the only thing Paul warned of that
could so enslave the church and move it away from Christ. Read I Corinthians 1:17-2:5 and study the
apostle’s attitude toward the “wisdom of
words,” and the “wisdom of men.”
Philosophy is such a dangerous thing because it seems to be so good,
reasonable, and wise. It has answers, but its answers are all wrong, as we will
see. The “twin sister” to philosophy
is “vain deceit,” or, more clearly
translated, “empty delusions.” The
wisdom of man is nothing but an empty delusion. It appears to be something it
is not. It offers answers that are no answers. The church of Jesus Christ has
only one answer for a lost world, and that is “Christ crucified.” Anything more or less that this is error.
“…after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ.” The two
reservoirs philosophy will cause its victims to drink of are the “traditions of men” and the “rudiments of the world.” In these two
the wisdom seeker finds tens of thousands of answers to every problem of man.
The first of these Paul speaks of as “religious
tradition.” It is those things that are passed down from generation to
generation that have absolutely no scriptural or gospel basis whatsoever. It is
those “dead works” that Jesus shed
His precious blood to purge from our minds (Hebrews 9:14). The second is the “rudiments,” that is, the “elements
and principles of this world.” One of the old reformation writers made the
case that the “Roman Catholic Church”
of his day was a mixture of “Judaism”
and “paganism.” From the tradition of
Judaism it received its priesthood with a “papal
high priest,” along with the pomp and ceremony of religion that was both
dead and without meaning. From the pagan world it received its “holidays (holy days),” combining the
birth of our Lord with the pagan festival of the “victory of the sun,” and His resurrection with the pagan festival
to the pagan goddess of fertility, “Eastre.” Now,
consider “All Saints Day (halloween)”
and the “Mardi Gras” for paganism in
the name of religion. Certainly these “festivals”
have fallen in disrepute with millions of believers, but the “philosophy” Paul warned of is far more
subtle, and thus more dangerous than these obvious and blatant errors.
When the Apostle Paul came to Corinth preaching the gospel, he
said, “I... came not with excellency of
speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined
not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (I Corinthians 2:1-2). Paul had come
into the largest city of Greece, a nation that was famous for the wisdom of its
philosophers. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, men of renown unto all generations;
these men whose philosophy is studied in the great universities unto this day
were all from Greece. When Paul came to Athens, he found there a culture of
people that “spent their
time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21). It was to such people that
Paul came to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only did he not come to the Corinthians with
excellency of speech or of wisdom, Paul said that Christ had specifically sent
him to preach the gospel, “not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of
Christ should be made of none effect” (I
Corinthians 1:17). Consider the plight of Paul. Christ sent him to preach to
those who had been tutored by the greatest philosophers of all time. He also
commanded him not to use “wisdom of
words,” but to preach a message that would be utter foolishness to the
wisest among men? That was the plight of Paul. He was sent to preach the “cross of
Christ.” In Paul’s own words, “For
the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us
which are saved it is the power of God” (I Corinthians 1:18). In fact, Paul was preaching the “wisdom of God.” Hear his words in I Corinthians 1:22-24; “For
the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ
crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto
the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ (is)
the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” Christ had sent
His apostle into the very heart of the world’s wisdom, with a foolish message,
to destroy the wisdom of the wise. “For
it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where
is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this
world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it
pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Corinthians 1:19-21). Do you know that
most teachers in the church today consider the message of “Christ crucified” to be foolishness? It is forever the only
message with the power of God to save the soul of man.
Traditions of Men
A scriptural example of a church that was moved away from Christ
into the traditions of men was the church of the Galatians. Certainly it was
never their intention to be moved away from Christ when they believed the
message of “circumcision.” In their
mind they believed in Jesus just as much as they ever had, but they were “enlightened” by some “believing Jews” that told them, “except ye be circumcised after the manner of
Moses, ye cannot be saved.” Paul had preached the “circumcision of Christ.” Hear Paul’s message in Colossians 2:10; “And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and
power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, in putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ.” We
who know the truth are complete in Christ. Neither the traditions of religion
nor the principles of the world can add anything to us. We are circumcised with
the circumcision made without hands. How can we know? The “body of sins of the flesh” has been put off, and we didn’t do it.
It wasn’t by our works or will power, but by the “circumcision of Christ.” Paul’s gospel to the Colossians is exactly
the same as to the Romans, Romans 6:6-7;
“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should
not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Who among us can
believe Paul’s gospel? Our old man is dead; we are “freed from sin.” Who among us can truly believe that “Christ crucified” is sufficient for us,
because “we” are crucified “with Him?” It is only that believer that
is free indeed.
The “believing” of the
Galatians needed the addition of tradition. To them, Christ was not enough.
They required the “hands of man” to circumcise
them. They needed “days, and months, and
times, and years” to observe (Galatians
4:10). They needed the ceremony and pomp of religious tradition. I am
utterly amazed at the vast movement in the churches into religious tradition. I
am shocked to discover those churches that are ignorantly converting to Judaism
today. They would deny that this is the case, but they are mimicking Jewish
worship, and observing the feast days, all the while believing they are more
pleasing to God as they forsake the New
Covenant for the old. I am horrified
at the sight of choreographed dancing and banner waving in the churches. While
not knowing for certain the source of these, I do know for certain it is not
Christian. In fact, it seems to have its roots in pagan worship. All these
things I have spoken of and a myriad more have come into the churches because
people seek to walk with God “in the
vanity of their mind.” They follow “empty
delusions.” In fact they do not walk with God; they are “alienated from the life of God.” The end
of these things cannot be good, but must “increase
unto more ungodliness” (II Timothy
2:16).
The “Rudiments of the World”
Philosophy will never bring its believer to Christ. Instead, the “lover of wisdom” will never find Christ
to be sufficient, and will always trust in what Paul called the “rudiments of the world.” The “rudiments” of the world are properly
defined as the “elements” or “principles” of the world. They are the
world’s way of doing things. Those who are in bondage to the rudiments of the
world seek to receive from God through “methods,”
and please God through “principles.”
In Colossians 2:20, he asks of that
church, “Wherefore if ye be dead
with Christ from the rudiments (principles) of the world,
why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances….” Those who are “dead with Christ” have no need for the “rudiments” because they also “live with Christ” (Romans 6:8). They have the “life
of God.” They “partake of the divine
nature” (I Peter 1:4). They “do by nature the things contained in the law
(God’s law, not Moses’) ...which show the
work of the law written in their hearts” (Romans
2:14-15). That is what the New Covenant is about. The writer of Hebrews
quotes an Old Testament promise of the “New
Covenant,” Jeremiah 31:31-34, to
confirm that it is also our “New
Covenant,” instituted in the body and blood of the Son of God at Calvary.
Under this New Covenant, the “Israel of
God (Galatians 6:16),” includes both the natural Jews and
the Gentiles. “For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I
will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a
God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know
me, from the least to the greatest” (Hebrews
8:10-11).
Everyone that is truly “born
again” is born of the Spirit of God with a “new heart and a new spirit” (Ezekiel
36:26). God has written His law in the new heart of those who are “born of Him.” It is the “divine nature” we partake of. The word “nature” speaks of that which is “natural,” but it is “divinely natural.” This is not a
contradiction of terms. Holiness and righteousness are not “supernatural” to those “born of God,” they are “natural.” It is natural to them, their
nature, to be all that God promised they would be. Let me reemphasize the
promise of the law written upon our hearts; “And
they shall not teach every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the
greatest.” No one must teach
the one “born of God” to stop
sinning, or even how to stop sinning. Sin is no longer their nature. It has
been “nailed to the cross with Christ.”
Jesus said, “And ye shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Read the entire text. Jesus was telling them there is a
“truth” that will make the one
believing it “free from sin.” We
still need teachers, yes! But let them teach only the truth that makes the
people free. It is finished at the cross of Christ.
In Colossians 2:23, Paul
tells us that the rudiments of the world “have
indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the
body….” Many of the largest and most successful ministries of this day have
dedicated their lives to giving their followers a “shew of wisdom” in these very things, not knowing that in fact they
“defraud” the people, and often cost
them the salvation of their souls. Notice Paul’s warning in Colossians 2:18, “Let no man beguile you of your reward….” The Greek words
literally say, “Let no man be your
arbitrator and defraud you of salvation.” There is no shortage of men (or
women) that want to be your “arbitrator”
between you and God. They will give you all the principles of pleasing God, but
in so doing, will also move you away from Christ. The next verse, speaking of
these, says: “And not holding the head…,”
which is Christ. The apostle is telling us to hold to Christ. Don’t be
moved away from Him. It is from Him that you are nourished, knit together into
one body, and increase in God (Colossians
2:19).
Psychology
Psychology is the child of philosophy. The word is derived from two
Greek words combined, meaning “soul-study,”
or the “study of the soul.”
Psychology has evolved since its inception from “soul-study,” to “behavioral-study,”
to “mind-study,” to, at the present
time a multitude of different human studies under the same general heading.
Whether or not there is a place for psychology in the secular world is not my
issue. The issue of this message is whether or not psychology belongs in the
church of Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a mind religion, nor even a
religion of the soul. The promise of redemption is a new heart and a new
spirit. True Christianity is a new creation. Everyone that is born of the
Spirit of God is a new man. We partake of a divine nature, and as Paul says in I Corinthians 2:16, “We have the mind of Christ.” This is not a
boast; it is the fact of the new creation in Christ. God has given us life in
His Son Jesus Christ. Psychology cannot change anything. It cannot produce
anything new, either the new heart, new spirit, or anything that is inherent in
the new creation. It can only work with the old. It may improve the old, but
can never make it new. It may, in fact, change behavior, but it can never
change man’s nature. God gives life, but psychology can only work to put a
pretty face on that which is dead. To introduce psychology into the church is
to move the church away from Christ. It is to tell the church that Christ is
not enough, that He is not sufficient. It is to make Christ of no effect even
in the church He purchased with His own blood. Finally, it causes all who trust
in it to “fall from grace” (Galatians
5:4). Psychology is nothing more than the wisdom of man. Christ crucified
is the “wisdom of God,” and the
preaching of the cross is the “power of
God.” Look again at Paul’s words in I
Corinthians 1:21: “For after that in
the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” Hear what he is
saying. For hundreds of years the wise of the world sought to know God through
wisdom. Wisdom reached its pinnacle in the Greek Empire, and continued into the
Roman Empire until the time of the apostles. They built a prosperous society,
perhaps the most beautiful cities of all time, conquered the known world, but
never knew God. In the wisdom of God, He sent ignorant and unlearned men (Acts 4:13) into that world preaching
Christ crucified, and turned that world upside down in their generation. They
did not have the “wisdom of words,” but they did
have the “life of God.”
History often repeats itself. On the day of Pentecost, God poured
His Spirit upon the hundred and twenty that believed upon His Son. A new
creation was born, the church of Jesus Christ, a living, breathing body of
Christ that the world could see. This hundred and twenty had seen life (I John 1:1-2). They had heard life.
They had handled life, and now they were filled with the same life. On that
same day, three thousand Jews believed and were added to the church. Their “self image” was none too good. Peter had
just indicted them for the murder of the one God raised from the dead and made
to be “both Lord and Christ.”
These
were pricked in their hearts, crying, “Men
and brethren, what shall we do?” There was no “army” of counseling psychologist on hand to deal with their poor
self-image, or help them through their guilt. The answer Peter had was spoken
in one word; “REPENT.” Oh the joy of salvation that followed. That which Paul
was later to speak concerning “godly sorrow” certainly
applied here. “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation
not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold
this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it
wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea,
what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all
things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter” (II Corinthians 7:10-11). A philosopher
would have spent a lifetime examining this situation, probably seeking to prove
the nonexistence of “guilt.” A
counseling psychologist would have turned this situation into a lifetime
project, and retired in style on the proceeds from this bunch. They could not
countenance such sorrow, such guilt, such fear as was found in the multitude of
Jews that day. Neither would they have believed that such godly sorrow, guilt,
and godly fear would work such repentance unto such a salvation that would
never be turned away from. “It pleased God
through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
The Third Generation
Above sixty years passed before John wrote his first epistle. At
one place in his letter he addressed the “fathers,”
the “young men,” and the “little children.” These represented
three generations of the church of Jesus Christ. The first generation was old
enough to have seen Jesus. John called them the “fathers.” “I write unto
you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning” (I John 2:13). They were
eyewitnesses. They could confirm all that John wrote concerning our Lord Jesus
Christ and this wonderful salvation. John referred to the second generation of
the church as the “young men.” “I write unto you, young men, because ye have
overcome the wicked one” (I John 2:13),
and again, “I have written unto you, young
men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have
overcome the wicked one” (I John 2:14).
The second generation of the church was strong. The word of God was in them,
and they had overcome the wicked one. The third generation of the church was
referred to as “little children.”
Regardless of their natural age, they had only recently been “born again.” “I
write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for
his name’s sake” (I John 2:12),
and again, “I write unto you, little
children, because ye have known the Father” (I John 2:13). These were born of God;
God was their Father. Yet the entire purpose of this letter was for this third
generation of the church, as well as for all generations to come until the second
return of Jesus. John knew that his life was near an end. He was the last of
the eyewitness apostles. Already the Gnostics, the Nicolaitans, and the
philosophers were bringing their errors into the church. This “third generation” of the church was the
one that concerned John. His message was directed to them as we shall see.
My little children, these things write
I unto you, that ye sin not.
I John 2:1
Little children, it is the last time:
and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many
antichrists.
I John 2:18
And now, little children, abide in
him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed
before him at his coming.
I John 2:28-29
Little children, let no man deceive
you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
I John 3:7
My little children, let us not love in
word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
I John 3:18
Little children, keep yourselves from
idols. Amen.
I John 5:21
John’s Epistle, filled with admonitions addressed to the third
generation of the church, was written to give us in this generation “...an understanding (I John 5:20) that we may
know Him that is true….”
It was after the departure of the last eyewitness apostle and the
advent of the fourth generation of the church that Gnosticism and philosophy
succeeded against the truth, and the church began its long slide into the dark
ages. I said that history often repeats itself. Certainly it has in the past
century. The last day outpouring of the Holy Ghost began on January 1, 1901 in
Topeka Kansas. It was the first day of the twentieth century. The history of
that first decade of twentieth century Pentecost lacked nothing in comparison
to the book of Acts experience. The first and second generations of Pentecost
saw men like Raymond T. Ritchey, Smith Wigglesworth, Jack Coe, and the early
years of Oral Roberts and TL Osborne. These are only a handful out of many that
saw such outstanding miracles and healings as great as anything recorded in the
book of Acts. Those generations were a sanctified people, full of the Holy
Ghost; a people that walked with God in the Spirit of God. My Grandmother
received the Holy Ghost in 1904. She was in that first generation. My Dad
received the Holy Ghost in 1924; he was in that second generation. I received
the Holy Ghost in 1958, and remain a part of that third generation. We know
what it is to be saved from sin. We know the power of the blood of Jesus to
sanctify. We know the Holy Ghost is given in sanctified vessels for the work of
the ministry. We have seen, heard, and handled the words of life from mighty
men of God. We have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost (Hebrews 6:4-6). We have tasted the good word of God and the powers
of the world to come. If we “fall away,”
what will our end be, or that of those who come after us?
I must tell you, the church has “fallen away.” The fourth generation is in control, and the fifth is
raising its head, and it is not pretty. Sadly, it was those in the third
generation that let it happen. I knew men that were in the first generation
Pentecostal revival at the turn of the twentieth century. I have sat with them,
heard their testimonies, and felt their wonderful spirits. I have wept with
them, and I have rejoiced with them. I remember when they began to pass from
this life. Again, it was fulfilled as the scripture says in Hebrews 11:38, “Of whom the world was not worthy.” Few could
understand what was being taken from the church. Paul spoke in II Thessalonians 2:7, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already
work: only he who now letteth (hindereth) will
let (hinder), until he be taken
out of the way.” Paul, Peter, and John each reveal in their writings that
they knew a great “evil” would come
upon the church after their departure. Paul called it “the mystery of iniquity,” and said it was
already at work, but as long as Paul had breath in his body, he would hinder,
he would resist it, he would hold it down until he, Paul, was taken out of the
way. It was Paul that warned, “After my departure
shall grievous wolves enter in, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29). Mighty men of God from the
first and second generations died, and some were glad to see them go. Now it is
the responsibility of those few in the third generation that “know the truth” to plead for truth and
lift it up in the streets (Isaiah 59:4,
14-16).
The final “death knell”
of the Pentecostal revival of the twentieth century sounded in the midst of its
third generation. I speak of the day the largest Pentecostal denomination mandated
that all their pastors and ordained ministers be instructed in philosophy and
counseling psychology. It was nothing but the “vanity of the minds” of these officials that brought this enemy of
the gospel into the churches. Several years previous to this there had been a
movement to distance themselves from first and second generation Pentecost in
order to bring the movement “across the
tracks and onto Main Street.” This was the beginning of what was called the
“Charismatic Renewal.” It was a move
to make the church more acceptable to the world. Within the ranks of this
movement were those “imitators” who
believed the “gifts of the Spirit”
could be taught to any one who desired them, hence, “learning to speak in tongues, learning how to prophesy, discern
spirits, give a word of knowledge, etc.” The truth of the Baptism of the
Holy Ghost was denied, and Pentecost began to die. Today, in the fourth and
fifth generations, the Pentecostal revival is lost. Philosophy and counseling
psychology is the order of the day, the rudiments of the world fill the
churches, and we are again on a short slide into the dark ages if there is not
a change. Jesus asked the question, “Nevertheless
when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Only God knows the answer to that question.
Message 11 - By Leroy Surface - The Wisdom of Man VS The
Life of God
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