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False Teachers (Note: This week's article is not meant for judgment but is intended for us to take a closer look at ourselves, especially those of us who are in leadership positions.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber." (1 Peter 2:1-3) There is a lot of question today about who false teachers are and who they are not. Many people seem almost paranoid about falling under false teaching and being led into deception. But scripture gives us some clear direction on identifying false teachers. We are often led to believe that the genuineness of a ministry is determined by the fruit of the ministry. In other words, is the ministry's work being reproduced in other people's lives? Some will take it a step further and want to see fruit moving beyond that first circle of influence to a secondary ring of people surrounding those directly affected by the ministry. All in all, the goal is duplicating the ministry in multiple rings of people, believing the fruit (i.e. the works) always validates the ministry. But is that biblical? There are teachers who preach a different gospel based upon man's efforts to win or gain God's acceptance. They are false teachers because they point to a salvation that is based in something other than Christ. We can also look to those who preach law, legalism, condemnation, and death as false teachers because this gospel still lands at man's feet telling him all that must be done to gain God's acceptance. They may preach salvation through faith alone, but believe spiritual growth only comes through our efforts. These two groups are summarized as teaching "have-to's" and "do - do's." But there is another group I want to look at that is a little bit more difficult to discern. I'll call them the "others." The "others" teach all the truths of the Gospel of Christ. They preach salvation by faith alone through Christ alone, and not by man's effort, lest any man should boast. The "others" teach the necessity of Christ living through us and total reliance and dependence upon Christ. The words they speak line up totally with the gospel of Christ as given through scripture. However, the words of the preacher do not qualify them as either a true or a false teacher. There is something else that we must look at. "Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don't pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles. A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced." (Matthew 7:15-20.) I have always been led to believe that the fruit talked about in this passage is the teacher's behavior and works, and the results of their ministry. But God has challenged me to define scripture with scripture, always remembering that our flesh scrambles to contribute to God's work of God and have something to boast in. He has asked me to look to the scripture to determine what fruit every believer is to be characterized by. I found the answer quite surprising, and freeing. "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: "Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light." See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:8-16) God asks us to bring things into the light so we can see them for what they really are. We must not be ashamed or fear shining the light of Christ on all things because it teaches us greater dependence and pushes us towards deeper intimacy with Him. Putting ourselves in the light exposes the dark stuff. Likewise putting teachers in the light exposes the truth. God tells us so clearly what the TRUE fruit is: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22) The issue with all teachers - me included - lies here: are we characterized by the fruit of the Spirit? I am not asking if we are walking according to the Spirit perfectly, but are we growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Is the fruit of the Spirit becoming more and more evident in the life of the teacher? Is the peace of God ruling? Only this kind of fruit will naturally reproduce itself in others. The people involved with the ministry receive the seeds of this fruit and it takes root in them, grows to maturity, passes through and spreads to others. "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever." (1 Peter 3:18) As we are able to discern and test the Spirit, we are growing in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am not saying this to equip us to judge or reject false teachers; I am saying this so are able to discern and follow the voice of our Shepherd. As we follow Him, we will be able to encourage one another to Love and good works, and we will recognize that… "…He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ- from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16 And you shall know them by their love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Verse for Reflection "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called
you by the grace of God for a different form of Good News. The thing you are
striving for is not Good news! Why are you looking for something other than
Christ? Evidently somebody is trying to confuse you. Don't let anyone teach you
something other than Jesus Christ. Anyone that teaches something more than
Christ should be accursed! I fear that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent,
you are somehow being led away from pure and simple devotion to Jesus Christ.
Don't just believe whatever anyone tells you. Many are preaching about a
different Jesus than the one I am preaching to you today. Don't be deceived by a
different Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than
the one you first believed." (Galatians 1:6-8 and 2 Corinthians 11:3-4) |
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