As mentioned last week, there is a need for leaders to guard and protect the faith of Christians. Leaders of the faith must understand the appeal to Timothy, guarding what has been entrusted to us.

To guard and protect faith, we should first consider what we are guarding and protecting it from. We know Satan works from outside and inside the church to rob people of their faith.

Paul warned the elders at Ephesus that savage wolves would arise among them with the purpose of leading Christians astray. The very description indicates an element within the church whose working will bring destruction.

What is this element? How can we identify it?  What can be done?

The problem exists when leaders loose where God has not loosed and bind where He has not bound.

The greatest challenge is no one believes they are unrightfully loosing or binding. Whether recreation, homeschooling, kitchens in a church building, dating, Powerpoint songs, Bible translations, Life groups, etc., claiming matters of opinion as matters of doctrine, and drawing lines of fellowship we create destruction within the church, whether we see it as such or not.

More next week…