Tuesday 21 May 2013

Read: Galatians 1:6-10, Acts 17:10-12

Yesterday we met 'everyone's-a-heretic' Harold and 'nobody's-wrong' Nelly. Let's meet a third member of the band: 'discerning' Damian. 'Discerning' Damian is always wise and careful with the teaching that he listens to or reads. He is careful about false prophets and more than willing to have a difficult conversation with someone who is teaching falsely. He is gracious and humble in his approach and manner whilst still holding tightly onto the matters of central importance to the gospel. So how does 'discerning' Damian do it? What are his weapons in the fight for truth? How can we seek to emulate 'discerning' Damian by being gracious and humble yet still carefully discerning matters of truth? Let's see how 'discerning' Damian does it.

 

On close examination of 'discerning' Damian's life the first thing we see is that he measures any and all teaching he hears or reads against the standard set out in the Bible. Our first and most important standard for measuring truth is the Bible. We see this standard at work in Galatians. The letter to the church in Galatia was written to counter false teaching in the church. A group called the Judaizers were going into the church in Galatia and teaching the gentile believers there that in order to be saved they needed to follow the law as well as accepting the work that Christ has done on their behalf. Paul writes to correct them and remind them that, in the words of an American preacher, "Jesus plus anything ruins everything!" Paul strongly condemns any other gospel which would be taught to the Galatians and, by implication, commands them to compare every teaching they hear against the true gospel.

 

Scripture is full of other places where believers are commanded to compare the teaching they hear against the truth of the Scriptures. Just like the Bereans in Acts 17 we are to examine the scriptures every day to see if what we hear is true.

Are you like 'discerning' Damian? Do you compare every teaching you hear against the truth of God's word? Do you examine the Scriptures daily? Do you study the Word to grow in your knowledge and understanding of Jesus and to be able to test every teaching against God's standard?

 

Let me challenge you; if you are not growing in your knowledge of God's word and filling your mind with truth, you will be easily taken in by the lies.

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

 

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

 

Supplication:

¥ Praise God for the free gift of grace that you have been given through Jesus Christ and that you do not need to earn your salvation, rather that it is a gift of God. Pray for those in your life who do not know Jesus and have not received this great gift.

¥ Pray that God would give you opportunities and courage to share the good news. Pray for the Presbyterian church at Goondiwindi, Inglewood and Texas. Praise God for the slight increase in giving and numbers at Goondiwindi. Pray that this trend would continue and that God would powerfully grow His church. Pray that God would give consistency and growth to the other two centres and that they would be a powerful witness for Christ into their communities.

 

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. What could you do this week to grow in your understanding of the Word and your ability to test and discern false teaching?

2. How can you help one another as a group to study the Word of God and grow in your understanding of it?