Standing Against the World Part 2
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Learning from John the Baptist, that to stand for the truth is to stand against the world!
Text: Luke 3:15-20
Date: 08/01/2021, the Combined service.
Series: "Luke: Thy Kingdom Come" Part 30
Description:
This is the second part of what has become a three-week series on the positive example of John the Baptist. By looking at the life and words of John the Baptist, we will gain valuable insight into what it means to be Christ-like in our own lives and ministry. Last week we analyzed the humility of "the greatest man born of woman". This week we will analyze his truthfulness, and realize that by standing for the standards of the Kingdom, he stood against the prevalent religious and social standards of his day. We will make the same argument for Christians today-- that if we are to stand firm on the doctrines of Scripture, we will by necessity have to stand against the corruption of those doctrines by the culture around us-- but especially by what we will call "modern Christendom". Ultimately we will realize that like the saints who have gone before us-- if we boldly stand for truth, will find ourselves standing against the world.
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I. Introduction, John 18:37-38, 14:6.
II. Exposition of the text, Luke 3:15-20.
A. Context
1. A solid background.
2. Standing "for" is standing "against".
3. Learning from the words and life of John the Baptist.
B. John the Baptist against the world.
1. The humility of John the Baptist, vs. 15-16a.
a. The opportunity for arrogance, vs. 15.
i. The expectation.
ii. The temptation.
b. The words of Kingdom humility, vs. 16.
i. The humility of John's baptism.
ii. The sandal metaphor.
iii. The pronouns of humility.
2. The truthfulness of John the Baptist, vs. 16b-18.
a. Truthful to the Word, vs. 16b.
b. Truthful in the warning of eschatological judgment, vs. 16b.
i. Standing against the crowd.
ii. A double-edged baptism, John 9:41, 15:22-24, Matt. 10:28, 25:41.
c. Fire on the threshing floor, vs. 17.
i. The image.
ii. The imagery.
d. Preaching the good news, vs. 18.
III. Application
A. Defining "modern Christendom", 2Cor. 10:5.
B. The errors and heresies of modern Christendom.
1. The arrogance of modern Christendom.
a. The pronouns of arrogance.
b. An even more subtle arrogance.
2. The false teachings of modern Christendom.
a. Standing FOR the sole authority of Scripture.
i. Standing against Roman Catholic doctrine.
ii. Standing against charismatic mysticism.
iii. Standing against historical Arminianism.
b. Standing FOR the full truth not a half-truth.
i. Standing against the "word of faith".
ii. Standing against grace-only teaching.
iii. Standing against "me" "worship".
3. The collision of ethics, James 4:4, 1John 2:15-17.
IV. Conclusion
