Most people reading this article travel the well-paved road of evangelicalism’s “sound doctrines,” believing that the Old and New Testaments are our only divine rule for faith and practice. And yet, sometimes, false teaching emerges from within evangelical circles. Paul warned the Ephesian elders (and us) of just such a possibility (Acts. 20:28-31).
How does false teaching arise? It usually starts with a persuasive leader/teacher who claims to see things from a new perspective. Such leaders always seem to draw a crowd, convincing them that everyone else is wrong and they alone are right. Such teachers search the Scriptures for texts that appear to substantiate their views. Their “new doctrines” soon get codified in a popular book and trumpeted in friendly-speaking environments. This elevates their status and gives them a footing to demand that their faulty theology receive the same consideration as other orthodox doctrines.
False teaching follows this predictable road from obscurity to prominence. It gains traction because it can “make sense” or look genuine at times, combining biblical sounding ideas, personal experience and a dose of helpfulness. It is nothing new and has been with the Church from the beginning. Paul dealt with it in Colossae and Galatia. It is part of a spiritual leader’s responsibility to assess such “new teachings” and to “be on their guard and protect their flocks” (Acts 20:28). It is helpful to realize that all false teaching can be recognized by four common characteristics:
False Teaching claims to be solidly biblical, but then “proof-texts” without careful exegesis. Because the suspect doctrines are not clearly taught in the Bible, their promoters often cite individual verses out of context, often reading their personal opinions into a passage of Scripture instead of doing careful study of the text and its context. They will turn to passages with unclear meanings to substantiate their claims. When pressed, they use their experience or “what they have seen” to back up their claims, not Scripture. It is never good when someone uses experience to validate truth and not the Scriptures.
False Teachers claim to have authority and exaggerate their importance. Paul described one false theologian as “taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head” (Col. 2:18-19). Some proponents of false teaching claim an “apostolic anointing,” so no one can say he or she is wrong! They hear God speak to them apart from Scripture or without accountability to it. This leads to an unwillingness to listen to correction or to be open to input from those who might question what they teach.
Proponents of false teaching appeal to non-biblical sources that they believe strengthen their position. When you hear appeals to practices by the early church fathers, rather than Scripture, your radar should ping. If contemporary theologians get quoted in support of one’s doctrine while ignoring what other theologians have said in opposition to it, alarm bells should sound. Name-dropping (citing well-known leaders who support one’s view) should never replace the well-exegeted text.
False teaching, if unaddressed, can lead to Divine discipline. False teaching takes root in environments where leaders and people do not do careful study, where church leaders don’t take their role of protecting the flock seriously. Sometimes personal friendships or an over-developed sense of loyalty to a church “family” hinders corrective action. But such a failure to protect God’s redeemed ones from such dangers can result in Divine discipline on the whole group.
Jesus commended the church at Ephesus for discerning those who called themselves apostles and were not.” However, He threatened the churches at Thyatira and Pergamum with Divine discipline if they ignored the faulty and dangerous theology in their fellowships (Rev. 2 and 3). Should we fail to discern and address false teaching in our midst, like those two less-courageous churches, corporate Divine discipline awaits us. We need to do our job carefully and prayerfully, and not allow a persuasive teacher to derail us or our people.
If you liked this post you might also like my previous two blogs; Discerning God’s Will in Conflict and Increasing Your Discernment.
Mark Barnard serves with Blessing Point Ministries. Blessing Point facilitates breakthrough moments in ministry that can transform a church’s impact for the Kingdom of God. Learn more at blessingpoint.org.