Welcome once again to Fife's Pulpit for our Sunday service, our meeting round God's Word. This Sunday I have something maybe that's a little strong to say, and I hope to end in a more positive note, but I ask for you to pray for me as I deliver this sermon for you. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and just from verse 9 Paul here is talking about the people of God in the Old Testament who lacked faith and didn't have any faith at all really and died in the wilderness. And in verse 9 he says this, let us not test Christ as some of them did. and were destroyed by snakes. And don't complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroyer. These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction. on whom the ends of the ages have come. So whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall. No temptation has come upon you except that which is common to man, but God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will, with the temptation, also provide a way out so that you may be able to bear it. And those are strong words. Paul is again reasoning from the Old Testament people who fell and died for lack of faith in the wilderness. Having tasted something of God, they simply turn their backs on him. He says this, let him or her that thinks they stand take heed lest they fall. And Paul reminds the Roman Christians in the other book of the Romans of the Jewish apostasy. which, like the wilderness people, was the reason why God had cut them off at this moment of time. The Gentiles, the non-Jews, were now grafted in, in place of the Jews, because of that some of them were beginning to boast that they were given what appeared to be the pride of place. And in Romans 11, dealing with the same subject as he was here in Corinthians verse 18, he says this, Do not be arrogant towards the branches. That's the Jews. But if you remember, it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. And that is true, but they were broken off because of their unbelief. But you stand fast through faith, so do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Dear ones, every Christian is responsible to see that the power and truth of holiness is kept up in their own heart and in their life. Now, I am not here, of course, referring to salvation by works, but rather the reality of the work of God is seen in and by our walking and keeping the faith and love for Christ. As Paul says to the young church at Philippi in chapter 2 verse 12. Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you and now I'm away. It is even more important that you should work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. In short, Paul is saying it is our responsibility to work out that which God has worked in. And that is the evidence of being one of God's true children. If this is continued, then you are moving towards heaven, working out that which God has worked in. Now, sometimes this movement, of course, is mixed, but it's always there. Simon Peter thought that he would never, ever fail the Lord. How wrong he was. Then in his first letter, he warns us to all the time be upon our guard and sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give a reason for the hope that lies in you. Now, at the moment, many in this world are in danger of becoming apostate. The Greek word apostasia by definition is a defection or revolt. It is the abandonment of or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined as embracing an opinion that is now contrary to one's previous religious beliefs. What we see around us are many people who are actually, if you really think about this, abandoning the purity and truth of the Gospel. and very gradually being drawn into error and often end up turning from the faith once delivered to the saints. Remember that faith has been delivered to us to proclaim, not given to us to change or modify in any way. Here is the problem. Whilst many do not deny the present widespread apostasy, they are certain that they will not fall into its trap. So they will say, look, John, you should warn others. But do not warn me, I'm fine. But again, remember what Simon Peter said. He said, Lord, others may deny you, but I most certainly will not. And it is in my limited experience that I have met a number of professing Christians who were keen, who appeared biblical, with whom I may have discussed deeper things of the faith. Then I have met them years later. And they have gone back on what they believed. Some drifting into ecumenicalism. Some changing religions. Some becoming sexual, having sexual perversions and then denying their faith. Some have gone into liberalism and have deliberately attacked the Bible, thus using the words of Satan, as God really said. Just look at the many denominations. They seem to start off strongly, then after a while they become corrupt and make laws that are contrary to scripture, so they become almost unrecognisable. Dear ones, be warned. These things are real and we must show the genuine nature of our faith. by persevering in the way that we began. By faith, like Abraham, by faith, we look to a city not made by human hands, but a city of God. Not the literal Jerusalem, that is perishing, but the true Jerusalem in heaven. Now before I go any further, I need to say that I know that often a true believer may feel their slipping, and sin may for a season dominate, and then indeed may return. And they may and will feel completely miserable because of it. But surely they never think of denying their faith. But they stagger to their knees, and then on to their feet again, pick up their sword and strap on their shield and keep going. You see, true biblical faith is mixed. You only have to look at the Psalms to see how the Psalmists were up and down. And then the Psalms just end in praise at the end anyway. But one day when we're in the heavens, we feel great. Then the next we cry out, Lord, have mercy upon me a sinner. For I am not even worthy to latch up your sandals. Now, what I'm talking about is the subtle cunning of the enemy who draws someone whose experience of faith has not been real into the sloping pit of denial and often ending then in outright opposition. Like Psalm 1, they walk past, they stand, they sit and they scorn. He does this, of course, the enemy, by using his satanic trinity. The world, by drawing a soul into fame. Man can only take a certain amount of fame before it virtually kills them. Or fortune, or comfort. So they forget their profession. Then there is the flesh he uses by leading them into perversions and justifying themselves. So turning away from what God says and their conscience becomes seared so that the word of God has no effect on them anymore. Then there is the devil himself. He comes along and his angels whisper, has God really said? So they began to invent doctrines of devils that deny the Bible. using the Bible to become rich, or something like that, and all these things we should avoid. We may be tempted often, we may even fail under the onslaught, but a true believer will always even keep crawling, keep the faith. I want us now to have what I would term as a masterclass. I want to bring to you the thoughts of the great Puritan John Owen from the 1600s, in his profound simplicity. Many of these things we might overemphasise or repeat, but I want you to add to what I'm saying the salt of grace and understanding. I'm trying to help here. He gives certain simple yet challenging warnings about the danger of falling into apostasy. And I want to give these warnings because I really am concerned that that we don't fall into these traps. And again, as I say, if I'm repeating myself often, it is because I want you to make sure that you get the idea. Firstly, says Owen, consider, and this is him writing in the 1600s, remember, consider just how widespread this apostasy is. I quote, ignorance, profanity and worldly mindless show how many people have forsaken the Lord, how sinful the nation is and how its people are laden with iniquity, and how they provoke the Lord to anger. Now, Owen made that statement in the mid-1600s. He then makes the statements that is so applicable for our situation today in the midst of a pandemic. I was tittled when I read this. Let me read it to you. I quote, if we are warned that there is an epidemic in the land, and one or two people have died, we are rightly concerned and take precautions so that we may not be infected. But if the epidemic is widespread throughout the land and thousands are dying because of it, we would indeed be foolish. if we lived presumptuously, believing that we alone would be spared, even if we took no precautions. That might be a shot from John Owen across the bowels of those believers who don't like wearing masks or something rather like that and are flaunting these safety measures. But so Owen was saying this, that we should be careful of the deceitfulness of sin. that we must not be foolish, but stir ourselves up to watch our souls. We are in a time of spiritual epidemic, a time of spiritual danger, and there is so many things crowding in upon our lives that we have to be ultra careful. Secondly, says Owen, just take an honest look. at the state of Christianity today. Again, he was talking in the 1600s. The world seems to be getting worse, says Owen, and the faith of many is very weak. End of quote. There is little sense of victory amongst Christians today, I don't think. Our nation rejects biblical principles. Bible exposition in churches is actually very hard to find. especially in the area I'm living in. Cults and sects are on the increase. Famous pastors have fallen by the wayside due to adoration and fame. In many places the church is lukewarm and Christ literally stands at the door knocking, saying, open up, let me come and fellowship with you, do not keep me out. The result of apostasy is that the true church feel that it is really not spreading. And as Owen says, the Two Church feels it's on its way out during these periods. Our churches are full of those who made a profession, who've made the sinner's prayer, but little know nothing of the growth and purity in their lives. And they're longing for Christ and they're longing to be with him and love him and witness to him. We seem more concerned about our name than the name of Jesus before whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess. Our time is taken up with social acts, some of them, of course, legitimate things. But making ourselves successful, healthy, wealthy and wise, but becoming unwise. So it can be clearly seen. We look nice, don't we? We scrub up nice. We smell nice. We are respected. But we are powerless. in our people and in our pulpits. Sermons are often neat stories to entertain and keep the people happy. Whilst all the time the serpent's head has pushed in, soon the rest of the body will follow. We do not have, as I said, sermons that will scare the serpent away from our buildings, our people. Sermons that contain today a little challenge or a little pathos or a little love or passion or desire to instruct. So the serpent's head slides in and the rest of his body follows. Thirdly, Owen says this, I quote, Consider how insidiously and deceitfully this apostasy intrudes into the life of people, leading them away from the faith. It has many subtle ways, insidious ways, of deceiving unstable souls. It's very hard, isn't it? And again, I'm only saying these because I actually do care that you don't fall into these traps. Because it has its origins in Satan, the snake, it is cunning and it is slippery. A person will not go into apostasy overnight. No, no. They will slide into it as the serpent slides into their life. I've seen how this happens. So often someone gets lazy in their spiritual life and we all do that and it's a danger. They become at ease and they begin to think like the world. Well, surely they say, this is not as bad as I really thought. The world isn't that bad, the spirit of the age isn't that bad, really is it? Maybe God is a bit too harsh. You know, I don't really like reading the Old Testament because it's far, far too harsh. And yet, if you try and read the New Testament without the Old, you won't understand what on earth's going on. However, that's another point. But God is too harsh. I mean, scientists now know, don't they, how the world was made. And things like the resurrection and the virgin birth, they're just pictures. And soon they begin to lay aside God's word. and truth for their own ideas. They know better than God. Maybe their pastor is a bit loud or heavy on sin, so they seek a softer approach. And it gets mingled with the world's thinking or modern ideas. Even Eastern religions creep in. And soon the soul is denying even the basic Christian truths. because there was really no foundation in the first place. The snake has now entered. The New Testament tells believers to lay aside every weight and sin which so easily ensnares us in Hebrews 12. We are in Hebrews 3 to beware lest be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. And we are, as Hebrews 3 again says, to exhort one another daily, lest any of us become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. And that last text I have taken as one of the essence texts of protecting ourselves against apostasy. During the pandemic, we in Feist pulpit here, there's very few of us, I know, but we've communicated daily if we can, to encourage one another. And what is so wonderful is to see people's smiling faces at the end of the day or hear their voices and to know that they have kept the faith that day. And it's been to me a great joy and a great strength to know that those in the fellowship are continuing in the faith, in fellowship and prayer and joy. And just being with the fellow Christians to know they are continuing in the faith, once and for all received, brings really a great deal of peace and happiness to my soul. And this is what Paul is saying, you know, just encourage one another daily because there is danger outside of the fellowship of God's people. I know, say this because I know what it's like to be alone on a ship with only books to keep me company and how I long to see other believers. And there is also a check on our souls, an encouragement to keep going. I know that my own fellowship here, well, they've often rebuked me and said, well, I don't agree with that or whatever it is. Well, they keep me on my toes. They keep me going. I've been a bit proud maybe the day I'm out. sometimes think it hurts a bit, but I have to take that. I have to keep on keeping on. So there is a check on our souls to see that the serpent is not getting in. So we keep encouraging one another with our growth and our spiritual discussions. Encourage one another daily, says the Hebrews, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. But you see, outside Satan waits to poison our minds and to corrupt us and devour us like a roaring lion. As Peter says, some have fallen into damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them. That is, they've denied the conversion experience that they professed to have, 2 Peter 2.1. Today, there is great danger for Christians. Now, I'm not saying it's harder being a Christian today than it was in Rome in the first century. Each Christian generation have their own trouble. But I tell you something, it is very dangerous and it's very difficult being a Christian today. Our TVs feed us constantly, even the news. with anti-Christian talk and thinking, and is so opposed to the Christian way of thinking. We're surrounded by adverts, distractions that bombard us in every way, trying to trap us in subtle ways. Nothing changes. John Owen says, and I quote, and again this is the 1600s, snakes and scorpions lie everywhere at our feet. Snares and traps are laid for us. Those who escape one evil are in danger of falling into others. How shall we escape falling into apostasy if we neglect even one duty? So we must be careful with our spiritual souls. We are living in enemy territory and even God's providence can cause us some pain when he wants to teach us and draw us into deeper dependence upon him. But we must watch, study, learn, pray, keep on going and keep on looking to our final goal. Fourthly, says Owen, consider the nature and guilt of total apostasy. and the severity of God against such apostates. Now, Owen has a long list of other things. I've cut this down because it might be too much of a strain upon you to be bombarded with all these awful things. But total apostasy, says Owen, is actually worse than the Jews crucifying Christ. And I thought, what's he saying now? But he goes on to say, for many of them, the Jews eventually found salvation. But the total apostate that he's talking about knows the truth, but has rejected it. I think Owen is right to draw a serious attention to the very seriousness of departing from the gospel of grace. What then are the two signs, says Owen, of a drifting soul into apostasy? And they're very simple. First sign, he says, is this. a loss of all the appreciation of the goodness, excellency and the glories of the truth of the Gospel. Someone begins to lose the sense of the wonder of the Gospel and slide into sin. This is a dreadful thing we should guard against. We must always every day say to ourselves over and over again about the joy that is set before us looking unto Jesus. The Gospel is so exciting. Let's keep on working on the joy that we have when we first became a Christian. If, of course, this can be recovered, if we begin to lose the wonder of the truth of Christ, we must attend to it quickly. And we've all been there, haven't we? I'm sure we have. We've all had days, weeks, maybe even years where we have kind of lost the joy, we've lost the sense of wonder, of the glory of the resurrection of our Lord that is coming again and of the heaven that we will see Him face to face. We've kind of lost that a while, but that is recoverable. But Owen says, be careful of that. It's one of the first signs. Secondly, he says this, Next, what can happen is a loss of the finality of truth. That is, a person begins to think that just maybe, just maybe, what the Bible says is not totally true. Maybe it is all just cunningly devised fables. So, the supernatural truths in the Bible are actually doubted. And you find this in modern scholarship that sets the reasoning of the human mind above scripture. Did God really say that? Aye, but if he did, did he really mean it? Can it be true that Jesus really rose from the dead? Surely Paul cannot be trusted when he speaks against sexual misconduct. And after all, he was a bit of a womanator, wasn't he? Well, that's a load of rubbish anyway, but is every word of the Bible therefore inspired? Doesn't love mean surely that God will never punish sinners? He's a God of love and mercy. Obviously, there just cannot be an eternal punishment. And also, recently well-known Christians one who has recently died, have stated that even if someone of another faith did good works, then they would be saved without even knowing Jesus. So it creeps in. The apostasy begins and the apostate begins to read liberal ideas, modern ideas, ideas of society. And they are and are becoming apostate and departing from the truth. They have departed from the Word that gave them birth, if they did have birth, and therefore from God, the God of the Word, subjecting Him to their own thinking. I know better than God. This old-fashioned Bible is out of date. You know, we must bring it up to date. We must bring it into the Star Trek era, where everybody's good and quick to think and exalts themselves. And thirdly, says Owen, the apostate will then turn against Bible believing Christians. Actually, that should be fifthly, shouldn't it? Yes, I'm getting mixed up. You'll have to excuse me. But fifthly, the apostate will then subtly turn against Bible-believing Christians, says Owen. Stirred up by Satan, they do this, they do his bidding. They are opposed to those of us that hold to the doctrines of Scripture. You will find that they will mock us. They will call us unlearned and call us and tell us that we do not understand about Jesus. Jesus was not a saviour from sin. That's too bloody and too awful. But he was an example when he died on the cross. They hate the thought of sin. They hate the thought of man's fate not being in their own hands, but in God's. So they oppose every Christian and their doctrine. and they rise up like their father, like great dragons in prominence in the world. They become church leaders, leaders of corrupt denominations, and they make anti-Christian laws, pretending that they are Christian. They despise the truth of the new birth and the work of the Holy Spirit and the need of conversion. Do you know the first time I came across this Sadly, I think in God's providence, it was a good thing. But it was just days after my conversion. I was converted in the Signal School of HMS Mercury in Hampshire in England. And I was in the Royal Navy at the time. And I wanted to share the joy of my conversion with somebody who would understand. So I made an appointment with the base chaplain. And I went into his office and he was sitting there smoking a cigarette. Nothing wrong with that. If he wants to do that, that's fine. But then I told him and he was not at all encouraging. He didn't actually believe in a conversion experience. And then proceeded to tell me the story about Balaam riding on his ass. That's a donkey for those in America. Ass is not a bad word in this country. But he was riding on his ass. That taught me early that all that glitters, all that is religious is not gold. And I thank God for that experience because that gave me a warning. So dear ones, please, please beware and be careful. Now, I know so far I've been, I would say, uncharacteristically negative. I hope that people that know me agree with that. But I have done this as a warning for us all to be aware to be as wise as serpents, yet as harmless as doves, and to understand how easily a soul can be fooled, and how needful it is that we all stick to the faith handed down, no matter how much we are accused of being out of date. We must, as Scripture often says, endure to the end to show the reality of our beginning. We must not lose heart. We must hold fast the words taught through Christ and his apostles and constantly be alert. If our faith is real and we are truly born from above, then our Lord will keep us from that which is coming upon the world and keep us from believing a lie and falling into Satan's wiles. Owen pours more woes upon his readers, but then makes a clear statement, upon which I will use as my closing remarks. And this is the final point. Although, says Owen, we do not know how far this apostasy will go or how long it will go on in our day. But God can put a stop to it and change everything. So let John Owen assure us of this with two points that he makes. And here I quote them. And these are two truths that can bring us comfort in this time of widespread apostasy. Number one, says Owen, the first truth is this, that the Lord knows those who are his, 2 Timothy 2.19. His elect will be preserved and will never be allowed to fall away into irrecoverable apostasy. The second truth is that God has an appointed time when he will put a stop to all apostasy. And the earth will be filled, says Owen, with the knowledge of the glory of God as the waters cover the sea, in Habakkuk 2.14. He will one day pour out his judgment, plagues on Babylon. And the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 11, 15. But when these things will be? And what will happen until they are fulfilled, we do not know. But we are to watch, lest we are to be overtaken by this great apostasy. Despite this, I want to quote the words of Paul to 2 Thessalonians 2, 13-15. This is me again. My quote from Owen is finished. The scriptures say this. Against the backdrop, by the way, of the coming man of sin, of the anti-Christian spirit that was pervading even the early church. This great man of sin, whatever that is, that's another vast subject. But he says this, despite all of these things, But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. So I am convinced, you see, dear ones, that no matter what differences you may have upon some minor points of maybe an interpretation of Scripture, seeing things in a slightly different way, but still holding to the sovereignty of Scripture, whether you wear hats or not, whether you drink wine or not, whether you celebrate one day above another, whether you sit to sing or stand to pray, whether you raise your arms or not, whether your hair is long or short, whether you sing only psalms or hymns and psalms, whether you like silence or are more exuberant and noisy, whether you are Brethren, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, even Baptist. Whatever your background, hold fast to the fundamentals of our faith that has been handed down. Saint Augustine said a quote which is often used by the Puritans and put in their studies. He says this, and I've quoted this before, in Essentials, Unity. In doubtful matters, liberty. In all things, charity. So we are to have unity in the essentials. Hold on to what we have received. The Lord is at hand and will reward you for taking his word and believing it despite the pressure of the world and what the world says. Hold firm to those precious doctrines of Christ, his eternal sonship, his deity of the sovereignty of the Spirit, the perfection of the Godhead Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Hold on to the fact that our Lord was conceived by the Holy Spirit in a virgin's womb. that he was and is perfect, that he died a substitutionary death for his people on their behalf, in their stead, and literally, physically rose out from the dead and is ascended to heaven, that one day he will come again to judge the living and the dead, that he alone is Lord, and that to him every knee will bow, and every tongue that he has created will confess to that fact, wholefast to the absolute need for a conversion experience, and the truth of the transforming power of the word of the Spirit in the Gospel. Hold fast, dear brothers and sisters, to those things that are needful and right. There is a song, which is not a Christian song, that used to be played often by the Royal Marine Band when I was in the Navy and we used to march to. It's called Hearts of Hoke. And it's an interesting song if you translate it in a spiritual sense. The chorus goes, hearts of oak are our ships. Jolly Tars, that's the sailors, are our men. We always are ready. Steady, boys, steady. We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again. Tremendous words, really talking about the British Navy. But there is that sense in which we ought to always be ready. Steady, boys, steady. Hold fast that which you have been given. If this has been helpful for you, then let me know. Will you let me pray now? Father, I pray that you would keep all of your children that are hearing this from any kind of apostasy. Will you stop them playing with fire? Will you stop them going down a road that maybe they're going down already? Would you please keep them and watch over them and bring them back as the shepherd with the rod and the staff, guiding them on through the valley of the shadow up until the hills where they can bear lambs and eat and drink and be merry. So bless us, Lord God. as we want to be. Hearts of oak. Steady, boys, steady. Come, cheer up, my lads, tis to glory best here. To add something more to this wonderful year. To honour we call you as free men, not slaves. We are so free as the sands of the waves, Parts of old warships, John B. Todd's armament, We always are ready, Steady, boys, steady, We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again. We never see our foes, but we wish them to stay, They never see us, but they wish us away. If they run, why, we follow and run them ashore. For if they would fight us, what can we do more? Cards aboard our ships, jolly cars on a bend, we always are ready. Steady, boys, steady. We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again. We'll still make them fear and we'll still make them flee. Drown them on shore as we drown them at sea, Then cheer up, relax, we did what was meant to see. Oh soldiers, oh sailors, oh sailors, men and queen, Carves of old warships, jolly girls of America, We always are ready, steady, boys, steady. I thank you all for again and again.