Latest / Reformed Thinking / On Discerning Who Belongs to the True Church | John Calvin

Transcript

On Discerning Who Belongs to the True Church | John Calvin · Reformed Thinking

• 0:00
  Welcome to Reformed thinking. We're, we're doing a deep dive
• 0:02
  today and for you, the listener, we're really tackling one of the
• 0:06
  most, I think critical and challenging questions a believer
• 0:10
  can face. Absolutely.
• 0:11
  It's how do we know who truly belongs to the spiritual
• 0:15
  household of God? Exactly.
• 0:16
  I mean, you look around, you see so many organizations, so many
• 0:18
  bodies calling themselves the Church.
• 0:21
  How in the world do you identify what's genuine?
• 0:24
  Well, the source material we have for this deep dive is it's
• 0:27
  remarkably incisive and pretty uncompromising.
• 0:30
  Actually, it is. Our whole analysis is going to
• 0:32
  center on Paul's great spiritual allegory in Galatians 4,
• 0:36
  specifically verses 26 through 31.
• 0:39
  And in that passage, he draws this incredibly sharp contrast
• 0:43
  right between the earthly Jerusalem.
• 0:45
  That's law and bondage and the Jerusalem which is above.
• 0:48
  Which Paul tells us is free, which is the mother of us all
• 0:51
  and. Then it gets so personal.
• 0:52
  It shifts to the story of Abraham's sons, Ishmael and
• 0:55
  Isaac, and the distinction Paul makes there between the children
• 0:59
  of the bondwoman Hagar and the children of the free woman,
• 1:01
  Sarah. It's totally absolute.
• 1:03
  And it ends with that. That shocking verdict cast out
• 1:06
  the bondwoman and her son. For the son of the bondwoman
• 1:09
  shall not be heir with the son of the free woman.
• 1:12
  I mean, that is the ultimate conclusion.
• 1:14
  It's a very sobering one. It really is.
• 1:16
  And I think the core challenge of the passage is just
• 1:17
  recognizing that not everyone who's externally associated with
• 1:22
  Abraham or, you know, with the visible people of God, they
• 1:26
  aren't all his statement spiritual heirs.
• 1:28
  So OK, our mission today is incredibly focused.
• 1:32
  Then what specific tools does this text give us to apply that
• 1:37
  separation to the bodies we see around us today?
• 1:40
  We have to apply the discernment tools laid out right in the text
• 1:43
  to understand what genuinely makes up the household of God.
• 1:46
  And the goal isn't just, you know, intellectual.
• 1:48
  It's the practical separation of pure divine doctrine, what our
• 1:52
  source keeps calling the good seed from every single human
• 1:55
  invention, every form of self merit, and all the spiritual
• 1:58
  hypocrisy that tries to hide under the name of Christ.
• 2:01
  And the stakes here are just monumental.
• 2:04
  This is so far beyond arguing about buildings or ceremonies.
• 2:08
  This is about the certainty of salvation, but understanding
• 2:11
  regeneration and knowing exactly how we were adopted into God's
• 2:14
  family. And the Source doesn't start
• 2:17
  gently. It begins with an immediate,
• 2:19
  stark warning. OK, let's unpack this.
• 2:24
  So the very first point we have to grasp, and this is drawn
• 2:26
  straight from that allegory of Hagar and Sarah, is the whole
• 2:29
  context of spiritual illegitimacy.
• 2:32
  And that's a frightening thought, isn't it?
• 2:34
  It is the idea that many who associate with God's name, who
• 2:38
  present themselves as believers, are in God's eyes, illegitimate
• 2:42
  children, disowned. Regardless of how esteemed or
• 2:45
  successful or numerous they seem to the world.
• 2:47
  Right. I think this is a concept we
• 2:48
  kind of avoid in modern thought. The idea that just being a
• 2:51
  member of a religious organization, even one with a
• 2:53
  long history, doesn't guarantee spiritual legitimacy.
• 2:56
  Not at all. So where does this illegitimacy
• 2:59
  come from? It stems directly from the
• 3:01
  corruption of the good seed. That's the key.
• 3:04
  If the seed, which is the pure doctrine of the gospel, is
• 3:07
  corrupted, if you mix it with anything human, it just loses
• 3:10
  his power to regenerate. So being born again requires a
• 3:14
  perfect pure seed. It does.
• 3:16
  Our source argues that the true problem lies with those who
• 3:19
  twist the natural meaning of Scripture, who introduce their
• 3:22
  own conditions for salvation or their own rules for worship.
• 3:26
  So the issue isn't just behavioral, it's it's
• 3:28
  existential. What good is it to be recognized
• 3:32
  by the world as part of the Church if you haven't actually
• 3:34
  been born of that pure, incorruptible seed?
• 3:37
  Precisely if they call God their Father, but at the same time
• 3:40
  they're introducing their own fabrications alongside His Word,
• 3:44
  the source is clear. They're acting as liars and
• 3:46
  hypocrites. They might have the forms of
• 3:48
  religion. Oh they do, but the external
• 3:50
  appearance means nothing if the doctrine that gives spiritual
• 3:53
  life is corrupted. They can claim the title
• 3:56
  Christian, but if they refuse to be governed by the word of God
• 3:59
  alone, their claim is just baseless.
• 4:02
  It's a claim rooted in the flesh, not the spirit.
• 4:05
  Which makes them children of the bondwoman.
• 4:07
  Now Paul gives the true church tremendous honor in this
• 4:10
  passage. He calls it the heavenly
• 4:12
  Jerusalem and the mother of us all.
• 4:14
  And the source reinforces that sighting.
• 4:16
  First Timothy 3, which calls the church the pillar which upholds
• 4:19
  God's truth in this world. Right?
• 4:22
  But that phrase needs careful handling.
• 4:24
  On the surface, it sounds a little like the stability of
• 4:27
  God's truth rests entirely on, well, on us, on the efforts of
• 4:31
  unstable human beings. And that potential
• 4:34
  misunderstanding needs very careful clarification.
• 4:38
  The source is so precise in explaining this.
• 4:41
  The statement does not in any way suggest that the stability
• 4:44
  or the truthfulness of God's truth depends on us fickle,
• 4:47
  inconstant sinners who are just prone to falsehood.
• 4:50
  So God's truth can't possibly rest on the shoulders of
• 4:52
  unstable men if it. Did it would collapse
• 4:54
  immediately? Instantly.
• 4:56
  Then what does it mean that the church is the pillar of?
• 4:58
  Truth. It means that through God's
• 5:00
  incredible, unfailing kindness, He chose the true Church, the
• 5:04
  spiritual, invisible body of believers, as the vehicle, the
• 5:08
  repository where He has placed His incorruptible seed, His
• 5:11
  Word. So the.
• 5:12
  Church is the instrument chosen for the stewardship and
• 5:14
  proclamation of that truth. Exactly.
• 5:16
  It holds it up not as its author, but as its custodian.
• 5:20
  So while the Church is rightly called our spiritual mother
• 5:23
  because she delivers and feeds us with the Word.
• 5:25
  God alone remains the Father. The text even cites Matthew 23
• 5:28
  to confirm this, that we should call no man on earth our Father
• 5:32
  in this spiritual, regenerative sense.
• 5:34
  And that's absolutely necessary for the doctrine to remain pure.
• 5:38
  God can have no rivals in bringing about eternal life.
• 5:41
  He provides the hope, and He uses His true church for this
• 5:44
  mission because that is where He has securely deposited his seed.
• 5:48
  It's the mechanism of delivery. Delivery and nourishment, not
• 5:52
  the originator. We see this in Isaiah 59, which
• 5:55
  talks about God governing His people through His Word.
• 5:57
  That message is bestowed on the Church as a deposit, a priceless
• 6:01
  treasure for salvation, regeneration and spiritual
• 6:04
  nourishment. And if the church fails in that
• 6:06
  primary task? It forfeits its title as the
• 6:09
  true mother. This brings us to a crucial
• 6:11
  point about misuse. I mean, the source is
• 6:13
  historical, but this wisdom is so relevant today because of the
• 6:17
  persistent error of misusing the very term church to obscure
• 6:22
  God's truth. Yes, the historical application
• 6:25
  here is exceptionally pointed. The source specifically
• 6:28
  criticizes those who, when they're faced with the demands
• 6:31
  of God's Word, they use the institution itself as a shield.
• 6:35
  They deflect criticism by saying the church is against you or we
• 6:39
  have tradition on our side. And that leveraging of
• 6:42
  institutional authority becomes the means to silence the voice
• 6:46
  of God. And the accusation is severe.
• 6:48
  By placing the authority of the institution above Scripture,
• 6:51
  they're effectively trying to seal up the mouth of God,
• 6:53
  trample His Word, and replace it with their own fabrications.
• 6:56
  And then they declare these human inventions as necessary
• 6:59
  truths and demand submission to them unreservedly.
• 7:02
  This is the ultimate expression of human pride.
• 7:04
  It is our source does not mince words here.
• 7:07
  It says that men who are no more substantial than earthworms and
• 7:10
  dung in the face of God, consider themselves equal to God
• 7:13
  by substituting their own authority for His.
• 7:16
  And they do this under the guise of a self-proclaimed visible
• 7:19
  church. But, Paul warns us, legitimacy
• 7:22
  doesn't come from tradition or human decree.
• 7:25
  It comes only from adherence to pure doctrine, because that
• 7:28
  alone is the good seed through which God adopts us as His
• 7:32
  children. That sets the condition for
• 7:34
  entrance into the true household.
• 7:35
  Then to be grafted into the body of Christ you have to 1st come
• 7:40
  to grips with a pretty painful reality that we are accursed by
• 7:44
  nature. It is the absolute prerequisite.
• 7:46
  We have to recognize our natural state as being justly under
• 7:49
  condemnation. We have to understand that all
• 7:52
  our works, even the ones that seem good to the world, are
• 7:55
  nothing more than filthy rags against God's holiness.
• 7:58
  We are by default under the rule of the devil.
• 8:01
  And the only possible escape is God's intervention, his
• 8:04
  sovereign mercy to rescue us through the grace earned by
• 8:07
  Jesus Christ. If we try to skip that step,
• 8:09
  that recognition of total helplessness, and try to enter
• 8:12
  the household of God through any other means.
• 8:14
  Then we fall into the category of the illegitimate absolutely
• 8:17
  that recognition of utter dependence is the only door.
• 8:21
  Which must then dictate the Church's function.
• 8:23
  Yes, the true Church can only bear us as her children through
• 8:27
  the incorruptible seed that is pure doctrine, which establishes
• 8:31
  and proclaims this grace and nothing else.
• 8:33
  So if the visible church starts mixing in human conditions,
• 8:36
  demanding penances, asserting free will as a Co contributor.
• 8:40
  Or requiring meritorious works alongside Christ's sacrifice.
• 8:44
  It ceases to administer the pure seed.
• 8:46
  It fosters illegitimacy. The text then moves us from that
• 8:50
  doctrinal basis of legitimacy to the practical application of
• 8:54
  discernment in our own lives. Right.
• 8:56
  The source outlines 2 crucial points.
• 8:58
  The first one is intensely personal.
• 9:01
  Humble attention to the Word, right?
• 9:02
  This address is a really deeply rooted spiritual error that the
• 9:06
  Source saw then and well, we certainly see now.
• 9:09
  Those who claim to be believers but never genuinely engage with
• 9:13
  or listen to the preached word. They have this distorted view of
• 9:16
  the Holy Spirit's work, imagining that revelation will
• 9:18
  come through some, you know, dramatic event like a vision or
• 9:21
  some such thing, and it bypasses the need for just mundane
• 9:26
  systematic instruction. It seems like they despise
• 9:29
  doctrine itself. They see it as DRY, or
• 9:31
  theoretical, or maybe just basic instruction for new believers.
• 9:36
  And that neglect is spiritual suicide.
• 9:39
  Those who think they're beyond learning, or that they've
• 9:41
  advanced past the need for the alphabet of faith, they're
• 9:44
  allowing themselves to be easily LED astray by Satan's most
• 9:47
  subtle Wiles. So if we desire to be true,
• 9:50
  legitimate children of God. We must assume the posture of
• 9:54
  teachability. What does that teachability look
• 9:57
  like in practice, specifically in the context of the gathered
• 10:00
  church? It means maintaining order in
• 10:02
  the church with genuine reverence and humility.
• 10:05
  It means submitting our intellect and our will to the
• 10:08
  teaching of Scripture, as it's publicly proclaimed and the
• 10:10
  source stresses. No one is exempt from this.
• 10:13
  No one, even the greatest among us, kings and Princess.
• 10:16
  They have to recognize that their highest dignity is not in
• 10:19
  their earthly power, but in the simple, humble status of being a
• 10:23
  child of God. Tries to exempt himself from the
• 10:26
  condition of learning from the word if he thinks he's
• 10:29
  self-sufficient. He's rejecting God completely.
• 10:32
  Precisely. He's cutting himself off from
• 10:35
  the very source of life and all hope of salvation.
• 10:38
  Therefore, the key action for us while we were in this world is
• 10:43
  making it our primary business to profit from the Word of God
• 10:46
  day after day. It is Scripture is the key to
• 10:49
  spiritual life and we are commanded to nourish ourselves
• 10:52
  with it continually. I think that's a powerful
• 10:54
  corrective in an age that prizes instant revelation and dramatic
• 10:59
  experience. The source demands continuous,
• 11:01
  quiet submission to systematic teaching.
• 11:04
  It's the only food for the soul. We must never allow pride to
• 11:08
  creep in thinking we are no longer students of the Word.
• 11:11
  We're instructed to accept what is taught daily and to allow the
• 11:13
  Word to govern us. This constant humble submission
• 11:16
  is the internal mark. It is of the legitimate child of
• 11:19
  the true Church. Which brings us to the second,
• 11:22
  equally vital point. Which moves us from our internal
• 11:25
  posture to external practice, seeking the certain infallible
• 11:29
  signs of the true Church. This is about being spiritually
• 11:31
  wise. Right, not behaving like animals
• 11:34
  who are led by the rains across the fields, just blindly
• 11:36
  following without discernment. So we need wisdom.
• 11:39
  We must ask God for wisdom so that our minds aren't clouded by
• 11:43
  vanity or historical prestige. God has provided certain signs
• 11:48
  within it which will not fail as a means of discerning His true
• 11:51
  people. We have to look beyond mere
• 11:54
  appearances. OK, the source provides 4
• 11:56
  specific indicators. Let's really dedicate some time
• 12:00
  to these because these are the practical tools for the
• 12:02
  listener. The first sign is foundational.
• 12:05
  Where God's Word is preached faithfully without any human
• 12:08
  addition. That's huge.
• 12:09
  This means the authority of Scripture is absolute and
• 12:12
  singular. The true Church doesn't invent
• 12:15
  new articles of faith. It doesn't elevate traditions or
• 12:18
  papal decrees or charismatic experiences to the level of
• 12:21
  Scripture. If the preacher speaking, he has
• 12:23
  to be opening the text and showing the listener what God
• 12:26
  says, not what man imagines. The moment the purity of the
• 12:30
  word is diluted by adding human rights or unnecessary
• 12:32
  ceremonies, the legitimacy of the church is compromised.
• 12:35
  It's like adding poison to clean water.
• 12:38
  Which leads right to the second sign.
• 12:39
  Where the gospel is unadulterated.
• 12:41
  What does the adulteration of the Gospel look like
• 12:43
  practically? It looks like mixing grace with
• 12:46
  human conditions. The unadulterated gospel is pure
• 12:49
  grace based entirely on the finished work of Christ.
• 12:53
  Adulteration happens when works, merit, penance, human effort are
• 12:57
  introduced as necessary contributions to justification.
• 13:00
  So if a church says Christ did the main part but you have to do
• 13:04
  the rest. They've corrupted the seed.
• 13:06
  They have exchanged the freedom of Sarah for the bondage of
• 13:09
  Hagar. The true Church proclaims
• 13:11
  salvation by faith alone through Christ alone.
• 13:14
  And the third sign flows from that, where people are LED
• 13:17
  directly to God to seek in Him all that they lack complete
• 13:21
  dependence. This means the true Church
• 13:23
  establishes Christ as the only mediator.
• 13:26
  If people are taught to seek intercession through Saints or
• 13:28
  Mary or a priestly class, their dependence has been misplaced.
• 13:32
  The true Church leads the broken soul directly to the mercy seat.
• 13:35
  Stripped of all self-reliance right to God in Christ, they
• 13:39
  seek sufficiency in Him because they understand they lack
• 13:41
  everything in themselves. And the fourth and final sign
• 13:44
  where they follow Jesus Christ is the only way set before.
• 13:47
  Which then manifests invisible behavior.
• 13:49
  Doctrine is never divorced from life.
• 13:52
  If the pure seed is planted, it will bear fruit.
• 13:54
  OK. And this following means that
• 13:57
  believers must rid themselves of pride and arrogance and instead
• 14:01
  clothe themselves with Christ's spiritual qualities, humility,
• 14:05
  charity, obedience. But this isn't the basis of
• 14:08
  salvation. No, no, that's grace alone.
• 14:11
  But it is the evidence of regeneration.
• 14:13
  The illegitimate children who rely on works are filled with
• 14:16
  outward show but inward pride. The legitimate children relying
• 14:21
  on grace pursue holiness as a response of gratitude.
• 14:24
  So when we see these 4 signs, visible word without additions,
• 14:28
  gospel, unadulterated, complete dependence on God, and practical
• 14:32
  humility following Christ, we can be sure that God exempts him
• 14:35
  as his children. This is the certain and
• 14:38
  infallible means of discernment. It stops us from being like so
• 14:41
  many people who just close their eyes and shut their ears,
• 14:44
  thinking they are justified just by claiming to belong to some
• 14:47
  historic institution, even while they're actively following
• 14:50
  deception and lies. The true Church is where we're
• 14:52
  spiritually born and nourished by the pure seed.
• 14:55
  Any place lacking those 4 signs, regardless of its size, its
• 14:59
  antiquity, its wealth, it cannot claim the title of the true
• 15:02
  mother. OK, so if the discerning marks
• 15:04
  are predominantly spiritual doctrine, grace, humility, it
• 15:09
  begs the question, how do we avoid being seduced by things we
• 15:13
  can see? Things like history, prestige,
• 15:16
  worldly success. That is the pivotal question the
• 15:19
  section addresses. The source points out that we
• 15:21
  have to resist judging the church based on carnal, visible
• 15:25
  standards. And Paul quotes Isaiah to make
• 15:27
  this. Point He does rejoice, thou
• 15:29
  Baron, that bearest not. And this prophecy is not a
• 15:33
  random reference. It speaks specifically to God's
• 15:35
  elect remnant after the terrible apostasy of the Jewish people.
• 15:38
  It refers to a small, often rejected group that God gathered
• 15:42
  to himself. That's a surprising image, isn't
• 15:44
  it? We often equate success with
• 15:46
  expansion and influence, but the Prophet describes the true
• 15:49
  Church as barren or desolate. The true Church is emphatically
• 15:53
  not designed to be triumphant in a worldly sense.
• 15:55
  During this age. It's often hidden without the
• 15:57
  kind of splendor and magnificence that would
• 15:59
  immediately capture your heart. Historically, it often appears
• 16:02
  desolate and disfigured. Like a barren woman who lacks
• 16:06
  societal support and visible airs.
• 16:09
  And God ordains this appearance to prevent human pride and
• 16:12
  reliance on earthly stability. This is the direct opposite of
• 16:16
  how the enemies of truth try to prove their legitimacy, the
• 16:19
  source says. They point to their wealth,
• 16:21
  their massive popularity, all their pomp and splendor as
• 16:25
  irrefutable evidence. They demand that we judge based
• 16:28
  on the visible metrics of success, but the source rejects
• 16:31
  this completely, labeling it judging carnally or according to
• 16:35
  the flesh. Christ gave no promise of
• 16:38
  earthly ease. None.
• 16:39
  He desired to reign here below, surrounded by his enemies.
• 16:43
  His disciples were explicitly warned they would be rejected,
• 16:46
  despised, troubled and given no peace or rest in this life.
• 16:49
  We're told to expect the Cross, not the Crown, during our
• 16:52
  earthly pilgrimage. So we have to train our
• 16:54
  spiritual eyes not to be distracted by vanity when we see
• 16:57
  the true church being afflicted, trampled upon, appearing
• 17:01
  desolate. That shouldn't shake our faith.
• 17:03
  It should confirm our understanding of Christ's reign.
• 17:06
  The call is one of patience. When the church appears weak and
• 17:10
  it's enemies act proudly, we must patiently wait for God to
• 17:13
  gather together His elect. Our contentment has to rest
• 17:17
  entirely on the knowledge that we're his children by grace.
• 17:20
  Even if the world despises and rejects us for our lack of
• 17:23
  earthly show. And this ties right into the
• 17:26
  Ishmaelite boast, this claim of superiority based on external
• 17:30
  factors like seniority or a multitude of followers.
• 17:34
  Yes, the source specifically mentions those who boast of
• 17:36
  having 8 or 900 years of traditions and ceremonies,
• 17:40
  inferring that ancient practice must mean true practice.
• 17:42
  But that claim of seniority of being the first born is
• 17:46
  irrelevant to spiritual inheritance.
• 17:48
  Utterly irrelevant. Ishmael was literally first
• 17:50
  born, but that biological fact made him no more important than
• 17:53
  Isaac, the child of promise. Similarly, the claim of a vast
• 17:57
  multitude with kings and Princess among them, their
• 18:00
  domain extending across huge regions of the world.
• 18:03
  All of this amounts to no more than the seniority of Ishmael.
• 18:06
  A multitude can just as easily signify widespread deception as
• 18:10
  widespread truth. Right.
• 18:11
  So the critical lack of true proof isn't in the history books
• 18:15
  or census data, it's in the doctrinal content.
• 18:18
  The question should be, do they live according to the teaching
• 18:22
  of the law and the Gospel? And crucially, adding nothing of
• 18:26
  their own devising by adulterating the purity of the
• 18:29
  Word of God, their doctrine becomes corrupt and
• 18:31
  illegitimate, regardless of how many centuries they can trace
• 18:34
  their lineage or how many cathedrals they possess.
• 18:37
  And this doctrinal corruption is often hidden beneath a mask of
• 18:41
  representation. The source notes that simple
• 18:43
  souls are seduced by hearing these impressive noble titles.
• 18:47
  Catholic Church, Apostolic Throne, Vicar of Jesus Christ,
• 18:51
  successor to Peter and Paul, high-ranking prelates, Bishops.
• 18:55
  They're captivated by the grandeur of this external mask.
• 18:58
  The human mind is so easily swayed by pomp and official
• 19:01
  titles. When the source says that those
• 19:03
  who make this boast are the representative church, it speaks
• 19:06
  the truth. But ironically, how so?
• 19:08
  They are no more than a representation, a stage play.
• 19:11
  They're compared to a beautifully damped metal where
• 19:13
  all that glitters is not gold. The shine is external, the
• 19:16
  substance is counterfeit. That is incredibly strong
• 19:19
  rhetoric. The question for us then has to
• 19:21
  cut through that mask. How do we judge them?
• 19:24
  We judge them solely by whether they teach the truth that pure,
• 19:28
  unadulterated seed. If they do not, then all their
• 19:32
  titles and external pomp are worthless.
• 19:35
  In fact, if they teach lies under the guise of the Church,
• 19:39
  their condemnation is magnified. And we have to acknowledge the
• 19:42
  source uses highly charged language here.
• 19:45
  It does, calling them illegitimate, belonging to the
• 19:47
  brothel or the synagogue of Satan.
• 19:50
  This severe language reflects the theological view that
• 19:53
  anybody corrupting the doctrine of salvation isn't just
• 19:56
  mistaken, it's actively working against Christ and.
• 19:59
  Their end is certain. They will be ultimately cut off
• 20:02
  as rotten branches with no spiritual inheritance.
• 20:05
  Paul's message in Galatians prepares us to recognize this
• 20:08
  deception and persevere even when these domestic enemies, the
• 20:12
  ones hiding within the structures of religion, oppress
• 20:15
  us. It gives us permission to reject
• 20:16
  the mask and focus on the doctrine.
• 20:18
  Now we have to address one of the most surprising
• 20:21
  interpretations Paul makes in Galatians.
• 20:23
  In the Genesis account, when Isaac was weaned, Ishmael just
• 20:26
  laughed mockingly at him. Yet Paul calls this simple act
• 20:31
  of mockery persecution. Yeah, that stretches our modern
• 20:34
  definition of persecution, doesn't it?
• 20:36
  We usually reserve that for physical violence, imprisonment,
• 20:39
  torture. How can a laugh be equated with
• 20:42
  a sword? Well, persecution is not solely
• 20:44
  defined by physical suffering. A child of God can be absolutely
• 20:47
  drowned and tormented by the torrent of abuse and slander
• 20:51
  that unbelievers and enemies of the truth spew out.
• 20:54
  We're reminded the Psalms where the approach is made against God
• 20:57
  are also felt by His people. Exactly.
• 20:59
  The suffering of the true believer often involves enduring
• 21:01
  the scoffing and disdain of the world.
• 21:03
  Ishmael's. Specific mockery, so injurious?
• 21:05
  Was it just general scorn? No the offense.
• 21:08
  Was laser focused. Ishmael mocked the promise made
• 21:11
  to Isaac. That promise was that through
• 21:13
  Isaac, the world would receive the blessing pointing ultimately
• 21:16
  to Christ. So mocking this.
• 21:17
  Promise was giving a mortal wound to the children of
• 21:21
  adoption by disdainfully. Attacking the very source of
• 21:24
  highest good and eternal Felicity, the gospel itself.
• 21:27
  So if God's. Name is slandered, His honor
• 21:30
  under mine or the doctrine of salvation is twisted.
• 21:33
  We should be moved with anger and indignation.
• 21:37
  We're called to feel a spiritual anguish.
• 21:40
  Yes, and the source. Makes an extraordinary statement
• 21:42
  here. When doctrines that bring life
• 21:45
  are sought to be wiped out, we should feel more anguish and
• 21:47
  indignation than if our own bodies were afflicted by
• 21:50
  torments. That puts the value.
• 21:52
  Of truth above our own physical well-being.
• 21:55
  It does. The battle is not for comfort.
• 21:58
  The battle is for the purity of the incorruptible seed.
• 22:01
  If wicked men alter and falsify the doctrine that brings
• 22:04
  spiritual life, they are turning meat into poison, life into
• 22:08
  death, light Into Darkness for countless souls.
• 22:10
  That's why spiritual. Slander and mockery are so
• 22:13
  serious they attack the foundation.
• 22:15
  Of grace itself, this intensity. Of spiritual warfare brings us
• 22:19
  back to the core identity of the true believer.
• 22:21
  It establishes this fundamental difference in confidence.
• 22:24
  Right we are. Children of promise like Isaac,
• 22:27
  which radically prevents any and all vain confidence in personal
• 22:30
  merits or that identity shapes. Everything it does.
• 22:35
  If we're children of promise, it means our inheritance is
• 22:37
  entirely unearned. God looked upon us in mercy,
• 22:41
  plucked us out of the abyss of hell where we once belonged, and
• 22:45
  through the Gospel He became our Father and the inheritance.
• 22:49
  Is bought not by ourselves, but solely by Jesus Christ, our only
• 22:53
  contribution. Was our sin.
• 22:55
  This contrasts. So sharply with the illegitimate
• 22:57
  children whom the source describes as those who falsely
• 23:00
  glory in God's name, being full of presumption and hypocrisy,
• 23:04
  they're the ones who try to bridge the.
• 23:05
  Gap between human effort and divine requirement They talk
• 23:09
  incessantly of free will, claiming that man can choose and
• 23:12
  contribute to his own salvation. They speak of meritorious works
• 23:15
  and penances, asserting that certain actions can earn
• 23:18
  spiritual credit. They also rely on the.
• 23:20
  Virtues, but as their own achievement exactly they're
• 23:23
  ultimately. Puffed up with pride because
• 23:25
  they believe they have some measure of control or
• 23:27
  contribution. So if we.
• 23:29
  Wish to enjoy assurance of salvation?
• 23:32
  Paul demands that we never entertain thoughts of our own
• 23:35
  merit or believe we can contribute anything of
• 23:37
  ourselves. It's simply a matter.
• 23:39
  Of accepting what is offered Absolutely.
• 23:42
  Jesus Christ is the Savior, not half a savior, right?
• 23:45
  The law represented by Mount Sinai has conditions attached to
• 23:48
  its promises. Do this and live.
• 23:51
  But the promise referred to here in Galatians abolishes all human
• 23:55
  pride and reveals that man is utterly lost, unable to meet any
• 23:59
  condition, and must seek salvation in God alone.
• 24:03
  The difference between. Relying on Hagar the flesh and
• 24:07
  Sarah the spirit which gives birth through.
• 24:09
  The word This leads to the. Inevitable and final verdict
• 24:12
  against the children of the Bond woman.
• 24:14
  All those who boast in the name of the Church, relying on
• 24:17
  antiquity or multitude, and claim the rights of the first
• 24:19
  born, including those Antichrist.
• 24:21
  Figures who set themselves up in the temple of God.
• 24:23
  They will all be cast. Out as bastard children, the
• 24:26
  source reminds. Us of that stark prophecy in
• 24:29
  Second Thessalonians about the Antichrist, the man of
• 24:31
  lawlessness who opposes and exalts himself above every
• 24:35
  object of worship. Our source applies this analogy
• 24:38
  to those within the visible church who claim divine
• 24:41
  authority while contradicting God's Word.
• 24:43
  They sit in the temple. The visible church and claim the
• 24:46
  authority of God, but they do so.
• 24:48
  Based on human deceit, so the instruction.
• 24:51
  For us in the present trial is to remain sober and steady.
• 24:54
  Do not be dazzled. By the splendor or the tyranny
• 24:56
  of the foes, because their end is certain, they will be cut
• 24:59
  off. They will be scraped off like
• 25:00
  mud or dung. This judgement may be hidden
• 25:03
  from our eyes in this life, but we must wait for God to manifest
• 25:07
  His truth more openly. So our call to.
• 25:10
  Action is perseverance. It is.
• 25:12
  We have to. Stand firm with faithfulness,
• 25:14
  persevering in the holy calling, leaning solely on the Gospel
• 25:18
  doctrines, and renouncing every single foolish invention of man.
• 25:22
  We must wait for Christ to confound His foes by the sword
• 25:25
  of His mouth. The pure, unmixed power of His
• 25:27
  Word we have not been taught. His precious word in vain.
• 25:31
  We must continually seek spiritual life only through that
• 25:34
  pure seed that brings regeneration.
• 25:35
  That's it. This deep dive into the source
• 25:37
  material has given us a clear and demanding metric for
• 25:41
  discerning the true church. It really flips our worldly
• 25:44
  assumptions upside down, telling us to look past the beautiful
• 25:47
  mask of institutional success and instead.
• 25:49
  Seek the desolate, the rejected, and the doctrinally pure.
• 25:53
  We've established that. The two non negotiable marks of
• 25:56
  the true Church are first the pure and unadulterated preaching
• 26:01
  of the Word preached. Without human additions and 2nd.
• 26:05
  That this preaching consistently leads believers away from every
• 26:08
  notion of self merit and solely to the sufficiency of Christ's
• 26:12
  grace. It requires a.
• 26:13
  Profound shifting of allegiance from what the world values
• 26:17
  wealth and seniority to what God requires.
• 26:20
  Humble submission to the incorruptible seed and the
• 26:22
  source leaves us. With a provocative reflection
• 26:25
  reminding us of the ultimate spiritual valuation we have to
• 26:28
  hold, it states that if a million lives on earth cannot
• 26:31
  compare to eternity in heaven promised by Christ, we have to
• 26:34
  question our own commitment to the truth.
• 26:36
  And that leads to the final. Question we'll leave you with
• 26:38
  today considering the Supreme. Value of the doctrine of life
• 26:41
  and the eternity promised by Christ.
• 26:43
  What personal earthly loss, physical affliction, or social
• 26:46
  scorn would you still be willing to receive rather than allow
• 26:50
  God's name to be blasphemed or the doctrine of life corrupted?
• 26:53
  This truly measures whether you hunger for the incorruptible
• 26:56
  seed of the True Mother.