MODERN HERESIES AS TAUGHT AT MASENO CHRISTIAN UNION 11/FEB/2024

Who then is right? Are Christians and Christianity to be believed with all these factions existing? Issues of doubt
about the faith have risen; Is Jesus Christ God, Is there Just One True Religion? How Could a Good God Allow
Suffering? How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell? Is the Bible to be believed? Which way is right to be
baptized, to marry, and when is the right time to offer? Unanswered questions.
The Shakahola massacre and the issue of BBC Africa documentary on the cult of T.B Joshua may be in the
limelight. On the flip side, many other issues among Christian circles remain unsolved puzzles. In the Christian
Union, We have the urban and rural people around, liberals and conservatives; and this affects our view of things
and the issues we would address as heresies. The issue of heresies arises now and then from speakers whom we
hear or interact with. Downloading things from the heavenly portals, jargon, however, heresy isn’t just reserved
for those that have pomp, any of us can be or fall in the heresies. The main challenge in our context today is not
only heretic beliefs but also reproving them and pointing men out as heretics. We have chosen love, and peace
and overlooked the issue of the truth.

You shall know the truth and truth shall set you free. every departure from biblical truth may be regarded as a
heresy. There is a thin line between, False teaching which is adding to or subtracting from Christianity and
heretical beliefs that contradict the core tenets of Christianity in a way that destroys the faith. 1 Heresy is
not the same as error. Heresy is the choice to abandon the widely accepted teaching of an essential doctrine and
embrace one’s view. Heresy is to “preach another gospel”, as Paul stated in Galatians 1:9: "As we have said
before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him
be accursed." Technically speaking something is not a heresy just because the church deems it so. It is heretical
because it is a teaching which has abandoned the “pattern of sound teaching”.

Heresy is a belief or opinion that does not agree with the official belief or opinion of a particular religion .
1st Timothy 4:1, Now the Spirit, the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times (which
we are in now) some will depart from the faith, They will apostatize, abandon, rebel, renounce and desert
the faith, i.e. from Christianity; renouncing the whole system in effect, by bringing in doctrines which render its
essential truths null and void, or denying and renouncing such doctrines as are essential to Christianity as a system
of salvation2. by devoting themselves to deceitful (lying)spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity
of liars whose consciences are seared... that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe
and know the truth.
The doctrinal basis of the CU shall be the fundamental truth of Christianity and shall include;
i. The unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead. (Colossians.2:9,

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Clarke’s Commentary
 John.16:12-15).
ii. The sovereignty of God in the creation, revelation of the HolyScriptures, redemption and final
judgment (Daniel 4:25, Revelation 4:11)
iii. Divine inspiration and entire truthfulness of the Holy Scriptures originally given its supreme
authority in all matters of faith and conduct(2nd Timothy 3:16)
iv. The universal sinfulness of all men since the fall, rendering them subject to God’s wrath and
condemnation. (Romans 3: 23-24)
v. Redemption from the guilt, penalty, dominion and pollution of sin solelythrough the sacrificial
death of the Lord Jesus Christ the incarnate son of God (John 3:16, Romans 10:9)
vi. The bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and His ascension to the right hand
of God the Father (Acts 2:31-33).
vii. The presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the work ofregeneration (John 16:7-13, Romans
8:26)
viii. The justification of sinners by the grace of God through faithalone (Ephesians
2:5&`18, Hebrews 10:38, Titus 2:11)
ix. The dwelling and work of the Holy Spirit in every believer. (John14:17 & 26)
x. One holy universal church, which is the body of Christ which alltime believers, in unity, belong
(Ephesians 5:30, 4:15-16)
xi. The expectation of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and subsequent eternal life of the Holy
universal church in Heaven with Him (Acts 1:11, John 14:1-3, Revelation 21:22-27)
Anything contrary to this fundamental truth would be regarded as heresy.
Let’s delve into the book of Jude,

Vs.1 Jude is a servant of Jesus and brother to James. Jude was the brother of Jesus Christ, and a former sceptic,
a person who doubted the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 13:55, James and Jude (Judas) are noted as one of Jesus’
brothers (born to Joseph and Mary). The brothers had doubts about why he was ‘hiding’ himself. They wanted
public, pop ministry, hopefully for their association. John 7; So, Jesus' brothers said to him, ‘You should leave
this place and you should go to Judea. Then your disciples will see the great things that you do. 4 Nobody does
things secretly if he wants everyone to know him. You are doing these things, so you should show yourself to
everybody.’ 5 Even his brothers did not believe in him., Jude included.

Jude, in His letter, refers to himself as a servant of Jesus Christ, this is true transformation. A sceptic, a man who
initially didn’t believe in the Lord, as was Paul, now refers to himself as a servant of the man he initially denied.
This can only be the work of God and the grace that not only pardons but also a power that transforms. Referring
to himself as a servant would depict humility. This would be important as we consider the issue of heresies,
though Jude was not a heretic, it would be easy to think that some of these so-called extremists and heretical
preachers are irredeemable, but Jesus blood can make the vilest sinner flee. Darryl Dash in a TGC article cautions
us to be careful about calling somebody a heretic because that would be as radical as declaring that person a
nonbeliever; since they have departed from orthodox Christianity so far that they are undermining the faith and
can no longer be considered a brother or sister in Christ.

The owner of the Church

Vs. 2 He writes to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. They called to share
in the inheritance. Beloved, people whom the Father deeply loves and kept, by God’s power from falling away as
we shall see later. This is such a confidence. Samuel J. Stone penned the hymn, The Church’s One Foundation,
amid heresies in church history; The Church shall never perish! Her dear Lord to defend, To guide, sustain, and
cherish, Is with her to the end; Though some hate her, And false sons in her pale, Against or foe or traitor. She
ever shall prevail. Elect from every nation, yet one o'er all the earth, her charter of salvation: one Lord, one faith,
one birth. One holy name she blesses partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with every grace
endued. Though with a scornful wonder, men see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies
distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping, their cry goes up, "How long?" and soon the night of weeping shall
be the morn of song!

A call to contend for the Faith

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. 3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about
the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all
entrusted to God’s holy people. Fight, race, battle, rival for your faith. Because men are by nature hostile to the
truth and therefore disposed to pervert it. Contend Because the glory of God is peculiarly connected with the
preservation of His truth. Contend as the uncorrupted truth is essential to the salvation of man. Because we are
bound in this matter to follow the example of our Lord and His apostles. (W. McGilvray, D. D.)

Let me take a detour to look at 4 heresies that have continued to date and respond to them.

1. Docetism proposed that the Son of God never fully took on human flesh and that the body of Jesus was an
illusion. Jesus, therefore, never physically died on the cross. Deny incarnation.
Response;
Jesus is not a mythical figure, he was a historical figure whom the first preachers of Christianity, the apostles, had
known personally. They were with him. Christianity is not a system of religious rituals and ethics it is essentially
good news about a unique historical person, Jesus. If Jesus never lived Christianity would collapse.
As a Christian, you must be convinced that Jesus was not only human but also shared the nature of God. He was
divine – He referred to himself as the son of God and God declared him as his son, he claimed to be without sin
and forgave men their sins, he judged and will judge. The fact that they saw him made him human, he was born,
and he felt hungry and walked. Jesus died, he didn’t survive the execution. He was worried about his death. Water
and blood came from his limbs, certainly, he was dead. The separation of blood clots and serum (which is 92%
water) is evidence for his death. He was buried, the tomb was empty, he was not stolen the tomb was guarded.

2. The denial of the supremacy of the scriptures - the rejection of the divine authorship of the Bible. People
take verses they agree with and do away with what they don’t want. Having a man of God superior to God’s
word, visions and dreams. What does the bible say?

Response

As Christians, we rely on the Bible as our ultimate authority. We believe it to be inerrant, authoritative, inspired,
and sufficient.

1. The fulfilment of the O.T prophesies – 1 Peter 1:vs.19 and we have the prophetic word more fully
confirmed.
2. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit in writing of the scriptures – for no prophecy was ever produced by
the will of man but men spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The scripture is breathed by
God. While Muslims see the Quran as a perfect book of God’s revelation, Christians believe God’s
revelation was given in a perfect person, to whom the gospel account bears witness.
3. The word of God is without error, without fault and is sufficient, true and tested. 3:5 Long ago by
God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these
waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. (past) 7 By the same word the present
heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
(future) 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years,
and a thousand years are like a day.9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise. While clerical errors
exist that affect grammar since the scriptures were read and written down by scribes and they took down
what they heard, the clerical errors affect grammar and not substance, they don’t overthrow any Christian
doctrine

3. The prosperity gospel - expressed through positive thoughts, positive declarations, and donations to the
church—draws health, wealth, and happiness into believers’ lives. It is also referred to as the “health and
wealth gospel” or “name it and claim. Haroo mbinguni, nataka gari. They believed in true things but applied
them at the wrong time. You shall never get sick, you will not get pregnant, and God’s desire for you is wealth.
People prospered in the OT. He is the Lord who gives grace to make wealth, however, when we exalt this
thing as the essence of the gospel we go a miss. Matthew 5, true blessedness is different from what people
 think about. The Lord knows you need all this yet, seek first the kingdom of God and all other things shall
follow.

Response

Christians give to gain material compensation from God. According to prosperity theology, faith is not a God-
granted Rather, it is a humanly wrought spiritual force, directed at God.

Prayer is a tool to force God to grant prosperity.

Prosperity gospel preachers often note we “have not because we ask not” (James 4:2). They encourage us to
pray for personal success in all areas of life.

Prayers for personal blessing aren’t inherently wrong, of course, but the prosperity gospel’s overemphasis on
man turns prayer into a tool believers can use to force God to grant their desires. Within prosperity theology,
man—not God—becomes the focal point of prayer. Curiously, prosperity preachers often ignore the second
half of James’s teaching on prayer: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your
passions” (James. 4:3). God does not answer selfish requests that do not honour his name.

In light of Scripture, the prosperity gospel is fundamentally flawed. At bottom, it is a false gospel because of
its faulty view of the relationship between God and man. Simply put, if the prosperity gospel is true, grace is
obsolete, God is irrelevant, and man is the measure of all things. Whether they’re talking about the Abrahamic
covenant, the atonement, giving, faith, or prayer, prosperity teachers turn the relationship between God and
man into a quid pro quo transaction.3 Challenges the sovereignty of God.

4. Salvation by works and not by faith

Bring a sacrifice, do this and that for you to attain salvation or a blessing. Paul calls the Galatians foolish, seeing
they accepted the Lord by faith will they now be perfected by the works of the law. Col 2:6-7 Just as you accepted
Jesus by faith, continue to live in him. Grounded and built up in him abounding in thanksgiving.

Characteristics of Heretics/Heresies/ False Teachers (2nd Peter Chapter 2/ Jude)

1. They rise from within majorly -2nd Peter 2:1 False prophets arose among the people just as false teachers
will arise among you – one of the encouragements in the face of heresies is this, that it has been a problem
throughout scripture and church history. It did not begin of late. One of those things that are well seen in
the heresies is that most of them emerged from the so-called believers. The church has faced external and

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 internal attacks, but those who cause greater harm and are most dangerous are the internal ones . The
opposition that comes from inside is what has eaten the church, not the one from outside, the government
regulations etc. Paul to the elders at Ephesus mentioned Acts 20: 29 after my departing shall grievous wolves
enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things,
to draw away disciples after them.
2. They deny God’s sovereignty – they will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who
bought them. The greatest danger of heresies to the life of a Christian is the misunderstanding of God and His
truth, the sovereignty of the scriptures. Man is created. We refuse the master because we think he thinks evil
of us and plans to harm us, God is not an advantage seeker. We refuse God as master because we want control
of our own lives. Man is naturally depraved and even in our filthiness our natural inclination is to do evil not
Good. We are sinful, we can’t reconcile ourselves with God, we are dead in our sins, Ephesians 2:1 but God,
who is rich in love and mercy while we were still dead, sinful, died for us. For by grace, you have been saved
through faith not of your works lest anyone should boast.
3. They blaspheme (violate, curse) the truth, Jude vs. 17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our
Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their
ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere instincts and do not have the
Spirit. Vs.2 blaspheming the truth -many will follow their sensuality, (deficient in moral, spiritual, or
intellectual interests: worldly 4) vs.10 indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Moral
relativism – the lack of an absolute truth. Permissiveness, no one can caution me. We have many so-called
truths and so we compromise in wanting to make everyone feel at home. We deny the sovereignty of God and
the scriptures.
4. Their characteristics; Jude vs. 11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain(Genesis 4); they have
rushed for profit into Balaam’s error (introduced idolatry in Israel, Numbers 31:16)); they have been destroyed
in Korah’s rebellion(Numbers 16). 12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without
the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the
wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up
their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
5. They are greedy – 2nd Peter 2: Vs. 3 And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. Vs. 15 Trained
in greed – like Balaam who loved gain from wrongdoing. They use their positions of power to take advantage
of other people. They claim to tend the flock but are feeding on them, taking advantage of women, sexual
immorality, and domineering to gain power. Greedy for power and money. 2nd Timothy 3 But understand
this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of
money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless,

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 unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen
with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but
denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and
capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions.
6. They will Exploit you with false words- Col 2:4, they delude with plausible arguments. They falsely claim to
have a special knowledge or skill and use Christianity for their enrichment, to benefit from other’s wealth.
Advantage takers 1st Timothy 6:20 Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called
“knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith 2nd Timothy 2: 23 Have nothing to
do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels
7. Their character – 2nd Peter 2: Vs.14 full of adultery, insatiable (quenchless) for sin, enticing unsteady souls
– need for firm foundation classes, trained in greed – like Balaam. These false teachers reject the Bible and
also reject the standards for the Bible’s morality. There are no true absolutes outside the Bible.
8. Vs.2nd Peter 2: 17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm – the gloom of utter destruction
has been reserved, Vs.19 They promise freedom but they are slaves of corruption
9. The denial of the personal return of Christ Jesus – 2nd Peter 3: 3-7 scoffers will come, scoffing and following
their evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died,
everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by
God’s word(I) the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these
waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and
earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodl y.
10. They will certainly be punished – 2nd Peter Vs.4 God did not spare the angels, the ancient world, and Sodom
and Gomorrah - but preserved Noah, rescued Lot – vs9. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials
and to keep the unrighteous under punishment
A call to persevere

In Conclusion friends, the doxology of Jude 20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy
faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23
save others by snatching them from the
fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. [f]

Our approach

1. Humility - Christians can and do disagree on many issues, issues of baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit
whether we must all speak in tongues or not, if the Apostles are there or not, issues of baptism, deliverance,
and church discipline. All of these issues matter. In each of these issues, one side is right and the other side is
wrong. Each set of issues carries significant implications for how we live and function as the church. But
 believers can disagree on these issues without departing from the faith. All of these issues matter. But when
disagreeing on these and other issues, it’s unwise to level the charge of heresy. 5

Assuarance

24
To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without
fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus
Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

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be-careful-about-calling-somebody-a-heretic, TGC