Calling Out False Teachers

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Romans 16:17 (NASB95)

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

If we are “going to keep an eye” on those who teach doctrine contrary to the Word of God,

then we are going to have to know who it is that we are supposed to keep an eye on.

We are going to have to “mark them” as Paul says.

And why do we do this?

Two reasons:

Because God commands us to in His Word

Bad doctrine hurts people

And bad doctrine in one person, doesn’t tend to just stay there,

As the theologian Justin Peter’s puts it: “Error always leads to more error”

In fact, as Paul says, it spreads like Gangrene.

And this is always how it works.

Think of how many churches and denominations embraced smaller errors in the past, which eventually led to major errors!

What first started with women teaching men led to to women pastors, which led to embracing LGBTQ.

And that’s just one small instance of this happening:

So this stuff really does matter.

Do you know get’s the most YouTube views?

It’s not the conservative, Bible preaching pastors,

it’s the Word of Faith false teachers who are promising people health, wealth, and financial blessing from God.

and it’s because, as 2 Timothy 4:3 says:

2 Timothy 4:3 ESV

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

People don’t want to be told about sin, death, and hell,

they want to be told that “God loves them and has a perfect plan for their life and that plan includes material and physical blessing!”

And I find the saddest about this Word of Faith/prosperity gospel teaching, is how many people buy into it, and then when they find out it’s a lie they turn their back from Christianity and never look back because they think THAT is what Christianity is...

But it’s not.

That stuff is nothing but new-age idolatry with Christian terminology.

And I don’t make this claim lightly.

And so if we love people and care for their souls, we must be willing to say hard truths and call out both false teaching and false teachers by name, if the situation calls for it.

And as we said before, we see this pattern all throughout the New Testament.

For example:

2 Timothy 4:10 (ESV)

For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

2 Timothy 1:15 ESV

You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

1 Timothy 1:19–20 ESV

holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

2 Timothy 2:17 ESV

and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

2 Peter 2:15 ESV

Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

3 John 9 ESV

I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.

These are just a few of the many, many examples,

But, a bit pat of 2 Corinthians has to do with Paul calling out false teachers by name.

In that book, Paul is engaged with “THE SUPER” APOSTLES,” and when he calls then “super” he’s being sarcastic, because what he says they really are is false teachers.

And when it comes to false teachers, as Paul warns in Galatians 1:9.

Galatians 1:8–9 ESV

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

1 Timothy 1:3–4 (ESV)

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

And so what Paul is saying here to young Pastor Timothy, is to not only call out false teaching - like the Word of Faith and Prosperity Gospel - but to CHARGE those “certain persons” not to teach it.

But why?

Why can’t we just teach the 10 theological reasons the Prosperity Gospel is wrong and let people connect the dots?

Well, for one, as we’ve looked at briefly, Scripture commands us to call out false teachers over and over again- and to be honest, that’s reason enough.

For what God says, we do.

But secondly, we call out false teachers by name because false teachers are trixy!

They are good at making themselves look like they are servants of Christ, when the truth is, they are servants of Satan!

2 Corinthians 11:14–15 ESV

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Ya know, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked with a Christians who will agree that the Prosperity Gospel and the Word of Faith movement are dangerous and unbiblical, but then later on they tell me how much they like Joel Olsteen, or Kenneth Copland, Joyce Meyers, or Steven Furtick...

And I’m just like....

I’m dead serious.

The theologian Justin Peters - who’s gonna be speaking in Crosslake actually this fall - tells a funny but really sad story about this.

He was talking to a lady who said: “My two favorite preachers are John Macarthur and Joel Olsteen...

So why does this kind of stuff happen with Christians?

Why don’t they see the contradiction?

Why can so many Christians see false doctrine when you describe it,

but not see it in their favorite false TV preacher?

As I was preparing for this discussion this last week, I was listening to Justin Peters and another pastor, and they helped explain why this is the case.

The first reason is, we are visual learners (which is why Jesus used illustrations so much when He taught. )

See, if I describe an elephant to a blind person, he get somewhat of an idea of what an elephant is like

But if that blind person can suddenly see and then an elephant walks into the room, there’s a pretty decent chance he’s not going to that what he’s seeing is an elephant.

And that’s because there is something about seeing that helps us learn,

And it’s because we are visual learners.

The 2nd reason Christians often don’t recognize false teachers is because we live in a day and age where the church is, probably, the most uninformed Christians to ever walk the planet.

I’m not trying to be mean on us here.

But it’s true.

And to be fair, some of it isn’t totally our fault.

The 3rd reason is because of favoritism.

See, if I tell you that I don’t care for dogs in general, you might not think much of it.

But if you have me over for dinner, and I start telling you how smelly, annoying, and untrained your dog is - you’re probably going to take offense by it (even if it’s true!)

And the reason is - he’s your little FLUFFLY!

And ain’t no one get to talk bad about Mr. Fluffy!

The same is true for false teachers.

If someone comes along and tells you how dangerous false teaching is, you probably won’t think too much of it.

But, if someone comes along and starts calling out a teacher you like for false teaching, you’re probably going to take it a little personal.

And ESPECIALLY if that false teacher really helped you get you fix your life in a major way!

Maybe they helped you get your finances figured out

Maybe their teaching helped save your marriage

OR - maybe they even they led you to Christ!

And if they helped you so much with all of that,

Then come on… can they REALLY be that bad…?

Let me ask you a question

Are deer ticks dangerous?

Of course they are.

They carry bacteria, lime disease, and sorts of nasty stuff you don’t want to get.

And so if you get a deer tick on you, you are going to want to remove it as quickly as possible.

Now... would rather remove a deer tick with tweezers or a 44 Magnum revolver?

The tweezers right?

Sure, you technically can remove a deer tick with a 44 Magnum Revolver…

But chances are, you’re you’re much more likely to blow your leg clean off.

And just because you or someone you happen to know successfully removed a deer tick with a 44 magnum revolver, doesn’t mean we want to point people to that method of tick-removal…

In fact, if we care about them, we are going to tell them that it’s dangerous, and their are much, MUCH, safer methods.

Are there people who have come to Christ through prosperity preachers?

Yes

Are there people who have come to Christ through Word of Faith teaching like the Tent Revival that’s coming up?

Yes

But that doesn’t mean it’s any less dangerous than trying to remove a tick with a Revolver.

Our conversation this morning isn’t to try to convince you that Word of Faith and Prosperity Gospel are dangerous.

We have enough material and then some to do the job on that - so if you’re interested, talk to me, Josh or my Dad.

Or just pick up the “American Gospel” DVD in the back,

Or grab the books “Truth or Territory” or “God Doesn’t Whisper.”

Or if you’re interested in a more in-depth read, pick up Strange Fire by John Macarthur,

Or watch the Strange Fire Conference on YouTube for free.

Please hear me when I say, this isn’t us making mountains out of mole hills.

This stuff is a dangerous doctrine of demons that shipwrecks people’s faith,

and makes Christianity look foolish to an unbelieving world.

And if we stand against, it will cost us as a church.

It will potentially cost us favor with our community

It will potentially cost us favor with our family and friends.

It will potentially cost us the growth of our church...

And why?

Because:

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

As a pastor, this is one of the hardest parts about doing ministry.

And it’s because I hate conflict.

I don’t like it all all!

And if I’m honest with you - every fiber of my being doesn’t want to do this kind of stuff!

But I do it anyways.

Why?

Because our King has commanded it for His glory and the good of His people.

Does this mean this is the new precedent for ministry here at Eagles Nest?

Does this mean we are going to now, from this day going forward, start targeting different people and ministries we disagree with in our area?

No...

Look - Nothing has changed.

I didn’t read a book on this and this is now our church’s new strategy.

All that’s happened is it has taken this long for a situation to come up where we felt the need to respond as we did.

Look, it’s not my job, or this church’s job, to fix all of the other ministries out there.

I’m not the Holy Spirit and neither are you.

But, it is our job to take care of the people within this church family,

And as your pastor, I take that responsibility very seriously, for it’s a responsibility that i will one day give an account for.

And so that is why we took the action we did last week,

not to create a viral video that everyone in our community would see

Not to cause a storm and get everyone talking,

But simply to protect the people OF OUR CHURCH from doctrinal danger.

And make no mistake, this tent ministry is absolutely dangerous.

It’s a ministry that is largely pretending to be something they are not.

And they are targeting all of the churches in the Brainerd Lakes area,

And if I have any love or care for this church AT ALL, I cannot sit by and say nothing.

And so as your pastor, I will do what Scripture commands even if it’s unpopular.

Trust me when I tell you, there are people in our church who are

Maybe you don’t think this kind of stuff is a threat to the people of our church, but I can promise you that’s not the case.

Because if we didn’t, my job as pastor would be at least 500 times easier,

And that’s all I’m going to say about that, but yes, it’s a very real threat.

If you want to learn more about that threat, as I said, check out those recourses,

And if you ave any questions or concerns, please come and see me so we talk about it.

And if it’s not pressing - save your questions for next week during our Fellowship & Focus and we can cover some of them there.

If this makes you uncomfortable - GOOD!

Because it should!

it makes me uncomfortable!

But you know what?

that’s a part of growing as Christians,

Coming across SHOCKING things in the bible that at first offend us.

At first make us think: “That can’t be right!”

“That can’t be Christian or Godly!:”

But then, as we continue to pray about it and search the Scriptures, we come to see that it is Godly, AND it’s what is best for us!

So if you’re struggling with this, then let me encourage you to slow down and take some time to really dig into it all.

Look at what what these dangerous doctrine truly believe

and at what Scripture has to say about them and how we are to respond to the false teachers who promote it.

I’m gonna close in prayer here, but before I do, I just want to remind us that these people are not our enemies, their our mission.

And so we are going to reach them we are going to fight to kill our pride,

We are going to have to resist the urge to think we are better than them, because our doctrine is better.

But our doctrine doesn’t make us “Better than them” does it?

For only the blood of Jesus makes us righteous!

And so we must never forget that!

And so,

Ephesians 4:15 ESV

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Ya know, as a church I don’t think we nailed that one on the head last week did we?

“Speaking the truth IN LOVE”

Like at our Critical Race Theory event, some of the comments got a big angry

Some of them got a bit heated,

And if we aren’t careful, we can allow our anger to lead us into pride and a lack of love for those we are called to share the gospel of salvation with.

I’m not supposed to be preaching today, so I better stop, because it’s getting awfully close.

So let’s close in prayer here by praying for us as a church,

but also for those we are called to reach,

Those we are called to love,

So us pray.

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