Beloved,
when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was
needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly
contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares,
who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the
grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our
Lord Jesus Christ.(Jude
1:3-4)
Not twenty years after the resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ, while there were still people alive that had seen Him and
spoken with Him, some had even eaten with Him, false teachers were already forming
within the local bodies denying the resurrection and the deity of Jesus Christ.
Just as the Apostle Peter had to deal with false
teachers in his second epistle (2Peter 2:1-3), Jude who identifies
himself as the brother of James was inspired to write to a church in an unknown
location not concerning salvation but how to deal with False Teachers. So false teachers, and anti-Christian teaching is nothing new, it has been here a long time, and it will always be an issue that we as christian must face head on.
The Apostle Paul tells us that philosophy and
deep thinking enticing arguments and logical thinking where the tools that they
would use to strip Christians of their faith and hope
in Jesus Christ. Just as an invading army would rob a country of all that was
valuable. (Col 2:4[1], 8 [2]) so does the enemy seek to rob us of our riches (Mat 6:20)
Now Jude tells us just like the Apostle Peter that these men are not found among the non-believers but have crept in unaware into fellowship with other Christians. This simple statement gives us our first step in dealing with false teachers.
Identify Them; ( Because they creep in unaware)
In part One (Doctrine of Devils) on False Teachers I listed 7 characteristics of false teachers they are;
a.
False teachers advocate a different doctrine besides
what Christ advocates.
b.
False teachers do not agree with the sound words of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
c.
False teachers promote a lifestyle of ungodliness
due to the errors in their teaching
d.
False teachers are conceited and yet they understand
nothing
e.
False teachers have a morbid interest in
controversial questions and disputes about words
f.
False teachers create within the body of Christ
envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between
men of depraved mind and destitute of the truth.
g.
False teachers use a form of godliness to advance
some selfish agenda for their own advantage.
Test Them;
Test everything you hear from the pulpit, read on a Christian site or even sent to you in a newsletter. It makes no difference who sends it to you. I am honored when someone comment on my blogs correcting my use or identifying my misuse of scripture. Never assume I’m right because if I am wrong I go to hell and take you with me. One way to show your love for me and appreciation for what I do is to test (verify against scripture) everything I write. (1John 4:1)
Test everything you hear from the pulpit, read on a Christian site or even sent to you in a newsletter. It makes no difference who sends it to you. I am honored when someone comment on my blogs correcting my use or identifying my misuse of scripture. Never assume I’m right because if I am wrong I go to hell and take you with me. One way to show your love for me and appreciation for what I do is to test (verify against scripture) everything I write. (1John 4:1)
Require Sound Doctrine of Them
Insist that the doctrine of Repentance of Sin, ,the virgin birth, death on the cross and ressutectionand the full Gospel of Jesus Christ be preached or taught continually. Because it holds Christ up as the Savior and emphasizes the need for sinners to be changed. However when you say to some there is a need for correction they argue, “But God love me just the way I am”
a. my answer is that may be true but, I’m sure God loves you too much
to leave you the way you are.
b. Or the more aggressive version, God does not love you just the way
you are, that’s why he sent Christ to show us how we should be.( Romans 6:1-4)
Flee From Them;
When all else fails flee! For many Christians leaving a church is very difficult but this is not a matter of friendship or allegiance its a matter of your salvation. Churches headed by false teachers often teach you should never leave your home church. This is a control method used to keep their followers; they attach the lie that if you leave the church, you will leave your faith. And even though I don’t agree with this association I can understand it if your faith was not built on sound doctrine.
a. However, scripture shows that just because a person leaves a
church does not mean he leaves God. Consider John Mark who traveled with Paul
and Barnabas. In Acts 15:38 he was considered a
"deserter" for going back to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13) and his desertion causes conflict between Paul and Barnabas.
However, later in life we find Paul in his letter to Timothy saying that Mark was
profitable for the ministry (2Timothy 4:11). Here is some scripture
passages from the Apostle Paul on this matter.
i. Paul commanded Timothy to not have anything to do with it false
teachers (2 Timothy
3:1-5).
ii. Paul gave a similar command to the Ephesians to have nothing to do
with deeds of darkness, but rather to expose them (Ephesians 5:11).
iii. Paul told Titus to have nothing to do with divisive individuals
who persist in false teachings or advancing foolish controversies after
attempts to bring about a correction (Titus 3:9-10).
Conclusion;
When you have identified a false teacher and you cannot bring their
heterodoxies to an end through intelligent conversation and concern then flee. Save
your soul, and the soul of your family, you will be amazed how an entire congregation
will turn on you if you go public with your concern. Only go public (to the
entire congregation) if;
- The teacher has broken man’s law, you must never be a part of any illegal action that another does.
- You have physical evidence that he is deceiving the congregation. This is the most difficult you better be right when you say he is false or you will surly suffer.
- And you are willing to be labeled, a trouble maker, false believer, the devil and much more.
Soli Deo Gloria
Your Brother in Christ
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