False teachers
Those who know me realize that I am a little bit of a history buff. So it is no surprise that I have really enjoyed teaching some of the lessons for our Sunday school class lately that concern the history of the books of the bible. During the study a couple of things really struck me. The first thing is how little I really understood the timeline of the writing of the bible. Before this study I had never really had a clear picture of how long it took to complete the Old Testament or exactly the order and timing of the New Testament book’s appearance.
The second thing that jumped out was the number of times in the New Testament that the authors wrote against false teachers. Until this study I don’t think I realized how much time was spent talking about guarding against false teaching. I guess I had never really appreciated how hard it was in the first century to establish an orthodoxy. It seems that there were a LOT of people running around the churches spreading false doctrine. I guess it was the nature of the new religion that allowed people to make up what they wanted to believe instead of what was taught by the Apostles. Many could have taught just by claiming the authority. There would have been precious little written down that was accepted as scripture in which to base a foundation of common belief.
This is definitely not a problem that we have solved today. It doesn’t take much to see many of the false prophets and teachers that are still around just by turning on the television. Many of them are easy to spot because their greed is so apparent or their ideas are just crazy. But what about the false teachers who aren’t on TV? The teachers who say things that don’t sound too bad or maybe even good. The teachers that we want to believe, even though what they say, if we are really honest with ourselves, doesn’t match up with the Spirit or the Word. I think there is a difference between a false teacher and a teacher who is simply wrong. It lies in their motivation.
What are we to do when we run across false teaching or false doctrine? What was the most egregious lie that you have heard taught by someone who claimed to be teaching you Christian values?
The whole "false teacher" thing is a little scary to me. It tends to get used to discount any teaching that people don't like/are threatened by. Lately, it, and "heresy" are getting thrown around a lot and it makes me sad. Instead of being open-minded and tolerant, people are more concerned about protecting their current position.
I'm not really a fan of the word tolerance these days. It's a word that for me means, someone not willing to stand up for what they believe because it might make someone a little uncomfortable. Love isn't tolerant, love is "patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" but not always tolerant.
I keep going back to Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." And I can't help but wonder if in a time when shepherding was a common profession, if someone would have said "hey you don't need to act, you should just be tolerant of and open-minded about the wolves among your sheep".
I think saying "There is a mass murderer standing in your child's room, standing over them with a knife" wouldn't evoke more of an accurate reaction. A wolf in the flock could completely destroy a persons lively hood, their life, and the lives of those in their family. There was no unemployment, no insurance, no welfare.
How do you balance patience and kindness with protection and perseverance? So many of the false teachers that I see are trying to use human means to change things in the world instead of trusting the ways of God.
I think the biggest false teachers now are the ones that teach anything other than living in love under God's grace.
Mormonism gives me "the willies". I remember driving through SLC late and my wife suggested we stop for the night. I could not bring myself to do it. There was an oppression that I could feel, very odd. I was disturbed that I was in this city that had been responsible for so much deception.
But I guess my biggest issue in the last few years has been the doctrine of hell. I've read enough to understand the arguements and the scripture. I know it is true, and I wish it was not. I must submit my feelings about it to the Lord Jesus.