When Teachers of Truth Turn Aside

When Teachers of Truth Turn Aside

     He had spoken to us words which were as precious morsels to comfort and refine our souls. He had led many to the way of righteousness. We had put our hope in him. We had loved him. We had cherished his presence among us. We had seen similitudes of the working of the Spirit in and through him. And now, he has turned aside. He has forsaken the way of Truth. His ‘love’ has gone cold. Our hearts would be shattered. His prior proclamations of Truth had built up the reserves of our souls and now his apostasy has resulted from his inner rejection of Christ. Shall we be shattered? Shall we faint? Shall we be scattered, torn, and slain? Are we, the sheep, now ruined?

“For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend; we who had sweet fellowship together walked in the house of God in the throng” (Ps 55:12-14)

     Dear saints, doctrinal apostasy prevails in our midst. And yet I feel convicted that even when doctrine is sound and within the confines of Truth, the apostasy of the soul may linger. We, the saints, have categorized teachers according to their doctrines. And we have set apart within our hearts those teachers who proclaim Truth to us. We invest our time in hearing from them. Indeed, we have little time to waste hearing those who are not yet brought into the full understanding of the sovereignty of God, His Gospel, and His work of regenerating souls. And yet, we must understand that knowledge of these core things is not enough. It is possible to speak in the tongues of men and of angels and to have no love (1 Cor 13:1). It is possible to have been enlightened, to have tasted of the heavenly gift, and been made partakers of the Holy Spirit in some sense and to yet be worthless, yielding only thistles and thorns, and eventually cursed (Heb 6:1-8). The saints who know their God will display strength and take action. Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and MANY WILL JOIN THEM IN HYPRCRISY. (Dan 11:32-34). Perhaps those who join us in hypocrisy do not teach the Truth. Or perhaps they do teach the Truth, but they are devoid of the Spirit…

    How then shall we deal with the bewildering apostasy of leaders who have proclaimed the Truth of the Scriptures to us? How shall we resolve our anguish? Such apostasy may not have happened yet from our standpoint, but if and when it happens, how shall we abide in Him confidently and with full joy? The Spirit teaches me today that we are not to be shattered, because we know our Christ and His Gospel. We know that we are led by one Shepherd. He never fails. He never changes. For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us (2 Cor 1:20). Whatever Truth which we had been taught in the past by these now apostate leaders is from this immutable Shepherd of love. The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd (Ecc 12:11). All the Truth that has nourished our souls is from our good Shepherd. He remains the same. He has arisen from the grave and shepherds His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the Name of the Lord His God. And we, His true people, will remain, because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth (Mic 5:4). He is our only Rabbi, our only Father, our only Shepherd (Matt 23:8-9). We were never following any other man. We were never called by any other Name than His Name. He is our banner. And though some teachers of His Word have turned aside, may we ever cling to Him and to His Word, yes even His true Word that had been stored up and treasured within us from the moment we had been taught in the past from these false teachers of Truth. These teachers are false in the sense that though they had taught the Truth, the outcome of their lives, that is, their evidenced apostasy, revealed that they were false (1 John 2:19). Our Lord’s sovereignty and constancy persists throughout all time, and into eternity. He is the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Rev 22:13). Although the apostasy of endeared leaders is as the bread of privation and the water of oppression, He, our Teacher will no longer hide Himself, but our eyes will behold Him (Is 30:20). We will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for we will all know Him, from the least of us to the greatest of us. This is what the Lord has declared to us because He has forgiven our iniquity through the blood of the Lamb and remembers our sin no more. (Jer 31:34) Since these teachers of Truth have turned aside, had they truly taught the Truth? The Spirit of God within us will bear witness with the Truth. For the anointing which we received from Him abides in us, and we have no need for anyone to teach us; but as His anointing teaches us about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught us, we abide in Him. (1 John 2:27)

    Dear saints, when teachers of Truth turn aside, we will cling to our Christ and to His Truth. May we not be shaken! We will not be ruined. His love will keep us.

No one go with me, still I will follow. No turning back. No turning back.