Tonight, I invite you to turn with me to 2 Corinthians 10, 2 Corinthians 10, as we read this chapter together, verses 3 through 5, 3, 4, and 5, serving as the text tonight. As we consider in this week, once again, the reformation of the church in the 16th century, we are reminded that the abuses that the Reformers were fighting against, of course, were abuses against the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel of salvation, and also, in many ways, abuses against the ministry of that gospel. And that's also something that Paul faced many, many years before this, and indeed something that the church has faced ever since the time sin entered the world. We consider this in a particular way tonight. 2 Corinthians 10, as we read the chapter, again, verses 3-5, serving as our text. We hear now God's infallible, inerrant, inspired word. By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you. I, Paul, who am timid when face to face with you, but bold when away. I beg you that when I come, I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be towards some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience once your obedience is complete. You are looking only on the surface of things. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as He. For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it. I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. For some say, his letters are weighty and forceful. But in person, he is unimpressive. And his speaking amounts to nothing. Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present. We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you. We are not going too far in our boasting as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand so we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man's territory, but let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. Beloved in Christ the Lord, did God really say? Remember that question? Boys and girls, remember that question? Did God really say? That's the question you remember that the serpent, Satan, asked Eve in the garden. That question that led to the fall of the whole human race into sin and rebellion and subjected the whole human race to the eternal punishment and the wrath of God in hell. That's the question that led to the idols of our own imagination, even the idolatry of ourselves, one's self, and setting up one's own human reasoning as supreme. It's the question that led to accepting another word, a word other than, thus saith the Lord. That's the question that led to the battle of the ages between the lie and the truth, between Satan and God. That's the question that led to the battle for souls. That question, beloved, has been asked throughout the ages ever since. Maybe not with the exact phrase. Maybe not even using the exact words. But it's actually been asked and answered by mankind. By mankind demonstrating the going of his own way. Not believing in God. And our Lord Jesus Christ answered that question once and for all with a resounding yes. When He was crucified, died, was buried, rose again, and ascended into heaven. Yes. And when He comes again in all of His splendor, He will give one final yes. Yes, God did really say. If you disobey, you die. Yes, His Word is true. Now the Apostle Paul, we know, was actively engaged in that battle of the ages. He was engaged both offensively promoting the Gospel and defensively defending the faith. We know that he says it himself. He says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. And then with this text to the church in Corinth, Paul gives a defense for fighting the good fight of faith. And as he does, he teaches that this fight is to be with the proper weapons. With a prescriptive method. And it will be with a powerful result. First of all, with the proper weapons. Verses 3 and 4. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Now, the word world here is also translated in many versions as flesh. We live in the flesh, but our warfare is not according to the flesh. We do not use weapons of the flesh. Now, when we talk about fighting with the proper weapons, first of all, we need to understand the battle. We need to understand where the battle is being fought. We need to understand what is being fought for and how that fight is to take place. The proper weapons depend on this. And of course, that's true in everyday life too, isn't it? You need the proper tools. Boys and girls, you don't drive a nail, especially a large nail, into a piece of wood with a screwdriver. You might try, but you don't do it. You don't drive it with a saw. It's like you don't saw a piece of wood with a hammer. You don't play a volleyball game with a football. Imagine that. It doesn't work. You need the proper tools. Understanding the battle. You need to understand the battle in order to understand the proper weapons. This battle, Paul says, is not earthly, it's not fleshly. It doesn't involve tanks and machine guns and suicide bombers and long-range missiles. Of course, we know that earthly battles that take place flow from this battle of the ages. It's because of sin in the world. Earthly battles, we know, use earthly strategies, battle plans, and territory maps and human reason trying to outsmart the enemy. And these earthly battles involve physical death and lost lives. But this battle of the ages is earthly in the sense that it is fought, it is carried out in the arena of this life, this world in which we live, in which Satan is busy and active. Paul says we live in this world, or again, we live in the flesh. But this battle is spiritual. Paul describes in Ephesians 6, he says, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Again, the true battle is between Satan and God. It's between the lie of the devil and the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a war against error and everything opposed to the truth of the gospel. Again, it's a battle for the souls of men. And the church of Jesus Christ and believers are called to fight. We are called to fight for the kingdom of God and therefore to fight against the forces of evil. We are called to fight to uphold the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and thereby defending against error. We are fight if it is God's will to be used by Him to bring others to Christ and in the same way then to deliver them from Satan and hell. But this also includes being on guard for our own lives too. Guarding ourselves too. And this battle is not just out there in the world. This battle is very much in the church, especially in the church. That's where Satan is fighting the hardest. He doesn't care about those who don't confess the Lord Jesus Christ. They're not a threat. But you and I, by the very confession we made in the Apostles' Creed, we are a threat to Satan and his kingdom. Paul faced this threat. He faced false prophets and false teachers. Satan is busy and active trying to destroy the church that Jesus Christ purchased. He is busy and active challenging the church's task to preach the Gospel, to preach it faithfully, and to make disciples, and to baptize into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Satan is busy and active trying to influence the church by the context of the world. The world in which we are placed. The world that's around us. And the context of that world, do you know what that is? Well, a couple of ways to describe it is individualism. It's all about me. Relativism. Truth is relative. What's true for you is great, but it might not be true for me. Something else might be true for me. Or consumerism. For me. My wants and my desires. That's the context of the world in which the church is placed. And that's the context that Satan uses to try to impact the church and the church's ministry. Jesus said there would be wolves in sheep's clothing, false teachers who work to tickle the ears of the hearers, to tell the people what they want to hear. And these false teachers give the appearance of fighting for the kingdom. Paul says of them in chapter 11, beginning of verse 13, For such men are false prophets, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. it is not surprising then if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness, their end will be what their actions deserve. They give the appearance that they are fighting for the kingdom of heaven, but the truth is they are really fighting against the kingdom of God. They are using the weapons of this world which are improper. Paul says again in verse 4, the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. What are those weapons? Those are the weapons beloved found in man. Those are the weapons that are found from the greatness of man, the supremacy of man. Those weapons include man's ability to think and reason. It includes man's philosophy and man's standard of right and wrong. Man thinking that he knows best. In the world, we know that man is godless. Man says, there is no God. No, I'm God, man says. It's up to me. It's all about me. Let's go back to that context again. Individualism. I look out for me. Relativism. I know what's best for me. Consumerism. I work to satisfy me. And with all of these things, the world utilizes the lie and deceit and slander and misrepresentation to take care of me. And that's also drifted into the church, accommodating these isms. Even in true churches, a man-centered ministry and a man-centered salvation. You see, beloved, many in effect have answered no to the question, has God really said? They say no, or they say He's wrong. We're not totally depraved. There's enough good in me to choose God if I so desire, if I think I need Him. If I need a little help, Jesus helps in my salvation, but He's not completely necessary. He might not even be necessary at all. An unconditional election? Not true. Whoever wants to be saved can be saved. And hell? No. We might experience hell on earth. Whole life can be hell at times. But there's no such thing as hell later on. If there is an afterlife, we'll all be fine. In all these things, by saying no to has God really said, even in the church at times, What happens is we sweep the saving power of the cross under the carpet by human inventions. Again, the church has faced this throughout history. Paul faced it. Go back to Mount Sinai, the golden calf. And what did God think of that? Notice what He thought of man-made worship. Or Nadab and Abihu when they offered profane fire. Notice how God enjoyed that. He licked them up with fire from heaven. Paul faced it too. His whole ministry, we know that what was against salvation by works and he preached the sovereignty of God and the grace of God. And the time of the Reformation, again, the Reformers worked by the grace of God to restore the church from the errors of justification by works that I'm right with God by what I do and also against the idolatrous use of relics and indulgences and penance. And we face it again today, there are so many who believe that there is enough good in them that of course God will save me. I'm not that bad. I'm not as bad as the next guy. Or all roads lead to heaven. It doesn't matter what you believe. Just believe in something. Just have faith and you'll be okay. Man-made salvation and man-designed ministry continues to be practiced throughout the ages because man thinks that we know how to do it right. And again, our modern day worship styles and church growth strategies are not new. Paul faced him. He faced the false teachers who attacked him instead of him. But on the one hand, as verse 2 says, that he follows the standards of the world. The message his accusers brought to the church is that Paul followed the standards of the world. That he selfishly wanted authority. That he wanted to exalt himself. And he was using the lie and he was using deception to gain their trust. He was telling them that they cannot attain salvation on their own. They need this man, Jesus Christ. And since Paul is close to this Jesus, they need Him. And on the other hand, they said that he was a weak leader. He was a weakling. He was not a very good public speaker. They put more emphasis on the delivery style than on the content of the message. They said his very appearance was timid. He was meek. He was humble. And that doesn't make for a good leader. You've got to be confident. You've got to stand tall and strong. People aren't going to trust you if you're weak, If you're timid, you've got to have confidence in yourself, you see. Then people will follow you. They said that he didn't have the right gimmicks for ministry, that he didn't possess the qualities for spiritual church leadership that they said one needed and that they claimed to have. And his message? The cross? A dead Savior? Where's the victory in that? It's foolishness. His accusers said that he had nothing going for him. He couldn't be trusted. But you see, they were the ones that didn't understand. They didn't understand Christ's ministry. That while the message of the cross is bold, that Christ's servants, His ministers, and His Christians are characterized, to be characterized by humility. Those who understand the greatness and the power and the majesty of God, and they understand themselves in relation to Him, and they understand what He has done for them in Christ Jesus. You see, Paul's accusers thought that they were the real thing. They were the confident and the capable ones. They were the ones who commanded respect. But the truth is, they were the ones living according to the worldly standards. They were the ones who desired to do whatever it takes to gain a following and to be seen as great. These accusers did not understand the battle. They had the wrong focus. It's not a battle over numbers. It's not a battle over the size of this congregation versus the one down the street or this federation versus the other denomination. It's not about addressing the felt needs of the people or encouraging with the power of positive thinking. It's not about doing whatever it takes to get people into the door of the church. That's the wrong focus. The focus is Jesus Christ. They had the battle all wrong. It's not about exalting oneself, but exalting Christ. Again, many churches today are engaged in the wrong battle. Many are fighting and competing against the entertainment offered in the world that changes the gospel into an easy believism and a convenient Christianity. Preaching an if-it-feels-right-it-must-be-right gospel or a health and wealth gospel. And young people, and boys and girls especially, that's what Satan wants you to think that worship is all about. He wants you to think that it's all about you. He wants you to think that you are to come to worship on Sunday and have your ego stroked. He wants you to think that you have a right to be told how good you are and how much God needs you in His kingdom. He wants you to believe what is false. It's not about you. It's not about me. Our worship is about God. It's about what we come to give to God. It's not about you and me. Paul's accusers had a wrong worldview. There was a clash between their worldview and Paul's worldview. Their worldview was shaped by the praise of society. What man wants. What reason says makes sense. But Paul's worldview was shaped by the Gospel. That God is a sovereign God. That He is our sovereign Creator. Our sovereign Redeemer. Our sovereign Sanctifier. That man has sinned and man can find no hope in himself. He needs to look outside of himself. And there's only one place to look. It is God who has provided the only Savior, the only hope, Jesus Christ our Lord. Again, as we think about the Reformation, we can go back all the way through history. Has God really said? And these were the very same abuses that Martin Luther wrote against. We need to understand the battle, but then we also need to understand in order to employ the proper weapons, we need to understand the weakness of man's weapons. Paul understood that. He understood that firsthand because he was struck down on the road to Damascus. He understood the weakness of man. He understood that the battle belongs to the Lord and that His accusers were really working to discredit the work of Jesus Christ. He understood that the weapons of the world only fail, that lying and deception and selfishness and man's own reason will only lead to destruction. They can only lead to destruction. He understood that man's reason was defective because man doesn't think that he's sinful. And if there is something wrong, he thinks he can fix himself. that he has no need for a Savior. Paul understood that man can only deceive himself. He understood that man all by himself versus Satan, that man will lose every time. Therefore, we need to understand the power of God, the power of His weapons. It's a spiritual battle. And Paul knew that the proper weapons were only those that come with the divine power. They come from God. They are used for service for God. They are given power by God. What are these spiritual weapons? Paul gives a beautiful description again in Ephesians chapter 6 as he speaks of the armor of God. The armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. Beloved, God armors His people with His truth, with His righteousness, with His peace, with faith in Him, with His salvation, with His Spirit, with His Word. Not our stuff, but that which is His. And that's a picture of invincibility against which the lie and sin and wickedness and Satan cannot stand. And Paul says to use these with prayer. Prayer, you see, is a weapon too. Prayer is a weapon that Satan doesn't want you and I to know about. He doesn't want you and I to use it because it's such a wonderful gift that God has given to us to commune with Him. Prayer. Use these with prayer. and these weapons this armor is used in defense defending the faith but also promoting the faith and the foundation is the sword of the spirit the word of god and though that word is foolishness to man yet that word is more powerful and effective than man paul we know in first corinthians chapter one talks about the foolishness of god now there is no such thing as the foolishness of god but if something can be said to be the foolishness of god for argument's sake it's still wiser than the greatest wisdom of man. He talks about that in chapter 1, and in chapter 2 he begins, When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God, for I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. Paul did not want to confuse them. It's not about man. It's not about how good of a preacher he was. How eloquent. It's about the wisdom of God. The power of God. And the church and believers who are equipped with the weapons of divine power are then to fight the good fight of faith following the prescriptive method. The second part of verse 4, On the contrary, they, that is these weapons, They have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. The prescriptive method to demolish the strongholds, those things that set themselves up against the knowledge of God. The symbolism here points to the ancient world of building, building high, strong, and solid walls around cities for protection and for security. Boys and girls, you think about the walls of Jericho, tumbling down. But in the wall, a stronghold or a massively fortified tower, we might say a sort of a vault, was built so that even if the enemy could break through the wall, those who were being attacked could retreat into that tower, into that stronghold, to make a final defense. And of course, if the stronghold was taken, then of course the battle was over. In sin, we know that man has been trying to set up fortresses against God ever since sin entered the world. Setting up fortresses of ignoring God. Of trying to outsmart God. Or setting up fortresses of trying to prove God wrong. Or trying to avoid Him. Or trying to defeat Him. Paul describes the reality here as arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Now, arguments is also translated as speculations, as thoughts, as plans. Pretensions is also translated as every lofty or high thing. And the idea is the pride of human reason and human invention that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Paul is talking about opinions or convictions of those who set themselves and the conclusions of their own reason, their own thinking against the truth of God. And notice the foundation of these arguments and pretensions is man. What man thinks. Sinful man. In Romans 1 verse 21, Paul says, For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And in 1 Corinthians 3.20, Paul says, The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless. All these things are set up against the knowledge of God. Paul is talking about that knowledge that God has given to us, the revelation of God Himself in the Gospel. In sin, man simply thinks that he is smarter than God. And he questions the knowledge of God. The world stands tall in pride. The world has all the answers. It says, God is dead. He says, this life is all there is, and it all depends on man. And beloved, everything that is set up against the knowledge of God, everything that questions God, everything that says, no, God has not really said, Satan rejoices in that. He loves it. Apart from God, man is filled with himself. He is arrogant. Paul describes this somewhat in Romans 1. After the verse that we just read, we read in verse 28, Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind to do what ought not be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil. They disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, rootless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but also approve of those who practice them. Beloved, as believers, by the grace of God, we know how vain and how useful it is to set up anything against the knowledge of God because God is all-knowing. He is all-knowing. Only God has the answers for this life and the next. Only God has the answers for your sin and my sin and for our helpless and hopeless condition. Again, the battle is between truth and error. It's between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world. However, as Paul says, the world has exchanged the truth of God for the lie. The cross of Jesus is complete foolishness. It just doesn't make sense to the world. And in its place, the world creates through their fancy philosophy and through their limited human knowledge and intelligence, the world creates a salvation scheme that makes sense to them, that makes man feel a little bit better, But any salvation scheme, beloved, apart from Jesus Christ and any scheme that is not focused completely on Him is a lie. Any fortress apart from and opposed to the mighty fortress our God is easily destroyed by Paul's divinely powerful weapons of warfare. He speaks of demolishing here. He does not simply mean that Paul can out-debate an embarrassed one off the stage. there's no doubt he could out-debate anyone when it came to the faith. Sad truth is, we know that even sometimes those who, in a debating match, those who hold to the lie are sometimes able to out-debate those who hold to the truth, sadly, because we still struggle with sin. But the truth is, beloved, God's weapons destroy the way people think. God's weapons demolish, literally pulverize sinful thought patterns. and mental structures by which the world lives their lives in rebellion against God. God's weapons demolish every arrogant claim and every haughty thought and every proud act that forms a barrier to the knowledge of the living God. But God's weapons are also offensive and turn people in completely a new direction. That's conversion, a U-turn. By nature, we're headed toward hell. We love sin, and in that U-turn, by the power of the Holy Spirit, We are given a new love for the Lord Jesus Christ and the law of God. Paul knew that it wasn't man's reasoning and man's ideas of ministry that bring about an obedient response, but only the truth of the Word of God empowered by the Holy Spirit. Anything other than that, the Lord will not commend, as Paul says in verse 18. And as the false teachers preach, thus saith man, Paul boldly preached, thus saith the Lord. That's the only invincible weapon. You see, beloved, only the Word of God teaches us the truth of God. It teaches us the truth of who He is, His attributes, that He is majestic, that He is high and lofty, that He is holy, that He is marvelous, gracious, loving, and just. Only the Word of God teaches us the truth of God's redemption plan from before the foundation of the world. Only the Word of God teaches us the truth of man, that we are sinners, that we are wholly worthless in and of ourselves and we need a Savior. And only the Word of God teaches us the truth of Jesus Christ, the only Savior from sin. And only the Word of God teaches us the truth about heaven and hell and the life to come. Only the Word of God teaches us all the things that Satan wants to keep man from knowing and understanding. But as the psalmist says, for with you is the fountain of life in your light. And we can understand the psalmist to say, only in your light do we see light. A light that yields a powerful result. We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Again, the picture of a military expedition into enemy territory. That stronghold that we talked about is demolished, and those who are hiding inside are taken captive, taken as prisoners. Paul here, by talking about taking every thought captive, he's talking about a mission that is so effective that every plan of the enemy is turned over, every scheme is discovered and outmaneuvered, and every counterattack is beaten. But even more than that, as talking about the spiritual warfare, every thought and every idea and plan and motive and desire and scheme of sinful man is captured by Christ and brought under a new authority. That's what happens when one is born again. You see, beloved, we're not talking about the world here. Because never, even though God's powerful weapons demolish the way they think and the way they teach and the way they see things, they will never admit it. They will not believe it. Only when one is born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul understood this perfectly. Because all of his thought patterns, all of his mental structures, the way he saw things, the truth as he saw it was all crushed, demolished on the road to Damascus. The territory that Satan once held is captured and brought into a new authority, Christ's authority, and he so takes hold of his people so that they not only think holy thoughts, but it goes well beyond that. Again, their mental structures, their thought patterns, their motives, their desires, their plans, their actions are taken over and transformed, reformed as they come into a new allegiance to Jesus Christ. As long as we rest in our own judgments, as long as we are wise in our own eyes, we are on a dead-end road. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 18, Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks he is wise in this age, let him become foolish that he may become wise. When Paul is talking about captivity here, he's talking about being restrained or bridled in such a way, even with the idea of protection from outside influence, so that there is no wisdom and there is no thought apart from Jesus Christ. Focus completely on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's only when man-made philosophy and teaching is found to be useless that it does not lead to salvation and peace. It's only when we see that because our eyes are lifted to the knowledge of God, which is seen in Christ Jesus who is the only way, the truth, and the life, then that one is taken captive, having been released, removed from the stronghold of lies and deception, and brought into the freedom of captivity to Jesus Christ. Beloved, that is to be our goal and our desire for ourselves. That we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. You see, God calls us. He calls us to use the new heart and the new mind and the new will that He has given us. Notice what I said, to use it. He calls us to be active. He calls us to be responsible. He calls us to use these things, to actively think and to contemplate and to choose that which is pleasing to Him. And of course, we're talking about temptation here. When temptations confront us, when we are confronted with temptation. Luther was tempted to recant. When he was standing before the diet, they said, are these your writings? Are these your books? Yes, they are. Do you recant them? because we have judged what you have said to be in error. It is false. It's not true. Do you recant them? And as he stood there with his life in the balance, he said, unless they're proven to be wrong by Scripture, I can't. It would be foolish. It would be dangerous. It would be unwise to do so. He says, my conscience is captive to Christ. He did not give in to temptation. Beloved, when we are confronted with temptation, and it comes in all kinds of ways, doesn't it? Whether we are tempted to engage in pornography, or sexual promiscuity, or tempted to lie or cheat or steal, or simply boys and girls hurt somebody. We are to take those thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. But it goes beyond temptation. Every decision of life, decisions regarding our relationships, or our work ethic, or our worship, or even things that we think don't really make a difference, our driving habits, or how we are spectators at a sporting event, or even how we participate on the field or on the court. Simply everything, every thought, every decision is to be taken captive to the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is to be our desire and our goal for others too, that they too be captured by the Holy Spirit and brought under the authority of and into the obedience of Jesus Christ. And may it be our prayer, beloved, that God would be pleased to even use us to help another in that way. Brothers and sisters, wicked man will continue to set himself up against the truth of God until Jesus Christ returns. Satan will continue to attack the church from outside and from inside. Man-made methods of ministry that seek to satisfy our wants and not our true needs will continue to be employed and may even win a following and fame and appear to be successful for a time. We even see that in our own day. but the truth is the wisdom and the reasoning of man cannot transform the hearts and lives of people. It really only promotes rebellion against God. Only the Word of God transforms. Unbelieving scientists will continue to tell us that creation never happened or that Genesis is not true based on the aging techniques that have been developed by man. So-called biblical scholars will continue to try to tell us that Jesus Christ is not really God, that he didn't really rise again, There are explanations for that. He didn't really ascend into heaven. He's not really coming again. Church growth experts will continue to try to tell us how to grow the church with more gimmicks and less gospel. Satan will continue to try to tempt you and me to lure us into clicking that website that shows us pictures that we should not see. To lure us into cheating, laziness, or maybe worst of all, not having a high and lofty view of God. I'm afraid we've already lost some of that. We need to retrieve that, beloved. Because what we think of God, I learned this at the convention, was reminded of this at the convention this past week, our attitude and our understanding of God will determine our worship. It'll determine our living. It'll determine everything about us. If we don't have a high and lofty view of God, our life will reflect it. Our worship will reflect it. The decisions we make will reflect it. But see, beloved, with regard to all of these things and more, if our thoughts are captive to the obedience of Christ, every time we can say with confidence, you're wrong, because thus saith the Lord. Being completely captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ is an essential outcome of salvation, and it is part of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work. It is characteristic of walking with God. It is to be characteristic of your walk and my walk with the Lord in our daily lives, but also as we live together as a congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. May all of our decisions regarding the life of this church and the preaching and teaching ministry and the worship and our relationships and our children and the ministry here at the Escondido URC, may they all be captive to Christ and focused on obedience to Him. To not be captive to the obedience of Christ is to be separate from Him. And there's no hope in that. There's no hope in that. And one day when Jesus Christ returns in all of His splendor, the very sight of Him will demolish the thoughts and the attitudes of those who rejected Him and thought they knew better. Those who repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in Him alone for salvation, they find security from the world and from Satan's power, they find security in the captive arms of Christ. Because God has also said, Whoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. For those who are captive to him, the real battle is over. Jesus Christ is already victorious. He has already demolished Satan's hold and we are more than conquerors in him who loved us. Captivity to Christ means salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone, revealed in Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone. True Reformation, beloved, is captivity to the obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.