False Doctrines Poisoning The Church
We’re going to be looking at some of the major false doctrines that are a particular danger to Christians and churches in our day. Not the major cults, but other insidious, spiritually poisonous false teachings that have snuck into the church through the back door through well disguised false teachers.
Does DOCTRINE matter to God? Is FALSE DOCTRINE a genuine danger to the church? Yes!!
Did you know that the only NT book that doesn’t warn about false teachers is Philemon. All 38 of the others do!
1. ) Jesus warned about false teachers (Matt. 7:15-19).
“Be careful of false prophets. They come to you and look gentle like sheep. But they are really dangerous like wolves. 16 You will know these people because of what they do. Good things don’t come from people who are bad, just as grapes don’t come from thornbushes, and figs don’t come from weeds.17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 You will know these false people by what they do (and say).”
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2.) Paul warned about false teachers
Acts 20:29-31 “I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.30 Even some men from among yourselves will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
What in the world was Paul warning the Ephesian church and elders about night and day with tears?–FALSE DOCTRINE, FALSE TEACHERS, FALSE MESSAGING!
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–Paul predicted that great deception would characterize the last days:
2 Tim. 3:13 “But evil men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
1 Tim 4:1 “But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons,”
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3.) the Apostle Peter warned about false teachers and predicted that many would follow them:
2 Pet. 2:1-3 “But even in those days there were false prophets, just as there will be false teachers among you today. They will be men who will subtly introduce dangerous heresies. They will thereby deny the Lord who redeemed them, and it will not be long before they bring on themselves their own downfall. Many will follow their pernicious teaching and thereby bring discredit on the way of truth. In their lust to make converts these men will try to exploit you too with their bogus arguments.”
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4.) John strongly warned the church about false teachers and false prophets:
1 John 4:1 “Don’t trust every spirit, dear friends of mine, but test them to discover whether they come from God or not. For the world is full of false prophets.”
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5.) Jude warned about false teachers
Jude 4 “I say this because some godless teachers have wormed their way in among you, saying that after we become Christians we can do just as we like without fear of God’s punishment.”
This predicts the hyper-grace teaching gaining traction today that I will be covering in this series.
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Some Facts About Doctrine. First:
What is doctrine? It’s a word that simply means teaching. So when you talk about sound doctrine you mean sound teaching.
The Apostle Paul talked about the need for sound doctrine all the time. In Titus alone he mentions it repeatedly.
In Titus 1:9 he says that sound doctrine is how we defeat false teaching.
“He must hold firmly to the trustworthy word [of God] as it was taught to him, so that he will be able both to give accurate instruction in sound [reliable, error-free] doctrine and to refute those who contradict [it by explaining their error].”
He exhorted Titus, “But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine.”–2:1
He exhorted the young men of the church to show “integrity, reverence, and incorruptibility in doctrine.”–2:7
He wrote Timothy and told him that the Bible (God’s word) is given for doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
“All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for doctrine, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage];”
The Book of Acts makes it crystal clear that one of the reasons for the early church’s incredible effectiveness and growth was, “…they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine…”–Acts 2:42.
Paul told young pastor Timothy to “…give attention to reading, to exhortation, and to doctrine.”–1 Tim. 4:13.
So every pastor is tasked with teaching sound doctrine repeatedly.
Paul also told Timothy that as a pastor, he was the gatekeeper for the doctrine that was allowed in his church.
“As I urged you when I went into Macedonia–remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.”–1 Tim 1:3-4
Then finally, in Romans 16:17 Paul urges the church to take note of those that are teaching false doctrine:
“Now I urge you, brethren, mark those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.”
“Mark” is translated from the Greek word skopos which means, “to consider, to take note of, pay attention to.”
In other words, consider the things someone is teaching and hold it up to God’s word for comparison. If what they’re teaching is not doctrinally sound, if it doesn’t hold up to the scrutiny of God’s word, remove yourself from it and them!
Now, in our politically correct world where the cardinal rule is to not offend anyone for any reason, this sounds harsh. But it’s not harsh, it’s wise. It is a command designed to protect you from the grave consequences of being taken by false teaching.
The Apostle John said much the same thing, in some ways even more strongly than Paul:
“Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.”–2 John 9-11
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So sound doctrine was a major theme and concern for the apostles.
And if for them, so for us, particularly when you consider all the prophetic warnings they wrote regarding deception in the last days.
That said, in much of today’s church, Christianity has become watered down. In many churches across the country the Gospel has been replaced with messages that tickle the ear and cater to the flesh.
Many pastors and teachers are proclaiming false doctrines as if they were Biblical, simply to keep seats filled and increase their revenues.
As a result, there are many false teachings today and they are happening within “churches” across the world.
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To Recognize False Doctrine, You Must Read Your Bible
If you’re a Christian, it is crucial that you read your Bible daily. How will you be able to spot false doctrine if you don’t know what the Bible says?
Remember, the Bible is GOD’S Word, written to us personally. We must know what it says in order to know the truth and recognize false teachings.
I cannot stress enough the importance of being Biblically, doctrinally sound, especially in this world that is filled with false teachings.
NEXT TIME: False teachings that are poisoning today’s church:
Open Theism
Hyper-Grace
Calvinism
Universalism