Strategy number one, attack a position that we do not hold.
Strategy number two, distract you
from the essential subject at hand.
This is what's known as the red herring.
How many of you have ever heard of something like this?
The red herring, it's a tactic used
to mislead the audience or the argument
by presenting itself as plausible, okay?
Now what does that mean?
You know, you're talking about salvation.
You're discussing salvation with someone
and they just veer off into a different subject
because you've proven them wrong.
And I'll give you an example of this.
How many times have you gotten into a conversation
with someone about salvation, not being of works,
and people will say, well you do have the works
because faith works, right?
And they'll say, James chapter number two.
And you're like, ooh, you messed up.
Because we're all pretty educated on James chapter two.
I mean, that's like hook, line, and sinker
once people bring that up, you know?
And don't it feel good?
When you as a new Christian, you learn these truths
and someone comes at you with that,
you're like, mm, mm, mm, this is gonna be a,
this conversation's gonna go well, right?
You expound onto them, you teach them
what James chapter two is teaching,
and then they just move on to the next scripture, right?
They try to bring up some other issue.
Well you can't believe it, you don't believe
that homeless can be saved.
It's like, hold on a second, you're right about that.
But hold on a second.
Don't try to distract the conversation
from the original point that you have made.
Which is that James two is teaching
that we have to have works in order to be saved.
In tandem with faith.
I just proved you wrong.
This is what the Bible says,
and you're trying to move on to the, what is that?
That's basically a distraction, okay?
Now let me say this is that sometimes
people do it unintentionally.
There's times when people do it intentionally,
but also unintentionally.
Let me give you an example
of someone who does it unintentionally, okay?
Look at John chapter four, verse 17.
Let's look at an unintentional red herring.
It says in verse 17, the woman answered
and said, I have no husband.
Jesus said unto her, thou is well said,
I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands.
This is like the Elizabeth Taylor of those days, right?
For thou hast had five husbands,
and he whom thou hast is not thy husband,
and that sayest thou truly.
The woman saith unto him, sir,
I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Our fathers worshiped in this mountain,
and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place
where men ought to worship.
What's she doing?
She's just veering off into a completely
different subject, right?
She's like, wow, you must be a prophet.
You know, speaking of prophets,
speaking of spiritual things,
my followers used to say that this is where
we should worship, but you say we should,
just completely ignoring the subject at hand, right?
Jesus said unto her, verse 21, woman, believe me.
I like how he talks.
Woman, he's like, woman, believe me.
The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain
nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father.
Ye worship, ye know not what, we know what we worship
for salvation as of the Jews.
So what is he saying?
He basically brought her back to the subject at hand,
which is salvation, okay?
Now, she did it unintentionally.
The reason we know she did it unintentionally
is because she ended up getting saved.
She wanted the truth, but it's in a person's nature
that when they are confronted with the truth
that may rub them the wrong way,
the natural propensity of the individual
is just to go on to a different subject
because it's uncomfortable.