C.A.C Sunday School Manuals For October 4, 2020 : Topic – THE INFLUENCE OF THE END-TIME PERILS
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CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH WORLWIDE
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
THEME: THE UNITY OF BRETHREN
UNIT TWO / LESSON SIX
DIVISION II.
II. THE INFLUENCE OF THE END-TIME PERILS (1 Timothy 6:20-21; 1 Peter 5:8-11)
October 4th, 2020
The existence of false doctrines at this age is not peculiar to the present day Church. It has kept increasing in this end time. There are direct attacks of the enemy against the Gospel. All these, and many more vices of the devil are targeted at the division of the Church.
A. THE MULTIPLICITY OF FALSE DOCTRINES (1 Tim. 4:1,2; 6:20-21)
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons (4:1).
i. In Tim. 4:1, Paul told Timothy that, false teachings would abound in the end. It is not far-fetched that false teachers were in existence at that time ans also, that they would multiply in the end-time.
ii. These false teacher/prophets would be proponents of false doctrines, and would be led by unclean spirits.
iii. 4:2: They do not have the Spirit of God. This is evident in the fact that their consciences have been seared with a hot iron, and thus dead (Tit. 1:15-16).
iv. Diverse doctrine would emerge with different satanic books such as the sixth and seventh books of Moses, and other demonic materials that claim to have additional knowledge to the Bible. Their aim is to make Christians fall (Deut. 4:2; Eccl. 3:14; Rev. 22:18-19).
v. Such false gospellers have crept into lives, homes ans churches ans led people away into sin and divisive tendencies (2 Tim. 3:5ff), thus undermining the unity of the church.
vi. 6:20,21: God’s Word admonishes us to avoid such people like plague so that we are jealously guard the unity of the church that is very paramount in the heart of Christ.
vii. One of such false doctrines is the recent on-going teaching that tithing belongs to the Old Testament, and that New Testament believers should not pay tithe. We must be very careful because this is the end-time indeed! Another is the teaching that there is a level of grace where a Christian can be sinning and God would not call him to question, both immediately and ultimately. These and the others are scripturally unfounded.
B. THE DEVIL WILL ATTACK THE GOSPEL (1 Peter 5:8-11)
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (v.8).
i. Division in the church, just like in any kingdom, is not the will of God. He is interested in unity, because the kingdom, or church divided against itself will not stand (Matt. 12:25).
ii. 1 Pet. 5:8:Any church that stands on the guideline of God, and led by the Spirit of God, like our fathers, should be ready for satanic confrontations (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12).
iii. One of such ways the devil attacks the church is to cause issues that can lead to conflicts and division, thus undermining the foundation of the church — Christ’s peace.
iv. Division and segregation in the church are products of misunderstanding (Acts 20:30). Thank God for the early church leaders who cooperated with the Holy Spirit to nip the crisis of Acts 6:1 in the bud before into festered into full blown division.
v. The question, “Who is the greatest?” could have caused division when Jesus was physically here on earth, but He was able to put it under control among His disciples (Matt. 18:1-5; cf. Matt. 20:20-27; Lk. 9:46-48).
vi. vv. 9-11: Never you take with levity anything that can undermine the unity of the church. God can never be favourably disposed to such. When the causer of disunity (the devil) amongst God’s people is vehemently resisted with the power of the Lord and His Scripture, God puts him under our feet, forever, so that unity can continue in our midst (cf. Rom. 16:20).
vii. Luke 17:1: Jesus Christ already warned us that stumbling blocks or offenses are inevitable. We just have to be very careful so they don’t come through us. Are you an agent of unity or of strife?
LESSON DERIVED
1. Christians should be able to resolve their misunderstanding amicably, so that the fire of the gospel can continually burn. Misunderstanding quenches the fire of the gospel if allowed to take root.
2. The devil has never been comfortable with the gospel of Christ. He does everything to render it ineffective in the Church’s hands through dissension and division. Put him to shame by uniting with Christ.
QUESTIONS
1. Why did Jesus pray that God should make His disciples one?
2. Disunity is the tools the devil uses to break the church. Discuss.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
ANSWER TO QUESTION 1
1. Believers’ unity would prove to the world the unity of the Godhead, thus bringing glory to God.
ii. Believers’ unity would equip them to go all out as one body to prevent Christ’s gospel, boldly and successfully to the world.
iii. Believers’ unity would make the Church a formidable force against the onslaught of the devil in the world. After all, united we stand.
iv. He did so, so that Satan would not succeed in bringing division and disunity to His church.
v. If He had not done so, Satan might have scattered the church with disunity even right from the time of the earliest disciples. And the gospel might not have reached us today, if Satan had succeeded in disuniting them. So, just like Jesus prayed for Peter not to be sifted away, He also did for His disciples and for the rest of us, today.
vi. Jesus also knows that false doctrines are capable of disuniting the church. So, His prayers were to an extent, prophetic in nature, because He was praying for both the immediate and yet-to-come future.
vii. Jesus’ prayer is also an indirect way of warning His disciples ans all of us, about what are to come, so we can then watch, pray, and be careful.
ANSWER TO QUESTION 2
i. A diligent warrior knows that once there is confusion, or disunity in the enemy’s camp, they are gullible and vulnerable at that moment. So, the devil tries to create division in the Church — the camp of Christ, so that he can strike.
ii. When a wall has an opening, lizards easily penetrate through it. The devil throws stones of confusion and division at the Church’s wall to create loopholes to destroy and scatter the Church.
iii. The devil knows what Jesus said in Matt. 12:25-26, that a kingdom or house that is divided against itself cannot stand. So, he is doing all he can do to ensure that the church is divided against herself.
iv. The schism and nepotism among the brethren in Corinth was deliberately planted by the devil to stifle the growth of the Church there. Thank God for Paul who tackled this headlong, thus working for a united Church — neither Paul’s nor Apollo’s
LIFE APPLICATION
A look at the Church in this generation reveals how divided we are. A lot of unnecessary issues — doctrines and practices, aside deliberate quarrels and bickering with godless politics have eaten deep into the foundation of the unity of the Church in this generation. Denominationalism and individualism aren’t helping matters at all. Proliferation of heretical teachings and godlessness among church leaders have further torn the Church apart. Imagine churches suing themselves to court over mundane things. Inter and intra churches unhealthy contentions and competitions are no longer news in relation to churches and denominations. No wonder, it is becoming increasingly difficult for churches globally to be united in principles and purpose — unity with Christ and His Word. Honestly, we need serious prayer against such agents of Satan sowing seeds of discord amidst us before the devil accomplishes its desire. May your eyes be open to do this. Amen.
CONCLUSION
The unity of the Church is her strength and seal of validity. When a house or people are united, they form a formidable team. Just like the people at the tower of Babel, if God had not scattered and confused their tongue, they would have made a major unprecedented rebellious landmark. That is the extent to which unity can exalt a people. The devil knows this, so he does all he can to ensure that the Church is divided, disunited and confused, so he can pull her down. This is therefore a clarion call to us not to be ignorant of his nefarious devices. May God use and recognise us as agents of unity, and not of division Amen!
DEVOTIONAL BIBLE READINGS FOR WEEK TWO
Mon. Sept. 28: Be A Peace Seeker (Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 3:11)
Tue. Sept. 29: Be A Forgiver Like Our Father (Matt. 6:12)
Wed. Sept. 30: Be Not Carried About With Falsehood (Heb. 13:9)
Thur. Oct. 1: Beware Of Satan’s Hindrances (1 Thess. 2:18)
Fri. Oct. 2: Of Antagonists like Elymas (Acts. 13:8)
Sat. Oct. 3: Be Repentant Of All Divisive Tendencies (Matt. 4:17)