Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20020908.htm

CHRIST'S SCRIPTURE PROPHECY ON CONTEMPORARY EVANGELICALISM
Part IV: Christ's All-Sufficiency Applied For Victory
A. Christ's All-Sufficiency Offered To Wean Us From The Idol Of Evangelicalism To Himself
2. Christ's All-Sufficiency Posed To Use Evangelicalism's Persecutors To Wean Us From It To Himself
a. Christ's Offer To Let Persecutors Shift Our Reliance On Evangelicalism To Himself
(Revelation 3:18b[a])
  1. Introduction
    1. If Christ predicted our current Evangelical era of Church History, and critiqued our errant actions and beliefs thereby, we should expect Him to offer His specific solutions to these needs.
    2. Rev. 3:18b continues Christ's address on solving our needs by correcting our trust in Evangelicalism:
  2. Christ's Offer To Let Persecutors Shift Our Reliance On Evangelicalism To Himself, Rev. 3:18b[a].
    1. Jesus has "counseled" us Evangelicals to "buy from me gold refined in the fire," Revelation 3:18b[a] NIV.
    2. Examining the Scripture's context on this phrase reveals what this passage's TRIAL entails (as follows):
      1. Besides Rev. 3:18b[a], the sole other N.T. reference to a test where the "gold tried in the fire" figure is used is 1 Peter 1:7, cf. Moulton & Geden, A Concordance To The Greek Testament, p. 1019.
      2. That 1 Peter context reveals the Rev. 3:18b[a] trial to be persecution by carnal, legalistic Evangelicals:
        1. The 1 Peter persecution came from legalistic Judaizers who claimed to hold to Scripture while failing to obey it, and who opposed faith in Christ: (a) The word, diasporas rendered "scattered" in 1 Peter 1:1 NIV is a term for Hebrews scattered by oppressors, Bible Know. Com., N.T., p. 839. (b) This occurred as Hebrew believers fled Israel from persecuting, legalistic countrymen who held to Scripture in name but not in deed (Mtt. 23:1-3 with Acts 7:51-8:1; 14:2; 17:5-8 and Gal. 4:29)
        2. Applied to Rev. 3:18[a], Evangelicals who claim to heed Scripture, but who hypocritically and/or legalistically fail to obey it in life persecute believers who obey Scripture! (cf. Galatians 4:29)
      3. Just why and how this persecution occurs is explained in the 1 Peter context applied to Rev. 3:18b[a]:
        1. When upright believers obey Scripture, their obedience exposes the hypocrisy of those who depend on Evangelicalism as a system for nurture regardless of its errant beliefs and associations (a form of idolatry), and that though they claim allegiance to a holy God and Scripture's truth (1 Peter 4:3-4).
        2. As carnal, legalistic Evangelicals fear taking stands against the errors of Evangelicalism lest they themselves suffer persecution (Gal. 6:12), to cloak their hypocrisy, they mistreat and slander those who heed Scripture to pressure them to recant their stands, 1 Peter 4:3-4; John 15:18-22; Gal. 4:29.
    3. Then, viewing the Scripture context leads us to identify the desired "gold" in this trial (as follows):
      1. The persecution by carnal, legalistic Evangelicals puts the upright in the awkward position of either recanting his Biblical stands to ease the carnal legalistic Evangelical's persecution of him, or to trust in Christ and be alienated all the more from Evangelicalism, and often at the cost of greater persecution.
      2. If the upright wrongly yields to the persecutors though discerning the Scriptural route to take, Christ will discipline him, meaning the upright needs to keep his stand for Biblical truth! (Luke 12:47-48)
      3. Yet, if the upright chooses to keep his right stands, Christ shepherds and edifies his soul in great ways (1 Peter 2:25 with John 14:21, 23) that edify his faith in Christ (1 Peter 1:7) and love for Him (1 Peter 1:8). This choice ends the believer's clinging to Evangelicalism as a false idol for spiritual fulfillment.
      4. Such edification by Christ comes as the believer applies Bible truth by faith to handle his persecutions (1 Peter 2:1-3 in light of Christ's call of Peter, the author of 1 Peter to feed His flock in John 21:15-17).
Lesson: Christ urges US to ASK Him to ARRANGE for events that CORNER US to HAVE to take upright STANDS that COUNTER leaning on Evangelicalism as a crutch for fulfillment. This leads to one's being persecuted by carnal, legalistic Evangelicals who object to the exposure such stands reveal of their allegiance to Evangelicalism with its faults. GOD wants to USE this REACTION to MOVE those who heed Scripture from leaning on Evangelicalism for NURTURE to trust in their All-Sufficient Christ! The reward is GREAT spiritual NURTURE by Christ (versus the leanness of Evangelicalism)!

Application: If we believers are dependent on Evangelicalism as an idol rather than dependent on Christ as our All-Sufficient God, Christ calls us to ask Him for "gold tried in the fire" for fulfillment!