False Teachers

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Secret Heresies

False teachers do not introduce themselves as false teachers. They will come as angels of light pretending to believe the same Christian beliefs that we have. The dangerous thing about them is that they will use the same vocabulary but have a different dictionary. For example they will say we believe in Jesus Christ, but what they believe about Christ is totally different than what we believe. This is what the LDS has on their web sight regarding Jesus and the Bible:

We believe the accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament to be historical and truthful. For us the Jesus of history is indeed the Christ of faith. While we do not believe the Bible to be inerrant, complete or the final word of God, we accept the essential details of the Gospels and more particularly the divine witness of those men who walked and talked with Him or were mentored by His chosen apostles.

We believe that He was born of a virgin, Mary, in Bethlehem of Judea in what has come to be known as the meridian of time, the central point in salvation history. From His mother, Mary, Jesus inherited mortality, the capacity to feel the frustrations and ills of this world, including the capacity to die. We believe that Jesus was fully human in that He was subject to sickness, to pain and to temptation.

This is what they say about the Bible:

One of the main reasons Latter-day Saints are often relegated to the category of cult of non-Christian is because we believe in scripture beyond the Bible. To be sure, we love the Bible. We cherish its sacred teachings and delight in reading and teaching it. We seek to conform our lives to its marvelous precepts. But we do not believe that the Bible contains all that God has spoken or will yet speak in the future.

This is what Jehovah Witness believe about Jesus:

God does not have a literal wife with whom he fathered children. He is the Creator of all life. Humans were created with the capacity to imitate God’s qualities. That is why the first human that God created, Adam, is called a “son of God.” Similarly, Jesus is called “the Son of God” because he was created with qualities like those of his Father.

God created Jesus before creating Adam. In fact, God created Jesus and then used him to make everything else, including the angels. That is why the Bible calls Jesus “the firstborn of all creation” by God.

Before he was born in Bethlehem, Jesus lived as a spirit creature in heaven. When the time came, God transferred Jesus’ life from heaven to Mary’s womb so that he could be born as a human

Jesus. We follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and honor him as our Savior and as the Son of God. (Matthew 20:28; Acts 5:31) Thus, we are Christians. (Acts 11:26) However, we have learned from the Bible that Jesus is not Almighty God and that there is no Scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine.

As you can see they profess to be Christians, but do not believe the same thing about Christ that we do. We believe that Jesus Christ is God and that He was not created. We believe in the complete and inerrancy of scripture.

These two examples are ways that people can claim to be Christians but their fundamental belief is so different that they cannot say they are the same as us. The irreducible minimums of the Christian faith are compromised in their religion.

They pretend and claim to be Christians, but at the foundations of their religion stands in direct opposition to the Christian faith.

I was speaking with someone this week and he shared with me that he was involved in a conversation with one of his friends that his wife was leaving the faith she had been brought up in and was going to LDS. How did that happen? False teachers will deceive people by secretly accessing them and convincing them of false teachings.

Deceptive Practices

Another aspect of false teachers is how they live their lives. A teacher can teach accurately, have correct doctrine, and live a life of licentiousness. 2 Peter 2:2

2 Peter 2:2 NASB95

Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;

This means they are one person in the pulpit or classroom and another person outside the pulpit or classroom. Though they teach the truths of scripture they do not live the truths of scripture.

They have great knowledge and skill to communicate the scripture, but it has no affect in their life. It is almost like the hypocritical Pharisees. They teach and demand everyone to live according to the word, but they themselves do not.

Matthew 23:13–15 NASB95

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Matthew 23:25–28 NASB95

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

A Christian teacher must have his life line up with his teachings. This doesn’t mean the teacher has to be perfect, but it does mean that their life must be consistent with the Bible. If it is not then the way of truth is maligned.

One of the greatest travesties is when a Christian teacher is found to be a hypocrite. There have been two men that I have looked up to in the faith, only to find that they had fallen in a way that would be indicative of not being consistent with their teachings. I am not going to share those names, but I will tell you that both fell to sexual immorality.

When this happened I was devastated and began to question the very things that they taught. I have come to the conclusion that even though they fell morally, their teachings are still valuable. However the credibility of what they teach going forward will be suspect. At least in one case. The other has passed.

Though I have come to this conclusion, others may discount the gospel and biblical teachings when their teacher falls or is inconsistent with the way of their teachings. This is the way the truth is maligned.

Look to see if the leader you look up to has a life that is consistent with the Bible. You can see this in their marriage, their children, how they spend their money, what they do with their time, what they talk about when they are not teaching, and the list can go on.

Greedy Pastors

2 Peter 2:3 NASB95

and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

When a pastor constantly preaches about giving or is more concerned about money than he is ministry, then you have a pastor that is greedy.

You see them on television all the time! They are the ones who live in multi-million dollar homes, fly in their own personal jets, drive very luxurious cars, stay in the most expensive places, and eat at the most expensive restaurants. The people that give to this false teachers are usually struggling just to make ends meet. The false teacher will tell them the reason they are where they are is because they don’t give money to the pastor that is preaching to them. This is a false teacher that profits from false teachings. The word of God says that their destruction is not asleep. This means that hell’s fire will be a reality to them.

This does not mean that pastors are not to teach about money. Jesus did, it is in the Bible, so preachers are to teach about it.

When a pastor is more concerned about his personal wealth than he is the well-being of the flock, then you have a greedy pastor.

So how can you tell if a pastor is greedy? Look at his income relative to his qualifications. Does he make exorbitantly more than someone with his qualifications does in the non-vocational ministry position. If he does then, he is probably a greedy pastor.

I believe it is the churches responsibility to compensate the ministerial staff the same way they would if they worked in the workplace.

1 Corinthians 9:8–14 NASB95

I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.

1 Timothy 5:17 NASB95

The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

The difficulty for a pastor in talking about money is that anytime he speaks about it, it comes across as if he is greedy. The truth is he should teach what the Bible teaches about money as well as all the other principles of the Bible.

A church should not pay a pastor more than someone with the same qualifications would earn. Consequently, a church should not pay less either. A church should be fair.

True Teachers

True teachers teach the fullness of the entirety of the Bible. They should focus and live according to the great commandment and great commission.

Mark 12:30–31 (NASB95)

and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB95)

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”