False Teaching
False teachers are not a new thing.
They have been around before Christ. In the Old Testament, propping false idols up instead of God was a constant occurrence. Gideon, Moses, Elijah, Josiah, etc., all had to deal with the people setting up false idols before God. With Moses, the people literally made a golden calf while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the 10 commandments, and the people got impatient. Instead of worshiping God, the people wanted to prop something else up to follow and worship. In the days before Christ, the people were constantly propping up other items to worship or chasing after other false gods. The people that led these movements would have been the false teachers of the day. They led people away from the true God to follow idols. God consistently rose up warriors, prophets, and his anointed, to fight and lead his people away from these movements.
When Jesus came, the problem did not just go away. Jesus got the angriest when he saw that the church of his day was more focused on money than God. When Jesus saw that the places of worship were more focused on money than God, he started flipping the money-changing tables over. This wasn’t an isolated instance, many people in the Bible warned us about false teachers, such as:
Jesus stated: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Mat. 7:15 ESV
John said: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 John 4:1 ESV
Peter stated: But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 Peter 2:1 ESV
Paul stated: For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 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. 2 Cor. 11:13-15 ESV
Moses stated: Deut. 18:20-22 ESV But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
Jeremiah stated: Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. Jer 23:16 ESV
Timothy is told: 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, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 2 Tim. 4:3 ESV
Ezekial tells us: And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. Ez. 22:28 ESV
Jude tells us: For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude 1:4 ESV
Isaiah tells us: To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. Isaiah 8:20 ESV
Micah tells us: Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, “Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.” Micah 3:11 ESV
There are over 100 verses warning us about false teachers. Excluding the book of Philemon, every book in the New Testament warns us about False Teachers.
The main thing a false teacher is going to do is switch the focus.
That is it. That is all that needs to be done, instead of focusing on the gospel, the Bible, and the atonement. They will focus on other things. It does not matter much what the other things are. It could be money, could be how to be a better you, how to be a leader, finding your purpose: psychological self-help or other various self-improvement ideas. Or the focus could be turned to the Pastor or the institution. It doesn’t really matter what it is turned to; there are endless idols and false Gods that can be propped up. As long as the focus is not on Christ as the King, the possibilities are endless. If the focus has been moved away from God and Jesus Christ and onto something else, you are dealing with False Teaching.
False teachers are going to do whatever they can do to keep people away from the main thing, Christ crucified. Programs, entertainment, and even good works can be used as a distraction. It is Jesus Christ that saves souls, restores life, and transforms hearts. If the focus is not on that, the focus is lost. You might be entertained or amused, welcome or enlightened, happy or empty. But understand this, if you are not following the main thing, the gospel, Christ crucified, you are just following along with the world, whether you are in a building that labels itself as a church or not.
The Bible refers to false teachers as wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are going to talk, think, act, and speak like everyone else. They will look exactly like the sheep; people will be deceived. They can quote Bible verses and do Christian things. They can be called a Pastor, Elder, deacon, or any form of titles. Everything they say will sound good and tickle the ear. Sometimes it can be obvious. Kenneth Copeland stated that Jesus Christ did not die on the cross for your sin, but for your financial gain. Joel Osteen says all of the right things and does not make any bold antiChrist statements. His sermons are not bad unto themselves; he says a lot of good positive things in his sermons. There is nothing wrong with positive thinking, words of affirmation, or self-help. Dale Carnegie and Tony Robbins also did this type of thing. The problem is that Joel presents himself as a Preacher, and he does not do any preaching. If you have gone a decade and not presented the actual gospel message of sin, repentance or Christ Crucified, then you have missed the point.
False teaching, idols, false gods, and walking outside of the will of God’s commandments have filled history and will continue. False teaching is not limited to just the Pastor. It could be found in leadership or even just a regular member in a Bible study. The problem with false teaching is if it goes unchecked, it will root itself into the church as a new doctrine. It will get established as truth. There are numerous false teachers out there today. The point of this website is not to try to hunt them all down (it wouldn’t be fair to do this based on one sermon, you would need a series of sermons) but provide information so that you have enough to stay away from them. Or hunt them down with the truth.
Cults - Excessive control
One dangerous aspect of false teachers is that some of them morph themselves into cults. Some churches may not be full-blown cults, but they will still exert God-like or cult-like control over their people. Control is something that may not be out in the obvious - but is twisted into the fabric of the structure. Many times, a Pastor does not need to exhibit the control himself. It is wired into his puppets, henchmen, and yes men that will do the dirty work for him. No one ever thinks they are in a cult. A cult might not look Hollywood. It just might look like your church. A cult is just simply when the church lines up the people to follow the pastor’s words, instead of God's words. The Pastor’s teachings will take precedence over the Word of God's teachings. And if you question or try to present the truth, the wrath of the institution will turn upon you.
If you are in a cult-like atmosphere and there is a control issue in your church, you need to leave to be free. Whether or not a church qualifies as a cult or not, or if it is just cult-like with a controlling/manipulative spirit, you need to be free. Escape the bondage. Understand that many of your lifelong friends and even family members that are involved in this unhealthy church will turn against you. You must escape with your family so you can be free. Flee the institutions and head into the arms of God.
Signs of Spiritual Abuse: Part 2
Book: The kingdom of the Cults - Walter Martin
Long read. This book highlights the attributes of the large cults. It also shows the characteristics of these cults. The danger here is that many churches are not actually cults, but operate in a controlling spirit and end up being cult-like.
Videos on a few cults of Christianity, the Mormoms & Jehovahs Witnesses
Donall and Conall Meet the Mormon Missionaries
Donall and Conall Convince the Mormon Missionaries They're Going to Hell in 40.305 Seconds
