1 00:00:00,762 --> 00:00:04,027 You give yourself to these other things, 2 00:00:04,027 --> 00:00:05,938 and this is what happens - 3 00:00:05,938 --> 00:00:08,683 plausible things, 4 00:00:08,683 --> 00:00:11,084 reasonable things. 5 00:00:11,084 --> 00:00:14,523 Listen, listen. 6 00:00:14,523 --> 00:00:18,227 It can be biblical things. 7 00:00:18,227 --> 00:00:19,698 Do you know one of the things 8 00:00:19,698 --> 00:00:21,661 that Paul's addressing to the Colossians 9 00:00:21,661 --> 00:00:26,227 are things that people dig up out of the Old Testament? 10 00:00:26,227 --> 00:00:28,917 Somebody can come along, 11 00:00:28,917 --> 00:00:33,338 they want to start talking about limited atonement. 12 00:00:33,338 --> 00:00:38,622 Somebody else wants to start talking about the law. 13 00:00:38,622 --> 00:00:44,746 Somebody else wants to start talking about cessationism. 14 00:00:44,746 --> 00:00:47,792 the impassivity of God, 15 00:00:47,792 --> 00:00:49,598 biblical marriage, 16 00:00:49,598 --> 00:00:52,379 the sanctity of life. 17 00:00:52,379 --> 00:00:58,029 There's all sorts of things. 18 00:00:58,029 --> 00:01:01,528 Should I immunize my children? 19 00:01:01,528 --> 00:01:04,830 You just beware... 20 00:01:04,830 --> 00:01:07,549 because what Paul is saying is this: 21 00:01:07,549 --> 00:01:11,798 What you want to attain is the faith 22 00:01:11,798 --> 00:01:15,229 and the knowledge of the Son of God. 23 00:01:15,229 --> 00:01:17,310 That's the test. 24 00:01:17,310 --> 00:01:19,279 That's always the test. 25 00:01:19,279 --> 00:01:21,308 If He's not essential, 26 00:01:21,308 --> 00:01:24,300 if He's not central - listen - 27 00:01:24,300 --> 00:01:26,572 these wolves, these deceivers, 28 00:01:26,572 --> 00:01:28,048 these crown stealers, 29 00:01:28,048 --> 00:01:29,388 these false christs, 30 00:01:29,388 --> 00:01:30,709 these false apostles, 31 00:01:30,709 --> 00:01:32,918 false prophets, false teachers, 32 00:01:32,918 --> 00:01:34,189 these that come around, 33 00:01:34,189 --> 00:01:36,272 they come swaying their silly myths 34 00:01:36,272 --> 00:01:37,438 or vain discussion - 35 00:01:37,438 --> 00:01:39,752 Paul talks all about this to Timothy. 36 00:01:39,752 --> 00:01:41,849 "Irreverent babble, endless genealogies, 37 00:01:41,849 --> 00:01:46,058 controversy, quarrels about words." 38 00:01:46,058 --> 00:01:49,643 He even says to Timothy, "science." 39 00:01:49,643 --> 00:01:50,969 People want to come around 40 00:01:50,969 --> 00:01:53,148 and they want to bring all their arguments. 41 00:01:53,148 --> 00:01:55,006 You just remember this. 42 00:01:55,006 --> 00:01:57,719 There are people out there - Paul calls them dogs. 43 00:01:57,719 --> 00:01:59,549 John calls them antichrists. 44 00:01:59,549 --> 00:02:01,549 Peter refers to damnable heresies 45 00:02:01,549 --> 00:02:03,272 or destructive heresies. 46 00:02:03,272 --> 00:02:04,810 To the Philippians, Paul says 47 00:02:04,810 --> 00:02:08,160 that their god is their belly. 48 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:09,898 This doesn't happen by accident. 49 00:02:09,898 --> 00:02:11,812 This is happening on purpose. 50 00:02:11,812 --> 00:02:14,771 And everything is to be tested 51 00:02:14,771 --> 00:02:18,169 by the position given to the Lord Jesus Christ. 52 00:02:18,169 --> 00:02:19,824 This is what you have to ask: 53 00:02:19,824 --> 00:02:21,939 Is He essential? 54 00:02:21,939 --> 00:02:23,118 Is He central? 55 00:02:23,118 --> 00:02:24,579 Is He all in all? 56 00:02:24,579 --> 00:02:26,278 Is He the focal point? 57 00:02:26,278 --> 00:02:28,565 Because this is where the devil 58 00:02:28,565 --> 00:02:30,688 is trying to move people away. 59 00:02:30,688 --> 00:02:33,009 The devil hates Christ. 60 00:02:33,009 --> 00:02:35,249 One of the reasons he attacks the Scriptures 61 00:02:35,249 --> 00:02:37,819 is you know what Jesus said: 62 00:02:37,819 --> 00:02:39,638 People make their appeal to Scripture, 63 00:02:39,638 --> 00:02:42,868 but He says, "They speak of Me." 64 00:02:42,868 --> 00:02:45,520 The reason that Satan wants to go after that Word 65 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:47,308 is because this is where you find out 66 00:02:47,308 --> 00:02:48,810 about the biblical Christ. 67 00:02:48,810 --> 00:02:50,270 And he will seek to distort it 68 00:02:50,270 --> 00:02:52,314 and he will seek to take you away from it, 69 00:02:52,314 --> 00:02:54,168 but the issue is Christ. 70 00:02:54,168 --> 00:02:56,003 Oh, these people are too clever 71 00:02:56,003 --> 00:02:58,530 to deny Christ altogether, 72 00:02:58,530 --> 00:03:00,469 but they minimize Him. 73 00:03:00,469 --> 00:03:02,449 And you can get into your arguments 74 00:03:02,449 --> 00:03:05,188 about whatever doctrine you want to bring on the table, 75 00:03:05,188 --> 00:03:08,369 and if those arguments take you away from Christ 76 00:03:08,369 --> 00:03:10,499 and they take you away from His glory, 77 00:03:10,499 --> 00:03:12,500 they take you away from His centrality, 78 00:03:12,500 --> 00:03:14,720 they take you away from trusting Him, 79 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:16,997 from knowing Him more, 80 00:03:16,997 --> 00:03:20,967 from having greater confidence in Him, 81 00:03:20,967 --> 00:03:22,693 watch out. 82 00:03:22,693 --> 00:03:24,568 Watch out. Beware. 83 00:03:24,568 --> 00:03:26,660 It doesn't matter how much somebody says, 84 00:03:26,660 --> 00:03:29,179 "well, you know, this comes out of the systematic theology 85 00:03:29,179 --> 00:03:31,489 and I was reading Robert Raymond; I was reading Grudem; 86 00:03:31,489 --> 00:03:33,328 I was reading this; I was listening to that..." 87 00:03:33,328 --> 00:03:34,827 But you just listen 88 00:03:34,827 --> 00:03:37,250 because the dead giveaway 89 00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:39,590 is the absence of Christ. 90 00:03:39,590 --> 00:03:40,814 Listen. 91 00:03:40,814 --> 00:03:42,139 Listen. 92 00:03:42,139 --> 00:03:45,335 We are to be attaining, attaining, 93 00:03:45,335 --> 00:03:49,278 reaching the faith of the Son of God, 94 00:03:49,278 --> 00:03:52,581 the knowledge of the Son of God. 95 00:03:52,581 --> 00:03:55,517 We need to walk around with that heart of Paul: 96 00:03:55,517 --> 00:03:59,368 "Oh, that I might know Him. Oh, that I might know Him." 97 00:03:59,368 --> 00:04:01,528 You see, brethren, what we're looking for 98 00:04:01,528 --> 00:04:03,193 is whatever the doctrine is, 99 00:04:03,193 --> 00:04:07,229 the aberration - when things go wrong - 100 00:04:07,229 --> 00:04:09,829 is when Christ is left out; 101 00:04:09,829 --> 00:04:11,757 when we suddenly become those 102 00:04:11,757 --> 00:04:14,978 who argue for some position or another, 103 00:04:14,978 --> 00:04:19,488 but Christ has subtly fallen out. 104 00:04:19,488 --> 00:04:24,919 Brethren, children argue all the time. 105 00:04:24,919 --> 00:04:26,421 The thing about children 106 00:04:26,421 --> 00:04:29,501 is they typically don't know 107 00:04:29,501 --> 00:04:31,696 how ignorant they actually are. 108 00:04:31,696 --> 00:04:33,074 Your children typically think 109 00:04:33,074 --> 00:04:35,037 they're a lot smarter than they are. 110 00:04:35,037 --> 00:04:38,898 If you want to be smart, 111 00:04:38,898 --> 00:04:41,220 go learn of Christ. 112 00:04:41,220 --> 00:04:43,780 What we heard in the first hour: 113 00:04:43,780 --> 00:04:47,641 "Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden." 114 00:04:47,641 --> 00:04:50,419 He says, "Learn of Me." 115 00:04:50,419 --> 00:04:52,548 "I am meek and lowly." 116 00:04:52,548 --> 00:04:54,286 We want to learn of Him. 117 00:04:54,286 --> 00:04:56,683 We want to be saturated with Him. 118 00:04:56,683 --> 00:04:59,327 All our doctrines need to come back to Him. 119 00:04:59,327 --> 00:05:01,746 This is the dead giveaway. This is the test. 120 00:05:01,746 --> 00:05:04,496 Christ - if He's not unique; 121 00:05:04,496 --> 00:05:06,518 if it's not Him at the center; 122 00:05:06,518 --> 00:05:08,300 if He's not above and beyond all; 123 00:05:08,300 --> 00:05:10,277 if He doesn't dwarf everything else 124 00:05:10,277 --> 00:05:11,939 and anything else, 125 00:05:11,939 --> 00:05:13,519 then the teaching is false. 126 00:05:13,519 --> 00:05:14,550 Be sure of this. 127 00:05:14,550 --> 00:05:16,016 That which detracts from Him, 128 00:05:16,016 --> 00:05:17,569 that which takes away from Him, 129 00:05:17,569 --> 00:05:20,027 that which promotes something else - 130 00:05:20,027 --> 00:05:21,136 oh, it's subtle. 131 00:05:21,136 --> 00:05:23,361 They like to come to you and say: 132 00:05:23,361 --> 00:05:25,135 This is what you really need. 133 00:05:25,135 --> 00:05:27,204 Anytime you recognize 134 00:05:27,204 --> 00:05:29,108 that it pulls your eyes off of Christ, 135 00:05:29,108 --> 00:05:30,707 you've got it nailed right there. 136 00:05:30,707 --> 00:05:32,605 It's false. 137 00:05:32,605 --> 00:05:36,331 And even if this person doesn't realize what they're doing, 138 00:05:36,331 --> 00:05:38,146 oh, if you've got eyes to see, 139 00:05:38,146 --> 00:05:44,299 there is a claw reaching for your crown. 140 00:05:44,299 --> 00:05:46,798 This excerpt was taken from the full sermon: 141 00:05:46,798 --> 00:05:48,458 No Longer Children