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“The Ship of Theseus”

Ian Boike
03/23/25 - Sun PM

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Galatians one.

6 through 10.

Reading from the English Standard version.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him, who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.

Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed.

As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God?

Or am I seeking to please man?

If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

There was a paradox written in about the late half of the 1st century, and the paradox is most notably recorded by the author Plutarch in the life of Theseus.

In the thought experiment describes a ship.

And that as time as time goes on, the ship must have pieces replaced as they rot away.

And at some point, all the pieces on the ship will have to be replaced.

And after all these pieces on the ship have been replaced, is it still the same ship of Theseus.

And there are two schools of thinking when it comes to this thought experiment.

You have the materialist's view, and you have the formist's view.

This evening I want to dissect these two schools of thought so that we may understand how we are to view the scriptures.

And as Christians, do we get to change out the original documentation and the inspired word of God in order to make the scriptures more modern or relevant or inclusive to to today's society?

Or we commanded to keep the scriptures as they were written.

And this topic seems to be something that churches all across the globe and even individual Christians alike are getting confused.

And this evening, I want to start by discussing the formist's view of thinking.

And I don't know anyone who calls him or herself a formist, but the equivalent term that many of us may know for today's society is a progressive Christian.

And in the paradox that we mentioned just a moment ago, the foreist believes that as long as the ship of Theseus still floats and sails and is still made of wood, it's still the same original ship.

In other words, no matter how many original pieces you remove and replace, it's still the same historic chip.

And many who consider themselves to be progressive Christians do the same with the scriptures.

And there are many churches who have decided to allow LGBTQ plus people and to be pastors, elders, and elders and other members of clergy within their churches.

The United Church of Christ, the UCC, the Episcopalian Church, and the Presbyterian Church are just some of all the churches who have publicly shown that they are perfectly fine with adding members and allowing them to participate who are openly homosexual.

In an effort to be more inclusive, these churches have decided to to go and say against what the, what the scriptures teach.

This evening, we're gonna start out in 1 Corinthians chapter 6.

I don't have slides this evening, so if you would follow along with me.

1 Corinthians chapter 6, I'll be reading verses 9 and 10.

Starting in chapter 43 and verse 9 of 1 Corinthians, or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Of course, Paul is saying this in in Romans chapter 1 and verse 26, Paul says something very similar.

Chapter one of Romans starting in verse 26 to 28, Paul says, for this reason, God gave up, gave them up to dishonorable passions, for their women exchanged exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature.

And the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another.

Men committing shameless acts with men receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

So here we can clearly see that these churches are taking what they consider to be the rotted wood of the scriptures away from the ship that is the church that Christ established.

And I know this may not seem like an example that we see close to home here, but there are, this is happening in hundreds of churches across the United States.

And unfortunately, it does not seem to be a movement that is slowing down anytime soon.

And there are also churches who decide, hey, we should entertain instead of teaching.

And many mega churches now across Texas and other states now have Starbucks, bookstores, and uh and or food courts in order to entertain their members when they're not worshiping.

And in 2005, ABC News wrote an article about this.

One of the members of these mega churches said, in our family, we almost kid because we spend so much time up there because we just love it.

Said John, said Johnson Ellis, and he continues on to say, there's just a lot of fun things to do up here.

ABC News went on to state in this article, these mega churches are places where members can not only pray, but they can also work out in the gym, eat at the food court or browse in a bookstore.

And they are becoming more popular across the country.

Is this really what Christ had in mind for his church?

I think not.

And when Christ forced the money changers out of his father's house, In the New Testament, he strictly states that his house is a house of prayer and not a place of trade.

And there are 22 separate accounts of this, the first being in Matthew chapter 21 in verse 23, where Jesus said to them, it is written, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers.

As many of the people were defrauding the people within the temple.

And then we see in John's Gospel account in John chapter 2 in verse 16, we see something very similar happen and Jesus says, and he told those who sold pigeons, take these things away.

Do not make my father's house.

A house of trade.

The church that Christ instituted is not a house of bookstores, gyms, or food courts.

And here we can see again, clear evidence that these churches are stripping away the commands, the patterns, and the examples that we can clearly see in the New Testament.

All for the sole purpose of modernizing the church that Christ started.

Now I want to switch focus to the materialist's view.

Now that we've discussed the formist's view.

And I have never called myself a materialist because typically that has a different meaning.

But in this context, when it comes down to this paradox, it seems that the answer of being a materialist is what more closely aligns with what Christ had in mind for us.

The materialists answer to this paradox is if you focus on the material composition of the ship, it is not the same as all of its original parts have been replaced, making it a completely different ship altogether.

And this is how Christians should feel about apostasy in the scriptures.

And when the commands and patterns and examples of scripture, of the scriptures are being replaced, We as Christians need to stand for the truth.

Just as Paul stood for the truth when writing to the brethren in Galatia.

Brother Mil Milstead read this for us, but I wanna read it again just to put it in context.

In Galatians chapter one.

In verses 6 through 10, Paul says, I am astonished.

That you are so quickly deserting him who called you into the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.

Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

But even if we are, if, but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you another gospel, contrary to the one that we preach to you, let him be accursed.

As we have said before, now, I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you have originally received, let him be accursed, for I am now seeking, for am I now seeking the approval of man or of God?

Or am I trying to please man?

If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

And is it not interesting that in this account, Paul is not getting upset with these brethren, because the people were denying Christ, as so many other churches were.

Paul is upset due to the fact that they are following a gospel that is distorted.

Than the original Gospel of Christ.

In other words, these men were twisting the scriptures.

And so now that we understand the two forms of thought, both the formist and the materialist, I think it's now important that we understand what we as Christians can do to stand against apostasy in the scriptures.

The first is that we need to know the word of God.

If you would turn over to Psalm to the first Psalm.

I'll be reading verses 1 and 2.

The only way that we will ever be able to know the word of God is by spending time in His word.

The first Psalm verses 1 and 2 tells us, blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked.

Nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord.

And on his law he meditates day and night.

And continuing on in the 119th Psalm, we see in verses 33 and 15 to 16, we are told again that I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

I will delight in your statutes, and I will not forget your word.

And finally, in Colossians 3:16, we are told to let the word of God.

Let the word of Christ dwell dwell in us richly.

By teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

And just as we are commanded for the scriptures to dwell in us richly, We also need to test the scriptures, just as the brothers at Berea did.

In Acts chapter 17.

We see a scene in which Paul and Silas have just been run out of Thessalonica.

And after they had been, after they'd been run out of the city, they immediately went to Berea.

Starting in Acts chapter 17 in verse verses 10 to 11, says the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.

And when they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

Now, these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica.

They received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

So Paul is trying to teach these men, and of course they don't have the New Testament scripture.

They have the Old Testament scripture and as Paul is teaching these things, they're actively looking through the scriptures to see and test if what Paul is saying is correct.

And this is how we need to be when listening to others.

And knowing the word of God and being able to discern truth from falsehood and from false teaching must be done before we can use it to defend the truth.

I would say, secondly, we need to hold the scriptures as our sole authority.

We need to make our Bible the authority that we run our lives.

And that we need to be prepared to use it as a defense for why we do the things that we do.

And and there are 3 men, I want to pull 163 scriptures from the New Testament from Paul, John, and Peter, who speak exclusively about being able to be prepared and using the word as our authority.

We'll start with 2 Timothy chapter 3.

In verses 16 and 219.

24 Timothy chapter 22 and verses 24:22.

Paul tells us all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching.

For a proof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Of course, the second being John, and 23 John 13.

We see that John tells us everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God.

Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

And then finally in 21 Peter 21:29.

First Peter chapter 3 and verse 15 we are told, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect.

So here we can see Peter, Paul, and John, all telling us that the word of God is what should guide us in this life.

As our sole source of authority.

And finally, we need to contend earnestly for the faith.

In Jude 3, we see an account where we are told that we need to be willing to stand for the truth even when it's unpopular, and even when it's difficult.

In Jude 3, we're told, beloved, although I was eager, I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

So we as Christians must contend for the Lord, even when tribulation, even when those outside in the world make fun of us and And make our lives very difficult because of it.

And so now that we've listed 3 ways, there are many more, but just the 3 that I've listed in the 13 forms of thought, some of you may be sitting here and questioning, well, how can I apply this to my life?

Well, the ship of Theseus and the scriptures of Christ are treated very similarly.

And in fact, People try and distort and twist the word of God just as they would ship of Theseus, like the ship who's rotted out and worn out wood planks are replaced in order to make the ship look and or sound current and up to date.

And while there's no recorded right answer to this thought experiment, I believe that the inspired writers and the scriptures lean towards the thinking style of the materialist.

And the scriptures are very clear about how God feels about twisting his words, and or taking away or adding to his examples because they don't happen to fit someone's weak, modern-minded mold.

In Revelation 22, We see John writing.

In Revelation 22 in verse 18 and 19, towards the end of the Bible.

John says, I warn everyone who hears the words of prophecy of this book.

If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.

And if anyone takes away the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share.

In the tree of life and in the holy city which are described in this book.

Now, of course, we look, we look at the context and we understand that John is only referring to the book of Revelation.

But if we go back to the beginning of the Bible, we see in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 2 that God gives a direct command not to do this.

In Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 2, God says, you shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

And so we can understand that even though John wrote about it in Revelation, we can understand that God means this for everything in his, in the scriptures.

And the material composition of the scriptures should matter a great deal to us as Christians.

The commands, the patterns and examples of the scriptures are just as important as the overall ideas that they support.

For example, As we've discussed, many churches want to teach about grace.

They want to teach about love and all the, the warm fuzzy feelings, but what they lack is they don't want to tell you about what's involved in order to receive this grace.

And when we come together, we like to offer an invitation to accept the gospel of Christ into your life.

And if you're not a Christian this evening, God is waiting for you to come to him.

Before the foundation of the world, God, God set in motion a plan with you in mind.

In John 3:16, we're told for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.

That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The love that God offers is not just for the people who are already Christians.

It is for everyone on this earth.

And God offers you this free gift of grace.

But in order to receive this free gift of grace, there are conditions that have to be met.

You must first believe.

The word, and you must repent of your sin, confess that Jesus is the Son of God.

And finally, Be baptized for the remission of your sins.

We have everything here this evening ready to make you his child, to make you a part of his family.

And if you're already a Christian, Maybe you have a sin in your life that is eating you alive.

And I think everyone in this room understands what I mean when I say that.

And is it not wonderful that God's, that Christ's sacrifice covers you as well?

And we are told in scripture that the Lord will forgive us if we seek it.

In 1 John chapter 1 and verse 9, we're told, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If you need to if you need the prayers of the congregation or the prayers of your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ this evening, if there's any way that we can assist you, please come to the front as we stand and sing.