Saved Or Self-Deceived? Series

1. they do teach some Truth

False teachers do teach some truth. I do not want to imply that everything a false teacher says is wrong because that is not the case. There are many preachers in the world who have a lot of good incite to offer on prayer, holy living, some doctrinal issues, but they are still false teachers. A person can give the best marital advice, can defend their faith well, and still be a false teacher. A false teacher does preach some truth, but not all truth. Even though these people can offer us some good things, they need to be avoided because they are deceiving people. I will tell you why I am skeptical about reading a lot of the popular books today, because if a person omits to tell a person that they need to be immersed for the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit, I do not care how popular or respected they are, I do not care how many crusades they have lead, and how many presidents they have advised, I don’t care how many books they have written, and people encouraged, they are a false teacher through and through. I hope you catch what I said there. We need to be careful about who we listen to. Some of the most popular preachers in the world are leading many people to Hell. These teachers are deceiving people. They preach a sermon, and hundreds of people come forward wanting to give their lives to Jesus and they tell them to pray Jesus into their heart, and that is no where to be found in scripture. Yes, these people can offer a lot of good advice, but they are wolves in sheep’s clothing, they are false teachers, they will be judges harshly by God for leading people astray and teaching people that they are alright apart from obedience to the gospel, and they need to be avoided like the plague. That may have ruffled some feathers, but the point is false teachers teach enough truth to be dangerous. They teach many good things and not every thing they say is wrong, but a false teacher is a false teacher. Just because a person teaches some truth does not mean they should be accepted as Biblical teachers and heralds of the truth.

d. Not always immoral

False teachers are not always immoral people. We hear a lot lately about scandals of false teachers and the way in which they live. I have always said that bad doctrine leads to bad character and I believe that is true, but there are many moral people who are teaching false doctrine. Just because a person lives a moral life does not mean that we accept them as a herald of the Truth. Many moral and good people are deceiving people, intentionally or unintentionally I do not know, but they are false teachers none the less and we need to be on our guard so we are not deceived.

The number one way in which people in the church become deceived is because of what someone who claims to be a preacher teaches them. Let me tell you that your faith does not have to rest in the counsel of any preacher and you can search the truth for yourself. Always search to see if what I am saying is true, because the truth is not afraid to be checked out in God’s Word. Do not lean on any man’s wisdom, but only on God’s Word and if you do that you will not be deceived.