Apples of Gold
Radio Script for July 23, 2008
“Teachers Drunk on the Wine of Error”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Have you ever read The Confessions of St. Augustine?
It was written over a thousand years ago, but I think you’ll be surprised how much those people have in common with us today.
Early on, Augustine writes about his education, and he points out that, from a Christian perspective, his teachers taught him things that weren’t true. And I love the way he words it. Listen to this one short phrase: “…the wine of error which was poured out to us by teachers already drunk…”
He’s saying that their false teaching was like wine. His teachers were “already drunk” because they had already completely soaked up the false teaching themselves, and now they were forcing this “wine of error” on their students.
Just because I like it so much, let me share that phrase one more time: “…the wine of error which was poured out to us by teachers already drunk…”
The teachers back then were like teachers today, some of the most intelligent people around. So why were they teaching error?
Let’s jump into the Bible, to Ephesians chapter two. Verse two talks about people who are dead in their transgressions and sins. It says that they follow the ways of this world, and listen to this, they follow the ways of the “ruler of the kingdom of the air.”
Wow, who is that? It goes on to say that it is “the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”
Did you get that? There is an evil spirit at work in those who are disobedient to God, those who are dead in their transgressions and sins.
So if you have a teacher who is dead in their sins and disobedient to God, then there is an evil spirit at work in them.
If that’s the case, no wonder they are teaching error. It’s just like Augustine’s day, when the wine of error was being poured out by teachers already drunk.
Now here is the problem. These teachers are highly respected. They are doctors of this and doctors of that. They are super-educated, so when students sit under them, they take it all in, hook, line and sinker.
Now throw some impressionable Christian kids into their classroom. They’ve grown up in church, they believe in Jesus and all that, but no one taught them about discerning the spirits.
“Whoa, Doug. You just stepped off the ledge. I was with you until you said, ‘discerning the spirits.’”
Okay, do you believe in spirits? You do if you believe the Bible. It says a lot about spirits.
For example, Hebrews 1:14 says that angels are “spirits.”
The Bible often mentions evil spirits who worked in people and even spoke through people.
In Mark chapter one Jesus was in the synagogue and a man yelled at Him, but the actual speaker was the evil spirit inside him.
In Acts chapter 16, Paul was confronted by a fortune teller. The spirit inside this girl predicted the future. But when the Christians came around, the spirit inside her spoke through her and harassed them.
And then there is the Holy Spirit. There are examples in the Bible when people spoke by the Holy Spirit. Jesus said in Matthew 22 that David spoke by the Spirit. Acts chapter 6 says that Stephen spoke by the Spirit. Acts 11 says Agabus spoke through the Spirit.
So there are spirits, some good and some evil. And these spirits work through people, and speak through people.
Now let me go back to the impressionable Christian kids in the classroom. They are sitting under Dr. So and So who is definitely not a Christian, but is highly respected.
Here is the danger. First Timothy 4:1 warns that “some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”
These kids are in danger of falling for false teaching, teaching that comes from deceiving spirits, and these spirits are speaking through their teachers.
You wonder why so many kids abandon their faith in college? You wonder why decent kids slide into immorality when they hit the campus? Well look at what they are being taught. And look at who is teaching them.
First John 5:19 divides everyone into two groups. There are the children of God, and everyone else – “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
Back to the discerning of spirits. I know it’s radical, but if you believe the Bible, you must see that there are spirits behind the things we are taught. And either the teachers are led by the Holy Spirit, or they are led by evil, deceiving spirits.
First Corinthians 2:10 says that one of the gifts of the Spirit is “discerning of spirits.” Someone with that gift will be able to tell if someone’s teaching is God-inspired or inspired by deceiving spirits.
First John 4 says there are many false teachers, and there is a spirit behind their false teaching. So he says we should test the spirits, and we do that by testing the people. And the test is where they stand regarding Jesus Christ. And if they are not right regarding Jesus, then John says the spirit behind their teaching is actually “the spirit of antichrist.”
I know this is deep, and we want it to be simple, to be a matter of flesh and blood and not a matter of this weird spiritual stuff. But the Bible says it is spiritual. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” it says in Ephesians 6, “but against…the powers of this dark world and…the spiritual forces of evil…”
If you find this hard to comprehend, then ask God to reveal it to you. First Corinthians 2:14 says that some things are “spiritually discerned.” You just can’t learn them in the usual way.
Augustine sat under teachers of error, and didn’t realize it at the time. It’s a lesson we should all learn. We must work to avoid false teaching, and that requires that we discern the spirits behind the teachers.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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