Series Eleven: The Dangers of False Teachers

If we permit ourselves to indulge the spirit of the age (the “spirit of tolerance”) we will not be able to filter out the deception sent by the enemy. We will need to ask hard questions if we intend to discern error. If we merely discuss gospel generalities without discussing gospel specifics, how will we protect the church and our families? We must not be afraid of hostility or be concerned about popularity, but rather we must pursue doctrinal precision and clarity (2 Cor 4:2–4). This study will look at two biblical examples of error promoted by false teachers, two broad tactics used by false teachers, and two types of false teachers.

1. Two kinds of errors surfaced in Asia Minor.
   1. Gnosticism taught that ordinary Christians could not discern the “mysteries” of Christ.
      1. They allegedly needed “ascended/initiated” leaders to explain the mysteries to them.
      2. Yogis, gurus, and cultic leaders engaged in speculation about the nature of Christ.
      3. Jim Jones and David Koresh are representative of this type of false teacher/messiah.
      4. Prosperity and Word of Faith teachers also promise this kind of “ascended knowledge.”
   2. Works righteousness followed on the heels of Gnosticism.
      • Speculation about the nature of Christ led to efforts to bind the conscience of believers with rules and regulations: “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (Col 2:21; cf. vv. 4, 8–9).

Don’t allow wrangling about words, empty chatter, and speculations to draw us away from gospel truths (2 Tim 2:14–18). God’s Spirit produces a hunger in the soul for gospel truth. Search the Scriptures to discern truth (Acts 17:11).

2. Tactics of false teachers
   1. Tactic #1: deception and subtlety (Titus 1:10–16)
      1. False teachers use deception; their subterfuge will not be blatant.
      2. They are not going to come into the church yelling “I have some error I want you to believe!” They come as an “angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14).
      3. The church cannot survive if believers and leaders cannot detect error when it comes up (Heb 5:14).
      4. Deceivers go through entire households for the sake of money. Our homes should be biblical filters, so that our children cannot be swayed by error.
         1. Jehovah’s Witnesses come to our homes. Can we discern the error in their presentations sufficiently to defend ourselves and our families?
         2. Other groups try to draw Christians away from their church for “discipling” and “Bible study” in commercial settings (e.g., coffee shops) to draw them into error.
            • These groups have no worship or communion service, and no place to baptize or catechize new believers.
            • Groups like these tend to be led by those who have an aversion to authority. They in turn find believers who have a similar aversion to authority.
            • These groups will question the authority of the Bible and of qualified church leadership.
            • They lead their followers into error; they are “deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim 3:13).
      5. These false teachers are culpable and liars, though they have deceived themselves.
         1. Never give any ground to a false teacher in any way that minimizes his culpability.
         2. Some might be genuinely deceived, but others are nothing less than God-haters.
   2. Tactic #2: twisting the Scriptures
      1. Scripture twisting is using a verse or passage and stripping it of its contextual meaning, then twisting it to fit the false teacher’s heretical doctrine.
      2. They use ambiguous and imprecise words and phrases.
      3. False teachers warn their followers not to question their teaching or their authority to make the claims they make: “Touch not God’s anointed” is a warning they often invoke, twisting the context of Psalm 105:15 and Genesis 20:6–7.
         1. Here, the psalmist is recounting God’s providential care of the patriarchs and Jacob and his family.
         2. The false teacher appropriates this passage and applies it to himself, his teaching, and his authority.
         3. These men (and women) contradict themselves, often in the same room or conference.
      4. They introduce skepticism about the Bible’s trustworthiness.
         1. They often use Bible verses next to or in conjunction with writings of false religions.
         2. They might acknowledge the Bible as God’s Word, but introduce other writings (as do the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses).
      5. They go outside the bounds of orthodox hermeneutics, taking verses out of their context. Believers should know some of the basic principles of proper hermeneutics, such as understanding the context of the passage, the genre of the particular book, the intent of the author, and the reason the book was written.
         1. False teachers will allegorize or imply deeper or multiple meanings to a single passage.
         2. False teachers will introduce subjectivism into their teaching. They will determine for themselves a verse’s meaning based on how he or she feels about it.
         3. They imply that we cannot know for certain what the author intended.
      6. False teachers are never interested in the precise teaching of Scripture. Few have studied the original languages or become proficient in them.
      7. They also utilize wrong doctrine to divide the church (Rom 16:17). They create hindrances, introducing subtle doctrinal changes for the purpose of dividing believers.
3. Two types of false teachers
   1. Those who introduce heretical teaching and “doctrines of demons” (1 Tim 4:1)
   2. Those who live and preach practical antinomianism (2 Pet 2)
      1. They love the world and have lives of sin and sensuality.
      2. They teach gospel truth, but won’t apply it to their own lives.
      3. The current scene of American evangelicalism is rife with false teaching, practical antinomianism, and pragmatic methodology, which has filled the church with unbelievers.