False teachers?
Luke 6:46 – 49
Rabbi Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz
Luke 6:46 “aWhy do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 “aEveryone who comes to Me and hears My words and 1acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who 1dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the 2torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 “But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the 1torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
I was at a friend’s house, and one of his son's family was there. We were having a nice social time and dinner when the question of church came up. My friend and his family went to the church where I was appointed. It was time for me to move on and his son did not like the new preacher that was assigned to the church. That happens from time to time, and it is expected for people to move from one church to another because, in the United Methodist system, the bishop determines how long a person can serve a church.
So, my friend's sons started talking about visiting different churches. I asked him the question: how do you determine that the pastor or preacher that you’re listening to is conveying to you the truth about the gospel? There are so many ways that people today seem to interpret Scripture. He didn’t have an appropriate answer for deciding how to know what is truth versus what is false.
As I think back on that time, I wonder if I could have come up with a set of criteria that one could judge a pastor or preacher to see if they are truly preaching the Scripture. One of the biggest problems is that people can interpret Scripture in many ways. I can remember when I first started preaching over 25 years ago that my views of Christian doctrine were different than they are today. Of course, today I have a high level of education and can weigh Christian doctrine against the Bible because I have received training in it. However, I have people come up to me and tell me how wrong I am. The biggest issue, when I’ve been told I’m wrong, had to do with social issues.
In my first church appointment, a middle-aged woman came up to me and said that I needed to preach on social issues and tell people what I think the Bible said about it. My heart said yes, but my head said no. At my second church appointment, I said that a certain social convention was against the Bible. My summer organist quit and left the church because he had a child that followed that social convention, which I just said was against the Bible. He said he couldn’t support the ministry of someone who thought that way. Even though the Bible says what his son was doing was sinful, that didn’t matter. Unfortunately, what I learned from that experience is don’t talk about social issues because you will upset somebody. If you have to talk about a social issue, you have to frame it in such a way that it works for both sides of the coin and frankly it’s easier just to skip.
I know some of you might say no, you have to stand up for the principles of the Bible. It is a very fine line to walk. When I was in North Carolina at my first doctoral residency one member of the cohort was telling us that in the church he was at if he gave a sermon that someone did not like they could stand up at the end of the worship and declare a nonconfidence vote in the pastor and the congregation would vote whether he could stay. Therefore, he was afraid to touch anything that had any kind of social or cultural implications. The other 12 of us in the cohort unfortunately agreed with him. Now I say unfortunately, because should we stand up when something in our society is anti-biblical?
It is a tightrope that we have to walk. On one hand, we want to say what the Bible says and convey that truth, but on the other hand we have the elders of the church and, in my case, the bishop who determines which church I end up at. The bishop has reassigned some of my colleagues to four and five church charges because they believe in certain social principles.
So how does one determine if the church and the pastor they are potentially joining truly preaches the truth of the Bible? It is really a tough question to deal with. When my son went looking for a new church, I suggested to him he write what he believes his faith is all about. Then when he attended a new church, he needed to ask for their doctrine and understanding of the Scripture. If what he believed matched what the church espoused, then he found a new home. If it was totally against what he thought, obviously, it was time to move on. I also told him he may not find a church that believes exactly everything that he had on his list. He would then have to make the choice whether he wanted to stay there or move on.
You wouldn’t think it would be that hard to tell the truth in church. It’s probably surprising some of you to hear this. It is a hard thing to do because the preacher doesn’t want people to walk out and leave the church because that is a financial problem. Unfortunately, we still have to pay the bills and if a new pastor comes to a church and starts espousing viewpoints that people in the pews dislike and subsequently they leave, the church could be in a world of financial hurt. I really wish there was a way to get around that problem.
It seems today that people are not tolerant of others who have differing opinions. There’s nothing wrong with having a different opinion about what interpretation you might get from a passage of Scripture. In fact, God made us all different so that life would be interesting. Imagine if every person in the world thought the same way always. Innovation of any sort would not happen because we always are pleased with exactly what we have. Therefore, is our understanding of the Scripture enhanced by us having differences? I believe it is. However, today we seem not to hold discussions and debates about Christian doctrine and interpretations of Scripture.
This is a place where Judaism excels in because rabbis in study groups will say things to provoke people into debate. It’s okay to question what the Bible says and your own interpretation of it. It is part of their culture to view the Bible that way. Perhaps one day we will also move into that situation. Would it be great to be in a church where we can discuss several interpretations, and everyone leaves happy with each other?
In Luke chapter 6 verses 46 to 49, we hear a warning from Jesus about false teachers. There were many people walking around the Near East in Jesus' time who were claiming to be the Messiah. I’m glad to say there is at least one thing that churches goers can agree on, and that is that Jesus Christ is the Messiah promised to us by God in the Hebrew Scriptures and that by having faith and belief in his offer of salvation is all you really need. Everything else is window dressing.
In summary, Jesus' purpose was to demonstrate the way to salvation and eternal life with God in heaven through his teachings, actions, death, and resurrection.
