Exposing Error: Is It Worthwhile?
Dr. Harry Ironside (October 14, 1876-January 15, 1951)

[Dr. Henry Allen Ironside was a godly Bible teacher, pastor and author. He served as pastor of Chicago's Moody Memorial Church from 1930-1948]

Objection is often raised even by some sound in the faith-regarding the exposure of error as being entirely negative and of no real edification. Of late, the hue and cry has been against any and all negative teaching. But the brethren who assume this attitude forget that a large part of the New Testament, both of the teaching of our blessed Lord Himself and the writings of the apostles, is made up of this very character of ministry-namely, showing the Satanic origin and, therefore, the unsettling results of the propagation of erroneous systems which Peter, in his second epistle, so definitely refers to as "damnable heresies."

Our Lord prophesied, "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." Within our own day, how many false prophets have risen; and oh, how many are the deceived! Paul predicted, "I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch." My own observation is that these "grievous wolves," alone and in packs, are not sparing even the most favored flocks. Under shepherds in these "perilous times" will do well to note the apostle's warning: "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers." It is as important in these days as in Paul's-in fact, it is increasingly important-to expose the many types of false teaching that, on every hand, abound more and more.

We are called upon to "contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints," while we hold the truth in love. The faith means the whole body of revealed truth, and to contend for all of God's truth necessitates some negative teaching. The choice is not left with us. Jude said he preferred a different, a pleasanter theme-"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordainedto this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 3, 4). Paul likewise admonishes us to "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:11).

This does not imply harsh treatment of those entrapped by error-quite the opposite. If it be objected that exposure to error necessitates unkind reflection upon others who do not see as we do, our answer is: it has always been the duty of every loyal servant of Christ to warn against any teaching that would make Him less precious or cast reflection upon His finished redemptive work and the all-sufficiency of His present service as our great High Priest and Advocate.

Every system of teaching can be judged by what it sets forth as to these fundamental truths of the faith. "What think ye of Christ?" is still the true test of every creed. The Christ of the Bible is certainly not the Christ of any false "-ism." Each of the cults has its hideous caricature of our lovely Lord.

Let us who have been redeemed at the cost of His precious blood be "good soldiers of Jesus Christ." As the battle against the forces of evil waxes ever more hot, we have need for God-given valour.

There is constant temptation to compromise. "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach." It is always right to stand firmly for what God has revealed concerning His blessed Son's person and work. The "father of lies" deals in half-truths and specializes in most subtle fallacies concerning the Lord Jesus, our sole and sufficient Savior.

Error is like leaven of which we read, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." Truth mixed with error is equivalent to all error, except that it is more innocent looking and, therefore, more dangerous. God hates such a mixture! Any error, or any truth-and-error mixture, calls for definite exposure and repudiation. To condone such is to be unfaithful to God and His Word and treacherous to imperiled souls for whom Christ died.

Exposing error is most unpopular work. But from every true standpoint it is worthwhile work. To our Saviour, it means that He receives from us, His blood-bought ones, the loyalty that is His due. To ourselves, if we consider "the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt," it ensures future reward, a thousand-fold. And to souls "caught in the snare of the fowler," how many of them God only knows, it may mean light and life, abundant and everlasting.

A few days ago I heard on the news that the White House is being permanently closed for public tours, due to the expense. A little warning bell went off inside me. Then tonight I was looking online for something totally unrelated, and I came across this youtube video. I had not heard that Obama is to visit Israel on the same day that Jesus rode in on a donkey (20th march), but I had also seen this earlier tonight online. I am not making any definite statements, it just all seems strange.. and in the same space that a new Pope has been elected. A Jesuit. I have never had a good feeling about Obama, but let's watch what happens.

This is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ItVgVAmRTo

So, after posting my very first post, on my very first blog, I found myself under attack, physically, mentally and emotionally. I suppose I should have expected that to happen. I have been really ill and I have found it difficult to even pray. At night when I have been laying awake and anxious, I have buried my head in my pillow and called out to the Lord in distress. For most of my life I have suffered serious illness and pain, in one form or another. Many times I have cried out to God to end my suffering. People quote the verse from the Bible, 'God will never give us more than we can bear'. ONLY this is not what the actual verse means. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV

So does this verse mean that the hardships and trials of life will not be more than you can bear? This Bible verse is referring to righteous living and how we deal with the temptations of life. When we are faced with temptations, and we all are, along with the temptation comes a choice. And God has given us His promise that He is faithful to give us the strength to choose the right, and give us a way out of the temptation. The choice is ours, and it is always in our power to resist sin. Jesus has taught us that we must become like Him, conformed to the image of His likeness. And by His Spirit He has given us the power to do just that.

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” – Isaiah 43:2-3 KJV This is one verse that tells us how God will protect us through the 'lows' of life.

Sometimes I feel like a surfer! My life seems to be like the sea, waves, some small swells where I have to sit up and take notice, and be alert.  Other times the sea is smooth and calm, and I can 'rest'. But then all of a sudden, huge swells catch me offguard and it is easy to be overwhelmed. I try to ride that wave but I end up crashing back to shore! I am beaten, exhausted. I think if you had to ask a surfer which waves he would prefer, it would be the big ones. Because this is where the surfer gets his experience. This is where he learns how and where, and when, to catch the waves and ride with them. He has to watch and wait, and calculate when to GET UP and STAND. He has to be brave in the face of this huge wave of water that threatens to wipe him off his board and dump him into the deep water.

When I was a youngster, my parents used to take us on an annual holiday to the seaside in South Africa. I absolutely loved the sea, and I still do. To me there is no greater example of God and His magnificence. There are so many lessons to be learned from the sea. 
My dad used to love swimming far out, and I used to go further and further out each time, until I reached my dad. I trusted my dad to be watching out for me. I loved the thrill of seeing those huge waves coming at me! I learned to go with the swell. I was not afraid. But I also knew my father would not let me go futher than I would be able to cope with, where I would be in danger of drowning. I once was dumped heavily into the sea, I was turning around and around in the deep water and I did not know if I would ever be able to get to the top. But my parents had taught me to swim from a young age, and instinctively I did not try and fight the wave, but I literally rolled with it. Was it dangerous? Yes. Was it scary? Definitely! But it did not put me off swimming in the sea. No. I was still not afraid of those huge waves coming at me!

I guess you can see what I am trying to say here. Even when the problems and trials are rising up against you, and you feel your very life is threatened, Jesus is always there. Faith is easy to excercise when things are going well, but this is something I have had to grasp in my spirit, it does not matter the SIZE of the problem or trial, it matters that we trust God that He is there to save us, because He knows when we are too far out to sea. He knows when we are in danger of drowning. When we try to fight that huge wave on our own, it threatens to drown us. We have to just believe what His word says and rest in Him. This has given me courage today.