False Teaching And Cult Doctrines Series

Defending Faith Against False Teaching

Introduction

This series will ultimately lead to a study on suffering, trials and tribulation. Before we

can effectively study what the Bible teaches about this part of life, we must first lay a

solid foundation. Why do Christian - even great men and women of faith - endure

hardship? If suffering is the result of sin and prosperity is a trophy of righteousness, then

why do so many wicked men prosper and have good health? The prophet Jeremiah was

bothered by this when he wrote the following passage:

Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You;

Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments.

Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?

In Psalm 73, the psalmist said, "I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity

of the wicked". Very seldom do we see these issues addressed in the church. Because

hardship makes us feel uncomfortable, churches sidestep the issue completely. Before we

can understand this topic, I feel it is necessary to clarify doctrines growing in popularity

that are not based on scripture, but on the desire of the human nature to have utopia on

earth. The church today is being blinded to eternity and focusing solely on the temporal.

The church is blind to the joy of suffering with a purpose greater than the pain. Churches

are making a shift because they are not willing to look beyond their immediate

circumstances and therefore, they turn away from God’s purposes and seek their own.

The Bible teaches us that in the last days, people will not endure sound doctrine, but will

instead pile in to teachers who will tell them what they want to hear. In other words, they

don’t want a gospel that asks them to deny self and conform to Christ, they want a gospel

that conforms to their lives and desires.

There are many competing doctrines and religions claiming to be truth, but there is only

one Spirit. The Spirit of God has no competing rival. His Spirit testifies with our spirit to

reveal truth. When someone hears the truth, they cannot be deceived without rejecting the

truth because His Spirit reveals it. Satan can only deceive us by appealing to our selfish

sin nature. Out of a desire for the lie we reject the truth. When someone has rejected God

by rejecting His truth, He will send a strong delusion so that they will believe a lie. God

will fulfill our desires. If we choose God and draw near to Him, He has promised to

reveal Himself and draw near to us. If we chose the lie over truth, God will give us over

to our desire for the lie. It is for this reason that so many false teachers have filled the

airways preaching self-fulfillment and turning God into a means to our ends. In this series

I will address these issues by comparing doctrine to scripture.

I know there will be many who will reject the idea that I will use scripture to reveal the

errors of ’God’s anointed’. However, the scripture is the authority over any who claim to

be spokesmen for God. If a preacher and the scripture disagree, one or the other is false.

The Bible states that God’s word is equal to His name. The scripture says that not one jot

or tittle will pass away and His word will remain forever. God’s word does not change

and God does not change. If someone stands in opposition to the Bible, either God is a

liar or the prophet is - or as Proverbs 30 states:

5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

One thing we must keep in mind is that it is not the heresy (or false teaching) that is the

focus, nor is it the teacher. The focus is on truth. If the truth of God’s word is proclaimed,

it will expose the lie that challenges it. If the teaching does not match the truth, the

teaching is a lie. If the teaching is a lie, the only hope for keeping the lie alive is for those

who love the lie to suppress the truth. They protect the lie from being exposed by

avoiding scriptures, mocking those who search the scriptures and discrediting those who

lift up the truth. Even though I will quote false teaching in order to expose it, the focus is

to uphold and teach the truth. If false teaching is not exposed in light of scripture, those

who are misled will never have the option to choose the truth. My goal is not to force