Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. As an apostle, Paul had authority to boldly present the truth he received from God. In 2 Corinthians 10, 1-11, some were seeking to minimize Paul's influence in the church, questioning his right to give them instruction. In this message, Pastor Rich examines not only the authority that Paul was given, but also the authority the gospel has in the life of a believer and the ideas that can rise up in our own sinful hearts against that authority.
Let's listen in. This is part 2 of a sermon titled Gospel Authority, which was first preached on July 20, 2014. Thirdly, the sense of world is what we find in 1 John chapter 2. Love, not the world.
What is that? That is a system of thought that chooses not to acknowledge God. It suppresses the knowledge of God. That is the world. The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one and the world and that system involves many people who have not surrendered themselves to Jesus Christ and therefore, by definition, they are under the sway of the wicked one. So that is the battle that rages. It is the battle for allegiance.
So what does he say here in verse 4? The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Now those three things, strongholds, arguments and high things, what are they?
They are that system of thought. This is a word that means a fortress. It is the idea of a fort where they are gathered together and it is declared battle. And it is the ideas that are represented there, strongholds, arguments and high things. Arguments are the argumentation, the philosophies, the ideas and the high things are the lofty ideas.
Now these three things represent ideas that minimize God and exalt self. That is the war that has been declared. That is the battle that rages. Listen to me, please. Every one of us is engaged in this war.
Every one of us. Against strongholds, arguments and high things, ideas that minimize God and exalt self. As Paul says in Romans 1 that they, in Romans chapter 1, that they chose to not acknowledge God and worshiped and served the created thing rather than the creator. I am a created thing. I did not create myself.
I don't know that there's too many people out there who believe that they actually created themselves. But these ideas, we have to remember, that word ideas, look at that word, okay? Stronghold, arguments and high things. The weapons of our warfare. It's not carnal, it's not flesh.
Meaning, what is Paul saying to that? Our enemies are not people. Our battle is against ideas. Ideas that are presented as truth but that are indeed false truth as opposed to the true truth which is revealed by God.
The standard of truth. And so these ideas are those ideas that are espoused by people but the people are not our enemies. It is the ideas that are the enemy. And those ideas have a source. The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And those ideas minimize God and exalt self.
Now think with me for a moment, okay? Throughout the course of the day, how many influences are there that confront you during the course of the day? Whether it's something you read, something you hear, something you see, someone you're talking to, a class you're in, a book you're reading, all of that.
They all contain ideas. And where the battle rages is that battle for allegiance. Do these ideas minimize God or do they exalt God? Or do they exalt self and minimize God?
That's where the battle rages. The idea that I am big and God is small. If God is small, if God becomes small in my thinking, he becomes an obstacle to my pleasure. For some people, God is not only small, he is in the way but he is also, to many people, he is unnecessary. We don't need God. There are a lot of ideas propagated out there today that have that as its foundation.
We don't need God. This is where the battle rages. These are the strongholds, the arguments, and the high things. And these ideas that minimize God and exalt the self are enslaving and ultimately destructive.
Look what he says in verse 8. Even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed. Whatever ideas I give my allegiance to will either build me up or they will destroy me. That's why there's a battle going on.
And if there's any idea that I espouse that makes me big and God small or in the way or unnecessary, then that idea is ultimately destructive to me. So what we have then, as the apostle Paul uses the words like strongholds, fortresses, what is that? That is the fortress. That is the armed fort that is protecting these ideas and within that are those that espouse those ideas but they're rebels because they have chosen those ideas but they don't understand that while they're in there, they're also held hostage.
They can't get out. Those ideas that exalt self and minimize God are holding them hostage and those hostages need to be freed. Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher, died in 1900. He is the one who espoused the idea that God is dead. Also before his death, he predicted that the 20th century would be the bloodiest century in history. If that was true that God is dead, then the 20th century would be the bloodiest century in history.
He was right. What are these ideas? Let me think of them practically for a moment here. These strongholds, these arguments, these high things, these ideas that minimize God and exalt the self, hopefully I can encapsulate them in three points this morning.
What are these ideas? First of all, it is the idea that I am good. My problems are someone else's fault.
I am good. My problems are someone else's fault. This idea is one that minimizes your own rebellion. This is the idea of self preeminence. I become the center of my universe and I view everything in terms of how it simply relates to me. I am good and my problems are someone else's fault. Whatever is not going right in my life, it's because someone else or something else has done something to me.
You know what's interesting about this? In one's self preeminence, it becomes the very thing they don't recognize. They are self preeminence and therein lies the problem. This is a false idea that exalts self and minimizes God.
Here's the second one. God is not always good. He doesn't mean what He says. God is not always good.
He doesn't mean what He says. The whole world of philosophy out there is trying to understand how there can be an all good and all powerful God. It is a very common question and it continues to pervade today. When you look at the world and all the wickedness and all the supposed gratuitous evil that happens, how can there be a good God? But not only that, you claim this is God's word, but does God really mean what He says? How many Christians have I heard questioning what God has said?
And why is it that they question what God has said? Because circumstances are not pleasurable. Something bad has happened, therefore God, do you really know what you're doing? How do I know I can trust you? You know what that is?
That is a war for my allegiance or your allegiance. Does God really mean what He says? He's not always good.
He doesn't mean what He says. I don't know that I can trust. How do I know I can trust the Bible? That's a valid question, but there are answers to that question and they have been presented numerous times.
And there is very, very common today. I believe that is the front line of Christianity today in its encounter with secularism and the secular way of thinking. The front line of that battle right now is the veracity of Scripture. How do I know that the word of God is indeed the word of God, that it is true and that I can trust it? How do I know that God means what He says? How do I know it is truth? How do I know that it has authority, that it's reliable, that it's even sufficient for me?
Does it meet my needs? Here's the third question, the third statement I should say, the third idea. I, more than God or anyone else, know what's good for me.
Well, that follows point number one, doesn't it? I'm good. Therefore, I know what's good for me. I know better than God or anyone else. No one, including God, knows better what is good for me. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in Him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.
