|
Sunday, September 21, 2008
THE DANGER OF HALF TRUTHS
The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy, his “son in the faith”, to present himself as an approved workman and to avoid godless chatter, flee from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace and be a good soldier for Christ. These words of instruction are straightforward enough – clear and unambiguous.
As Paul proceeded in his letter to Timothy, the tone took a sudden change. It became more cautionary and the warnings to the young leader more severe. The impending danger to the Christian community is real: “Mark this: There will be terrible times…” The threat is perilous if Timothy is not on guard. What is Paul telling Timothy to be vigilant of? Strange doctrines & half truths. Godlessness and impostors.
Strange doctrines and half truths: these are not easy to distinguish and recognize. How do we guard against something that is tricky? Strange doctrines and half truths – it is like a magician showing an illusion. It seems so real but it is a deception. You see it but you just cannot figure out how the illusion is done – very clever indeed. The deviation from the truth is very subtle but it is not the truth. We are to stay away from it and not to believe it. Be always alert to people teaching such a doctrine.
Godlessness and impostors: imagine a supposedly godly Christian “morphing” into godlessness and then quickly “morphing” back. Very possible. We had better not be guilty of being “morphing” Christians. We just have a form of godliness, an acceptable exterior for our Christian community to see and applaud. However, when at our homes and in the neighbourhood and community, we are very unchristian - abrasive, self-righteous, proud, brutal, conceited and rash.
The danger is that when one is loaded with sin, one can be easily blinded and be deceived by falsehoods. When one is not grounded in the Bible, one can be swayed into godlessness. To guard against these real and present dangers, Paul charged Timothy with the following:
-
Look and imitate my (Paul’s) life - 2 Tim. 3:10
-
Be empowered by the Bible which is God-breathed - 2 Tim.3:16
-
Be living and practicing the Bible- 2 Tim. 4:2
If we don’t spend sufficient time and be exposed to the real thing, we cannot distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit. If we don’t spend time reading the Bible, living and practicing the Bible, we won’t be able to discern Satan’s lies and half truths.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CLUSTER CARE GROUP
The Cluster Care Group “ABED-NEGO” will meet this evening at 3 – 5 pm. “ABED-NEGO” is made up of “Barnabas”, “Isaac”, “Jude”, “Moses”, “Nehemiah”, and “Timothy” Care Groups. They will meet for a time of Bible study, fellowship and hi-tea/dinner.
 THE ALPHA COURSE
Date: 25 September Time:
7 pm to 9.30 pm
Topic:
How can I make the most of the rest of my life?
A friendly and interactive Bible based course for non-believers to explore the Christian faith. Pray that participants will want to make their life count for time and eternity when they find the way to salvation in Jesus Christ.
 FRIDAY
PRAYER MEETING - Missions Prayer Meeting
Date: 26 September
Time: 7.45 pm
Chairman: Margaret Tio
Tony Seah from Bethesda Bedok-Tampines Church (BBTC) will share about their recent mission trip to China. Many churches in Singapore are praying and targeting China as a continuing frontier for Christian missions. There are some interesting areas of mission work involved and the sharing should prove exciting. We will have the privilege to pray for this missionary effort of
BBTC. GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS - ALWAYS!
BAPTISM SERVICE
Date:
28 September Time:
5.00 pm
Speaker:
Francis Maniam Chairman:
Lee Yan Teck
Please invite your family members, relatives, neighbours, office colleagues and friends to this Baptism Service on 28 Sept. in our church to witness the baptism of 4 believers and hear the Gospel. The message will be interpreted into Mandarin to cater for the Mandarin speaking family members and friends who are attending. Take this opportunity to share your Christian faith and put God’s call to live an evangelistic lifestyle into practice.
BETHESDA BOOK CENTRE
Bethesda Book Centre is having her “39th Anniversary Sale” which will continue until 27 September 2008. Come and find out the special offers, high discounts and a wide selection of new titles. Now is the time to make good purchases of books and give Christian books away as special gifts to family and friends. You can use good Christian literature to share your Christian faith.
“Spread the Living Word through the Printed Word.”
VERSES FOR THE WEEK
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16, 17
|
