(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

2 Corinthians 13 is concluding a series of four chapters where the apostle Paul is speaking very roughly to the church at Corinth. He's rebuked them very sharply in chapters 10, 11, and 12. The whole book has a lot of pretty negative things in it, but especially chapters 10, 11, and 12. I mean, he was really laying into them. And he keeps over and over again reiterating his love toward them, but he has to preach hard and he has to say some hard things because they have had some really bad things going on in the church. That's why he starts out very adversarial here in verse number 1 of chapter 13 when he says, this is the third time I'm coming to you, in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. Now why do I say that that's adversarial when he says in the mouth of two or three witnesses? Because this is a reference to what Jesus Christ taught about when someone trespasses against you, when someone sins against you in the church, and you have to go confront that person. And if they don't listen after you confront that person, then you go get the two or three witnesses and you come back and confront that person again. And if they won't listen to you in the presence of those two or three witnesses, then you end up taking it before the church. And if they won't listen to the church, they get thrown out of the church, right? So this is an example of people that are on a pathway toward getting thrown out of the church. So he's very adversarial here when he says, look, I'm coming to see you, and in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word shall be established. He's saying, you know, we're already to that point, okay? Now let me show you a couple of examples of this in the Bible. Go back to Matthew chapter 18, and then we're going to look at 1 Corinthians chapter 5. So the Bible does teach this doctrine of people being thrown out of church. Now there are a lot of churches that don't believe in this, but they're simply just ignoring multiple passages in the New Testament that clearly teach this, because the New Testament clearly teaches that there are certain sins that if people are involved in those sins, they have to be thrown out of the church. Why? Because a little leaven leavens the whole lump, the Bible says. Now the Bible teaches that worldly people out in the world, unsaved people, okay, we should expect unsaved people to live an ungodly life because they're unsaved. So unsaved people outside the church, of course they're going to fornicate, they're going to get drunk, they're going to be covetous, they're going to do all these wrong things. But the Bible says that if someone is called a brother and they do those things, if someone's a brother, if someone's an established Christian in the church, I'm not talking about somebody who just got saved a week ago or two weeks ago, I'm talking about somebody who's in church, they're called a brother, they're someone that we know to be our brother in Christ, and then it comes out that that person's committing fornication or that person is a drunkard or that person is practicing idolatry or one of the other things on the specific list in 1 Corinthians 5. The Bible says that we are to put away from among ourselves that wicked person. We're to cast that person out. Now Matthew 18 is something different and a lot of people, they mix these two. They mix 1 Corinthians 5 which tells us to throw out the fornicators, the drunkards, and people that are committing those specific sins. They mix that with Matthew 18. So they basically make it out that, oh, if somebody is doing the fornicating, drunkenness or whatever, we're supposed to go to that person alone and then go to them for two or three witnesses, take it wrong. If somebody is called a brother and they're a fornicator or a drunk or whatever, they just get thrown out. We don't go through this process, okay? Not only that, if someone is a heretic, and I'm not talking about they just disagree on a minor doctrine, I'm talking about somebody who's preaching damnable heresy. I'm saying somebody is teaching that the Trinity is a false doctrine. They're speaking against the Trinity or they're denying the deity of Christ or they're teaching a wrong salvation or they're teaching something that's damnable or wicked, false doctrine, then that kind of person just gets thrown out. Now obviously, look, I'm not saying we're going to throw people out just because they're unsaved. If someone shows up and they're unsaved, great, we want them here. We want them to hear the Gospel. And if an unsaved person comes and I give them the Gospel and they don't get saved, we still want them to come back because guess what? Some people have to hear the Gospel a bunch of times. Sometimes people have to hear the Gospel over and over again. But I'm talking about somebody who is crept in with damnable heresy. They're spreading damnable heresy. They're teaching damnable heresy. That type of person is immediately thrown out scripturally. There are other scriptures that deal with that. Matthew 18 is a different scenario. Matthew 18 is where one person in the church trespasses against another person in the church. So basically, one person does wrong to another person and they're refusing to make it right. That's where the church will mediate that. And obviously, this shouldn't be done for every silly little thing. Don't do something minor. He didn't shake my hand. This is talking about obviously grievous things. Someone spreads a dirty rumor about you or someone hires you to do some work and then they don't pay the bill. They get into you for thousands of dollars and don't pay the bill. Just whatever the case where somebody wrongs you, seriously wrongs you, and you go to that person and say, hey, you've wronged me. You need to make this right. If the person says, hey, I'm sorry, I'll make it right, well then that should be the end of it right there. So that's the best case scenario. You go to that person alone and make it right. Look what the Bible says in Matthew 18. I'm going to show you this in the Word of God here. In Matthew 18, Jesus is teaching this to his apostles and he brings up the two or three witnesses. This is what Jesus is referring back to. Look at verse 15. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, so this is one person trespassing against another. This isn't a guy who's found to be a fornicator or a drunk or a heretic. It says, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou has gained thy brother. That's the best case scenario. He just makes it right, right then and there. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more than in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. Why? Because if you go to somebody with a clear cut legitimate concern of you've wronged me and the person is refusing to make it right, you're usually dealing with a wicked person and this type of person is probably also going to be a liar. So you're bringing the one or two with you to confirm what's being said so that every word can be established because this is before they had tape recorders or videos or whatever. So you'd bring a couple witnesses and say, okay, we're going to have this conversation here in the mouth of two or three witnesses so that basically nobody can lie about what's said. And it's just, it's all out there. Now obviously it's better if you can fix things alone first. That didn't work. You bring in the two or three witnesses. If that doesn't work, look what the Bible says next. If he shall neglect to hear them, verse 17, tell it unto the church, but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. So if someone wrongs someone in the church, refuses to make it right, they're confronted with two to three people saying, look, you need to make this right and they still won't listen, then it's to be brought before the whole church. And if the whole church sees it and understands and agrees with it, obviously, then basically if that person is still refusing to make it right, then that person is thrown out of the church. So basically Matthew 18 could be theoretically used to throw people out of the church for anything. If this process is followed, because it's just if they trespass against thee. So that could be all different kinds of trespasses, all different manners. So this is like a generic teaching on people that are thrown out of the church for sinning against their brother in Christ and not making it right. Now what is the purpose of this? The purpose of this is that the Bible teaches that we should not go to law with our brother. So the Bible prohibits a Christian from suing another Christian. So if somebody wrongs me and rips me off for thousands of dollars, the Bible prohibits me from suing that person. So then what do I do? Well what I do is I follow this process. So if someone steals thousands of dollars from me, I'm not going to sue that person. Instead what I'm going to do is I'm going to take them before the, you know, well first I'll go to that person one on one, then with two or three witnesses, then take them before the church and so the punishment is that they be thrown out of the church if they refuse to pay what they owe or do what they said they would do or whatever. So this is instead of a lawsuit and this is also just in situations where people harm others maybe by slandering them, lying about them, whatever. Now let me say this, this is not the process that we would follow if someone commits a serious crime like murder or rape or somebody's a child molester or something like that. We're not going to sit there and say, oh we're going to deal with this in-house like the Catholic Church and sweep it under the rug, right? If somebody commits a crime like that, we're going to call the police. Someone commits murder, someone commits molestation or anything, anything that's worthy of death, we're going to call the police. But if somebody steals or something, we'd rather deal with that in a different way, get that person to just pay back the money, make things right, and we would try to avoid that at all costs, okay? We don't want to go to law with our brother in Christ. We want to judge things in the church, okay? So that's what this is teaching. So you've got the generic teaching in Matthew Chapter 18 for throwing people out whenever someone sins against someone and retribution needs to be made. But then we have certain things that are just an automatic ejection, heresy, drunkenness, fornication, and here's the thing about that is that, you know, don't mix these two. And don't try to say, well you didn't follow Matthew 18 when you threw out heretics. I'm not going to follow Matthew 18 because that's not someone trespassing against me. That's a heretic that needs to be thrown out and gotten rid of. Oh, you didn't follow Matthew 18 when you got rid of that fornicator or that drug. Don't have to. They're just, that's an immediate ejection, period, okay? Then obviously there's always a way for people to repent and come back. You know, anybody who's thrown out of the church, there's a pathway if they're actually truly repentant to come back. Now a lot of people give their fake apologies and fake repentance and then they wonder why they're not allowed back in the church. Well it's got to be sincere. And you know what? When you're thrown out of the church, it's a serious thing. It's not just, oh whoops, sorry, I'm back now. Wrong. Okay? This is a serious thing because for it to get to that point where you're thrown out, you've done serious wrong. So let's go back to 2 Corinthians 13 with that in mind. I just wanted to take the time to teach that because this is an important subject. It's a serious subject. Now in 2 Corinthians chapter number 13, when he says at the beginning here, this is the third time I'm coming to you, in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. This is basically a threat that people are going to be thrown out of the church or that there's a serious confrontation here that's about to happen to where he needs to establish things in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Now today, sometimes people will just record things. Now let me say this. I don't record phone calls with people unless that person is my enemy or unless I'm at this point with that person where I'm at a point where it's the third time I'm coming to them or it's a point where I've already talked to this person, this person's a known liar, this person is on thin ice, this person's in danger of being thrown out of the church, then I would record a phone call. But I don't call up my friends and record my phone calls with them, with my friends. And you know what? When somebody is recording me on the phone, I feel like that's adversarial. And it's kind of funny when everything's going great with people and they're your best buddy, and then all of a sudden when things go sour, they already have all these recordings of you. It kind of shows that they had a bad intent. Because like I said, look, I've recorded phone calls before. I've recorded situations before with people that I either considered an enemy or with someone that was on thin ice, they were in big trouble, they've lied in the past, I can't trust this person. Does everybody see what I'm saying? So in my opinion, based on this principle from scripture, when you're recording someone, that's adversarial, and that's someone that you have negative feelings about. And look, people record me all the time. And I'm not saying they have negative feelings, because sometimes people will just want to talk to me about something, they'll say, hey, Zard, if I record this, simply because they want to be able to refer back to it later or something, okay, I get that. But when you're recording people's phone calls without them knowing it, there are situations where that's appropriate, but it's adversarial. So Paul's starting out by basically putting these people on notice. He's warning them. Now, that shouldn't surprise us, because just in the next verse, what does he say? I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present the second time, and being absent now, I write to them which heretofore have sinned unto all other, that if I come again, I will not spare. Now, this is one of these long, complicated sentences in the book of 2 Corinthians. The whole book of 2 Corinthians has been like this. It's one of the toughest books in the New Testament. He's saying, look, I'm absent now, and I'm writing to them that heretofore have sinned, and to everybody else, people that I already know about that are in sin, and people that might think about getting into sin in the future, I'm just warning you guys, as if I were present, that I will not spare. What does he mean when he says, I will not spare? He's saying, I'm not going to hold back. Sparing means to withhold the wrath, or withhold punishment, or withhold correction. No, he's saying, I'm not going to spare. I'm not going to hold back. So he's basically saying, I'm taking no prisoners. And of course, he's been very adversarial in the chapters leading up to this. He says, since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you it is not weak, but is mighty in you, for though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. He's saying, look, you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me. In the last chapter, he already talked about how he had done the signs of an apostle among them, and how the power of God was mighty in his preaching, and how tons of people got saved. He had the fruit to show for his ministry that he was an apostle, that God was using him, that he was a man of God. And what he's saying here is that sometimes meekness is mixed up with weakness. So Christ was meek and lowly in heart. And the Bible says he was crucified through meekness. But remember what Jesus said, no man taketh my life from me. He said, I offer it freely. He said, I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it back up again. And so Jesus Christ was crucified through weakness, it says in verse 4, though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. It's not that Christ lacked power. It's that Christ was being humble and obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And Paul's saying, you know what, you want me to be like Christ, guess what, I'm being like Christ. Because I'm trying to be humble and meek, but then there's a time when I have to bring the hammer down, just like Christ is one day going to bring the hammer down. And Jesus Christ even strongly rebuked his own disciples at times. People act like when you have to strongly rebuke someone that you're not being Christlike. Isn't Jesus the one who looked at Peter and said, get thee behind me, Satan? I mean, Jesus said to Peter, get thee behind me, Satan. That's a pretty strong rebuke. And that was to a good guy. I mean, Peter was a good guy. But Peter was way out of line, and he needed to be strongly rebuked, and so Jesus rebuked him hard, okay? When Jesus is calling you Satan, that's a hard rebuke, okay? If I call you Satan, I'm mad at you, you know what I'm saying? So anyway, he says, you know, we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. And then he says in verse 5, examine yourselves, whether you be in the faith, prove your own selves, know ye not your own selves, how the Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates, but I trust that ye shall know that we're not reprobates. So I want to spend a lot of time on this passage from verses 5 through 7, where he uses the word reprobate in verse 5, verse 6, and verse 7, because there's some confusion surrounding this word, because this doctrine of the reprobate doctrine has gone out of fashion, so you don't hear a lot of preaching, or you don't hear people using the word reprobate a lot, so we need to understand it. It's not a complicated word. It's not a hard word. The word reprobate simply means rejected. That's all it means. It's just another word for being rejected. So maybe in our modern vernacular, we would just say a reject. We would just use that noun reject instead of that past participle verb rejected. We would just use a noun like he's a reject. The Bible calls a reject a reprobate. So when the Bible talks about a reprobate, it is typically talking about someone who is rejected by God, because the Bible says in Jeremiah 6.30, reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord has rejected them. Or like in Romans 1, which is kind of the reprobate chapter, he says even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. So who's given them over to that reprobate mind? It's God. So in Jeremiah 6.30, it's the Lord rejecting them. So when we think of a reprobate, we're thinking of somebody who's rejected by the Lord. But in reality, the word reprobate does not mean rejected by the Lord. It just means rejected. The context will tell you who is doing the rejecting and whom they are rejecting. So the word reprobate means what? Rejected. That's it. You have to use the context to understand what's being said here. So a lot of times, people will just define the word reprobate as, oh, that's a person who's beyond salvation. That's a person who's been rejected by God. Well, here's the thing, often that is what it means. That's usually what it means. That's typically what it means. But the word itself doesn't pack all that meaning necessarily. The word itself just means rejected. Now in Spanish, this is reprobado. And I don't know, is it used more in Spanish or is it sort of like English where you'd only use it when you're talking about the Bible? Spanish speakers out there? Somebody help me out. Is this a word you use a lot in Spanish or not really? You'd usually use, what, represado would be the more common word and reprobado would be a little more rare, archaic, or you wouldn't use it at all. You don't use it. In church only or would non-church people use that word? You've never even heard it in church, but have you heard it outside of church? Okay, so yeah, so it has a little bit more of a usage it sounds like in Spanish based on that testimony. So reprobado or reprobate, rejected, right? This is just a simple word about being rejected, okay? So usually when we talk about it in the Bible, we're talking about the context of God turning people over to a reprobate mind or like the reprobates in 2 Timothy 3 where they're ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Or these people whose mind and conscience is so defiled that everything is wicked unto them. They're reprobate concerning the faith in Titus 1, Romans 1, Jeremiah 6.30, okay. Now what Paul is saying here, let's break this down. In verse 5, when he says how Jesus Christ is in you except if he reprobates, that's talking about the kind of reprobate we're typically talking about, people who are rejected by God. And I'm going to explain that verse in a moment, but he's saying either Jesus Christ is in you or you're rejected by God. Verse 6, he says, but I trust that ye shall know that we're not reprobates. And what he's saying again there is we're not people that have been rejected by God. We're not Romans 1 types that have been turned over to a reprobate mind. So verses 5 and 6 are pretty cut and dried, but when we get to verse 7, this is where some people get confused. He says, now I pray to God that ye do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates. For we can do nothing against the truth but for the truth, for we are glad when we are weak and ye are strong, and this also we wish even your perfection. So what is he saying there when he says though we be as reprobates? Here's what he's basically saying there. He's saying we're reprobates unto you, you have rejected us. Because what's the context of the chapter? They're claiming that he's not an apostle. They're claiming that Christ is not speaking through him. If you remember in chapters 11 and 12, they're saying, oh, he's really mighty in his letters, but his bodily presence is contemptible. He's a paper tiger. He's all talk. When he shows up, he's a weakling. His preaching is weak. They're following other false teachers. They're rejecting the apostle Paul. And so basically because the apostle Paul is being rejected, his apostleship is being rejected, his authority is being rejected. That's the context that led up to this chapter. They're seeking a proof of Christ speaking in him. They're saying this isn't the word of God, what Paul has written or what Paul has spoken. They're claiming it's not the word of God. So that's what he means when he says though we be as reprobates. He's saying that he's a reprobate not of God, but he's saying it's like they've rejected him. He's a reprobate unto them. Do you understand what I'm saying? The person who's doing the rejecting in verse 7 is not God, it's the Corinthians that have done the rejection. And he's not saying we're reprobates. He's saying we're like reprobates, we're as reprobates. We're being treated as reprobates. It's not that God has rejected them. Of course, he's a man of God, but he's being treated as a reprobate. He's being treated as a reject. The church at Corinth has basically rejected him or he's a reprobate unto them. Not all of them, but a certain element within the church, the bad element within the church. Now let's back up. Now that we kind of understand that, let's back up and spend some time on verse 5. This is a key verse. Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates. Let me say this. This is not saying that if a person isn't saved, they're a reprobate. That's a wrong interpretation of this verse. He's not saying either you're saved or you're a reprobate. Either you have Christ inside you or you're a reprobate. Because guess what? There are tons of unsaved people that don't have Christ inside them, but they're also not a reprobate. They're not rejected by God. In fact, Christ is drawing them. Christ is saying to them, whosoever will may come. He's working in their hearts. He's working in their lives. He's trying. He's not trying to seek and save them. He hasn't rejected them. Didn't Jesus Christ say he came to seek and save that which is lost? So he's out looking for the lost sheep. We're out looking for the lost sheep. They're not all reprobates just because they don't have Christ in them. What is he actually saying in this verse? He's not saying, hey, if they don't have Christ in them, they're a reprobate. You know what he's saying? He's saying if you don't have Christ in you, then you're a reprobate. Now why is he saying that? Because he's talking to the church at Corinth. These are people who've been in church. They know the gospel. They've been there a long time. These are dedicated members, the leadership of the church. These wicked people that he's calling out. And look if you would at chapter 12 verse 21 just to get an idea of what kind of people these are that he's calling out. These are people that are rejecting the apostle Paul's preaching. They're rejecting his authority. They're rejecting his apostleship. And look what they're into. Verse 21, unless when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and then I shall bewail many which have sinned already and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed. So there are people in the church that are involved in serious sins like fornication. And there are people that are rejecting the word of God. They're rejecting the apostle Paul. They're rejecting a man of God. And so what's he saying? He's saying, you know what? You guys need to examine yourselves whether you're even in the faith. What he's doing is he's doubting their salvation. And he's done this other times in 1 and 2 Corinthians. He's made statements like, I stand in doubt of you. I'm afraid of you. I wonder if I've bestowed labor on you in vain. I mean, the apostle Paul doubts their salvation at times, and he's saying that he doubts their salvation, and they need to examine themselves whether they be in the faith. He's like, you're examining me. And he says, earlier in the book, he said, my answer to them that examine me is this. And then he gives an answer in 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Here he's saying, you know, you guys want to examine me? You're seeking a proof of Christ speaking in me? Let me tell you something, buddy. You need to examine yourselves whether you're in the faith. Now this is plural. This is not examine thyself, okay? This is examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. Move your own selves. He's basically saying, plural, you guys in your midst, you've got some people in your church that aren't even saved, and guess what? They're reprobates. Now why do I say that? Or I'm sorry, I didn't say that. Why does he say that? Why do I repeat what he said all the time and say this? I say the same thing he said. Why? Because of the fact that if somebody can go to a church where the gospel is being preached clearly, and they go to that church week after week and even participate in the soul winning, and they've been here for a year, two years, and they're participating in soul winning, they're hearing all the clear preaching, and that person's not saved, guess what? They're a reprobate. I mean, look, if somebody can just hear the gospel crystal clear from the pulpit over and over again, and then even go out through the motions of soul winning, and they don't even believe in it, look, at that point when you're that involved, when you're that deep into church, either Christ is in you or you're a reprobate, okay, because somebody who's been here for that long and they still didn't get saved, guess what? They're not going to get saved. That's what Paul's saying here. He's not saying every unsaved person is a reprobate. That's a stupid doctrine because Christ is actively seeking the lost. We're actively seeking the lost. How can that be a reject when we're out trying to get you saved? But there are some people who God has turned over to a reprobate mind. Some people, the Bible says in John chapter 12, verse 39 and 40, how they could not believe because God blinded their eyes and hardened their heart and so forth. So that's what he's saying here. Now, here's what's funny. I've heard some people say this, when you start declaring people a heretic and throwing them out of the church and saying, hey, these people aren't saved because they deny the Trinity or these people aren't saved, they're teaching a workspace, salvation or whatever, and you throw them out of the church and they say, oh, you're so quick to call people a reprobate. But it's like, look, if they've been here for years and they're still not saved, they're a reprobate. Now, look, did I make that up or is that what Paul said? Paul's talking to this element at the church of Corinth, this wicked element that's trying to hijack the church, bring in heresy and wickedness and reject the apostle Paul who's speaking the word of God. This would be like if someone today said, well, all the books that Paul wrote are bogus. And there are people out there who claim to believe in Jesus who reject Paul. Some Hebrew roots types will do that, where they'll say, oh, Paul was a false apostle. We're only going to go with the original 11, not 12, right, Paul and Judas. Look, if somebody's here for years and they're denying the Trinity, they're denying the gospel, and they were out soul winning and everything, the person's a reprobate. Either that or they're saved. And guess what? If you don't believe in the Trinity, you're not saved. If you, or I should say, if you reject the Trinity, you're not saved. These people who believe in a oneness doctrine or deny the deity of Christ, they have another Jesus. It's a damnable heresy. They don't understand scripture. And let me say this, he that is of God heareth God's words. You therefore hear them not because you're not of God. That's what Jesus said. Look, if you take someone aside and show them something crystal clear in scripture and they still don't believe it, guess what? You're dealing with an unsafe person. And I'm not talking about things that are gray areas. I'm not talking about things that are matters of opinion. I'm not talking about the timing of the rapture. I'm not talking about your political views about Israel. Okay, I'm, you know, I'm talking about, like, let's say you just show somebody Christ is born of a virgin and you just show them how they're just like, I don't believe Christ is born of a virgin. If somebody denies the virgin birth, do you think that person's saved? No, because he that is of God, heareth God's words. Now, look, is it possible for someone to get saved without even knowing about the virgin birth? Absolutely. I mean, if somebody just believes that Jesus is the son of God, that he died on the cross, was buried and rose again, maybe they've never even heard of the virgin birth, right? Then, yeah, of course that person can be saved. But here's the thing, when you come up to a saved person and show them the virgin birth, they're not going to be like, well, I don't believe that. I've had people point at my Bible and say, well, I don't believe that. And I don't care what verse it is. I don't care what book of the Bible I'm in. I don't care what verse we're talking about. When someone points at my Bible and says, I don't believe that. You know what that tells me? That person's not saved. Because he that is of God, heareth God's words and ye therefore hear them not because you're not of God. Now go to 1 John chapter 4. Other people will say something along the lines of, oh, well, whenever people disagree with you, you just label them a reprobate. Okay, isn't that what the apostle Paul just did? He basically said, you guys are disagreeing with me and you need to examine yourselves whether you're even in the faith and if Christ is not in you, then you're reprobates. And you've got people like that in your midst that you need to weed out. And guess what? I'm going to come do it for you and I'm going to spare not. This is what the Bible teaches, my friend. Now look what the Bible says in verse 5 of 1 John chapter 4. It says, they are of the world, therefore speak they of the world and the world heareth them. Watch verse 6. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. How do we know the spirit of truth versus the spirit of error? How do we know if somebody's got the Holy Spirit or another spirit? Because he that is of God heareth us. So not only do we have the teaching where Jesus said, he that is of God heareth God's words, he therefore hear them not because you're not of God, John is saying, you know, he that's of God hears us. They don't just hear Christ, they hear the apostles. They hear the messenger of Christ. When you're sitting there and showing something point blank from the Bible, and I'm not talking about a gray area, I'm talking about foundational, basic, clear teachings of the Bible. And you show them and they're just like, I don't believe that. Or what about this? You try to teach someone something from the Bible, and again, I'm not talking about something complicated. You try to teach them something from the Bible, they don't get it. You try to teach them a second thing, they don't get it. You try to teach them a third thing, they don't get it. It's all just going over their head. You know what that means? That person's not saved. Because the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they're spiritually discerned. The unsaved man doesn't get it. He can pretend, he can be like a chameleon and try to fit in and repeat things that he hears, but at the end of the day, he doesn't really get it. He doesn't understand it. And every once in a while, these people who creep in, the false brethren who creep in unawares, they're going to slip up. You know, they'll put on the show, repeat everything they hear, but every once in a while, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh, and they start saying things that show they don't get it. They don't understand the Gospel. They don't understand the Bible. And so, how do we know who is saved and who is not saved? How do I know if a teacher is a biblical teacher or a false teacher? How do I know whether somebody has the Holy Spirit or a wicked spirit? How do I know? Do I look at that person and say, well, if they're a good person, if they seem like a good guy, if they do a lot of good things and follow God's commandments, they're saved? No, because you don't get saved by following God's commandments. How do we know? What's the evidence of salvation? How do we know? Well, guess what? People that are saved, they believe the right things because salvation is not by works, it's by faith. So when people have the right beliefs, that's evidence that they're saved. Now a lot of people will parrot the right beliefs, but they don't really get it. And so they'll repeat things, but then when they start speaking out of their own heart, crazy things will start coming out. Just crazy things, wild things, heretical things will start coming out, okay? Or you'll try to show them something and they don't get it. Now here's the thing. Sometimes people will, even when they're saved, they'll get mixed up in a false doctrine. I get that, okay? Even a saved person can get mixed up in a false doctrine. I've been mixed up in false doctrine throughout my life. I mean, if you would have come and talked to me when I was a teenager, I'm sure I had all kinds of stupid doctrine when I was a teenager because I hadn't even read the Bible cover to cover one time, and so I'd gotten wrong teachings on certain things. Okay, and I've seen pastors that were good men that I know to be saved who've gotten mixed up on false doctrine and gotten a little off on some things, but here's the difference. The difference is that the saved person who gets mixed up on false doctrine, when you show them the truth, they'll correct it. You show them the truth, they'll be like, oh, yeah, you know what, you're right. They might say something stupid or believe something a little stupid, and then you show them and they get it right. They hear God's word. They hear us when we show them God's word, okay? The unsaved person will just dig in and die on that hill of that wicked heresy, that false doctrine, okay? And not only that, but the severity of the heresy is another thing. You know, a saved person, yeah, a saved person will get a little bit mixed up on doctrines. They'll get a little bit goofed up and they might jump on a bandwagon of a false doctrine, but they're not going to go all the way. When I see somebody who's supposedly saved and they go all the way to joining the Mormon Church, that tells me that person was never saved in the first place. The Holy Spirit is not there. The Comforter is not there guiding them into all truth. And look, we had a family that went to our church for months and then they converted to Russian Orthodox. Let me tell you something, that's not even close to believing the Bible, okay? That's not, look, that is, and if you don't understand about the East Orthodox Church, it's basically just like the Roman Catholic Church, except in some ways it's even worse, okay? It's a totally works-based salvation. It's a hardcore idolatry. I mean, just every service they go to, the first thing they do is kiss a bunch of images. They kiss the icons. They bow down and worship icons, not even just of Jesus, but of Mary, of the saints, and just other just historical Orthodox figures that they bow down to and worship. Look, that is not biblical Christianity. And so when that family left our church and said, oh, we're Russian Orthodox now, and they bought into it hook, line, and sinker, I said, these people were never saved, because a saved person is not going to go off that cliff. Now, I've heard some saved preachers get a little mixed up into Lordship salvation, a little mixed up into a repent of your sins salvation, and then later they'll usually moderate that or get that right or get on the correct doctrine and even renounce and say, hey, I was mixed up on this, but now I've got it right, or whatever. Or you'll just see them kind of just barely off on it. But when you see them going all the way off on it saying, you know, you have to clean up your life, and you have to turn from your sins to be saved, when they go all the way off the cliff, that just tells you, hey, this guy's not even saved. And so how do we discern that? I mean, you know, sometimes I wonder, like, have people just never read these verses that I'm reading, or do they just not talk about these, or what do you... I don't know, what do you do with this verse? What do you do with this verse in 1 John chapter 4 if you don't believe this doctrine? When the Bible just flat out says, we're of God, he that knoweth God heareth us, he that is not of God heareth not us, hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Can somebody tell me why is that verse in the Bible if we're supposed to just completely ignore that and it's supposed to mean nothing to us? I mean, 1 John's not that long of a book, is it? It's five chapters, it's not that long. So I mean, it's not that long, and yet he chose to tell us that. That must be important. I mean, does everybody see what I'm saying? And then how about in 2 John? Look at 2 John, it's even shorter. 2 John's a pretty short book, right? I mean, he's not writing a long letter here. He writes a short letter, and what does he say in verse 7? For many deceivers are in it into the world. Actually, let's jump down to verse 9 for sake of time. Look at verse 9. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Now look, what does transgress mean? Transgress means to cross the line. The literal meaning of that word is to go across. Trans means go, trans means cross, right? You're going across, meaning you're crossing the line. Whoever transgresses, whoever crosses the line and abideth not, they don't stay in, they don't abide in the doctrine of Christ, they don't have God. Isn't that what the Bible says? This is something that John is hammering in 1 John, 2 John, 3 John. He's saying, watch out for the infiltrators, watch out for the fakes, the frauds. And he says, look, when you see these people cross the line, what did he say in 1 John chapter 2? They went out from us because they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. He's saying the people who go out and become an anti-Christ false teacher heretic, they were never of us in the first place or they would have continued with us. Now look, he's not saying they're going to necessarily continue living for God, but you know what? They're going to continue believing right. They're going to continue believing the Gospel. When they go into damnable heresy and a workspace salvation, they were never of us in the first place. I don't care how long they were here, they went out from us because they were not of us. And if they transgress and abide not in the doctrine of Christ, they don't have God. And what's the most basic doctrine of Christ? That Jesus is the Son of God. And guess what? These oneness heretics, they don't really believe that because they believe he's God the Father. They believe in the Old Testament the Son of God didn't even exist. Even though Nebuchadnezzar looks in the fire and said the form of the fourth is like the Son of God, they say, well, Nebuchadnezzar is wrong. We can't trust him. That's a funny verse to put in the Bible. You're just wrongly identifying the Son of God as the fourth man in the fire. That's a funny inclusion. What other weird stuff that Nebuchadnezzar said did God include? That doesn't make any sense, folks. That's a powerful verse in Daniel 3.25. That's a foreshadowing of Christ who saves us from hell. That's why he saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace because he's going to save the world from hell, right? So anyway, let's go back to 2 Corinthians 13. Oh, you're so quick to call these people here. Yeah, you better know I am. If somebody can come here for years and then start teaching damnable heresy, I will call them a heretic. I'll call them a reprobate at the drop of a hat. Ah, you just throw that word reprobate around. Yeah, I throw it at everybody who it belongs at. Oh, you just throw it around. Really? Who did I ever call a reprobate that wasn't a reprobate? Can somebody tell me that? If I just throw that word around so much, oh, Tyler Baker. He's a reprobate. Ah, Dominique Davis, he's a reprobate. These devils now are teaching the weirdest garbage, total damnable heresy, and if you are foolish enough to fall for their lies, then you know what? You can just hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back no more because you belong in the trash can with them. Because I'm telling you something, anybody with an ounce of discernment can see that the Trinity is biblical and when somebody can just open the Bible to you and show it to you, and I'm kind of going off on this and you say, hey, you're getting off the topic of 2 Corinthians 13. Well, you know what? Go back to 2 Corinthians 13. Are you there? Look at the last verse and tell me if I'm off topic. This is a great verse on the Trinity, amen? Look at this Trinity verse. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all, amen. Isn't that the Trinity right there? The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, there's the Son, the love of God, there's the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all, amen. Let me tell you something. The love of God is the love of God the Father because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And you know what? These oneness Pentecostals and these modalists, they don't believe John 3.16. In fact, they make fun of the idea that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Tyler Baker got up in his sermon and said, yeah, you know, God's up in heaven and said, hey, somebody's got to go down there and save the world. All right, you go ahead, son. You go do it. He basically acted like the Father sending the Son to be the Savior of the world would be a cowardly act. That is blasphemy. That is wicked, folks. The Father sending the Son to be the Savior of the world is the ultimate display of the love of God. It's not like God is this angry God the Father up in heaven and Jesus is the nice guy in the family holding Him back. You know, the Son is trying to hold Him back. No, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Folks, that's a powerful picture of the love of God that He gave His Son. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Now think about this, folks. Abraham in the ultimate display of faith in the Old Testament was willing to offer Isaac his Son upon the altar. And that pictured the Father sacrificing His Son, Jesus Christ. Listen to me. If I had the choice between sacrificing my own life and sacrificing my child's life, I would sacrifice my own life. Any parent who loves their kids would take a bullet for their child or they would step in front of a car if it would save their child. Ask a mother if she would be willing to give her life for her child and a loving mother will tell you yes. A loving father will tell you yes. That is harder. It's easier even as a human being right now for me to lay down my own life would be easier than having to sacrifice my son. Sacrificing your son, I mean, that's hard. Now, these fools are like, why would that be easier? It's because you don't love anybody. Because everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. A person who actually loves their child wouldn't understand that illustration, wouldn't they? Because they actually love their child. So they understand how that's a supreme sacrifice to basically have your child die. Now, they'll point to the verse that says, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Look, Jesus Christ is specifically talking about himself and look, by Jesus Christ, the Son of God sacrificing his life for us. That was the ultimate human display of love. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. He's not comparing his love to God the Father's love there. Because guess what? God the Father is not a man and God the Father is not the son of man. God the Father is a spirit and he's not a human being. Jesus Christ is a human being. Jesus Christ as a human being, guess what? He didn't have a son that he was going to sacrifice. The greatest thing that Christ could do was to lay down his life for us. So I'm not downplaying Christ's love. I'm telling you there's God the Father's love and then there's Christ's love and guess what? They're both the ultimate love. But if we only have Christ's love and say, well, God died for us and that's it, you're missing out on a whole other dimension of God's love of the Father gave his only begotten son. How much did God love the world? So much that he gave his only begotten son. That's the love of God the Father. And then we have the love of Christ where he was willing to lay down his life for his friends. Does everybody understand? So Christ does the ultimate human display of love by laying down his life for his friends. God the Father gives the ultimate display of love by sending his son. Look, you cannot say that God the Father's love is lesser because he didn't come down and do it himself. That is blasphemous and perverted to say that. To try to somehow disparage the love of God because he gave his only begotten son. And folks, isn't John 3.16 the most basic verse? I mean if I were to go to the jungle in Africa, what's the most likely verse that somebody's going to know? John 3.16. What's the verse that's been translated into more languages? What's the verse that's been preached more? What about when you're out sowing and you talk to people who've never even been to church? Have you ever heard of John 3.16? Yeah, I've heard of it. For God so loved the world, yep. And then you have a group of people that are denying the truth of John 3.16 because they don't believe that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. They believe that God the Father morphed into Jesus this weird, modalist, oneness junk for people who don't understand the Bible. Now go to John chapter 16 because at this point I'm off on a tangent and I just don't even care anymore. So go to John chapter 16 because we're talking about what? We're talking about examine yourselves whether you're in the faith. Prove you your own selves. Know you're not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except you'd be reprobates. If you can go to church for years, if you can be one of these people in Corinth that's a mover and a shaker in that church and you're still not even saved, you're probably a reprobate at that point. That's what he's basically saying, you guys need to examine yourselves and figure out whether Christ is in you or not, okay? You're looking for a proof of Christ speaking in me? You need to examine yourselves, he's saying, okay? Now look, a saved person is going to understand basic biblical truths when they're shown unto them where the Bible says that Jesus is basically saying, I didn't come, I didn't send myself but the Father sent me. If I bear record of myself, my record's not true, the Father bears record of me. You're going to walk away and say that God the Father and Jesus are the same person when he just said, well if I bear record of myself, my record's not true, right? It's written in your law, the testimony of two men is true. The Father bears witness of me and I bear witness of myself, that's two witnesses. There are three that bear record in heaven, three witnesses, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, they can't all be the same person, that's not three witnesses. Now there's one God but one God that eternally exists in three persons. One God that eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. These three are one God. That's why God said, let us make man in our image, right? After our likeness. This is all throughout the Bible. Look at this verse and explain to me how saved people could hear all this teaching on the Trinity and still not get it. I got to find the verse because I'm not even in the right chapter. Because I'm just kind of doing this, this is coming from the heart folks, all right? This wasn't planned. Somebody help me find the verse I'm looking for. In that day you shall ask me nothing. I just read it today so it's on my mind but I think I might be in the wrong chapter. Sixteen twenty three, there it is. Everybody just stop and read this and just think about how crazy it is to reject the Trinity in light of verses like this. Verse twenty three of chapter sixteen, in that day you shall ask me nothing. Really verily I say unto you, what soever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. How can anyone walk away from this verse saying, oh Jesus is God the Father and God the Father is Jesus? I mean folks, what could be clearer when he says, in that day you shall ask me nothing. You're not going to ask me anything, you're going to ask the Father in my name. Does everybody see that? And in that day you shall ask me nothing. Verily verily I say unto you, what soever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hither to have you asked nothing in my name, ask and you shall receive that your joy may be full. And then look at verse twenty six, and that day you shall ask in my name. So he says, you're going to ask me nothing but you're going to ask in my name. And I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for you. He's saying, look, you're not going to ask me and then I'm going to go ask, no, no, you're going to go directly to the Father, you're going to ask the Father, you're going to pray to the Father in my name. Does everybody see that? For the Father himself loveth you because you've loved me and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father and come into the world, again I leave the world and go to the Father. Folks, I mean, it's everywhere in the book of John, this is one passage. So when we pray, we're praying to the Father in Jesus' name. Does everybody see the difference? If you don't see the difference, I'm afraid of you, okay? Because he's... In that day, you'll ask me nothing. You're going to ask the Father. Oh, just kidding, I am the Father. Is that stupid or what? Folks, oneness or modalism, it's like the flat earth of doctrine. When you get this doctrine that Jesus is God the Father and God the Father is Jesus, it's literally like a flat earth of doctrines. It's that silly. It's that ridiculous. It's that dumb, folks. All right, I got to hurry up and finish. I'm out of time. 2 Corinthians 13, I'll just close with this. He says in verse 8, for we can do nothing against the truth but for the truth for we're glad when we are weak and ye are strong and this also we wish even your perfection. So he's reaffirming his love for them even though he has to be kind of harsh with them. He's saying, look, I love you guys. I'm doing this for your benefit. I want you guys to succeed. I would rather decrease so that you can increase. He says in verse 10, therefore I write these things being absent lest being present I should use sharpness. So what's he saying there at the beginning of verse 10, he's saying, look, the reason I'm being so mean in this letter is so I don't have to be mean in person. He said, I don't want to have to show up and use sharpness so I'm writing these things being absent to soften the blow. I'd rather write you a letter saying, hey, you guys have some wicked people there. You need to get your act together. You need to clean house on the reprobates and fornicators and everything else. And he's saying, otherwise I'm going to have to show up and use sharpness. I don't want to get in your face. I'd rather write you a letter so you can clean things up yourselves before I get there. Because if we would judge ourselves, then we would not be judged. But when we're judged, we're chastened of the Lord. He says, according to the power at the end of verse 10, which the Lord has given me to edification and not to destruction. He said, I'm trying to build you up. I'm not trying to destroy you. Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect. Be of good comfort. Be of one mind. Live in peace and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints salute you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, obviously Christ is known for grace. The Bible says in John chapter one, the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. So the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, specifically God the father is what we're talking about there. And the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. Because the Holy Ghost is God, Jesus is God, and God the father is God. So what's three gods? No, it's one God. One God, three persons. It is one God that eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. That's what the Bible actually teaches. This is not a multiplicity of gods. This is one God and he consists and always has consisted of and always will consist of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. You say, well, I don't understand that. Well, you don't have to understand it, but you have to believe it. You have to believe what the Bible teaches. And a powerful verse on this is John 1.1. In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. There you go, folks. In order for that verse to be true, you have to believe in the Trinity. Because if you believe in oneness, then the Word wasn't with God. And if you deny the deity of Christ, like the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, then you don't believe that the Word was God. He was with God and he was God, because God exists as the Trinity. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your Word, Lord, and I pray that people would study to show themselves approved, that they would read your Word, study it, Lord. And Lord, I pray that people that are heretics and people who creep in unawares, that Judas Iscariots, Lord, that Paul and Peter and so many others warned us about, Lord God, I just pray that you would just expose them, destroy them, and cast them out, Lord. Because here we are, we love you, we're trying to win people to Christ and serve you, and we have these enemies that will creep in and bring in damnable heresy, Lord. I pray that they would be destroyed. I pray that they would be exposed and wiped out, Lord. And I pray that you would bless our church and help us to see many people saved and to continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and it's in his name that we pray, amen.