5 characteristics of False R..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Brethren, my beloved of Christ, as I said to you, we're going to be addressing this chapter 18. And I want to continue to speak to you about this concept of this idea of false religion.

Something that we started doing last week, if you remember, with chapter 17. And one of the important things that I said to you before we read the chapter is that with chapter 17, we have come to the conclusion of the main section of this book. We have spoken about all the major and all the main judges of the people of Israel. And now towards the end of the book, in the 5 final chapters, we find ourselves with a number of accounts, stories and narratives. Perhaps the word is not stories, but accounts and narratives of things that happened not long after the death of Joshua.

If you pay careful attention, if you go in your Bibles and read Judges Chapter 2, you don't have to do it now, but whenever you have the time, you will see that in Judges Chapter 2, we are told that after the generation of Joshua died, that the following generation did not know the Lord, and they were given to disobedience to the Lord. That is what we're reading here, stories of the disobedient heart of the people of Israel. And not even the mercy of the Lord that was manifested through the many judges, deliverers that came to rescue them from the oppression that they deserved, not even the mercy of the Lord moved them to change their ways, but rather they remained as covenant breakers. And brethren, as we approach this section 17 and onwards, the main teaching of this section is that in those days there was no king in Israel, and everyone did according to what was right in their own eyes. The teaching was not only for the physical, external Israel, but every time that a person does not have Jesus as their King in their hearts, ruling not externally, but inside of us, then we are going to be condemned to do that which is right in our own eyes.

And while it is true that the book of Judges is preparing us for what comes ahead, namely King David and all the kings of Israel, It is deeper and more true, perhaps, the reality that Israel was in need of a spiritual king. The king that they had. They were supposed to be circumcised in their hearts. So last week we started to see all of these black and righteous, very wicked narratives. And we were introduced to the first one of those narratives, which is Micah, if you remember.

Micah is a covenant breaker. Very sinful, brethren. Unrighteous in ways very deep into his heart. A man that was a covenant breaker, idolater. If you remember, this man made unto himself some carved images, some idols, a household of idols.

He made unto himself a little temple to worship God in an illegal way. And that being not enough, he hired for himself a Levite who was equally wicked, equally unrighteous, who for just some money that was going to be given to him, will become the priest of these wicked Micah men. And as we saw last week, this man was completely deceived because he thought that the blessing of the Lord was going to come upon him just because he had a temple in his house, just because he had some idols and carved images in his house, just because he had this wicked Levite who was a priest unto himself. As we continue now to chapter 18, brother and sister, we have somehow the continuation of the story of Micah, but now this is going to be more focused on the Danites, the tribe of Dan. If you remember, the people of Israel were divided in 12 different tribes, and one of those tribes was the tribe of Dan.

Now, brethren, the main focus and the main point of chapter 18 is this. And if there is something that you're going to get, perhaps it's this, just to understand what we're going to be reading. Chapter 18 has one single purpose with two sides. The first side is that we're going to see the people of Dan. You understand when I say Dan, right?

The people of Dan receiving or trying to take their inheritance that they have not received quite yet. So they are going to try to take land for them. That is the main purpose of the narrative that we have in verse 18. Actually, they are going to be successful. They're going to conquer a piece of land for themselves.

And this brings us to the second purpose of this chapter. That is to show us that the tribe of Dan, as they conquer this land, they're going to establish there a wicked, illegal system of religion. A system of religion with false idols, with false gods, with carved images. And actually, they're going to go and visit Micah from chapter 17 and take, steal, actually, his gods, his carved images from his little temple. And they're going to take it to the city that they have conquered.

And beyond that, they're going to hire this wicked Levite. So this Levite is now going to quit his job with Micah and is going to serve the Danites in this city that now they have conquered. Now, the most wicked thing, if that is how the superlative goes with wicked, but the most wicked thing here, brother and sister, is that we're going to be told towards the end of the chapter that all of this is happening while Shiloh is still at operations or operating. You remember, Shiloh was the chosen place of God where the tabernacle was there, and the worship of the people of Israel was supposed to be at Shiloh, the chosen place. Shiloh is going to change for Jerusalem, but Shiloh was the chosen place.

And the Danites did all of this while Shiloh was still at place. Let us read now these 31 verses, brethren. And please, may the Spirit of Christ Jesus guide you as you read this. I want you to see the wickedness and righteousness, the blackness of the many things that are... Friend here, Micah, the Levites and the Danites will get into in chapter 18.

Let us read this together and then we will try to see some signs, if you want, or characteristics of false religion. This is the Word of the Lord, Judges chapter 18. Let us read together, paying careful attention to each one of the words, Judges chapter 18. In those days there was knocking in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the people of Dan was seeking for itself an inheritance to dwell in. For until then, no inheritance among the tribes of Israel had fallen to them.

So the people of Dan sent five able men from the whole number of their tribe, from Zorah and from Eshtoel, to spy out the land and to explore it. And they said to them, Go and explore the land. And they came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and latched there. And when they were by the house of Micah, they recognized the voice of the young Levite. And they turned aside and said to him, Who brought you here?

What are you doing in this place? What is your business here? And he, that is the Levite, said to them, This is how Micah dealt with me. He has hired me, and I have become his priest. And they said to him, Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey of which we are setting out will succeed.

And the priest said to them, Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord. Then the five men departed and came to Laish. And so the people who were there, who they lived in security after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth, and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. And when they came to their brothers at Zorah, that is when they returned, and when they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshterol, their brother said to them, What do you report?

They said, Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. As soon as you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.

So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out from Zorah and Eshtoel, and went up and encamped in Kiriath Yarim in Judah. On this account, the place is called Manaheddan to this day. Behold, it is west of Kiriath Yarim. And they passed on from there to the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah. Then the five men who had gone to scout or spy out the country of Laish said to the brothers, Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, a household of gods and carved images and a metal image?

Now therefore consider what you will do.' And they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite at the home of Micah and asked him about his welfare. Now the six hundred men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. They stole it.

18, and when these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod and the household guards and the metal image, the priest said to them, what are you doing? And they said to him, keep quiet, put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be a priest to the house of one man or to be priest to the tribe and clan in Israel? And the priest's heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the cart image and went along with the people.

So they turned and departed, the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them. When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah's house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, What is the matter with you that you come with such a company? And he said, You take my gods that I made, and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me?

What is the matter with you?' And the people of then said to him, Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household. Then the people of Dan went their way, and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home. But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priests who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword, and burned the city with fire. And there was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone.

It was in the valley that belongs to Bedrehab that they rebuilt the city and lived in it. And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan, their ancestor, who was born to Israel. But the name of the city was Laish at first. And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves. And Jonathan, the son of Gershon, son of Moses, or Manasseh, and his sons, were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.

So they set up Micah's carved image that he made as long as the house of God was a Shiloh. Amen. This is the reading of the Word. As I said to you, I want us to see from this text some signs or characteristics of false religion. May the Lord help us to see the dangers, the characteristics and the signs of false religion.

Because false religion is not only dangerous, but it's also condemning and damning. It's going to take a person to full condemnation. That is false religion. And we are told very clearly in James 1, verse 27, that true and undefiled religion is two important things. To keep oneself unspotted from the world and to care, to look for those who are in need.

Specifically for James, there in chapter 1, verse 27, the orphan, and the widow. True religion, undefiled religion, is that we are showing God, showing the person of Jesus Christ, that the natural response of the person is to keep oneself unspotted from the world. There's a separation that happens with a person who lives in true and undefiled religion. That is that the presence of God is so mightily present in a person, in the Christian, now this person has been set apart from the things of the world. And more importantly, this is going to be now manifested in an interest, in a care that transcends self and is going to be manifested in caring for those who are in need, namely the widows and the orphans.

While we see the true definition of what true religion is in James 1, verse 27, we can implicitly see there the definition of what false religion is. Because false religion is a type of religion that does not bring you to God in order to be separated from the things of the world, but rather false religion is that which makes you to be Spotted by the world. Contaminated with the things of the world. There's no holiness. There's no righteousness.

There's no impartation of Christ in false religion. But rather, there's an impartation of the things of the flesh and of the things of the world. And because there's no impartation of Christ in false religion, then the care of the person who is in false religion will be self. We'll be caring only about the things of oneself. This is what false religion is.

And brothers and sisters, very dangerous for the life of each individual and very dangerous for the life of the church. And there are some important things that I want to show you here from the chapter, characteristics of this false religion. First one, false religion, my dear brother and sister, destroys faith and produces self-reliance. False religion destroys faith. The faith that is supposed to bring us to the presence of Christ is destroyed by false religion and changes that with self-reliance.

True religion will always make us depend upon the Lord Jesus Christ. False religion will make us depend upon ourselves and the system in which we are. That is the characteristic of false religion. False religion does not put the eyes in Christ, but in self. And when we put the eyes in self, brethren, we are going to try to fix things in our own strength.

We're going to try to solve problems in our own strength. And that's exactly what happened to the tribe of Dan. If you pay careful attention to verse 2 of the chapter that you have in front of us, we are given two important places where the people of Dan reside. If you can see there, there are two cities. The first one is Zorah and the second one is Eshtoel.

If you have time, you can carefully go and read Judges chapter 2, and also you can go and read Joshua chapter 19 from verses 41, and especially verses 47. And there we're told something very important. First, is that when the people of Dan make it into the Promised Land, they did not take full possession of the land. Why? Because they disobeyed the Lord, and because the Amorites pushed the Danites into the mountains.

But also, we know something very important. That these two cities, and bear with me on my explanation, Zorah and Eshto, were indeed the initial cities that the Lord had allocated to them in Joshua chapter 19. If you remember, the Lord gave the promise that each tribe was going to receive a portion of the land with the many cities. These two cities were two of the many cities that the Danites were supposed to receive. But because of the oppression of the Amorites that pushed them into the mountains, they were not able to conquer the rest of the land.

They were not able to take possession of all the land that the Lord had promised. So what does false religion do? False religion moves them to put their minds and eyes in themselves. Because now, instead of coming before the Lord and repenting for breaking the covenant and being disobedient and asking the Lord to fulfill the promise of the land and to give them the land that the Amorites had, now these people of the Danites are going to come with a plan of going to somewhere else where the Lord has not allocated that land and take that land by force. Because Laish, my dear brother and sister, is a city that was not allocated in the promise from the Lord to the people of Israel, but rather is far away from the portion of land that God had initially given to the people of Israel.

This was the Danites trying to find unto themselves a portion of land, not through the promise of the Lord, but rather relying in themselves. Why? Because false religion, of which they were objects and subdued to it, makes a person not put their eyes in the Lord, but rather put their eyes in themselves, thinking that they can accomplish whatever promise they had before through the flesh. And the Lord gave them over, brethren. Because as you saw, these people of Dan actually conquered that land, conquered the city of Laish.

They had victory. Actually, they took that city and that is going to be an important city in the development of the history of the people of Israel. That is the first thing, brothers. False religion destroys faith and produces self-reliance. Second, very important thing.

False religion creates a false peace among brethren. False religion creates a false peace among brethren. The Danites and these Levites were supposed to be brothers under the covenant of God, right? The Levites and the Danites, they were supposed to be brothers. They were under the same covenant with the Lord.

What about the encounter, brother and sister, when the five spies come to Micah's house and find this Levite in the little temple there with the household gods, with the carved images, and with the ephod that was illegally worshiping the Lord? What did the law of Moses command to do to a person like that, brethren? A stone. But false religion produces a false peace among brothers and sisters. While the people now have the law of the Lord removed from their hearts and from their minds, now they define good and bad according to their own imagination.

Not even the Levite who was supposed to exhort these brothers and say, brother, brother, the Lord has given you a promise to conquer this piece of land. Why don't you repent of your sins and put your trust in the Lord that he will give you this land? Why are you going all the way to Laish? That, by the way, is part of Naphtali and that was also prohibited in the law. Why are you going to go all the way to the north to take that position of working in your own flesh, working in your own strength, trusting the Lord?

But the Levite. The Levite is consulted by these Danites. What is it going to be the outcome of this trip? Go in peace. A false prophet.

Peace, peace when there is no peace. Calling evil good and good evil. When he was supposed to take his hand and stone them and to point them to the law of the Lord, False religion has produced a false peace among the brethren because false religion does not have the power to confront the realities that the Lord confronts. Third, false religion produces self-seeking shepherds. false religion produces self-seeking pastors or shepherds.

The Levites, brothers and sisters, were supposed to be the instructors of the people of Israel, to teach them to differentiate between that which is holy and pagan, to teach them the statutes of the Lord. Yet you saw the example of this Levite, originally hired by Micah. And then when he's just before this question, what do you prefer? You prefer to be the priest of only a single man in this little temple, or you prefer to be the priest of our whole clan and tribe of Israel? Verse 20 says, his heart was glad.

His heart was glad with money, with reputation, with a name unto himself. Well, Levi's had been called to count the cost and to serve the Lord, that the Lord will be their portion. This man has chosen now pieces of silver and reputation and a name unto himself instead of the portion of the Lord. Why? Because false religion produces self-seeking shepherds.

Self-seeking pastors that are not willing to count the cost, but rather, brothers and sisters, they want to please themselves with that which they call religion, which is false in nature. Fourth, and very important, false religion corrupts. If you pay careful attention in verse 30, We are revealed or given the identity of this priest, this wicked priest. This wicked priest that was hired in chapter 17, and now that is going to be the priest of the Danites in chapter 18. And we're told that his name is Jonathan.

Jonathan is his name. It says in verse 30, set up the cart image for themselves and Jonathan the son of Gershon, son of Moses and Manasseh. This is going to be the first priest of the Danites and then the offspring of Jonathan, this wicked Levite, is going to continue to be the priest or the Levites that are going to serve the Danites. Now, brethren, names in the Old Testament speak more of what the parents thought of the child than what the child actually was supposed to be. But the name Jonathan means given to Jehovah, or given by Jehovah, or given to Jehovah, or to God, to the Lord.

It is the parents, when they named this son, they were trusting that this son was going to be consecrated to the service of the Lord God of Israel. And this consecrated son of these parents, brethren, ended up in a horrendous, horrendous place because false religion corrupts. And if that was not sufficient, you can see there that there's only a couple of generations after Moses that are going to end up serving the Danites in their false religion system. Brethren! Offspring of the Levites, these ones that had been called consecrated unto the Lord to serve Him, now are going to be consecrated to Satan.

You understand that when we speak about Baal or when we speak about any other god, this is Satan? Consecrated unto Satan. Why? Because false religion corrupts. And then we come to the final one, brethren.

False religion is judged by the Lord. Because as you see there in verse 30, we're told that, "...and his sons..." That is the offspring of Jonathan, son of Jerusalem, and Moses. "...

and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land." Wicked city that is going to be used then in 1 Kings by Jeroboam to build unto himself and to the northern kingdom his temple, his place where to worship. That is going to be the object of the judgment of God when the hidden will come to take the people of Israel in exile because the judgment of the Lord has come. False religion will be judged. There's absolutely no one who says, Lord, Lord, and is not real in the heart, that preaches the Bible and is not real in the heart, that speaks of Christ, that is not real in the heart, that is not going to be exposed.

fearful thing it is to pretend to be or pretend to speak or pretend to walk when that which is moving us inside is not of the Lord Jesus Christ. False religion is not pure. False religion is defiled. And false religion keeps us connected and spotted by the world, caring only about ourselves. And brethren, if it's not because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, The words that I have shared with you are prophetic utterances of our destiny.

If it's not because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, all of the things that I have spoken of, that I have described and that we have seen in chapters 17 and 18, are prophetic utterances of my destiny and of your destiny. Because if we do not depend upon the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, what we have read here is what the human heart can actually do, even when we have seen and tasted the goodness of the Lord. Otherwise, read Hebrews chapter 6. The only hope of the Christian and of the local church is to always depend upon the one that is supposed to be king. Because when there is no king in Israel, Everyone does according to what is right in their own eyes.

Amen, brethren? Let us pray.