Aliens...Again

Something weird is happening at the intersection of headlines and faith: UAP photos drop, “alien disclosure” talk spikes, and some people insist the next release could rattle the church. We don’t bite the panic bait. We walk through the main Christian reactions, talk honestly about skepticism toward government narratives, and then plant our feet where they belong, on the resurrection of Jesus. If Christ rose, every other claim has to fit around that truth, not replace it.

From there, we shift into 2 Timothy 3 and get personal about discernment in an age of AI-generated content, viral theology clips, and platform-first teaching. We recap a sermon built around one diagnostic question: how do you know whether your faith is real or counterfeit? Paul’s answer cuts through appearances and goes straight to what your life loves, what it seeks, and what it costs. We also talk about “having the appearance of godliness,” how spiritual costumes form, and how to spot twisted half-truths without slapping the “false teacher” label on every secondary disagreement.

Then Noah takes us into 2 Timothy 3:16–17, the classic passage on the inspiration of Scripture: God-breathed words that teach, reprove, correct, and train. We connect it back to Genesis 3’s “Did God really say?” and the pride that makes us critique the Bible rather than letting it read us. If you want a clearer view of biblical authority, sanctification, and what it means to be equipped for every good work, this one is for you.

Subscribe so you don’t miss the final stretch of 2 Timothy, and if this helped you think more clearly, share it with a friend and leave a review.

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Chapters:
0:00 Open
6:36 In The News
15:56 The Great Book War
19:41 Sermon Recap | 2 Timothy 3:1-15
33:31 Sermon Recap | 2 Timothy 3:16-17


Music
"Ventura"
Morgan Taylor
U76EPPNJDYZYU0Y7

Transcript

Open

Bob 0:00

Well, hey there. Welcome to Behind the Pulpit for uh uh May the 11th, 2026. Uh we are knee deep into the month of May. Uh what was the uh the old adage I learned back in elementary school? April showers bring what? Mayflower. Mayflower. We should have brought flowers today. But uh anyway, we're so glad that you're joining us. Yesterday was Mother's Day. I do hope you got your mother a card, got her a flower, got her something that was uh uh worthy of her uh investment in you. Um and we're glad that you're joining us uh today for this momentous occasion. I I am joined not by Pastor Dave, because Pastor Dave has left us. He is out of the state. We're not sure where he is. He's wandering through the wilds of Kentucky, uh screaming for for something. I don't know. He's he's he's out there. Uh, but uh he is not here with us today, and I am joined by um to my left, uh by the wonderful Noah Graves. Noah, we're so glad to have you here. Standing ovation. Tim over there. Noah has agreed to to stand in for Pastor Dave today and offer some commentary. Uh we'll we'll see how this goes. Noah, how how are you feeling today?

Noah 1:22

I'm feeling good, feeling good. It's uh a little bit chillier out today. Thought we were in spring, but I guess maybe we're kinda not fully there yet.

Bob 1:29

It is true. Uh May does have uh quite the uh it can't make up its mind. It we'll just put it that way, is what happens in May. Um but we're gonna have some discussions here um about uh our sermon. So I preached on May um May the 3rd. Uh uh Noah preached on May the 10th yesterday on Mother's Day, so we're gonna talk about those sermons. We also have a fun news story we're gonna cover today, maybe something you've been paying attention to. Uh but before we get into that, there was some uh some happenings uh from last week. Some local news. Uh some local news. Uh some sports news uh involving our very own Tim Euchas. Tim. Tim, uh you you were uh enjoying some uh some hot dogs, some brisket at the Yankee game last uh what was it, last Monday? What was the date on that? May May 4th? May 4th. May the 4th be with you. That's right. And uh indeed the 4th was with you that day because you were able to uh accomplish a feat very few humans accomplish at the Yankee game. Tell us what that was, Tim.

Tim 2:32

So I um I was at the Yankee game and I was there with my with my wife. May 4th is not only Star Wars Day, but it is our anniversary, so we it was our second wedding anniversary.

Bob 2:41

So did you choose May the 4th because of the Star Wars thing? Or how many times do you get asked that?

Tim 2:47

So when we this is actually this is actually a really funny story. We You found out afterwards. No, we we we booked our wedding venue and we really liked it, and they said, okay, we have two dates you can do May the 4th or 420. So we chose between we had to choose between Weed Day or Star Wars Day, and Nikki Star Wars Day. Nikki decided to go with what she believed was the less of two evils. It is true.

Bob 3:12

Well, she did go to the dark side then, indeed.

Tim 3:14

Indeed. So we were we were at the baseball game, um, and I have some pictures here. Um now I can't show the video because of obvious reasons we'd get in a lot of trouble. So I have some screenshots of the pictures, which I think we're allowed to do. Uh, these are courtesy of the Yes Network. Um, so Jazz Chisholm is at the plate.

Bob 3:32

The 25th anniversary of the Yes Network I've seen.

Tim 3:34

Yes, it is. And so for context, when we got to the game, um, I'm sitting there and I'm like, um, I got some we we had some nice seats, got a good deal. Um, tickets weren't that expensive that day. I was like, we're in foul ball territory. I'm gonna catch one. I'm gonna catch a ball. So chat Jazz Chisholm fouls a ball off and it bounces in the first row um at first uh first level, and then it bounces all the way up and you can look at that.

Bob 4:00

Look at him using the force to get the ball.

Tim 4:02

You can see me right here. You're right above the Clorox. You can see me right here catching the ball. And as soon as I catch the ball, I hand it directly to the crowd was going crazy. Hand it directly to Nikki.

Bob 4:16

Look at that guy behind you.

Tim 4:17

He is fired up. Oh, everyone was fired up because I was like, if I I'm gonna catch a ball, and I'm gonna give it to you because you know it's I I so as soon as I caught it, I gave it to her. And the funniest thing is she looks just down dumped. She's gonna hate me. She looks just dumbfounded. Okay. Um, just be clear.

Bob 4:31

This is your wife right there. This is my wife, okay.

Tim 4:33

This is my wife who is turning 27 years old on Thursday. And the funniest part about this whole thing was Michael K. They they to the replay, like, oh, some guy in an Anthony Volby jersey caught caught the ball. Then they go to the replay and they show me handing it to my wife, and Michael K goes, Aw, and he gave it to a kid. And it was it was funny. But yeah, caught a foul ball at the Yankee game. Thanks for the Yes Network for doing a great job of it.

Bob 4:59

I did hear you telling me though this this happens a lot. That this uh what people assume.

Tim 5:04

People sometimes assume that my wife is is someone who is not as old as she is.

Bob 5:08

So but I mean, next to Tim, so we were coming. Tim Tim's got that that big beautiful beard. He's not on screen right now, if you're listening. Uh but he's got that big beautiful beard. Uh he he he wears it well. Not as big as it once was. Well it's it's it's still it's still v voluminous. Uh so let's just put it that way. Uh, and you are also uh at least twice as large as your wife, so it wasn't a uh a crazy idea to think that maybe she was deposition does. Plus, she's sitting and you're standing, and you look larger than life in that that picture right there. So anyway. Well, it's it's gl it good for you for giving the foul ball to your wife on your anniversary. You had to get at least some kudos for that, I would think.

Tim 5:49

I I did, yeah, it was it was fun. The the whole section was was going crazy. It was it was cool. Okay, good for you.

Noah 5:55

Uh Noah, your thoughts on this? I told as soon as Sim sent the video, I said that might have been the greatest video I've ever seen in my entire life. You've ever in your entire one of the greatest.

Tim 6:05

Wow, you heard it here, folks.

Noah 6:07

Heard it here first.

Tim 6:08

I have a buddy from college and he's an avid Yankee fan, and he he texted me about as soon as I sat down after this whole thing happened, he goes, Nice catch, kid. It was it was cool. So shout out for Alex, who's ever listened to this show.

Bob 6:20

Wonderful. Well, that that if you want to see the video, Tim Tim walked in today to staff meeting, was very excited to show you.

Tim 6:27

I can show you the video on my phone. We can show you.

In The News

Bob 6:29

Just not on the internet, so we don't get uh we'll get taken down. Um so our our show does not get canceled in perpetuity. Uh so there you go.

Tim 6:36

Well, anyway, as we continue celebrating 175 years of God's faithfulness at MBC, we want to invite you to a special gathering of our entire church family. Join us on Sunday, June 7th at 4 p.m. for our 175th anniversary worship service, a unique opportunity to come together as one body and give thanks for all that God has done through this church. This will be a joint service bringing together our whole congregation for an afternoon of worship, reflection, and celebration. The service will take place at Liquid Church, located at 299 Weebro Road in Parsippony, providing space for us to gather and celebrate this milestone together. You can find more information, register, or even sign up to serve by visiting the church website. Again, that's the 175th anniversary of worship service, Sunday, June 7th at 4 o'clock p.m. Come celebrate what God has done and worship together as we continue to look ahead at what he will continue to do.

Bob 7:24

Welcome to Behind the Pulpit. We're so glad that you're here. Um we're gonna do a little bit of shortened, shortened episode today. So that was our opening banter. That was our warm-up uh to use the uh sports analogy. And we're just gonna jump right now into a news story in the news. All right, so I have a news story I'd like to talk about. And uh, Noah, feel free to uh to chime in here if you have any thoughts on this. Um couple summers ago, I believe it was, there was some rumors about UFO disclosures, and we did cover that on Behind the Pulpit, if you are a longtime watcher. I I uh cited a book by Hugh Ross uh called uh Little Green Men, uh, or Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men, I think he wrote on Alien Encounters. Well, um back in February, uh President Donald Trump said that his administration was going to be releasing uh the UFO UAP. Uh uh uh what is the UAP now? It's uh unidentified aerial phenomenon or something like that. I believe so. It's not a flying object, it's an aerial phenomenon. Um and uh this past week they did. They released never before seen pictures, uh at least in some cases, I guess. And uh the internet was blowing up over commentary on this uh alien speculation. And in particular, there was some Christian uh sites that were commenting on this. So let me just give you a little bit of a background and then I'm gonna offer some some thoughts on how we can think about this. And and Noah, you can feel free to comment as well or bring up something else. Um but uh there was there was apparently uh out there a um a secret meeting that I was seeing on social media and then some uh some Christian news things picked it up. But there was a secret meeting between these charismatic church leaders and intelligence uh officers from the United States that was later questioned. Um but coming out of that, there was some news that these intelligence officers were meeting with these Christian leaders to say that you need to prepare your congregations for what is going to be released, that it's gonna shake the very foundations of the church. Um I think there was another meeting between this evangelist and Paula White, who I think is the spiritual advisor for Trump. Um so so e even in the Christian circles, these things were being being commented on. Uh and then the things the things got released, and there was uh claims that uh when I guess Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin went to the moon, never reported that he saw these objects or lights outside the window or from the surface of the moon he saw things. Uh I saw um uh uh r records of people seeing things land and these four foot-tall beings were coming out of spaceships and things of that nature. Um and uh just just lights, orbs, uh military encounters, things like that. I I don't I didn't particularly find any of these things new because I've heard some of these rumors for uh a few years. Um the one thing that was uh I think that I did see was disconcerting was uh some of these beings would would would uh claim to say that they were our creators and that uh uh they made up basically if you're a Christian, they made up the whole Christian story. So I don't know if you've seen these. I felt like I would comment on these today, and um I saw a few different reactions from uh Christians on the internet, and uh there was three basic categories. Let's say this is real, this turns out to be there's gonna be more that's released. How how do you think about this as a Christian? Well the the first uh bucket I would say of people that have responded to this are those that would just say this is this is a spiritual deception, this is uh demonic activity, uh that these are maybe interdimensional beings that are manifesting themselves, and there's categories of these type of things in in the Bible. Uh you know, we we certainly see the angels, we see demons, uh we see um spiritual beings, like in Daniel, we see the Prince of Persia, who's apparently this big big bad demonic figure there. Um and uh these are just the modern manifestations of demonic activity within our world. So that's one category. Um I I tend to lean a little bit more in that in that area. I think it's I think it's a spiritual thing. Uh but there are others that say that you know what, I I've I'm in the know, I've seen I've I've actually seen evidence of this, and we'll see if that turns out to be true or not. Um But people would say that if if aliens do exist physically, there's ships and things like that, there's life outside of our planet. That would not be a threat to our faith, because our faith does have categories uh for that, that God is not just the creator of the earth, but of the universe. And uh and so these would be things that we can you know make room for from a biblical worldview. It doesn't undermine the core doctrines of Christ and his uh resurrection and his uh his sovereignty over all things. What does Paul tell us? That that Christ holds all things together, he's the creator of everything. And then there's just others, I think, in a third category that are rather uh skeptical about anything the government puts out there. So who knows what's true, what's not true. Um maybe it's made up. Uh these are videos, these are records that could have been created, you know, things of that nature. Um so I I think in general we need to always remember that God is sovereign over all things, he's the creator of all things. And uh if this is spiritual activity, I actually saw some people talking talking about this was somehow connected with Israel. Maybe this is some kind of end times uh type of thing. There's a there's a manifestation of demonic activity that's related to the Israel-Iran war. Uh these things started to show up in the 1940s. We were reading about it, around the time that Israel was established. Maybe I don't know. Um nothing's definitive, but uh, but I do think that there there ultimately is all things are spiritual. There's a spiritual component to this. And if it does turn out that these are physical real beings, um I do believe that it it is not something that certainly shakes the foundations of our our faith in God and in Jesus, uh, that there are biblical ways to to explain that. So would you like to comment on this, Noah?

Noah 13:47

Um I definitely need to go rewatch the movie E.T. You know.

Bob 13:52

I didn't think that.

Noah 13:54

Other than that, though, not much to add. I mean, I'm always a little bit skeptical of you know things that come out. So I'm not too familiar with this particular story, although I do know I've heard a few podcasts where people are kind of talking about this type of stuff.

Bob 14:06

So, he's already talking about it, so I figured I'd mention it today. Yeah. Um I want to read here's a here's a uh tweet from Andrew Walker, who who teaches he's the ethics guy at Southern Seminary. And uh this is what he said. He also has uh has a really good podcast called The Bully Pulpit that he's on with a few other guys. He he wrote this. He said, Alien discourse is apparently ramp ramping up. I'll have to admit, I don't have super well-developed thoughts on this, but my immediate response is simple. Aliens do not change the essential nature of what occurred at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As a general rule, when theological speculation reaches its limits, begin at the resurrection and reason from it. Jesus rose from the dead, if that is true, and I believe it is, aliens within a theological program must accommodate to that reality. I'm not accommodating Jesus to aliens. Aliens, if real, accommodate to him. Bottom line, if aliens were proven true, they do not change the fundamentals of my theology. And to that I'd give a hearty amen to Andrew Walker. So who knows what else is coming out, but that has been in the news over the last week. Tim, any thoughts from from over there behind the desk? No. Alright, any other news stories you guys would like to comment on?

Tim 15:25

The Knicks? A little local news. I think we can mention that the Knicks are uh going to the Eastern Conference Finals in the NBA. Wow.

Bob 15:33

They just swept New York Knickebacks.

Tim 15:36

They just swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, and I believe they outnumbered Sixers fans in their own building in the two games that were in Philly. So the Knicks will be going on to face I have no clue in the Eastern Conference final. So a little local team in action.

The Great Book War

Bob 15:51

My goodness. All right. Well, lots of things happening. That was for you, Pastor Dave. There you go.

Tim 15:56

This Saturday, May 16th, NBC will once again be a part of the Bernards Township Charter Day, one of the biggest community events of the year, right here in Basking Ridge. Every year, Char Day brings together local organizations, businesses, sports teams, nonprofits, and families from across the community for a full day in downtown Basking Ridge. And for us as a church, it's a valuable opportunity to be present, meet people, build relationships, and represent Christ well in our community. Throughout the day, we'll be running the NBC booth, handing out water, resources, and some brand new NBC sunglasses, all while connecting with people from across the town. Right now, we're still looking for a few more volunteers, especially for our setup and teardown teams. We're also still looking for people to be van drivers to help transport people and equipment at the beginning and end of the day. So if you're available this Saturday and would like to serve, we'd love to have you join us. You can sign up by visiting the events page on the NBC website and finding Charter Day. Or you can reach out directly to me, Tim Utkis, for more information. Again, that's Charter Day this Saturday, May 16th. We hope you'll be a part of helping NBC engage our community well. Hey, do we want to give an update on the book war, or do we have to wait until Dave comes back? Uh I I don't have it prepared, but um I can I can tell you. Do you want to know? I want to know. I want to know if I need to try for the last week. Well, this is this is from last year. So the season is wrong, but we can officially Well how hold on. How many episodes are left?

Bob 17:20

I I think we got one or two left. One or two episodes left.

Tim 17:27

No, I think it's that's it. That's it. He is our champion. Pastor Dave. My goodness, look at Pastor Dave. Pastor Dave has clinched. This is us last year's graphic. He smiled.

Bob 17:36

Look at he smiled. Pastor Dave, wherever you are, no eyebrows.

Tim 17:40

Congratulations on winning the book award. We do have a uh if you remember way back, we have a we said we were gonna have a fan of the year. Uh we have two. Uh we have two fans of the year that will be revealed on our last episode. So we have one man and one woman who will be claiming the titles of behind the pulp, but fan of the season for season four. Um wow. So we're looking forward to revealing that and figuring out what we're gonna give you.

Bob 18:04

My goodness. Wow. Is there gonna be a graphic for that? For the fan of the year?

Tim 18:09

Yeah, I think we'll have to have some sort of graphic. Will we have them in studio? I'm thinking about asking them to um well, I'm I'm I'm thinking, do we want to let them know and like allow them to like submit a video? Or do we want them to be like experience it for the first time on the show? I I let's pray about it and see what the Holy Spirit reveals. We're gonna pray about it. Right now, I'm feeling that there are there are like a spot.

Bob 18:34

Put me on the spot. I I don't know. Is it I? Is it I, Lord, yes. Thirty pieces of silver, Tim. Okay. So um That's how much Pastor Dave was giving people for votes this year. I'm just kidding. He it he's he denies it, but uh it may be true. Who knows?

Tim 18:52

Pastor Dave is our champion. Congratulations. Two and oh, two champions in a row. Pastor Bob will have to come back stronger than that.

Bob 18:58

Well, I have I have to rethink my strategies here based on the uh uh the market size.

Tim 19:03

So what I'm what's what's appearing, since since Noah and I are commissioners of of the competition here, what we're realizing is we might need to implement a um A, we might need to implement a timer for book recommendations, or Pastor Bob, you just need to take more time. You just need to spend longer recommending the book.

Bob 19:21

Well, you know, if if I don't need to say more, I don't need to say more. I don't know. So sometimes people like to, you know, pad their time with uh superfluous uh commentary on unnecessary things.

Sermon Recap Part 1: 2 Timothy 3:1-15

Tim 19:32

The book war is coming up on its next collective bargaining agreement, so there'll be a lot of uh there'll be a lot of decisions made in the off-season. Yeah. Commentary cap on the uh book war. If you're between the ages of 18 and 25, or you know someone who is, this is something you'll want to hear about. Passion Conference 2026 signups are now live. This year's gathering will take place December 29th through the 31st in Arlington, Texas, bringing together thousands of young adults for a powerful time of worship, teaching, and community centered on the name of Jesus. Passion has been a defining experience for so many in this stage of life. A chance to step away, refocus, and be challenged to live for what truly matters. So whether you're in that 18 to 25 window or you're a parent, mentor, or friend who wants to encourage someone to go, now is the time to start that conversation. For more information, reach out to Johnny Graves and again, Passion Conference, December 29th through the 31st in Arrington, Texas. Sign ups are live now.

Bob 20:23

All right, so we had two sermons that we're gonna chat about. Um I preached on May 3rd, Noah preached on May 10th. Uh, making our way through 2 Timothy, uh, the uh chapter 3. That was what we covered the last couple weeks, and and this coming week we're gonna dive into chapter 4. Uh now, how do you guys want to handle this? Should should we um go with the one from yesterday, or do you want me to comment on my my sermon and then uh you guys can ask questions and then we'll we'll go with uh with Noah's sermon, or should I do Noah's sermon first? I'll let you choose. I'm a big fan of the chronological order. Chronological order. Okay, so I I will give you the uh the sum, the summary of uh what I covered and uh why don't we chat about it and then we'll uh we'll look at Noah's from yesterday. All right, so uh I covered Second Timothy chapter three, one through fifteen. One through fifteen, and uh the main question for that we said was how do you know if your faith is real or counterfeit? So Paul Paul talks a lot about um the savage times that we're living in. I use this illustration of the uh AI pastor, uh AI putting together a worship service and uh people thinking that that was uh uh you know a moving spiritual uh experience, even though no humans had had a part in that other than putting in the prompt, I I suppose, I suppose. Um and then we looked at uh 2 Timothy 3 1 to 15. Paul Paul addresses Timothy with some timeless principles. And the answer to the question, how do you how do you know if your faith is real, is number one, you know it by what it loves, what it seeks, and what it costs. So Paul tells us in uh Second Timothy 3 1 and 2 that uh in the last days there will come times of difficulty and people will be lovers of self. And then he gives a whole list of um evidences of people loving themselves, uh lovers of money, disobedient to parents, people unappeasable, etc., etc., etc. Uh, we talked about how that, you know, when you're loving yourself, you can you can tend to please yourself by wearing costumes to get recognition. Secondly, we talked about how real faith is known by what it seeks, and this was an interesting part of the passage because we learned about where the word creeper came from. Uh Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3 6, Among them, these false teachers are those who creep into households and capture weak women. So we talked about what that meant, what it meant to be burdened by sin, what it meant to uh seek things that are not part of the truth, um, and where that leads. And then thirdly, we talked about real faith is known by what it costs. And here Paul gives Timothy a um a challenge to live out his teaching, his conduct, his aim in life, and so forth. And when you do that, there's going to be suffering. And uh he concludes with um another uh challenge to live out uh your faith and hold true to what you have you have believed. Uh big idea for the sermon was real faith is revealed not by what it looks like on the surface, but again by what it loves, what it seeks, and what it costs. And that was Second Timothy 3 1-15, teeing up the very famous verses in 16 and 17. So questions about that. Boom, boom, boom. Write them in the comment section if you want, we'll address them. From the gallery here. Questions, comments, thoughts. Noah? Do you want to kick it off, Tim?

Tim 23:51

No, I said your name, so you can kick it off.

Noah 23:54

Okay. One of the things I was thinking was uh I'm not sure if you did a lot of studying to this, but just that one phrase in verse five where it says uh having the appearance of godliness but denying its power. Um, what does that really mean? Most of the second half there where it says denying its power? Because I at least when I hear a lot of this, I think you might have mentioned this briefly in your sermon, but I think a lot of this sounds a lot like people of the world. So it feels kind of weird for people of the world who are living in a sinful, ungodly way to have this appearance of godliness but be denying its power. So what does that what does that phrase mean there in verse five?

Bob 24:29

Yeah, that was that was the costume illustration. So um the the word, uh, the phrase means uh something that's a facade, it's artificial, it's it's just fake. And when you're not living out the truth, uh your life loses its power because it's not based on what God has revealed in his word. Um so what what I did say, where I did take it a bit a step further, uh uh, was that if you're wearing a spiritual costume, uh you might have this appearance of godliness. And sometimes there's an incentive to wear that costume and have an appearance because people will look at you if they're not discerning enough and say, Oh, oh, look at how wonderfully godly that that person is. But in reality, your your desire to please God uh and and live for the truth is not is not the motivating factor. It just appears to be that way. And this is Paul's criticism of these false teachers that he's constantly battling in his letters, uh, that they're coming in with supposed spiritual credentials, they really look godly on the outside, but they they turn out to be swindlers and uh leave people longing for more. Um I think about like the uh the music man and Harold Hill and the the con the con people basically is who he's talking about here. Um and it it's sometimes it's easy for you to to to do that without realizing it. That sometimes if we um if if we if we if we get um hooked on what this appearance of godliness brings us, uh we stop reflecting on what's actually going on in our heart.

Noah 26:03

So it's on the surface, but it's not real. Right. Yeah, it's kind of like when uh Jesus talks about cleaning the outside of the cup versus the inside of the cup, or some people like to just dust off the outside, make things look okay when deep down, you know, the inside of the cup is very dirty.

Bob 26:17

Yeah, good cross-reference to uh to Matthew uh 23, I think. Um yeah, but Jesus is is doing the same thing when he's confronting the Pharisees for sure. Tim?

Tim 26:28

So I guess on the flip side, um rather than you know us watching out for on the flip side for this in ourselves, um how can we be good about discerning because what this kind of brings up in my mind is the idea of like false teachers, and I feel like you've talked about this recently as well. Um how how can we be better at being discerning and avoiding um people who may be coming in in sheep's in sheep's clothing um looking for those benefits uh of of the perception of godliness and you know to avoid being misguided, I guess. How can we be better at that?

Bob 27:09

Yeah, I I did have a uh a picture and kind of got at this um at the end of point number one. How do you recognize a counterfeit, right? So um I I think the f well I think the the the base has to be that you do know the word of God. So uh you know, and this is part of the reason we we do these expositional studies through books of the Bible, because not only are we covering a section, but we're hopefully teaching you how to read the Bible for yourself as as we go through kind of section by section, verse by verse, uh in in some cases. Um you know, if you're if you're just dealing with themes from the Bible, just topical stuff, I mean I think that does have a place, you know, periodically, but there's there's a bigger danger with that because you're not you're not you can take things out of context if you haven't read and and and are familiar with the the specific context of the book that you're talking about. Um so and and this is why it's important because I I tend to think false teachers don't automatically reveal themselves. They come in and they take they take something that at some level is true and they just twist it a bit. So that it sounds just about right, but it really is kind of off the mark. So the only way to recognize that is to know uh specifically what the Bible says so you can point out the people that um that twist it a bit. I mentioned uh Mike Winger, the Bible thinker guy, uh, who's been exposing some movements recently, uh people whose life is certainly not matching up with uh their characters, not matching up with the things that they preach. Um so he's doing some work on that. Uh but but we too have to do work. We just shouldn't trust things just because Bob said it or Dave said it or Noah said it or uh that guy on the internet, especially if that guy on the internet said it and you don't know him. Um lots of memes, lots of AI content out there, speaking of AI, and we have to be more wise and more uh thoroughly prepared in our current day and age. That answered your question? Indeed. Okay. Have you encountered some false teachers, Tim?

Tim 29:17

Probably.

Bob 29:19

Um I don't know if you had somebody in mind when you're talking about.

Tim 29:22

No, no, no, no, no. It's it's not off the off the top of my head. I'm just more so I'm thinking that it seems like everyone and their sister has a platform um nowadays, like every like TikTok, Instagram. Um so what I'm what we're what I'm seeing a lot is of people who are you know hopping on social media and are they're just able to share you know the word and and share their thoughts on on God um very easily. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. I think that's a good thing, but also it also provides a platform for those who might want to mislead and misguide. Um look at the how much the the progressive Christian movement has boomed um in just the last few years with with the emergence of of social media platforms such as TikTok. Um so so that's more what I'm what I'm thinking of as well.

Bob 30:09

Well, and that's good. Some of the progressive doctrines are a good example of that where they take kind of a half-truth, well, God is love, and therefore um we can live however we want, right? Because God loves me, God's gonna forgive me no matter what. I I think I used an illustration of that in the sermon. Um you know, it's a half-truth. A lot of times they latch uh people will latch on to half-truths. Um now I will say on the flip side, since we're talking about the flip side here, um uh one of my concerns is that people will use the false teacher claim or uh uh accusation on people with whom they just have might have a legitimate disagreement over a um a gray issue. And uh that's concerning to me because that then it's being used as a power play where really we should just have dialogue. We we're really we really have a have a desire to read the Bible for what it means, and uh we just we just um have interpreted it differently. Um and for me to say you're you're a heretic or you're you're a false teacher because we have a legitimate disagreement over a secondary or tertiary issue is is a problem. It's the primary issues that we're really we're really getting at. The nature of God, um, deity of Jesus Christ, the authority of the Bible, um, you know, the exclusive exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ. I mean, th those are the type of things that we we don't want to disagree about, and we can we can sharply disagree. But on secondary issues, like, you know, we always use the views of the end times, which I think is probably a good example, um, gifts of the spirit, things like that. And we've talked about this. Uh we need to be careful about calling people false teachers for that. Yeah.

Noah 31:53

Yeah, and one of the things that uh Tim said before that kind of uh triggered a thought to me was when Tim was talking about how social media and a lot of people are you know saying stuff on social media. And one of the things that it did remind me of is James 3, which says, Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. And I do have concerns that people don't take that teaching and that um, you know, instruction of scripture very seriously anymore. Um it kind of seems like anyone thinks they can just say anything, kind of like what Tim was saying before, like on social media. Yeah, you have a platform, you can just say whatever you want. Um, but James is very clear here that you know teaching is a big deal. Um, you know, God's word um, you know, is something that is to be handled very delicately, very uh safely. And you know, there's there's one way to teach the word, and that's to teach the word uh in the way God intended it. And so I think that kind of you know ties into with yes, there being false teachers who are willfully, you know, teaching false doctrine for personal gain, but then there's also some people who might have like a good intent for wanting to teach the word, but because they're not trained or they're not knowledgeable of uh the scriptures, they might be teaching things that aren't true you know inadvertently because they're not you know necessarily listening to this James 3 very well.

Sermon Recap Part 2: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Bob 33:06

Yeah. Well, just because you have a microphone and a camera, but you don't have the training doesn't mean that what you say can be inadvertently uh misinformed. So yeah, so good, good. So all those are kind of the same uh different sides of uh the issue here. So that's uh that's a good one. Any other thoughts or questions about this this uh sermon that I gave? No. All right. Well, uh Noah, why don't we kick it over to you? So you preached yesterday and you covered the last couple verses of chapter three, uh, which are part of that chunk. Uh so why don't you give us an overview and then I got a I got a couple questions to ask.

Noah 33:43

Yeah, so 2 Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 to 17. It's kind of one of the most famous, you know, texts that you'll find in this book. Um it's the one that says, All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training and righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Um so this is the famous text about the inspiration of scripture. Um so it really kind of sets the bedrock for what the Bible is um and how we ought to use it. Um so you know, the front half of that tells us, you know, what the Bible is, uh, which is the very words of God Himself. So when you're reading the scriptures, it's not just some ideas man came up with and thought would be interesting, but rather it is truly the word of God that God breathed into the biblical authors and inspired them to uh write the very word of God. And then the back half of that uh passage there is, you know, w what that text is uh intended for, which as Paul says, you know, it's for teaching, reproof, correction, training, righteousness, and then to equip us. Um so you know, God does have a design for his word to accomplish a work within our hearts. Um, you know, he wants to change us, he wants to make us more and more uh conformed into the image of Christ and to equip us for the works, uh the good works that he has planned for us. Um so yeah, those are our two final verses of chapter three there.

Bob 35:01

Very good. Well, you had a good illustration at the beginning. You took us back to your Liberty University days and told us about how you almost died because you were hiking out in the uh the wilderness. He would have been fine. I I I was uh I was actually concerned about the Wolverines you might have run into for their for their safety. Um you set up this dichotomy, though, about um, you know, you were trying to decide which which trail should I choose, which is going to get me back to my car, and then you applied that spiritually to talk about how 2 Timothy offers us a choice that we have two voices we could follow, the voice that leads to the light of Christ, or the voice that leads us further into darkness from the enemy. And um, I thought that was good. Those are those are always good good good illustrations to get us thinking. Um, what I wanted to ask you is what do you think is the the tension point for the average Christian? Uh, because I think you said that sometimes these choices can be scary, they can be terrifying, I wrote down. I think that was your word. Um why is the average Christian terrified? Why do they struggle with choosing between darkness and light?

Noah 36:04

I think there's two reasons that are coming to my mind. The first one is um the enemy never well, usually he never presents these, this alternate choice as something that is honest. So, you know, in in the garden, you know, he was tempting Adam and Eve. He said, you know, did God really say that you can't eat of this tree? And then after that, you know, he goes on to say, like, oh, surely you won't die if you eat from this tree. So he he presents this alternate choice as something that's actually good. He doesn't actually show us the reality of it. He doesn't say, Oh, you can eat from that tree, you know, you you will die, but that's okay. No, he says, like, oh, you won't die if you eat from that tree. So he's he's he's he's uh disguising his uh deception with something being good. Um so I think one of the one of the challenges that people face is not knowing what's true. So when Adam and Eve heard that, um, you know, they they thought that was true. So they were they were deceived by the enemy and they chose to eat from that fruit. And so I think that's where one of the tension points that humanity has today is you know, we feel like we're wrestling, you know. I think we face a similar temptation where we we hear this alternate voice where you know we know what the word of God says, but then we hear this other voice and we we're kind of like wrestling. And it's it's a it's a wrestling between, you know, following God and then following uh the enemy. And when we choose to listen to the enemy, you know, we're giving into that and we're kind of um choosing to listen to a different uh way to live our life than how God designed it.

Bob 37:27

So so something in that other voice is pulling us in a direction away from Christ. Yeah.

Noah 37:33

Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of like that illustration Pastor Dave was talking about a few weeks ago, where it's kind of like a the hook with a little worm on it. Um, you know, the enemy makes the worm very easy to see, uh, but then you don't really see the hook, hook behind it.

Bob 37:46

So you had an extended uh discussion about Genesis chapter three, uh, and this did God really say question, which you know a lot of ink has been spilled on those verses over the years. And I thought we could talk a little bit about um the uh the questions in our culture that are related to that question. Uh, you know, where is it that people are are tempted to say, did God really say? And I think that's related to these two choices. So what what are the things that um we start to question God that take us down this uh this path of darkness?

Noah 38:23

It seems like that's really kind of the foundation of a lot of our uh morality issues here in America, because there are many people who claim to be Christians and then they just firmly stand on things that are opposed to God's word. And I've listened to some podcasts where there's some people who claim to be Christians and then they're just trying to dance around the scriptures and and point to ways that their worldviews can hold up, even though they don't line up with scripture. I think some of the examples are you know, marriage, gender, sexuality, stuff like that, a lot of moral stuff where um, you know, it's really tempting to say, like, oh, uh, can we actually not do these things? Can we not live these ways? And try to to find ways that it can, you know, kind of be jammed into the Christian worldview, where in reality, God is very clear about his design for marriage, his design for uh gender, his design for sexuality, all those things. You know, God is very clear in the scriptures about those things. Uh so I think those are some areas that are very uh prevalent today where people try to to use those words of God, did God really say to to make that something that they can take part in?

Bob 39:30

Do you think at the heart of it is that all of us at some level want to be God ourselves, that we want to live for ourselves and not have any authority over us?

Noah 39:42

Yeah. Um as I was studying Genesis, um, there's one part there right after um the devil says that opening line where he goes on, he says, Um, he says, in verse 4, uh it says, But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Um, so I think that kind of really kind of sets the pace there, where I think deep down Adam and Eve had that desire right there in verse uh five. And I think a lot of us do too, where we think, you know, I can do this, you know, I can take part in these activities, these lifestyles, and you know, God is God is, you know, God doesn't know what he's talking about. You know, for them in the garden, you know, I can eat of this tree, it'll be okay. And then for us, you know, I can take part in this activity or that lifestyle, and you know, it'll be okay. When in reality, you know, God is trying to protect us. You know, when he was telling them not to eat of the tree in the garden, it wasn't just because, you know, he was being restrictive and trying to withhold something that would be enjoyable. You know, the reason God told them not to eat of the tree was because they would die. You know, he says, do not eat of that tree because on the day you eat of it, you will die. Um, and so God was trying to protect them to keep them safe and to live their life. And that it's the same today. You know, there's a reason God doesn't want us to uh take part in the things uh that he says not to take part in. It's not just because he doesn't want us to enjoy things, it's because he has a design for how we're supposed to live, and when we choose sinful activities, we're he we're living in a way that is contrary to that, and it leads to eventually it leads to to death.

Bob 41:16

So for Adam and Eve, they they were in the presence of God in the garden, and yet they disobeyed. So it almost would be arrogant of me to think that being so far removed that that I would not have that same temptation. Now I I think the the way that it relates to 2 Timothy 3, which I think you were getting at, is that Adam and Eve have the revealed presence of God, and we have the revealed word of God that's been handed down to us in in the scriptures. Um and uh and we were talking about this that uh I had a friend who gave this illustration that when we come to read the Bible, um, we can choose to put ourselves above the Bible and read it and critique it, and over the years the Bible c the Bible can withstand anything. The Bible has is built on a mountain of evidence that can withstand our criticisms and actually invites it. But there's a heart posture of when we read the Bible, we're always asking questions, we're always trying to find ways that it's it's not applicable for me. Or we can we can flip the script if that's the the thing we're talking about today, and allow the Bible to read our own hearts um and let it have real authority in our life. Um and I guess my question question for you is what's behind this? How how would you encourage people to read the Bible in a way that it it it reads your heart and exposes the sin within you, as opposed to us reading in the Bible and trying to excuse our sin?

Noah 42:42

I would say one of the biggest things is is pride. I think that's one of the root for a lot of people is they have a lot of pride. They think that that that we know best, that we're we're wise, we have all the answers, we know everything. So then ever we hear something that doesn't line up with that, we just think, oh, my way is right, my view is correct, and so I need to, like you said before, I need to look down on the Bible and I need to critique it. But if you come to it with a posture of humility where you know you you have the things that you believe and that you hold, but you might hear something from scripture that doesn't line up with that. So you come to it with the posture of humility of saying, okay, I might be off here. You know, maybe it's a way you're living, the way you're you know, treating someone or whatever, like I might be doing something wrong. And so if the scripture is saying, is saying that, then you need to come to that with the posture of humility and allow the scripture to correct you. Now, I know that's what Paul says um in uh verse uh 16 where he says that the word of God is for teaching, for reproof, and for correction. Um so sometimes we do need to be correct.

Bob 43:37

The Bible is correcting me, right? Right, yeah, yeah. We don't need to correct the Bible.

Noah 43:41

Exactly, exactly. Um, which that takes a lot of humility, even as genuine followers of Christ, um there are times where we need to have a lot of humility and accept that we might we might need to be corrected. Um it's very uncomfortable sometimes, and it's it does shatter your pride because it the I think a lot of us, you Know we think that there's a certain point where you know we're we're far enough in our Christian walk where we got it all together, but even then there are times where we still need to be uh corrected.

Bob 44:11

Very, very true. All right, last uh last question. Verse 17. What does it mean that the the man of God is equipped, or the woman of God is equipped? Although I think in this context, Paul's talking to Timothy as a pastoral leader, but what does it mean he's equipped?

Noah 44:29

Yeah, so uh I'll kind of take a big picture answer of this. Um so obviously in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, when they were first created, they were perfect. Um, so they were exactly how God designed them to be. But then when they fall and give into eating the apple, it brings sin into the world, and so they become fallen humans. Um they're they're fallen humans and they're completely broken and sinful. Uh but then when we become a follower of Christ, we're reborn, we're given the Holy Spirit. Uh, but then there's this process of sanctification. Um, so then that's when God is conforming us more and more into the image of Christ. Um and unfortunately, it's not an instantaneous process of looking like Christ. So we need to be uh gradually bec become more and more uh equipped for um good works. And so, you know, we go through this process of sanctification where God is making us more and more into the image of his son. And the way that he does that is through his word. Um, so I know I gave the example for me. One of the areas that I saw him do that was in sharing my faith. Um, and so the way he did that for me was he just um just showered me over in just the the scriptures and how they testify to Jesus, and you just see how it's all about the gospel and the good news of Christ. Um, and I just saw him change my heart. Um, so you know, then I became equipped to go out and to share my faith and to become someone that you know spreads the gospel. Um so we all have good works planned for us, as Paul says there um at the end of verse 17. He says that they may be equipped for every good work. Um it's kind of similar to what he talks about in Ephesians. Um, but you know, God has good works planned for us and he needs to equip us for that. You know, as in that initial state that we find ourselves in of being fallen human beings, you know, we're not equipped, we're not capable of doing uh the good works that God has for us. But when we accept Christ and we're um reborn as children of God, he is gradually equipping us for every good work that he has planned for us to to do.

Bob 46:25

Amen. And he's got a lot of stuff for each of us to do as we follow him as we grow more and more into the image of Christ. Well, thanks so much for bringing the word, Noah. That was uh that was a treat yesterday. And uh uh we'll probably see you again in in August, I think we're talking about um preaching on something. Yeah. Something. All right, so we have uh two more weeks of uh Second Timothy chapter chapter four, we're covering. I'm gonna do verses one to five this week, and then Dave's gonna wrap it up on uh May 24th. Jack Krauss will be with us on the 31st because uh we got some trips coming up, and then we'll of course be at Liquid for our anniversary service on June the 7th. All right, what else do we need to cover today before we can uh wrap this uh shindig up? I think we can wrap this shindig up. All right. Well, we're so glad you joined us today. Hopefully there were some announcements that uh were peppered in here uh throughout our conversation. Noah, thanks for joining me today, and uh, we'll be back in a couple weeks. Uh hopefully Dave will be be out of the wilderness and back into civilization, uh, and we'll have a good discussion as we wrap up Second Timothy. God bless, you have a wonderful day, and uh stay warm out there, folks.