Beware False Doctrine

There is a crisis in our world. I’m not talking about the border crisis, Afghanistan, or even the pandemic. No, the crisis I’m talking about is the crisis of the lack of Biblical knowledge among God’s people. There are too many people that are believing any Bible teacher, and I use that term loosely, without researching what they hear for themselves. The three main things I want to try to help you understand today is the dangers of false teachings, how to recognize them, and what to do when you recognize them.

We hear these words doctrine and false teaching all the time, but what do they mean? When you hear about a certain church’s doctrinal belief set, what does that mean?

Doctrine refers to the entire body of essential theological truths that define and describe that message.

False Teaching is defined as teaching viewed by another person or group as misleading, untrue, or unorthodox.

We have to have the correct doctrine if we are going to live the lives that Jesus wants us to.

If I want to put together a table, I’m not going to use instructions on how to put together a bed. I won’t get the desired result that I’m looking for.

Just like if you want to learn how to be a man of God, you’ve got to read the Bible yourself and follow what it says the right way. Let me give you another example.

Lets say you go to a restaurant, and you want a steak. You know steak is delicious because you have experience eating steak. You would be pretty upset if the waitstaff brought you a corn-dog. You know that’s not what you wanted, but the waitstaff says “No, I believe this is right. I have my beliefs that this corn-dog is right and your steak is wrong.” You have decided to listen to me preach today. You want me to preach the truth of the Bible to you, not some belief that’s not biblically based. Do you see the connection here? Likewise if you don’t know any better, say you’ve lived under a rock eating moss your entire life, you wouldn’t know the difference between steak and a corn-dog. If you don’t ever read the Bible, how do you know what it says or doesn’t say?

You have to read the Bible for yourself and know the truth for yourself before you can determine what you know is the truth!

False Teaching is evil and is running rampant. It needs to stop. The only way to stop it is to read the scripture for yourself!

False Teaching is Evil Teaching

2 Timothy 4:3–4

2 Timothy 4:3–4 NKJV

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

If there were ever a time to know the Word of God, its now. We live in a society that is growing increasingly opposed to our faith. The Bible says that many will be deceived in the last days. I’m here to tell you if you are expecting me to tell you what you want to hear to make you feel good, you will be very disappointed. I will tell you how it is in the Bible and I will not shy from it!

God gave us taste buds. If prison food was all that you ever ate, you’d think it’d be the best food in the world. But we know better. Why? Because we have tasted food that is well prepared, cooked with care, delicious, and filling. The same is true for the word of God.

When you study the Word of God and know it, you can tell the difference between moldy, disgusting, bread, and well prepared, delicious, and filling spiritual bread.

You may or may not notice that in today’s society, everything is being redefined by people who want to wipe out Judeo-Christian values. From gender to race to the freedom to pray, there are people that would love to see Christianity cease to exist. On the flip side, There are Christians that attend church to have their ears tickled.

1 Timothy 4:1–3

디모데전서 4:1–3 (NKJV)

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

Does the Bible really say?.... Its a saying that Satan used in the Garden of Eden. He said “Did God really say?” That’s essentially what we’re saying when we ask “does the Bible really say that?” Its a question we need to ask because it will prompt us to go find out for ourselves if its true or not.

J.C. Ryle, a pastor from Liverpool in the 1800s, says “We have no right to expect anything but the pure Gospel of Christ, unmixed and unadulterated—the same Gospel that was taught by the Apostles—to do good to the souls of men. I believe that to maintain this pure truth in the Church men should be ready to make any sacrifice, to hazard peace, to risk dissension, and run the chance of division. They should no more tolerate false doctrine than they would tolerate sin.”

We have the right and responsibility to get false teaching out of our churches and minds as much as we have the same responsibility to get sin out. We get so caught up in religious tradition that we start to believe that the Bible actually says those things. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. “The King James Version of the Bible is only accurate Bible. If you read any other Bible, you’re learning wrong!” “If you have tattoos, you’re going to Hell because they Bible forbids tattoos.” Watch what Jesus said about false doctrine in Matthew 16.

Matthew 16:8–12

Matthew 16:8–12 NKJV

But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

What He is really saying is a little bit of false teaching is going to endanger the rest of your understanding of scripture. A little bit of false teaching in the church, is going to leak out into the rest of the teaching in the church. Beware of false teaching. We have to read and interpret, correctly, scripture for ourselves.

Identifying False Teaching

1 John 4:1–3

1 John 4:1–3 NKJV

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

So how do we know if a teaching is false? We are told to test the spirits. How do we test the spirits? Does it point to Christ? If not, its not of God. Our enemy is the great deceiver. We’re told that in Ephesians that we wrestle against spiritual hosts of wickedness.

If that spirit does not confess that Jesus is Lord, it is not of God. That’s a pretty clear and easy checklist if you ask me. We have to have discernment! John tells us that the spirit of the Antichrist is already in the world. The time is now! We have to be ready now!

2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NKJV

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

What Paul is saying here, to Timothy and to us, is that all scripture is given by God! Why though? What is the purpose of scripture? Its to show us how to worship Him in spirit and truth as Jesus talks about. Its to reveal to us when we mess up and how to correct ourselves and others when we do mess up. It teaches us how to be righteous or how to be like Christ.

The Christian’s Response to False Teachings

1. Watch and Learn

2 Timothy 4:5 “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

2 Timothy 4:5 NKJV

But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

So how do we respond to false teachings? I have a responsibility to preach the word, do the work that I have been called to do, and fulfill the ministry that God has called me to. You have that same responsibility. We are not here to please men. If we were, we would have no business serving God. Paul tells us to be watchful in all things. This means to stay focused! How do we stay focused and not be deceived? God told Joshua to meditate on the Word day and night. I’m not saying that we have to be studying the Bible 24/7/365. What I am saying is that we have to spend enough time in it, so we will be ready to identify and stay away from those false teachings when they do pop up. There are those that will be deceived and not endure sound doctrine, but this will not be us! Amen?

If you’re someone that wants to lose weight or get stronger in the gym you have to go consistently. If not, you’re not going to see results. The same goes for developing any skill and especially applies to spiritual growth. I’ve learned the hard way that you can’t just eat whatever you want and lose weight. There have been advertisements that I have seen that say “You can eat whatever you want and still lose weight!” Well this guy likes cheeseburgers and Dr. Pepper so I’d like to formally call out all those ads that say that and tell them it didn’t work for me! The same goes for us as believers. We can’t just eat, or in this case, believe, whatever we want and think its going to get us into Heaven. Only faith in Jesus Christ is going to get you there!

The enemy will disguise false doctrine to trap you. Peter said that we need to be vigilant because the devil is like a roaring lion.

1 Tim 4:16 “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”

1 Timothy 4:16 NKJV

Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

That phrase “take heed” means to pay attention to. Pay special attention to yourself, your growth, and the doctrine in which you are exposing yourself to and believing. Make sure it lines up with scripture.

2. Grow in Grace and Knowledge

2 Peter 3:18

2 Peter 3:18 NKJV

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

Peter tells us to grow in grace and knowledge, not go wherever the wind blows. Paul calls that being conformed. James calls it being unstable. That word for steadfastness doesn’t mean patience here. It means place of safety or security. So what Peter is saying don’t start thinking you’re so safe that you think you’re bullet proof.

Its when we get complacent when we start being led astray. Its when we think we have it all together that things start falling apart.

Brother, we can’t do anything apart from God! This is why Peter says to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He’s talking about continuing to grow!

If you’ve ever grown a garden or maybe you’ve planted a tree, you know it takes diligence to make sure whatever you’re growing has plenty of sunlight and water. You make sure that you plant it in the right place to ensure its going to thrive when it spreads it’s roots. If you’re good at taking care of plants, you’re probably pretty good at watering the plant because you want it to grow. If we want to grow in our spiritual life, why don’t we use that same diligence that we do in our gardening?

There was a time Peter thought he was doing pretty good for himself. There was a time where he was given divine revelation to who Jesus was. It was revealed to him that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus exhorted Peter. He told him that he would be the rock of His church and the gates of Hell would not prevail against him. He told Peter that he would be given the keys of Heaven. Who wouldn’t be on cloud 9 at this? But as we know the story takes a quick 180. Jesus reveals that He has to suffer, be killed, and be raised on the third day. Peter rebukes Jesus. Big mistake. You see Jesus rebuked the wind, the waves, and demons. Now Peter is trying to rebuke the Jesus, the guy he just declared to be Messiah. Matthew 16:23

Matthew 16:23 NKJV

But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

What just happened? Peter got full of himself because of something that God did for him and he couldn’t do for himself.

3. Instruct and Sharpen Others

A survey was taken last year of how often adults in the U.S. read their bible. Only 9% said they read their Bible everyday.

There is so much turmoil in the world because Christians don’t know what the Bible says! I love that verse that says God helps those who help themselves… See some of you just believed me and maybe you said amen because you thought that was in the Bible. Its not.

Allen Iverson has a famous speech about practice. Its laughable, but its true. If you don’t practice, you’re not going to be ready to perform out on the field or platform that God has placed you in. We have to study the Bible for ourselves.

When you do this, you will grow up into Christ. When this happens, and you’re pouring into someone else as well, you’re helping them grow too. We are all a part of the body of Christ. Some are hands, some work as feet, but Christ is the head of us all. We get our functions and commands from the head.

Lets say you are running to get fit or lose weight. You have multiple body parts and organs working together to make sure that you don’t die. If your arms aren’t pumping, it will slow you down, because they are just flopping around. If your heat and lungs aren’t pumping oxygen, you’re not going to get very far. If your legs aren’t moving, you aren’t going anywhere at all.

Romans 12:4-8

Romans 12:4–8 NKJV

For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

In the church, we need to have people doing various functions in various areas to make sure we’re meeting that mission of loving God, loving people, and serving both. Theres a statistic that has been out there for years saying 80% of the work in the church is done by only 20% of the congregation. That tells me that 20% of the work in the church isn’t getting done. I encourage you wherever you attend church, get involved if you can. If nothing else, you can always start a prayer ministry. Pray for different people at different times for different reasons. Start a bible study and lead it with someone. There is always something you can do.

God Loves You

Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden, David was a murderer, Peter denied Christ 3 times, and God still doesn’t give up on us after all that. He sends His only Son to show us how to live. He dies and raises to life on the third day in victory! Jesus ascends into heaven and He still doesn’t leave us to just figure it all out from there. He inspires men to write the Bible. And just an fyi, the Bible was written by farmers, tax collectors, murderers, cowards, and adulterers. These authors went through the same things you have gone through and will go through. God wants a relationship with us! How good is a relationship if we don’t talk to Him everyday or read what He has to say to us?

The Bible is God’s love letter to us!

It tells us how we messed up His perfect design, but He had a plan for us. Even though we mess it up on a daily basis, we chase things that don’t matter, we believe some of the lies that we hear about Him, He still loves us. He still chases after us with an unconditional, unfailing, never ending love. I invite you to get to know who God really is. Not what your old preacher, your grandma, or even I tell you who He is. Figure out who He is for yourself and start a relationship with Him. Its never too late to start. Theres nothing that you have done or ever will do that will ever separate you from His love.