In today’s world, we must have the ability to discern false teachers and false doctrine. The enemy has stepped up his game to bring confusion with the Word everywhere, which is a sure sign that we are in the last days. Those who preach doctrines of men are today’s Pharisees and to listen to them ensures hypocrisy in your life. Modern day ecclesiasticism and intellectualism coming out of the pulpit are today’s Pharisees. In their deception, they lead people away from God. Who are these people? How does one identify a false teacher?
In Luke 12:1-3 it says: In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. v. 2: “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. v.3: “Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.”
False teachers/preachers DO the following things:
In Matthew 24:5 Jesus said many will come in His name and deceive many. Jesus also said that by their fruits you shall know them. Every good tree brings forth good fruit and then he said it in reverse definition: no evil tree can bring forth good fruit. And by their fruit they are know, but the key to the discernment here is where we’re getting our definition of good and evil. Good will be found in the spirit of life, which is in the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word both agree never to disagree. The correct definition of evil is also found in the Word and in the Spirit. Again, both the Spirit and the Word agree to never disagree.
1) First, we must understand that Jesus said false teachers/preachers/prophets will come in His name. It is very important to understand this scripture correctly, which is not saying that false teachers come and say they are Christ, but are leaders leading in the name of Christ. It’s talking about false leaders inside the church. Peter said they are adulterers against God who once knew the right way but turned from it. How can they be adulterous without ever being married to God? These leaders will say to the Lord, “we cast out demons in your name; we healed the sick in your name…” but Jesus will not acknowledge them. This is a chilling warning for us all that God is no respecter of persons and will judge every man equally according to his deeds. The book of 2nd Peter describes these false teachers as those who know the truth but depart from it, never to return to the Lord and will spend their eternity in the lake of fire. How does this happen? Narrow it down to self-deception. Many of these false leaders started serving the Lord sincerely and attained great anointing but lust in their hearts lured them away from their first love – Jesus. Regardless of the end result of their deception, whether it be sex, drugs or financial scandals – all scandals can be traced back to lust for all or one of these three: power, glory or gold. These false teachers don’t guard their hearts from lust. Lust is never from God. Lust is the carnal nature’s version of love. It’s only an imitation, not the real thing.
- In 2nd Peter Chapter 2, Peter said they are deceived and motivated by greed and lust and many will follow their ways because they are likewise motivated.
- Because they do not love the truth God will send them strong delusion [2nd Thess. 2:10-11] and while they profess and believe to be following the Lord in the end the Lord will not acknowledge them. Their ministries are much ado about nothing. Their ministries are nothing more than huge spinning wheels going nowhere and producing nothing kingdom oriented. These churches are seeker friendly and community oriented. They attract many, but are spiritually empty. The fruit of these ministries are not discipleship and spiritual maturity but lust, selfishness, self-centeredness, high-mindedness, pride, politics and greed. There is no compassion for the outcasts, nor feeding the poor, no visiting the prisons. These ministries are what both Peter and Jude called “clouds without rain.” Rather than spiritually edifying, they are carnally edifying. They tell the listeners what their ‘itching ears want to hear.”
- Everyone knows the difference of nutrition between an apple and a candy bar. The candy bar has no nutrition in it only satisfies the tastebuds addicted the refined sugar. Fruit, however, satisfies and nourishes the body. It’s a fact that refined foods are addictive to the body. Just as refined foods are addictive to the body, so is the cheap doctrines that are out to satisfy those who prefer the carnal doctrines over true, spiritually edifying doctrine. This is why Christians cannot take a rebuke today. They’ve got to hear what they want to hear. There’s no spiritual maturity in them. It’s a bunch of babies being led by leaders who can’t handle spiritually mature believers in their congregations. That’s what Paul referred to as carnal Christians. He described them as seeking the knowledge, but never really finding that knowledge of God that produces spiritual maturity. It takes spiritual maturity to fight the good fight of faith. It takes spiritual maturity to endure the onslaughts of the devil. It takes spiritual maturity to endure the fight alone.
- In order to be leaders inside the church they must first be recognized by leaders and for carnal reasons are promoted before the maturity or character level required for the promotion is made manifest. That character must be proven before all openly. Many don’t endure the test to be proven but are promoted by their superiors because there is no one else available. It’s the leaders in the church who are not willing to wait for this maturity and ultimately, it’s the church body that suffers the consequences. These so-called leaders are not to serve, but to be served. That’s completely opposite to what Jesus requires in leadership. A servant’s heart is the first character requirement to leadership. Instead, we’ve got churches that are exactly what Jesus dealt with, Pharisees in leadership seeking the recognition of men, churches choked with politics and not led by the Holy Spirit. Church dynasties are formed and no teaching promoting spiritual maturity is conducted. It’s a vicious cycle and a very dangerous way to run a church because this system is carnal and seduces principalities to reign inside their churches.
2) They secretly bring in destructive doctrines. The emphasis is how they bring in the doctrines that destroy – secretly. Nestled inside a valid teaching but it comes with a twist. For example: The prosperity doctrine is the most widely abused teaching in the church today. Prosperity is a good and Godly teaching in itself. God wants His children to prosper. It just doesn’t make sense that God wants us to live in poverty, especially when He said in His word that poverty is a result of the fall. The devil prospers his people but only because he wants to take God’s throne. The Bible narrows down the results of the fall to three things: sin, sickness and poverty. Everything evil in this world is derived from those three things. Therefore poverty is NOT from God. Not just because it doesn’t make sense, but because God said so. I’m not saying that if one is on welfare that they are not or can not be born again. I am stating that to be living in poverty by choice is not a good witness to the unsaved. It screams to the unsaved that God does not provide for His own, which is clearly a contradiction to what the Bible teaches. But the Bible also teaches that it takes faith to move on in Christ even in the material provisions of life that God wants to provide us but only as we prosper spiritually. It is when we prosper spiritually as we prosper financially that we become a good witness of the abundant life found in Christ. Sure, we can enjoy abundant life in Christ without the prosperity and be saved, but it is the best witness and furthers the gospel of Jesus Christ to experience the financial prosperity He wants to give us. 3rd John 2: Beloved, I wish above all things that though mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”
Also, God’s purpose for prosperity is to spread the love of Jesus. Not to hoard the tangible to ourselves because we’re motivated by greed and lust. The Bible is clear in this area. How can they go if they are not sent. Galatian 10:14-15: How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And How shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things? Although some preachers have used this teaching for mercenary gain and turned many away from the church who are backslidden today. They are stumbling blocks and they too will answer to the Lord. But we should never discard the truth because of those who have been a bad example.
The Bible tells us that Satan comes as an ‘angel of light.’ He doesn’t come in boldly and say “I’m the Devil, listen to me!” No, he’s in disguise and it’s takes discernment to recognize his work. That discernment comes from abiding in the vine, as Jesus said. We must know the Word well by studying it. We must “study to show ourselves approved” because God rewards ONLY those who “diligently seek Him.” And the Word only comes alive with prayer. Prayer is fellowship with God.
3) Jesus said they will preach that the Lord delays His coming (Mark 7: 1-23). Peter also said that they will say that the Lord delays his coming. The reason for the Bible’s warning not to preach such a message is because the carnal nature of man will translate that delay as a license to go back to his carnal ways and not follow God since He’s not coming today or anytime soon. They think they have time to repent. But no one is promised tomorrow and no one even knows when that day will come but it will come like a thief in the night.
4) Jude warns us that they turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness. God’s grace is so wonderful and it’s always been His intention for us to live by. But that comes to fullness when we reach heaven. Not here on earth. So the doctrines that results in the conclusion that you can live a lifestyle of sin on the earth and go to heaven is what that means. False teachers bring in destructive heresies and they do so because they’re not living up to the standard God insists on for His leaders. The rules don’t apply to them. They are lawless and void of the truth in their own lives. They don’t examine their own lives to see if they’re surrounded by sycophants and enablers to their own devices. Those spiritually mature trigger their carnally led alarms and they deem the mature as a threat to their system. There are no checks and balances for these church demagogues. They are bold to assert if you don’t comply with their rules – get out! They allure by speaking the truth but don’t live up to those truths. The proof is not there. They deceive by the seduction of their “great swelling words” the Bible says. They make statements that are bold and assertive in truth but have no action to backup. They are driven by the love of money. Few really have an ongoing sex problem, but even the sex problems are rooted in their hunger for power. The sex problem is the result of the lust for power.
5) They are like spots in our love feasts; like clouds without water, carried about of winds; trees where their fruit once was but has withered and twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea speaking great words and gaining the favor of men. There is one common denominator of all of them: they have no fruit within themselves and cannot spiritually feed. Their fruit is carnal and they feed carnally. Rather than bearing the fruit of love, they bear the fruit of lust – the carnal nature’s version of love. Some actually are brazen enough in their self-deception to flirt and beguile others to follow them and financially support them. 2nd Timothy, verse 3 states: “For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts.”
Back in the 90’s I was in a church in the Midwest and a guest speaker came from Africa. He seemed like a nice man and he preached what seemed like a good sermon for the most part, but then at the end of his sermon he made just one statement that shocked me. I was taken aback. I sensed a caution in my spirit. Then after the end of the service I went to speak to him and another young lady was standing nearby looking up at him with an adoring look in her eyes. As I watched her speak to him the Holy Spirit spoke to me and showed me they knew each other in an intimate manner but they acted like total strangers. What she was doing was being his travelling companion in secret as he was a married man.
These ministers can be very anointed but because they’ve allowed themselves to be deceived, they’re carousing about within the church enticing and deceiving others with the sole motive of financial support. They flirt and give others the idea that they’re interested in a personal relationship but have no integrity to follow through. This practiced deception opens the door to the enemy who eventually brings them down in humiliation and some of them infamously.
So I have described what false teachers do but I don’t specifically call anyone out by name. The reason is found in Daniel 11:35:
And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
This verse is very important in discernment of false teachers. I hold this verse very close to my heart whenever I’m listening to the Word being preached or taught. Remember, the emphasis here is that the falls purify and don’t disqualify. They are still leaders. And although I pointed out how many will point to their own anointing supporting their validation in Him at the great white throne judgment Jesus will reject them – it does NOT qualify us to rail and accuse those with an anointing. We don’t have the qualifications to do so. The only charge for us is to ‘touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm”. That’s OUR job as we labor in Him. The confusion comes in for believers is because they focus on the leader’s personal walk and not the fruit of their ministries. While are not to stand and judge the leaders, we must discern but also cover them in prayer. While we are under their covering, they also are under ours. If we don’t watch and pray, they’ll have no covering as well. Although they are responsible for the fruitbearing in their own personal walk with God, we must keep praying for them.
I choose to make sure that the Lord will not look at me at the judgment seat of Christ and hold me accountable on why I did not do my best to support someone He called me to come under. I choose to make sure the Lord will not hold me accountable on why I did not pray for my pastor and speak life into his life. The Lord will not hold me accountable because it’s my choice to be obedient to Him and stand where He calls me to stand. Regardless of the mistreatment of those around me I will man my post. Who cares what they think? I care about what Jesus is going to say to me at the judgment seat of Christ. I can’t allow the opinions of others dominate my service of Him. And let’s remember what the Word says: iron sharpens iron. I don’t let any critics of mine derail my train. I choose to let those who criticize me sharpen me. It’s good to take criticism and check to see if it’s true. At times it can help us. Sure, there is such a thing as unfounded criticism, but it’s always good to check inside and see if its true. It’s also good to guard our hearts because it’s our lack of guarding our hearts that allows other’s criticism to hurt us. We have no one else to blame if we allow the javlin to penetrate our own hearts. We are the only ones accountable to guarding our hearts.
Furthermore, as far as the rapture is concerned, Jesus instructed us on two things concerning the rapture of the church. 1) be ready at all times and see to it that He finds us busy; and 2) no one knows when it takes place. So if no one knows and it will come like a thief in the night, we should all be busy doing God’s business. Our focus should be on building His Church and keeping it marching and moving on against God’s enemy. Not sitting down on God, which is what the Church is essentially doing today. The enemy camp has grown larger and now the Church is surrounded and controlled by principalities in the heavenlies. May God have mercy on us if we don’t take that momentum and run with it. We must win souls to Christ! We must come together in unity and build a mighty force against the enemy who has surrounded us on the battleground of the world. We must stop seeking our own agenda, come together and appreciate one another’s gifts and callings and support one another. We must come together and pray. Watch and pray while we build that wall against the enemy forces of Satan who lies, steals and cheats his way to victory. The Church has sat down on God for over 20 years now. Past falls of preachers – get over it! The enemy has broken the door of the Church down and invaded by bringing his culture inside the Church. It is time the Church wake up and come together in love and unity so the Holy Spirit can move among us and cleanse His temple from worldliness and move among us. Let’s get our focus back and get busy on building that wall.
For How to Discern False Teachers and False Doctrines – Part 2 [https://vyzyn.org/how-to-avoid-deception-part-2/].
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