For the last few days I have been writing on the importance of the church recognizing that not everyone who comes in the name of Christ is actually following Christ. Jesus warned, " “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves." (Matthew 7:15, NIV).
The question is, how do we recognize the false from the true? After all, false teachers don’t announce themselves as false, just the opposite they claim to have a corner on truth! The Bible says, "God never sent those men at all; they are “phonies” who have fooled you into thinking they are Christ’s apostles. Yet I am not surprised! Satan can change himself into an angel of light, so it is no wonder his servants can do it too, and seem like godly ministers. In the end they will get every bit of punishment their wicked deeds deserve." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15, The Living Bible). So let me begin to wrap up this current series by giving you some things to watch out for; teachings that should raise a flag of warning in your heart.
One of the most common tactics of false teachers today is to claim that they never speak on anything “negative.” The Bible warns, "The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading." (Lamentations 2:14, NIV) and Jeremiah warned, "They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace." (Jeremiah 6:14, NIV).
The reason so many fall prey to these purveyors of prosperity is because it is such an easy message. Much of what passes as the Gospel today is little more than pop psychology aimed at making us feel good about ourselves. The problem comes when their message makes us feel comfortable within ourselves even when we are living in some known and clear sin. Paul warned, "For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas." (2 Timothy 4:3-4, The Living Bible).
One prominent false teacher began his sojourn into error with the words, “I only teach what is positive; nothing negative and sin and hell are negative, so I won’t speak on them” and now has graduated to claiming that large parts of Scripture are written by “cranky old men” who had a (personal) problem with a certain lifestyle and therefore what they wrote is not really from God. Now that is a key mark of a false teacher. They claim that their insight supercedes Divine Inspiration.
Another common tactic among false teachers is to link obedience to prosperity. One false teacher declared for instance that “Jesus was filthy rich” because he obeyed the will of God perfectly. He went on to explain that Jesus’ apparent poverty was only because he hid his riches from his followers!
The Bible says, " Anyone who has a different teaching does not agree with the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that shows the true way to serve God. This person is full of pride and understands nothing, but is sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. This brings jealousy, fighting, speaking against others, evil mistrust, and constant quarrels from those who have evil minds and have lost the truth. They think that serving God is a way to get rich." (1 Timothy 6:3-5, NCV).
Please note that last phrase, “They think serving God is a way to get rich.” These false teachers promise those they deceive that if they will show their faith by giving them “seed money” God will then be obligated to bless them monetarily. They grow rich while their followers desperately cling to their false promises and sacrifice many times beyond their means.
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