Latest / Pastor John Piper's answers / What False Teachings Should Make Me Leave a Church?

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What False Teachings Should Make Me Leave a Church? · Pastor John Piper's answers

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  Speaker 1: Well, how do we identify and respond to false teachers,
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  Speaker 1: specifically pastors who persistently teach false doctrine. Hopefully we never
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  Speaker 1: have to face that dilemma, but if we do, the
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  Speaker 1: Bible tells us exactly what to do. It's the application
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  Speaker 1: of tomorrow's Bible reading. In today's question from Devin Pastor John, Hello,
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  Speaker 1: and thank you for this podcast. I'm seeking clarity on
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  Speaker 1: how to apply Second John Versus ten and eleven in
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  Speaker 1: identifying and rejecting false teachers, particularly when it comes to
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  Speaker 1: pastors within a local church. I'm not in this situation
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  Speaker 1: right now, thankfully, but I want to be prepared. The
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  Speaker 1: passage warns against even greeting those who do not bring
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  Speaker 1: the apostolic teaching, which raises serious concerns about continued association
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  Speaker 1: with a pastor who distorts or denies biblical truth. If
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  Speaker 1: a pastor persistently teaches false doctrine and the elders fail
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  Speaker 1: to act, does this mean the congregation is obligated to
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  Speaker 1: leave the church all together? How do we distinguish between
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  Speaker 1: a pastor who is simply mistaken on secondary issues and
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  Speaker 1: one who falls into the category of a false teacher
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  Speaker 1: described in this passage. Additionally, what does it look like
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  Speaker 1: in practice to avoid rebuke or call out such a
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  Speaker 1: leader while still upholding biblical love and humility. I'd appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your wisdom on how to faithfully apply this passage in
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  Speaker 1: today's church context.
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  Speaker 2: There really are three questions in that question, so I'll
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  Speaker 2: take them one at a time. I thought I would
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  Speaker 2: pick one, but I think I can do all three.
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  Speaker 2: That's briefly good. So first, are we obligated to leave
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  Speaker 2: a church where a pastor persistently teaches false doctrine? And
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  Speaker 2: that question rises like all the others do, out of
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  Speaker 2: Second John one ten, which says, if anyone comes to
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  Speaker 2: you and does not bring this teaching, that's a crucial
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  Speaker 2: we'llcome back to that this teaching. Do not receive him
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  Speaker 2: into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever
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  Speaker 2: greets him partakes in his wicked works. So the answer
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  Speaker 2: is pretty clear. I think whether you stay in a
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  Speaker 2: church with a pastor doing this teaching, what is this teaching?
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  Speaker 2: Verse seven defines what this teaching is. Many deceivers have
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  Speaker 2: gone out into the world, those who do not confess
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  Speaker 2: the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a
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  Speaker 2: one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. So this false
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  Speaker 2: teaching has sometimes been called gnosticism. But what's clear is
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  Speaker 2: that the false teaching denied that the Christ came in
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  Speaker 2: the flesh. It denied the incarnation Jesus was not the
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  Speaker 2: incarnation of the Christ, the son of God. And John
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  Speaker 2: says this is so serious that we should not do
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  Speaker 2: anything that participates in this evil teaching. So I think
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  Speaker 2: it is right to say that worshiping week after week
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  Speaker 2: under such a ministry would be wrong. If proper steps
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  Speaker 2: to change the leadership fail, then yes, it is right
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  Speaker 2: to leave a church where that kind of teaching, that
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  Speaker 2: level of seriousness is prominent or is present. Which leads
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  Speaker 2: now to the second question. How do we distinguish between
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  Speaker 2: a pastor who is simply mistaken on secondary issues and
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  Speaker 2: one who falls into the case category of a false
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  Speaker 2: teacher described in second John. So let me suggest one
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  Speaker 2: basic criterion for serious false teaching that has four applications,
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  Speaker 2: four places where you can see it manifesting itself. The
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  Speaker 2: basic criterion would go like this, to the degree that
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  Speaker 2: a doctrine or a practice tends to undermine the Gospel
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  Speaker 2: of Salvation to that degree, should you treat it as
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  Speaker 2: very serious false teaching. And I use the term Gospel
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  Speaker 2: of Salvation consciously because that's what the gospel is. For
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  Speaker 2: the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation Romans
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  Speaker 2: one sixteen. So to undermine the Gospel of Salvation is
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  Speaker 2: to hinder people from being saved. That's serious. And since
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  Speaker 2: God saves people for the glory of his grace, hindering
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  Speaker 2: people from being saved is an attack on the glory
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  Speaker 2: of God, and that's serious. Now, there are four applications
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  Speaker 2: of this basic criterion for how to descern very serious
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  Speaker 2: false teaching, and I would name them Christ, Cross, Faith,
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  Speaker 2: Christian Life. Here's what I mean. Any view of Christ
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  Speaker 2: that undermines his capacity to save sinners is a serious
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  Speaker 2: false teaching. In Second John, the false teachers were denying
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  Speaker 2: that the Christ came in the flesh that undermined the
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  Speaker 2: reality of his bodily suffering and death, and that undermined salvation.
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  Speaker 2: So any view of Christ that hinders our understanding of
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  Speaker 2: his death, resurrection and capacity to save sinners as the incarnate,
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  Speaker 2: divine son of God is going to be a very
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  Speaker 2: serious false teaching. Second, the Cross, any view of the
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  Speaker 2: Cross that undermines Christ's finished achievement. There In being the
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  Speaker 2: wrathbearing substitute punishment for sinners would undermine salvation. Christ died
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  Speaker 2: to save sinners. That's at the heart of the Gospel.
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  Speaker 2: To distort or deny what Christ did or what happened
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  Speaker 2: on the cross is serious. Third, faith, We are justified
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  Speaker 2: by grace alone, through faith alone, apart from works of
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  Speaker 2: the law Phesis two, Romans three, Latians two. If salvation
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  Speaker 2: is turned into something that comes to us by works
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  Speaker 2: or by sacraments, this is a very serious mistake. Salvation
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  Speaker 2: is at stake not only in how Christ provided it,
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  Speaker 2: but also in how we receive it by grace through faith. Fourth,
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  Speaker 2: the Christian life. Paul said, do not be deceived. Neither
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  Speaker 2: sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
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  Speaker 2: nor thieves, nor greedy nor drunkards, nor revilers nor swindlers
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  Speaker 2: will inherit the Kingdom of God, in other words, will
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  Speaker 2: be saved. Therefore, if a teacher says that these behaviors
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  Speaker 2: don't matter or are good, such as greed or drunkenness
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  Speaker 2: or practicing homosexuality, that teaching is very serious error because
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  Speaker 2: it's hindering people from being saved by encouraging them to
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  Speaker 2: do what keeps them out of the Kingdom of God.
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  Speaker 2: So the Christian life matters. So in summary, then one
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  Speaker 2: basic criterion for determining how false teaching can be very serious, namely,
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  Speaker 2: to the degree that a doctrine or a practice tends
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  Speaker 2: to undermine the Gospel of Salvation, it is a very
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  Speaker 2: serious error. And that error can show itself in wrong
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  Speaker 2: views of Christ, wrong views of the Cross, wrong views
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  Speaker 2: of faith, wrong views of the Christian life. The third
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  Speaker 2: question that Devin asks is what does it look like
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  Speaker 2: to deal with such a leader, a false teaching leader,
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  Speaker 2: while upholding biblical love and humility. Interestingly, second John points
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  Speaker 2: to a striking connection between love and false teaching. So
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  Speaker 2: verse six says this is love that we walk according
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  Speaker 2: to His commandments. Then verse seven begins with the word
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  Speaker 2: four or because, and says because many deceivers have gone
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  Speaker 2: out into the world, which means since this it says,
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  Speaker 2: love love one another according to the commandments. Because a
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  Speaker 2: lot of deceivers have gone out into the world, means
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  Speaker 2: that the danger of false teaching is a motivation for
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  Speaker 2: the church to guard its love for one another, or
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  Speaker 2: to say it another way, loving one another in the
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  Speaker 2: church is a strong antidote to false teaching. Love one
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  Speaker 2: another because many false teachers, many deceivers, have gone out
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  Speaker 2: into the world. Now, I know that's not exactly the
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  Speaker 2: question that Devin asked, but it is right there in
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  Speaker 2: the text, and it's worth noting. Biblical love among Christians
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  Speaker 2: protects us from unbiblical teaching. Now more to Devon's point,
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  Speaker 2: that same love will guide them in how they deal
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  Speaker 2: with the false teachers. Love is patient, so they will
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  Speaker 2: not have short fuses, but seek to correct with patients.
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  Speaker 2: Love rejoices in the truth, so they will not rejoice
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  Speaker 2: in theological combat, but in the greatness and beauty of
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  Speaker 2: the truth that they can tend for. Love is not
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  Speaker 2: arrogant but humble, so they will defend the truth for
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  Speaker 2: Christ's sake and not to prop up their ego. Love
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  Speaker 2: does no wrong to the neighbor, even a false teaching neighbor,
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  Speaker 2: and therefore Love desires no harm for the false teacher,
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  Speaker 2: but for reconciliation in the truth. But love does know
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  Speaker 2: that not only is the false teacher to be loved,
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  Speaker 2: so are the sheep to be loved In the flow,
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  Speaker 2: and so is the Savior to be loved. Therefore, for
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  Speaker 2: the sake of the glory of Christ and for the
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  Speaker 2: good of the flock, love will know how to take
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  Speaker 2: a firm stand.
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  Speaker 1: You mess, John, I think people will look to us
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  Speaker 1: when it comes to local churches, finding local church, when
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  Speaker 1: to leave a local church? That really? Yeah?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, not easy questions, No, no, thank you for tackling Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, time after time, when I'm faced with a
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  Speaker 2: neither or a question, I talk in terms of continuance.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, to the degree that.
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  Speaker 2: And what else can you do?
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  Speaker 1: You know?
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  Speaker 2: There are just so many variables, yeah, in a man's
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  Speaker 2: moving away from truth and a person's being in a
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  Speaker 2: church for so many reasons. Oh my goodness, Yeah, oh
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  Speaker 2: that's so true.
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  Speaker 1: Many variables make this tricky. And I think you give
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  Speaker 1: us really a great model of how to navigate these
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  Speaker 1: vitally important questions of how do I find a good
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  Speaker 1: local church, When is it right to leave a church
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  Speaker 1: that's maybe not so good? How do I respond to
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  Speaker 1: someone who says I won't leave Jesus, but I'm done
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  Speaker 1: with the local church and it's failed. Leaders. Just a
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  Speaker 1: few of the trickiest questions we've explored over the years
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  Speaker 1: on this podcast and a curated digestive those episodes can
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  Speaker 1: be found in the Ask Pastor John book. In this
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  Speaker 1: section I titled on Joining, Leaving and Finding a Church
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  Speaker 1: on pages four seventeen to four to twenty eight, A
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  Speaker 1: little index of practical helps to serve you as you
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  Speaker 1: decide on a local church, which is such a vitally
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  Speaker 1: important decision for all of us to make. Speaking of
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  Speaker 1: opposition and challenges, why does Satan persist? Why is he
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  Speaker 1: allowed to continue roaming? Next time we'll ask Pastor John.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Tony Raiky. Will see you on Monday.