So we have rearranged things a little bit. So we're jumping ahead just a bit. But in this study of the Sermon on the Mount and where we are right now, they do flow. And so we'll make some reason behind why things are included in the sequence that they're included. But at the same time, it's not so difficult for us to take some of those pieces out of sequence. And it's fine, because Jesus is focusing on a certain lesson that I don't know how to explain it, but this outline can be taken out. And so I don't think we're losing anything in terms of context. But this particular, so there's two modules today, two different sections that we're going to get through with a lot of material, of course, as usual. But these deal with the first one, judgment. and the wisdom of judgment. And as we begin, let me ask you, what, so in general, what are the most well-known verses, biblical verses of our culture? So not thinking of, you know, within the church necessarily, but in our culture in the States, what are those verses that everybody seems to know? John 316, right? They used to be plastered in every sporting event, there would be John 316. What else? That's right. And that's, you know, that is, it's funny because, you know, we're looking at a book written by J.C. Ryle that's 150 years old, right? And he's making the same point that, you know, this is the most abused verse of our day. which is used against us as Christians, of course, and so we need to dig into that deep and try to understand that. Are there other verses that we think of? I mean, every verse is abused, I think, by the culture. I mean, even John 3.16, right, where, you know, all of the world has been saved. Christ came and all you have to do is believe. you'll have everlasting life. And that is true, of course, because, you know, the word is not false. But at the same time, if you dig into, you know, the original writing of these things, you realize that the world, the way the world is described in this instance is actually very exclusive to his people. And so you'd have to do some word study there. But so even that gets distorted. And so, and then the question of whether we're ever to judge anyone, I think that we all can wrap our brains around that and understand that that's certainly not true and we're going to see even today in this lesson that we are to judge others and how else would we know the character of others and of teachers, right? We're supposed to judge each other and teachers and be very careful, be good Bereans and not accept what we're hearing from the pulpit or from what we might read, but we're supposed to dig into the scripture and say, okay, that was true because look here, here's another example and here's more evidence and here's more support for that argument or for that teaching and we are to do that. But as we begin, let me lead us in prayer and seek the Holy Spirit's help and then we'll begin. Father in heaven, we know that without your Holy Spirit, we cannot discern this word, the truth of it. We cannot discern its application in our lives and the lives of our brothers and sisters. And so I pray that you would give us your spirit, that you would clear our minds of distractions and that you would teach us and give us wisdom through everything that we're studying here. And we pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Okay. So this is indeed probably the most abused scripture and it's not exclusive to today, obviously, because Ryle is bringing it up. a long time ago. And so we begin with verse 7. And these lessons are split into three parts, so by Ryle, which is interesting because he's kind of using different ways of splitting things apart throughout the book. But in this case, they're in parts. And so verse 7, so we're in Matthew chapter 7, verse 7. We read, judge not that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." So that's a pretty frightening statement, if we were to take it out of context, because we're the Christians who are supposed to not judge, and we're told that we will be judged by the measure of judgment that we administer to others. What about the other side that's, you know, the Christians are not to judge, everybody else can judge, and it leads to chaos? It's frequently misapplied by the enemies of true religion. And it points out that it's possible to press the words of the Bible so far that instead of yielding the medicine that they're meant to yield, that they actually yield poison. And so, and we know, as you pointed out, Sandy, people use this against us immediately. You know, well, you know, judge not because you're not supposed to judge as a Christian. So they don't know any other scripture. It's interesting that I was listening to some sermons about these texts as I was preparing. And, you know, the point is made is that, People don't know any scripture, and they don't have any interest in Christ, and they hate Christ, and they hate the Bible, and they hate what we stand for, but then they'll pull a verse out of the Bible and tell us that we're not supposed to judge. So they want to instruct us in our own word and our own religion, which is very interesting. But it yields poison when the Bible is misinterpreted and misapplied, and we know that. When Jesus says judge not, he doesn't mean that it's wrong under any circumstances to pass an unfavorable judgment on conduct and opinions of others. And we could look at a couple verses real quick. A very short verse, 1 Thessalonians 5.21, it says, but test everything and hold fast to what is good. And so everything's a pretty broad term, so I think we're supposed to, and in that, in testing, we're judging, right? I mean, that's another form and understanding of judgment. And in 1 John 4, verse 1, we read, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. And we're going to dig in a little bit deeper into false prophets here in a moment. So, we are to test things and we are to judge, but we have to do it in an appropriate way. There's another point that Ryle makes that, you know, Christians often think and, you know, we fall into this trap to think that, well, I don't want to judge anyone. because I know I'm a sinner. And that's true, right? We know every day. Our role as believers and as children in God's family is to understand repentance and understanding our sin. And the Holy Spirit reveals our sin more and more each day that we can bring it before the Lord and be forgiven and be at peace from that. But we often go too far, right? We say, well, I can't judge others because I'm just a terrible sinner. wouldn't be right and I don't want to do that. But if we were to take that mindset and wait until we're faultless before we bring up corrections in brothers and sisters or in the evils that we see in the world, well then we, you know, we would be worthless and we would not be doing, we would not be behaving as we're supposed to because such an interpretation would make it impossible to condemn any error or false doctrine ever. It would prevent anyone from attempting normal off an office of a judge. You know, you couldn't become a judge as a Christian because you can't judge others until you're perfect, essentially. And you couldn't be a minister, you couldn't be a teacher. I couldn't teach here about the scripture, which does pass judgment on how we're to behave and how we're not to behave. And so, and Rao uses a verse from Job, Job 9.24, the earth would be given into the hands of the wicked because the wicked don't adhere to our rules. And so there's obviously a way to judge without breaking God's law. And we need to think about how that can happen. But moving on, the very next verse, The next verses that we read in verses 3 through 5, we read, why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there's a log in your own eye? You hypocrite. First take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. So this is almost cartoonish, right? This is meant to be an exaggeration and a bit comical as we read it, I think. Don't ever say that the Lord doesn't have a sense of humor here because what Christ is saying is that there's a term that's used for this called censorious. It's a censorious spirit. And this is what is being condemned. And a censorious spearmint is one who has a readiness to blame others for trifling offenses or matters of indifference for pointing out the little flaws in everyone and having a propensity to do so. It's a habit of passing rash and hasty judgments, a disposition to magnify the errors and infirmities of our neighbors and make the worst of them. And so it's not It's not a normal kind of judgment, and it's not that we must again wait until all of our sin is clear and we know that we're not a sinner because that's not an accurate depiction of who we are before we can judge others, but it's an attitude of judgment. And so censorious, it's a great new term that you can add to your vocabulary. And so who had these attitudes in Christ's time? Who were the censorious spirits of his time? The Pharisees, right? Yeah, I mean they, you know, the Pharisees had added laws and rules and regulations to everything and so they were constantly pointing out the flaws in others and how they were breaking the rules that they had made, not necessarily the rule of God at all, but the rules that they had made. And the truth is, and I think if we look inside and we analyze ourselves, we may not be those kind of folks and Christians that walk around judging others, outwardly talking and pointing out flaws. But it does happen here. And we know it, right? We all do this because we all have a an idea of what we think is right, where we don't necessarily go to the gospels and to the word and make sure we line that up and dig in deep to know whether what we're saying is accurate or not, but we do judge people constantly in our minds based on what we think they should be and how they should be behaving. But what are we supposed to be? Ryle points out 1 Corinthians 13, 7, which many of us are familiar with, that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. And so we should believe all things and hope all things about others. We should be very slow to find fault. And this is Christian charity. This is who we are meant to be. But it doesn't mean that we aren't meant to judge. We're just not supposed to have this censorious spirit. And we are to look at ourselves first. I mean, what are the specks and the logs in our eyes? And, you know, one preacher, one sermon that I was listening to spoke about what it takes to be that person, right? Because to see the speck, you have to look very closely. Focused on that person very intently where you're not focused on yourself at all and you have to look very carefully And then the idea of having a log in your eye and dragging it around and still going after someone else before worrying about it it's it's a it's a comical image, but You think of who we are when we do that because we all have done that and we all do it at least in our mind it's it is comical we should see it as so that it's It's inaccurate, it's in error, and it's a bit comical. Okay, so the second part is verse six. So these are an interesting sequence of things, and to be honest, this particular verse, while I understand thinking of how it's in this context, was a little bit confusing, and so it was a good study this last couple weeks. So verse six, so Matthew 7, verse six, we read, do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you." That's a very vivid image, isn't it? And so, you know, what are we to do? So we know what this means now. We know that the truths of the gospel and the truths of the Bible are pearls. They are our truth. It's all we have to hold on to for our you know, our understanding and learning and growth in Christ, right? We have the Holy Spirit instructing us through it. We have the grace and belief in God. And he gives us this word, and these are our pearls. And we're not to throw them before unworthy people, essentially. So it speaks to the importance of exercising discretion as to the persons with whom we speak on the subject of religion. Our zeal is to be tempered by a prudent consideration of times, places, and persons, right? So there's always a wrong time, place, and even a person that maybe we shouldn't share a particular truth or a particular scripture with, or to share Christ with in general. There are times and people that it's not appropriate. And, you know, Ryle points out in Proverbs 9.8, we're told, reprove not a scorner lest he hate thee." Okay, so sharing the gospel and sharing certain things with people only fires them up, only makes them more hatred, more hateful toward Christ and toward you. There are many who are incapable of valuing the things of the gospel. They may even fly into a passion and run into greater excesses of sin if we try to do good to their souls. To name the name of Christ to those people is truly to cast pearls before swine. It actually can do harm to them, and it rouses corruption and makes them angry. So there's a couple of scriptures here. If you look at Acts 18.6, if anyone's following along here, This is Silas and Timothy in Macedonia. And so in verse five, Acts 18, five and six, actually. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. So Paul's arguing with the Jews in this case, in that particular region. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, your blood be on your own heads. I am innocent. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles. And so this is an example of turning away and not sharing the truth, of not sharing the gospel with those people because they're not worthy of it. I think it's important for us to understand that they may not be worthy now, right? I mean, people change. God calls his people from low places, and sometimes they need to be left alone. They need to be in the world that they're in. It doesn't mean that God won't call them eventually, but it means that trying to share Christ with them now even pushes them further away. And there's another verse. that Ryle uses and points out in 1st Samuel 25 17 Which I'll read for you now now therefore know this and consider what you should do for harm is determined against our master and against all his house and He is such a worthless man that one cannot speak to him So there are times and you know that you've you've interacted with people where that you can't even speak to them Because they're so angry And in a way, there are moments when maybe it's not a hostile or an angry incident, but there are times when we just should not share the truths of the gospel with people. And remembering that it's not because we don't love them and we don't want them to be part of God's kingdom, but the truth is, again, you might be pushing them farther away. You might just be turning them against. It's difficult to do this in a proper way. The right application of it needs great wisdom. However, it's important to recognize in ourselves we're more likely to err on the side of caution than over zeal, right? So we're talking about not judging and judging and when we should and when we should speak and when we should not and how we should share the gospel. The truth is most Christians are going to err on the caution of I'm humble and I'm going to be quiet because that's the right thing to do when we really should be sharing the gospel. And so let us be careful of that. We are more likely to remain silent than to speak. And it really is a lesson that should stir up self-inquiry, which is, you know, this is what the gospel does to us. This is what the word does to us. It forces us to look inside and say, you know, am I doing this rightly? And if I'm not, what should I be doing? And so this is our third point. This is why the sequence is as it is, because, you know, we have a A warning to be careful in judging and how to do it appropriately. We have a warning not to share the gospel with certain elements and in certain times, places. And so how do we do that? Because it takes so much wisdom and we're not, we're not wise. You know, we, we seek it of course, and we, we get better, I think. So we have verses seven through, through 11 here. So Jesus says, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds. And to the one who knocks, it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, Know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? And so this is about prayer. This last part is about prayer. And so how do we do this correctly? How do we gain the wisdom to discern, to know when do I speak? When do I not speak? What do I judge and how do I judge and how do I do this? Well, it's through prayer. praise God that he says if we ask we're gonna receive so if we do seek we will find and so notice the context this is also all of these verses are taken out of context often right you know we can take this out and say well if I ask for it I'm going to get it eventually because it says if I keep asking I'm going to get it and I'm gonna seek it hard whatever that might be but the context is is wisdom in a lot of ways. It's how do we know? How do we know when to judge? And how do we know who to go to and how to go to them? But it's the duty of prayer. So this last portion teaches us the duty of prayer and the rich encouragements there are to pray. If we need, if we want to know when to be silent and when to speak, we need to bring it before. When to bring forth the holy things, we need to pray about it. And we need to be in the word and in prayer. Jesus teaches us the importance and uses a very simple idea, but very broad, three different words, right? Big and broad, ask, seek, and knock. So it's obviously an extremely important aspect of our faith and of Christ's teaching is that we are to be asking and seeking and knocking and continuing through this throughout our lives. He holds it to the out the broadest fullest promise to that everyone who asks will receive Remembering the context of course He illustrates God's readiness to hear our prayers by an argument Drawn from well-known practice of parents on earth then So most parents if their child asked for food would give them food and not a rock or a serpent so It's in the broadest term, you know, God is our father and how much more is he going to give us and to listen to us and to love us and have mercy on us to our cries as his children of grace. It's his family. But it's also very simple. If we do not and everybody in the simplest person can understand this. If you do not seek, you will not find, right? That's just true. If we don't go out and seek whatever it is we're looking for, we're definitely not going to find it. And so he makes it very simple. It's plain, and it's as simple as praying. And Ryle points out the truth, and we all know this well, that we will use many forms of religion. We will attend ordinances. We will do many things that are right. We will go to church. We will do everything that we're supposed to do before we will pray. And I think it's the world, the flesh, and the devil that keeps us from it. I mean, that's Satan's tool, right? I mean, if our power is the word and prayer to Christ and our wisdom comes from him through prayer, then of course, we're meant to be drawn away from that because that's where we change and that's where we find Christ and his truth. So, do we really pray? This is Ryle summing up this section. If not, we shall at last be without excuse before God unless we repent. We shall not be condemned for not doing what we could have done or not knowing what we could not have known, but we shall find that one main reason why we are lost is this, that we never asked that we might be saved. So let us pray on and not faint. It is not lost labor. It is not useless. It will bear fruit after many days. And those of us who are older know that prayer and answers of prayer can be immediate, certainly, but it's often, it's a long run. It's a continuance in prayer and seeking and knocking and asking and seeking and knocking and asking and God answers. So let us persist in that. So are there any questions while we're kind of at this bread? So the next module is the second half of this. It's kind of two-sided. It's that we're supposed to be persistent and at the same time be patient for God's response. Persistent. is a tendency with revorged circles, I think, in modern Germans, in modern life. The other point I wanted to, you know, regarding, you know, casting referrals before pigs, you know, yeah, I, as a case in point, there's a curmudgeon that lives in my town that I've been trying to get this to, he comes down to me, which I see him everywhere, and the first shot I just, So I struggle with the urgency of the gospel, but then when you scope it out, well, I know I see this guy all the time, so I'm gonna move in a more of a direction to be his friend, to support the things that he is interested in, because I see him all the time, and I'm working back to that. So it's just an example of something that just didn't. So I appreciate that. Yeah. It's important though that we, I think that Ryan was right. We, we more often err on the side of silence, right? I mean. And there's that urgency. Like I said, I'm more prone to, you know, I'm going to talk a little bit about this tonight. I mean, I'm more, you know, we do have a bunch of lost souls going to hell out there. So. Yeah, I really appreciate also just how you brought the element of prayer and just pointing out. I mean, because we're talking about really discernment and discernment. Anyway, that was just, that was really good. I actually never really saw that connect there. But also I was just thinking, as Christ is saying, you know, judge not that you do not judge. And I was just thinking, you know, as much as we're called to discern, and so on and so forth, whether we're casting our pearls before a swine or not. But ultimately, there's one judge. So I think there's an element there, too, where we're ultimately, we're not to pronounce final judgment upon someone. I mean, we're to be discerning by the spirit and so on and so forth, and there's even a time Yeah, that's an important point. Our correction is just that, and it should be out of love, whereas God's judgment is final. Yeah, I mean we said so the second section gets into the false prophets and You know, I mean we Christian Church the Christian Church, especially in the United States, but anywhere I mean it happens everywhere just so many distortions of the Bible and false teaching, strange teaching, and some of it's not so strange, right? Some of it's very subtle. But, you know, and the point that we'll make is that if you're not a constant study of the Word and of the truth, you'll never recognize it. You know, that's the broad way, right? The broad way is not all those people who hate Christ out there and who are obvious about it. I mean, certainly they are there, but included in that group of people are those who are following after false prophets, going to church every Sunday. It's a really sad picture. charge you, right? I never hunted them, but I've heard they will come after you if they know you're after them. Let me see if I can get through these points on this second section. So this is, these are verses 12 through 20, so Matthew 7, 12 through 20, and this actually is where Christ is bringing the sermon, Sermon on the Mount, to a conclusion at this with these teachings, but we'll go backwards next week a little bit. And these are very broad in general teachings, but they're full of the deepest wisdom, right? And we see that from the very beginning. So this first point is just a general principle for our guidance. In verse 12, we read, so whatever you wish that others would do to you, Do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets. There's another verse that's often distorted, right? Because it's, I think the world says, do unto others as they do unto you, right? So if someone's nice to you, you be nice to them. And if they're mean to you or, you know, strike back. And this is a distortion of the truth, right? And what a profound thing to say. Think about what you want someone to be to you. So given a circumstance, just to make it simple, in that circumstance, how would you want them to treat you? How would you want them to respond to you? And we've seen this here, right? I mean, the whole masking thing has been crazy. And so I think we have to look inside and say, well, how do we want others to treat us in these kinds of circumstances? But it happens constantly. And it's so different to do that deep dive thinking. It's much easier to say, well, they did that to me, so I'll do that to them. That's simple. It's very difficult to say, how would I want to be treated right now if I were in their shoes? Because that takes a deep analysis, doesn't it? Compared to, OK, they did this, I do that. So how wise is that idea? It's extremely deep. principle for guidance in all doubtful questions between man and man. We are to do to others as we would have others do to us. We are not to deal with others the way others deal with us. This is selfishness and hedonism. We are to deal with others as we would like others to deal with us. This is true Christianity. This is also the golden rule which used to be a central element of our society, right? And it has stayed that central element, but it's twisted into what we were just discussing that, you know, as long as they're nice to me, I'd be nice to them. The golden rule. It used to be taught in school. It used to be part of our culture. It forbids all petty malice and revenge. because nobody wants revenge, right? I would never say, well, I hope that guy gets revenge on me for the wrong that I did to him. It prevents cheating because no one wants to be cheated on. Overreaching, and it does much more. It prevents the necessity of laying down endless little rules for our conduct in specific cases. It sweeps the whole debatable ground with one mighty principle. It shows us a balance and measure by which everyone can see at once that is his duty. So, how many intricate questions, how many questions would be decided at once if the rule were honestly applied, right? And it's interesting because the world does, I think anyway, I see that the world does latch on to this. If you read any good management book in business, what you'll find is that, you know, you're supposed to do a deep analysis of who your employees are How you know you're supposed to put yourself in their shoes But we don't we don't live that out in our daily lives Okay, so then the second point in verses 13 and 14 is a caution against the way of many in religion and let's And let's go ahead and add the world's religion So you can you can take out the known religions of Islam and Christianity and whatever everybody worships worship something I mean, they do, whether they claim to or not, they have their religion. And, you know, I mean, you see right now there's a lot of sort of political, the way I think religion that goes on. It seems to supersede whatever religion people might have. But you know what I'm saying. People have a religion. They are religious about their beliefs and something. So let's just go ahead and lump that together. And so in verse 13, we read, Enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction and those who enter by it are many for the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few. So Jesus cautions against the way of many religions. It's not enough to think as others think and do as others do. The way that leads to everlasting life is narrow and few travel in it. He tells us that the way that leads to everlasting destruction is broad, full of travelers, and many are there that go that way. This doesn't mean that in heaven, on judgment day, that there won't be millions and billions of Christians, but it does mean that there's a large population that is on the wide path. It doesn't mean that they also won't enter the narrow path eventually and be called by God to be one of his people. But let's face it, we're outnumbered. I think that's true. I think that we could be in times in history and in places in the world where you're surrounded by real believers. You might be the only believer. In our region, I would say the numbers are pretty thin. We are surrounded by those on the wide path, the path of destruction. So, but it's a fearful truth, right? Because if we're on the path of destruction, it does mean just that, that the end is destruction. It ought to raise great searchings in our hearts, in the minds of all who hear it. Which way am I going? What road am I traveling on? in one or other of the two ways here described, you will be found. So you are either on the narrow path or you're on the wide path. So eternal salvation, eternal damnation, you're on one of those roads. That's the way it is. So we may well tremble and be afraid if our religion is that of the multitude, of the wide path. If we can say no more than this, we go where others go and we worship where others worship and we hope we shall do as well as others at last well we are literally pronouncing our own condemnation and this is most other religions if you break them down it's it's a 50% you know it's a 51% good 49% bad you're you're good to go so if you just follow people and be good then You know, you'll find your way in heaven and of course, you'll make mistakes but that's OK because you got 49.999 whatever percent to go. It's a strange idea really. And so, the end in that case is destruction. But we have no reason to be discouraged and cast down. if the religion we profess is not popular and few agree with us. So the broad way, the broad path of destruction is full of people. And we all know what it feels like to be not part of the group and to be the one, the odd man out. And as Christians, we are. We are. We're the odd man out. Our culture turns more and more toward a I mean, I'm not a political analyst. I don't know where we're going. It's, you know, we have post-modernism. We have, I know as a scientist that the truths of God's creation are used in ways to say, see, see there, that's why there can be no supernatural thing. And which is interesting because as a Christian, I look at it and I go, whoa, nobody could ever do that. I mean, we can't even come close to what the cell is doing or what that one protein is doing, let alone the entire spectrum of life. But, you know, it's presuppositions and perspective. But we shouldn't be discouraged that we're on the narrow path. Repentance and faith in Christ and holiness in life have never been fashionable since the day that he came and proclaimed who he was, right? The true flock of Christ has always been small. It adds up over time. It must not move us to find that we are reckoned singular and peculiar and bigoted and narrow-minded, which is what the world will tell you about yourself. It's the narrow way. And surely it's better to enter into eternal life with a few than to go to destruction with the great company. So this is Ryle speaking to this. Of course, we're going to be in this narrow group, but it's okay. I mean, it's always been that way. It's just the way God chose it. Okay, and finally, so then the last point, which we have a few minutes to discuss, is a warning against false teaching. So how do we stay on the narrow path or how do we get drawn off the narrow path? I mean, of course, we have the world, the flesh, the devil, always constantly trying to pull us away from God because that's what Satan does. And that's our natural tendency is to sin and to be separated from God. We also have this enemy, the false prophet, the false teachers. You know how terrible that on top of the other things we have wolves in our midst, right? And so verse 15, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Oh, that's a judgment. Careful. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits. And so we are to judge, we are to look at our teachers, me and pastor and whoever, when you travel and whoever's instructing you or talking to you about the word, we are to look at them and check their teaching against the truth, against the gospel that we have. We are to be aware of them, if we're to keep clear of the broad way, we must beware of false teachers and they will arise. We know that for certain because they arose in the days of the apostles, even then the seeds of error were being sown, right? And Paul is correcting, right? We see that in Paul's epistles. He's correcting false teaching constantly, not just the people. They have appeared continually ever since. and we must be prepared for them and be on guard. There are thousands who seem ready to believe anything in religion if they hear it from an ordained minister. And so this is, and we still have this today, I think, because you can find a church that believes nothing of the Bible, but everything of the world, and you can hear what you want. And we are apt to believe it. The pastor says, or the priest says. But of course, these people can err just as anyone. And so even a good teacher can make a mistake. Even someone who's trained and ordained can make a mistake. And it's important that we're prepared for that. But we are to try them. Their teaching must be weighed in the balance of Holy Scripture. We are to try them by their fruits. Sound doctrine and holy living are the marks of true prophets. And we read in Matthew 15, if the blind lead the blind, they both shall fall into the ditch, right? And so it's important that the teachers and the listeners know the gospel and know the truth. What is the best safeguard then against false teaching? Of course, it's the regular study of the word of God. Prayer for the teaching of the Holy Spirit. And why is Reformed theology, why does it have a title? Why do we have a title for, we're Christians, we believe in Christ, we follow Christ, right? All of us. We have to make distinctions because there are those who don't believe the truth of the gospel. And we have to lay out very particularly, this is what we believe because here's where it says it in the Bible, right? We believe this, it says it here. We believe this, it says it here. Because we don't want to say, we believe this and we made it up and we like it. It's our rules and regulations. And we're supposed to be that diligent. We are told to be that diligent right here. Right here we're told that you can't just believe the Bible. You should know the details. Okay. The man who reads it or writes will never be allowed greatly to err. And I believe if we're in prayer and in reading constantly, then you're not going to get a perspective of God's truth and error. It may drive you to seek more questions to understand, but eventually, you will find the real truth of the gospel and of what God is saying. Nothing supplies false prophets with followers so much as spiritual sloth. under a cloak of humility. I love that statement by Ryle, right? Spiritual sloth fills the false prophets with followers because they don't read and they don't discern. They just listen and follow. So how terrible is that? But Ryle ends with this statement. Happy is he who prays over his Bible and knows the difference between truth and error in religion. There is a difference. And we are meant to know it and to use our knowledge. That's a powerful statement. There's a difference. There's a difference between truth and error in religion and we're supposed to know it. And we have zero excuse given that we can so freely read God's word. And we probably all have a number of Bibles in our homes. People throughout history and even now have no access to it or very limited access. So we have no excuse not to be in the word and understanding the truth.