“…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”
Ephesians 4:14 is makes it clear: What we believe matters! What we truly believe is revealed in our actions. Our behavior reveals our growth into maturity or our childishness. We must know the word of God or we will tend to build our life on our own thinking or what our culture tells us.
Ephesians 4:14 gives a three-part warning revealing three ways people in the church are tossed to and fro.
BY EVERY WIND AND DOCTRINE
Paul is saying that unless you grow in maturity in your faith and understand what the word of God actually says, you will be prone to follow the waves of popular spirituality and false teachings. Let this be a warning against crafting a doctrine to fit your lifestyle or personal desires that do not align with the word of God. Our culture is masterful at this! Think of the hot-button issues in our culture: gender, marriage, and abortion, to name a few. The sound doctrine of the word of God has something to say about each one (see Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4-6; and Psalm 139:13-16).
Scripture speaks clearly to these contested issues. Yet, we still find people attempting to create doctrine to agree with their will instead of God’s word. Will we believe the doctrine of God’s word or the ever-shifting “doctrinal” waves of culture? We avoid every wind of doctrine by growing up into maturity and knowing the word of God!
BY HUMAN CUNNING
Human cunning, in this case, means using spiritual means to get to a selfish end. This takes a variety of shapes from using positions of spiritual influence or power to get people to perform a certain way, or acting “spiritual” to get something you want, or twisting the truth to achieve a desired result that does not line up with the word of God. Human cunning is the manipulation of people to get what you want all in the name of faith. How do you resist human cunning? Grow up in maturity and know the word of God!
BY CRAFTINESS IN DECEITFUL SCHEMES
This means we can be deceived by any agenda other than the mission of God from the word of God, any agenda that does not directly point to God’s agenda and purpose. How do we resist the craftiness in deceitful schemes? Grow up in maturity and know the word of God!
Sinclair Ferguson also offers great insight on how to resist being tossed to-and-fro:
“Study and meditation, application and obedience develop in us the ability to see clearly, to distinguish between what is true and false, and also between what is good and what is really best. The truth of the gospel makes our spiritual antennae sensitive. The Word seeps into our instincts so that we sense the superficial and detect teaching that is sinister or dangerous.”
What changes do you need to make to ensure you’re not tossed “to and fro” by the waves of the world in the year ahead?
Taken from a sermon by George Wright, Senior Pastor, Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Birmingham, AL
DIG DEEPER
Read “Don’t Be Deceived” by Bryant Wright
