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What is a False Teacher?
Greetings all,
I am starting this forum based on another one that has gotten quite a bit of attention.
The questions are:
"What is a false teacher according to Scripture?"
"What qualifies as false teaching?"
There are some rules for this forum. We will only accept the basics. I will not accept any post that is a posting of some website that is out there. In most cases that is not research, but rather a hunt for an article that agrees with one's already held position (everyone is guilty of this from time to time, so don't be offended by this comment).
What will be allowed:
The Word of God
Older commentaries (used sparingly)
Concordance
Personal view on the subject attempting to articulate from Scripture why you believe this to be true.
What will not be allowed:
Cut and paste web articles (as already mentioned)
Names of people you think are false teachers (lets focus on what it is, not examples at this point)
Name calling or what appears to be personal attacks
Many today want to be teachers so let's do some old fashion research on the topic and shy away from parroting what someone else believes.
Lord Bless,
LT
Views: 798
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Seek on
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And looooooooooooooong. She don't usually type that much but she's been on quite a roll lately.
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Permalink Reply by ScribeD on
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You know, this is a great topic. But, it's pretty expansive. Basically half of the New Testament was written to counter and expose false teaching and false teachers. You can run in a lot of directions.
The two key types of false teachers come in the form of cults (seperate from Christianity) or sects within Christianity that practice false teachings.
Interestingly enough, the two key christo-cults (outside of Christianity) today are almost directly descended from two branches of gnostic heresy. Those two heresies were the key reason why the Council of Nicea was held. There are abundant scriptures written to counter their teachings, so its actually not hard to refute them, if they will listen.
The other key heresy, which is within Christianity today is nearly an identical twin to Phariseeism, which is based on Talmud - which Jesus refers to as the "teaching of the elders" and as "traditions of the elders". This heresy is very appealing, because it comes with the air of authority (as did Phariseeism) and yet denies scripture as the sole foundation for truth (this is exactly what Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for). Essentially, these will lift up traditions and teachings that contradict scripture calling them equal or superior to the apostolic doctrine.
So, to boil it down, the way I quickly discern false teaching, is either one of these:
1. They deny the Deity and uniqueness of Christ. They either diminish Christ or make us (or an angel ) equal to him.
2. They deny scripture's sole authority. They add their book, their seminar or their traditions as equal to the Bible.
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Interesting. This is so often a hot topic and calling out a teacher as false is usually done over a difference in interpretation of scripture as you pointed out about Armenianism and Calvanism elsewhere. They use scripture also to support their beliefs but each will point a finger at the other accusing one another of false teaching when the Gospel message was Christ who is the Word. As long as we're preaching there the rest is this new term I've learned recently...non-essential. LOL
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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There is more that is essential to the Christian faith than just getting the message of faith right. A false teacher can very well say we must believe in the death, buriak, and resurrection of Jesus, while at the same time claim Jesus was just a man and wasn't God, thereby denying the deity of Christ as well as the trinity. Food for thought. Is it important to believe in the "right" Jesus?
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I think it is. I did a teaching once called "will the real Jesus please stand up?". I was in a group that was thoroughly confused about what to believe. Unfortunately, the leaders of the group were also. They were very gracious folks, but they had very weak foundations. I did the teaching and pointed out that the scripture repeatedly defines the who, what, where, when about Jesus so we won't make the mistakes that the cults fall into.
The Christmas/Advent story isn't just to inspire kids with a great story. It has deep, significant meaning that defines how you relate to God (or fail to), through His only begotten son. Miss that point and you're off course for the rest of the year too.
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My thoughts on this is if they believe the Gospel message and believe that it is about Christ and Him as the Word, then it's the right Christ cause He cant be man and the Word made flesh.
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Permalink Reply by Tammy on
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One thing I have discovered today is if I want to find trash on anyone, I can find it. I'm doing a Beth Moore study with my Women's Bible study & it has been pretty phenomenal. The Lord is speaking to me through it with the situation I'm dealing with & my daughter. I happened upon an article, by a pastor's wife nonetheless, that was throwing her under the bus. The funny thing was her criticism was more about how she talked with the Yee Haws & stuff. So, I went on my internet search of people I think are pretty terrific folk like Kay Arthur, David Wilkerson & the like. Found an article on Kay entitled I Knew The Bomb Would Drop Sooner or Later on Kay Arthur - something like that. The title alone let me know that someone was just sitting back & waiting on the woman to mess up so they could call her out. I haven't found trash on Charles Spurgeon yet but I'm sure it's out there. I found that David Wilkerson was a false prophet & a false teacher which really made me giggle.
As the Bereans, we should never take a man's word for anything but research it for ourselves. We as humans are fallible & we have those watching to see when we make that one mistake. Believe you me, we'll make them too. That doesn't make us a false teacher but makes us people searching for the truth, wisdom & knowledge of the Lord. We'll never know it all & we'll make our mistakes. In the meantime, we should not give up on it and yes, we should continue to recognize those who are false; those who use the podium & God's Name to profit themselves.
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I agree: it's vital to consider the truth of a claim on it's merits. We should not listen to false accusation or misrepresentation. It is rampant.
That being said, there are some people who prove themselves unworthy of our attention by their constant misuse of the things of God. Look to what the Apostles said, for guidance and discernment. Look at 3rd John 1:9-10 for John calling out a guy by the name of Diotrephes. It's interesting, especially if you do some background research.
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Tammy, I agree.. good word. It's disheartening to see this happen.
I wonder why Christians who are criticising certain teachers, music groups etc...won't consider that they are possibly under enemy attack, and that satan would seek to discredit them simply because they are so effective in their ministry. I'm so sick of reading disparaging comments about certain leaders in the Christian community.
Blessings, Carla
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It's a good point, Carla. I have a friend who has undergone a transformation from not really having strong theology to going over into a very strict theological framework. I applaud his change, but I'm not in a frame of mind to have quite as strict a framework.
My friend and I recently chatted on a blog about one particular worship group that seems to have watered down some of their message in recent years. As we dialogued, I realized I had been critical of this group, with very limited knowledge of their WHOLE ministry, just looking at a small slice; I regretted it and wanted to change my comments. The blog closed and I could not edit or remove my comments! ARGH. Someone close to me then asked me about those comments, asking why?!
I've committed to refocus on what I stand FOR and only speak directly to a person when I see them in error, unless they are unrepentant.
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I, too, use to take the same stands on music groups. Then, one day, I heard a few testimonies on how these groups touched their lives. Of course, with my skeptical attitude, I felt it was just because of the emotions of the concert & not necessarily the Lord. He finally slapped me upside the head & the thought came to me, What if it was God? Since then I have tried to see groups in a different light.
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