Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 10
Near the end, he warns that when a command seems “foreign,” seminaries or Christian colleges may “find a way to explain that away,” which he calls “very dangerous,” linking false prophets ? lawlessness ? love growing cold (Matthew 24:11–12). Where have you seen “explaining away” happen in real life (in yourself or your Christian environment), and what specific practices would help a congregation measure teachers by fruit rather than by persuasive explanations?
Another way to ask: He warns that when a command feels strange, schools or leaders may “explain it away,” which he says is dangerous (Matthew 24:11–12). Where have you seen people explain away hard commands, and what could a church do to judge teachers by their fruit instead of smooth arguments?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript doesn’t give personal examples of specific doctrines being “explained away,” but the speaker describes a general drift where outside voices made obedience feel optional and “foreign.” He implies congregations should return to Scripture’s plain call to “hear it and do it” and evaluate teaching by the fruit it produces rather than by clever reasoning.
- He warns that when a command feels “foreign…so far away, so mysterious,” “seminaries or the Christian colleges start finding a way to explain that away. That is very dangerous.”
- He links this danger to Matthew 24: “many false prophets…deceive many,” and then “because lawlessness will abound…love…grow cold.”
- He repeatedly uses a fruit test: “You shall know them by their fruit” (Matthew 7:20), asking what fruit the church is producing “in our land today.”
- He contrasts “explaining away” with Deuteronomy 30: God’s command is “not too mysterious…very near you…that you may do it.”
- In his house church story, he saw teachings shift under radio influence and debates about modesty/head covering—an environment where commands could become negotiable.