2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, Deception: A present reality.
Theological Proposition/Focus: Deceptive teaching is present in our world but God is bigger than any deceptive teaching.
Homiletical Proposition/Application: Deceptive teaching is a danger we must look out for but it should not cause us to lose hope because we know that the truth of the Gospel will prevail.
Contents
- 1 Introduction:
- 1.1 Image: Deception in the Movies verses real life (Mission impossible vs identity theft)
- 1.2 Need: We need to depend on Scripture to defend against the enemies deception.
- 1.3 Preview: Deceptive teaching is a danger we must look out for but it should not cause us to lose hope because we know that the truth of the Gospel will prevail.
- 1.4 Setting the Stage:
- 2 Body
- 2.1 Deceptive teaching is dangerous to the Christian (1-5)
- 2.1.1 Deceptive teaching can rob the Christian of their hope (1-2).
- 2.1.2 Just because someone appears to have some authority or legitimacy does not mean they do (1-2).
- 2.1.3 Accurate teaching must be tested to be consistent with the message of Scripture (3-5)
- 2.1.4 Image:
- 2.1.5 MTR: Determine to study Scripture so that you are not easily deceived!
- 2.2 Deceptive teaching is present and it will get worse but we should not lose hope (6-12).
- 2.2.1 Know that even thought there is much evil in the world, it actually could be worse (6-7).
- 2.2.2 Never forget that the end is already written and God wins! (8)
- 2.2.3 Recognize the basic traits of Satan's deceptive works (9-12).
- 2.2.4 MTR: Perform a humility check, are you content waiting for Jesus or does the flash and power of deception tempt you?
- 2.3 Deceptive teaching cannot prevail against the truth of the Gospel (13-17).
- 2.1 Deceptive teaching is dangerous to the Christian (1-5)
- 3 Conclusion:
Introduction:
Image: Deception in the Movies verses real life (Mission impossible vs identity theft)
I love a good deception in a movie. One of my favorite parts of the movie mission impossible is watching the different characters reveal their rubber masks and realizing who is behind which mask and how all the little details fit together at the end. Deception is fun in the movies. However, in the real world deception is very real problem. In 2021 there were over 1.6 million cases of identity theft reported to the FTC. Just talk to banker and you will learn how big of a problem deception is in our world. Well, int he spiritual realm things are no different. Deception is a reality and we need to understand the truth that can only be found in Sc rapture.
Need: We need to depend on Scripture to defend against the enemies deception.
Preview: Deceptive teaching is a danger we must look out for but it should not cause us to lose hope because we know that the truth of the Gospel will prevail.
Setting the Stage:
Christians are inconstant danger of growing cold and losing hope. We live in fallen world a world plagued with a. constant temptation to give up and flow with the currents of society. The Christian must remember to remain firm, to hold tight to the doctrines that have been recorded for us in Scripture. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 Paul bridges an important theological gap between our progressive sanctification that comes through Christ and our need to be personally disciplined.
Christ is the one who is has, is, and will sanctify us but that does not mean we should grow complacent. Rather, as we look forward to our ultimate sanctification we should be driven to discipline ourselves more and more. The biggest threat to that drive to be spiritually disciplined is deceptive teaching and that is exactly what Paul seeks to counter right here.
In First Thessalonians Paul had taught a little on the coming Day of the Lord, a time when God would definitively intervene on the earth, judging sin and righting wrongs.
