Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, “Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie,” therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has preached rebellion against the Lord.”’” (Jeremiah 29:30-32 NASB1995)
Now these words were for a particular group of people for a specific time in history, but the Bible teaches us that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV) So possibly there is something that we can learn from this Scripture passage to be applied to our lives today. And I think that comes down to us learning how to identify false teachers.
Whether they are called “false prophets” or “false teachers,” the point of the matter is the same. They are people who teach lies to the people in order to persuade them to reject the truth of God’s word and to believe the lies, instead. And they are convincing many people to believe their lies and to reject the truth. So we need to know their characteristic traits so that we can be on the lookout for them, so that we learn to test their words against the teachings of the Scriptures, and so we learn to separate truth from lies.
Characteristic Traits of False Teachers or False Prophets
• They secretly bring in among you destructive heresies
• They blaspheme the way of truth and righteousness
• They exploit you with false words
• They count it pleasure to revel in their deceptions
• They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin
• They entice unsteady souls and have hearts trained in greed
• They forsake the right way, the way of righteousness
• They promise others freedom while they are slaves of corruption
• They are ravenous wolves disguised as Christ’s sheep
• They pervert God’s grace into sensuality
• They deny Jesus Christ in word and in deed
• They lead people into sexual sin and idolatry
• They are scoffers following their own ungodly passions
• They are worldly people, devoid of the Spirit
False Prophets and Teachers/Testing the Spirits:
[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; Luke 6:26; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]
In All Practicality
In our world today, at least here in the USA, these false teachers can be heads of church denominations, heads of bible colleges or seminaries, pastors of church congregations, or those who call themselves prophets or apostles. Or, they can be evangelists, or authors of “Christian” literature, or they can be bloggers who share their thoughts and beliefs on the internet, or people who produce “Christian memes,” or they can be just everyday people who are on the internet sharing their thoughts or beliefs or devotions, etc.
And the BIG LIE that is being spread is that we can make a verbal confession of faith in Jesus Christ, or of him as Lord, and/or of his bodily resurrection, and then we are assured that all our sins are forgiven and that heaven is now guaranteed us as our eternal destiny upon death, with no mention at all being made of the necessity that we die with Christ to sin, that we must be reborn (changed in heart, mind, and behavior) of the Spirit of God, and that we must now walk (in conduct) in obedience to our Lord and his commands.
So, they leave their converts with the idea that they are now saved, forgiven, and on their way to heaven, but regardless of how they treat God, and regardless of how they live, or if they continue in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, which will land them in hell, and not in heaven. And although some of them might teach holy living, putting sin to death, and walks of obedience to the Lord, it seems most teach that as optional and not as required by God for our salvation from sin and for eternal life with God.
But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
Please take this to heart! And please test the spirits against the teachings of the Scriptures, taught in their true biblical context, to see if they are of God.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Myopic
Based off 2 Peter 1:3-11
An Original Work / August 19, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Jesus has given ev’rything
Needed for life and godliness.
His great and precious promises
Free us from our sin and distress.
Add to your faith His goodness;
Knowledge; patience; godliness;
Brotherly love and mutual affection;
Kindness and unselfishness.
If you possess these qualities,
Growing in your maturity,
They will keep you from vanity.
You will bear fruit effectually.
Nonetheless, if you lack them;
Forget you’ve been cleansed from sin,
Nearsighted are you; you can’t see Jesus.
You have closed your heart to Him.
Therefore, beloved, confirm, then,
Your calling and your election.
Do this by showing diligence:
Obey your Lord; be repentant.
Practice all these qualities
God provided on a tree.
He died for our sins so we’d be given
Life with Him eternally.
Are You Believing in a Lie?
An Original Work / October 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
