How do you know if you’re hearing the voice of a false teacher? When we’re surrounded by voices on the news, podcasts, books, and social media, how do we discern between the truth and a lie?
People are easily deceived by all kinds of teaching. They will believe anything, especially if it motivates self-promotion, hustling to be more or make more. If it inspires us to feel good, it must be worth pursuing.
But here’s the thing –I know what it is to trust your feelings; however, feelings often lead us down the wrong path creating discord and destroying relationships.
What we can trust is the truth, and that is Jesus.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
You cannot live for God in these end days of apostasy unless you have a knowledge of the Word of God. Real knowledge is knowing Jesus Christ. And when you know the truth, you can discern a lie. With the overwhelming amount of “Christian” leaders, we must be more alert than ever to know if they’re proclaiming a Scriptural truth or a subtle lie.
Identifying a false teacher
In 2 Peter 2:1 & 3, Peter warns against the
destructive heresy and false words.
False teachers are dangerous today. Here’s why– A false teacher is one who knows the truth but deliberately rejects it.
According to Warren Wiersbe, false teachers are identified
by their deceitfulness, denial, sensuality, and greed.
False teachers have SOME true doctrine and generally believe some things that are true. That’s why they’re so dangerous. Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt. 7:15). Jesus goes on to say we’ll be able to tell them by their fruit. Fruit trees don’t start producing right away –they take years! It may take a while to see fruit or the absence of it but eventually the truth will come out. And then Paul warned the church at Ephesus, “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29).
Dangerous doctrine
A
false teacher forces you to make a choice between his doctrines and the
doctrines of the true Christian faith. –Warren
Wiersbe
His (or her) message is false and their methods are
false. “They simply lay their false teachings alongside the truth and give the
impression that they believe the fundamentals of the faith. Before long, they
remove the true doctrine and leave their false doctrine in place.” (Be Alert, p. 50-51)
It’s out there. There are false teachers everywhere
and if we do not KNOW God who is
truth, how can we discern between the truth and a lie?
Countless “Christians” are preaching the gospel of self-fulfillment. Jen Pollock Michel describes it like this –Happiness is our only duty today, self-betrayal our only sin. This is what people want to hear and they’re following by the millions.
We Must Be Alert
If we look at these women and other Christian teachers through a Biblical lens after studying this section of 2 Peter, we can determine whether or not they are a false teacher.
Does he/she know the truth but deliberately rejects it?
Does he/she deny rather than affirm the Scriptures?
Does he/she want to satisfy their own lusts and do it under
the guise of religion?
Does their lifestyle reflect their belief system?
Does his/her motives for ministry go beyond money?
Does he/she twist Scripture to fit their needs and manipulate
their followers?
When it suits our purpose, we want to give people the
benefit of the doubt and assume they are what they claim to be. Peter reminds
us Satan is a liar and his followers are filled with deceit.
Fake leaders
The Greek word for feigned in verse 3 is plastos, from where we get our word plastic. You can buy almost anything in
plastic because plastic can be molded into every possible shape. These false
teachers use our vocabulary, but they don’t have our dictionary! They’ll fit
their words to the people to whom they’re speaking. They can bring any type of
message to any kind of crowd like it’s a mold and they’ll accommodate himself
to it.
Remember the scene in the Garden of Eden? First, God instructed Adam not to eat of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they ate of it, they would die. Then, Satan comes along and asks Eve if God really said they couldn’t eat from any tree in the garden. And she answers that they couldn’t eat it OR touch it or they’d die. Finally, Satan convinces her she won’t die, she’ll be like God, and she eats the fruit and shares with Adam.
Thousands of years later, Satan is using the same
method to deceive believers. Satanand his ministers are liars and use the Bible to deceive. He questions God’s word. He denies God’s word. And he substitutes his own lie.
Do not be fooled into thinking God will spare those who reject His will. He judges those who reject His truth whether you’re following or leading.
There IS a day of judgment coming and we need to be prepared for it. Because of technology, we have a multitude of voices, from the news to the internet to tv, wanting to fill our minds with their words. Some are true. Many are false. Make sure YOU know the difference.
Be Alert NOW
The average church member doesn’t know the gospel when
he hears it and doesn’t recognize when he doesn’t hear it. Study your Bible.
Don’t trust what someone else says. Don’t trust me. Read the Bible for yourself
and pray for insight and wisdom and direct revelation from God Himself living
inside you.
If you read the truth, if you KNOW the truth, you will
be able to discern a false teacher from a true teacher.
Here’s what that looks like. You hear a speaker mention a verse or part of a verse and base their message from it. CHECK WHAT THEY SAY. Don’t take it as the gospel truth. GO TO God’s Word and look it up for yourself. Is that what it really says? Is it within context or have they taken it out of context? Furthermore, read the verses before and after. Pray and ask the Lord for insight and wisdom and revelation.
And examine yourself to see whether or not you are in
the faith.
