False Teachers and Teachings. 2 Peter 2:1“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” False Teachers and Teachings Exposed How does one recognize false teachers and teachings from Biblical? While some may fall under the category of false teachers, others may teach certain doctrines which are false or that are not in accordance with the Word of God while most of what they teach is in line with Scripture. Some teachers whose teachings are analysed in respect to what the Bible teaches when all related scriptures line up perfectly, may prove to be fine teachers overall, but where they depart from Scripture, it is only prudent and wise that we as believers recognize these discrepancies and affirm only the truth that is in full agreement with Gods inspired Word. The best way is as follows: “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”Acts 17:11 NIV It is also quite possible that those who analyse the teachings of others may themselves have unbiblical teachings or perspectives or end up “nitpicking” over non essentials and going far beyond reason in their critiques. Some teachers need to be carefully filtered while others should be avoided altogether, and other teachers can of course be trusted almost implicitly. By grounding yourself in the unchanging Word of God and considering it your final authority in all matters of faith and practice, you will have a greater ability to distinguish between true and false teachings and avoid deception. Until we reach heaven, however, none of us will be able to completely define all truth or perfectly interpret all Scripture, but we can be as the Bereans and search the Scriptures daily to see if what we hear is true,or not! As Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Our goal as followers of Christ should be to always seek after truth with the discernment to recognize and beware of deceptive, unbiblical teachings (many of which are harmful or even heretical), while also striving for unity in love among believers, whenever possible. Sometimes for the sake of love and unity we may have to agree to disagree. There is no doubt that discernment itself is a very controversial issue. Many of those whose teachings or behaviours are “judged,” even according to Scripture, condemn their accusers and despise their criticism. Some criticism is indeed divisive and unnecessary (some is even bitter or mean spirited), but in case you tend to think that those who would dare to judge or criticize apparently unscriptural teachings would be much better off just preaching the Gospel and minding their own business, consider this: What if manufacturers had no quality control departments, how would the products eventually end up? What if police departments had no internal affairs divisions, how much more would police corruption increase? What if the taxman never audited anyone, how many people would pay their taxes? If we know the false teaching will lead to hell fire beyond all doubt, do we just sit back and do nothing? Within the Body of Christ, it seems very reasonable to believe that God has intentionally called certain ones in His Body to focus on keeping His message pure. The simple truth is that if no one ever held preachers accountable for what they teach, false doctrines would abound much more than they already do. If small errors in doctrine are left unaddressed, they will only grow worse and worse over time. So discernment ministries are a good and necessary part of the Body of Christ, as imperfect as they may be. False teachings must be exposed and the cancer of deception in the Church must be treated, even if it is unpopular and often painful. Perhaps as you begin to understand and recognize common false teachings in the Church, you can become involved in solving the problem by writing letters (in love) to those you hear making the errors. Some do it for financial gain and will only ignore or reject any efforts to admonish them and will probably even criticize you in the process. Others who are truly seeking after God may eventually see their errors and correct them. Either way, it is the responsibility of all of us in the Body of Christ to keep our leaders accountable to Scripture and to do our best to ensure that Gods sheep are not led astray by unworthy or unbiblical under shepherds, especially for the sake of future generations! Now more than ever, Satan is spreading as much heretical doctrine as possible to lead as many from the kingdom as possible in the end. God Bless.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 12:39:35 +0000
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