1. Introduction
   1. I remember some time back around 1998 that there was a great movement between the fundamentalists, Pentecostals, Church of God, and Holiness movement.
   2. It seemed that all were at odds with each other in respect to God’s Word, but basically it wasn’t just God’s Word. There was corruption in the teaching.
   3. Man’s teaching. I remember this great bashing of fundamentalists towards Pentecostals, believing they were unsaved because of their speaking in tongues, slain in the Spirit, and loss of salvation.
   4. It was very troubling at the time;. It seemed like all the fundamentalist churches were trying to ward you away from anyone outside of who they were.
   5. I was a fundamentalist. I chose not to go in this way. I didn’t feel it was God’s way. I personally was considered to be a compromiser.
   6. Abapticostal if you might say because I associated myself with the “opposition.”
   7. I felt so strongly that the corruption was coming from man’s teaching and all of their traditional standards.
   8. It was stifling anyone that didn’t line up with their man-made teaching. I wasn’t going to be corrupted nor was I going to be persuaded.
   9. Nor was I going to compromise what I knew to be the truth. There was a lot of misinformation back in those days. A lot of hard nose stands.
   10. Today I’m thankful that I continued on the path that I was on. It was God’s path.
   11. The bible says this inProverbs 16:25: There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
   12. I would not then and will not today follow the traditions of men, knowing that God came to die for each and every man.
   13. If you’re studying God’s word you’ll know God’s word. It will keep you sound in doctrine, spiritually and historically. Now let us look into this study today, corralled by corruption.

 

2. If I had to ask you what corruption is, what do you believe it to be, spiritually or non-spiritually?
   1. We have these definitions from the AV-1611 Bible Dictionary.
   2. Depravity; wickedness; perversion or deterioration of moral principles; loss of purity or integrity.
   3. Debasement; taint; or tendency to a worse state.
   4. Impurity; depravation; debasement; as a corruption of language.
   5. Matthew 7:17-18: Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

 

3. In the spiritual life that we lead today, we can be led by the Spirit and sound in God’s Word, and not allow corruption to come in, steal, kill and destroy the love and intent for all mankind, especially for those who may be a little bit different in their teaching and doctrine.
   1. If you are led by the Spirit, you will be sound in God’s Word. We see this inJohn 16:13: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He is called the Spirit of Truth. He will guide you into all truth, which is the Word of God.
   2. God’s Word is true from beginning to the end.Psalm 119:160: Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endurethfor ever. If we are studying God’s Word, corruption will not be able to come in, because we’ll be able to detect it immediately.
4. Who in the bible was filled with corruption?
   1. In the time of Noah, all of humanity was filled with corruption.Genesis 6:5-6: And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. Jesus said that in the time of the end, it will be just like the days of Noah. We see that today more and more.
   2. Judas Iscariot, being a devil as Jesus said, was full of corruption!John 6:70-71: Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve. Judas was full of corruption, and went to the bottomless pit, from where he will ascend to be the Antichrist in the tribulation period.

 

5. What disciples in the bible were changed and turned around from being corrupt, to being sincere Christians?
   1. Peter was corrupt in that he tried to keep Jesus from the cross.Matthew 16:21-22: From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes,

and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. Peter was corrupt, trying to keep the plan of God from being carried out.

1. Peter later denied the Lord.Matthew 26:74: Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
2. Peter was restored, and became a sincere Christian, used mightily by God.John 21:17: He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Just as Peter denied the Lord three times, Jesus asked him if he loved Him three times.

 

6. Who in the Old Testament Patriarchs was corrupt andGod straightened them out?
   1. Jacob was corrupt in the beginning, in that he stole the blessing from his brother twice. Here is one of the occasions.Genesis 25:31-33: And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?

And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. The other time was when Isaac was close to death and wanted to speak a blessing over his firstborn. Jacob tricked his father into giving him the blessing.

1. After this, Jacob left home, and started a journey that God would use to straighten him out and make him the leader of the nation of Israel.Genesis 28:2-4: Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughers of Laban thy mother’s brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham. Jacob wasn’t immediately free of his corruption, but over time as he walked with God, he got straightened out.

 

7. You and I live in a world today filled with corruption. What does God’s Word say about abstaining, confronting, and stabilizing yourself in God’s Word to withstand not only the wiles of the devil but the corruption of the world?
   1. God’s word tells us we are to abstain from all appearances of evil.1st Thessalonians 5:22: Abstain from all appearance of evil. That means don’t do anything that even looks like it might be evil.
   2. What God’s Word has to say about confronting is this.Jude 1:3: Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. God wants us to know His Word so we can share our faith, and defend it against enemy attacks.
   3. Part of the armor of God is the sword of the Spirit, God’s Word.Ephesians 6:11: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. God’s Word is quick and powerful, and if you are studying it, you can adequately wield your sword against the wiles of the devil, and the corruption of the world.

 

8. Have you been corrupted and corralled by negative thinking, negative judgments without any content or facts?
   1. If you are corralled by negative thinking, keep this scripture in mind. Philippians 4:8: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Let your thoughts, what you listen to, watch, or read be filtered through this verse. When you do, your thinking and judgment will be less corrupted.

 

9. What was Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees when they tried to bring corruption to him? What was his demeanor? What was his word to them? How did the word subdue their wrath?
   1. A good example to look at is when they brought the woman caught in the act of adultery. Let’s look at John 8:4-9: They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
   2. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. Jesus countered the Pharisees’ attack by quoting scripture. Not a portion of a verse, but the whole verse.
   3. Jesus was writing the Old Testament law that they were trying to use against him.Leviticus 20:10: And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. By only bringing the woman, they were violating the law.
   4. His word to them was “Let him that is without sin cast the first stone.” They all dropped their stones and ran when they heard His Word. He showed that it was they who were corrupt, and they were convicted.

 

10. Story – Warning: Restoration in Process
    1. No one could see what Tim saw in that old house. They saw brokenness; he saw potential.
    2. They saw chipped paint, falling gutters, and a leaky roof–not to mention dirt everywhere and enough cobwebs to catch an ant farm.
    3. He saw the builder’s original intent–and what that house could one day be.
    4. Others couldn’t understand why Tim worked hour after hour, nailing in broken pieces, sanding down the chipped paint.
    5. His hands often got splinters or ached from his labors, but he didn’t stop. He spent lots of money, but he didn’t care.
    6. He saw not what was, but what would be–and that house had been made to shine.
    7. You see, Tim knew something the others didn’t. He knew what the house had been built to be…because he’d built it!
    8. A terrible disaster had destroyed the home many years back, but Tim wouldn’t give up on that old house.
    9. It took years–one could even say a lifetime–but one day others saw it too. No one could recognize in the elegant mansion the once forsaken home.
    10. Philippians 1:6: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
    11. 2nd Corinthians 5:16: Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
    12. God is in the business of restoring what sin and corruption has ruined.
    13. In Christ, we’re new creations but we still often look like a messed up version of what God intended.
    14. If you are corralled by corruption, keep drawing close to God. Keep studying His Word. Keep praying and worshipping.
    15. You, like this house, will become exactly what God had intended.

 

11. Conclusion
    1. Have you been corrupted by false doctrine?
    2. Over the years as a Christian have you been corrupted by negative and judgmental teaching?
    3. If you were to evaluate yourself, where are you in light of this message? What would you hope that people would think of you. Would you be negative judgmental, opinionated or would you be accurate based on God’s Word?