Beware of False Teachers

[Kevin Guillory]

In practice, it's those who teach false doctrine which conflicts with the word of God. These people may not like it, but it is their own false teaching that condemns them; nothing that I say.

 

[SkyWriting]

This I would like to hear; so where did Paul promote false teachings?

Anytime he suggested
that any person
be treated different
than he would wish people
to treat him.

In those cases, he promoted un-biblical rules, regulations, morals, thoughts.

-Rules for any churches noting gender
-Identifying special sins
-Promoting special categories of church leaders

In everything then, do unto others as you would have them
do unto you. For this is the essence of the Law and the prophets.

No one has identified a flaw in this Paulogic.

 

[Cindy4HIM]

Joel Osteen is the epitome of a false teacher, right?

I completely agree...and further, I think he may know he is a false teacher or at least he knows he isn't giving the full Gospel message. I get very uneasy feeling in my soul if I turn tv channel and hear him for any length of time.

 

[D. A. Taylor]

It only takes two passages to find out the nature of a false preacher, according to Jesus:

Matthew 28:20: … teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you (Matthew 20:25-27 — KJV).

So here is the long and short of it:

1) Human beings have no authority over the church -- period.
2) Jesus only authorized His disciples (Christians) to preach (actually repeat) His words.

 

[DingDing]

Paul ... did promote some false teachings about groups and hierarchy.

This I would like to hear; so where did Paul promote false teachings?

Anytime he suggested
that any person
be treated different
than he would wish people
to treat him.

In those cases, he promoted un-biblical rules, regulations, morals, thoughts.
...

So, I ask again, where did Paul promote false teachings?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Heb 12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; 6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.



Point: There are no true Christians that the Father does not discipline. No discipline = He is not, nor has ever been, your Father



1Co 11:28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.



Point: “IF” a true Christian refuses to judge themselves correctly, God judges them NOW so that they don’t have to be judged with the rest of the world. “IF” you are a true Christian AND you refuse to judge yourself as you should and correct your beliefs, life, … then you will see one or more of the following: Weakness, Sickness, or “Sleep”. Sleep is the wording used for those that physically die but are still His kids and still go to be with Him after they die.



Point: Gee, yes, God removes His embarrassing kids from the public to prevent blasphemy. Gee they go to heaven … they are His kids, after all.



1Co 5:1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.



Point: There is no repentance. There is no reproof even. This guy is still in church and everyone knows what’s going on. So does he lose his son-ship? No. He’s still saved. He’s just going to die … physically.

This is what we see of “Real” Christians. For the rest we have:



Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.



As far as false teachings go, ALL OF US, have false beliefs, and, to some extent, all of us teach through how we live, what we say, what we claim to believe … a false teaching does not make for a false teacher. You can fall away get to the point where repentance is impossible for you, and be “close” to being cursed and after God takes you home, you can see everything you built your life around, that grew on the field of your life, burned away. And yes it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God… even as a true Christian. But we get judged now. That’s a much better thing.

So, what in your response addresses the fact that I see Charles Stanley as a legitimate, fellow Christian and teacher? Are you implying that Charles Stanley is a 'false teacher'?

 

[Episaw]

Here is the thing. You and your theology are a product of a person who has led you there. You believe what you believe because someone you like was accepted regarding their theology..so, now you believe what they taught yois time I wasu.

For me, this is not the case. I started off in a traditional baptist church theology, much of which was wrong. From there I went to a Brethren Bible College where I heard a different perspective on things. This was followed by 10 years at a charismatic brethren church who gave voice to the priesthood of all believers.

When I moved country, there were no charismatic brethren so I got involved in the pentecostal church of varying kinds. All of them were totally frustrating as there was nothing pentecostal about them apart from the fact they seemed to think God was deaf.

During this time, I was in leadership of two parachurch ministries and a charismatic baptist church.

About 10 years ago I took time out from the church for two years to spend time writing a Ph.D. on New Testament church life and leadership.

My spiritual guides encompassed people like pastor Taylor, my Bible Class leader, a Converted Jew, Harry Greenwood, Ian Andrews, Derek Prince, Phillip Wagner, Charles Colson, David Pawson plus a few more.

So I am not the product of one person. I am the product of several people and my own study. After 63 years of study and input from others, I think I should know a thing or two that is not the product of one person's thinking.

 

[Episaw]

Are you baptized into CHRIST
Have you received the HOLY SPIRIT when you believed the GOSPEL?

Number 10 is false
Everything else, not so sure that one can make such a blanket s statement

I really do not see the relevance of your questions.

 

[D. A. Taylor]

So, I ask again, where did Paul promote false teachings?

Simple answer:

I Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11-12

Jesus plainly commanded that only He has authority in the church; furthermore, the Lord stated that even apostles were not allowed to exercise authority over the brethren.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I am very interested in this one because most of what the church does is false by this standard.

One. It is false to have paid priests.

Even though Paul chose to finance himself through working for his living instead of burdening the church, he was quite clear that he was supporting paid Christian ministries by his statement that we must not muzzle the ox that treads out the corn. So, although a "priest" (implying that a believer must go through that person is access God is incorrect because we are all priests with direct access to God) is not a role that was supported in the Early Church, a full-time, paid Christian worker was supported. So, having paid full-time Christian workers is not false.

Two. it is false to have a pastor running the church.

The office of a trained pastor was instituted to try and curb the invasion of heresy that affected the Early Church that happened because of teachers untrained in sound doctrine. It was considered important to have teachers trained in the Scriptures and in sound doctrine. It was still in the context of a plural eldership where each elder had a different role in the church. The pastor or minister comes out of the parish priest of the RCC church. In my church, we wasted thousands of dollars on two ordained ministers who claimed they could grow the church but the church didn't grow. We no longer have a minister but is elder-run, and the church is in a better state because of it.

Three. The so-called communion and eucharist is false.

Where the communion is conducted according to 1 Corinthians 11, then it is an appropriate celebration and acknowledgment of what Jesus did for us on the cross. The Eurcharist is a hold-over from the Catholic Mass which is more of a sacrifice, and that is not supported.

Four. It is false to worship in a building especially built for that purpose.

Not much difference between hiring a room, a hall, or building one for the purpose. I dont think that God cares very much. But if we treat that building as a special "holy place" then that goes against what Jesus said to the woman at well when He said that the Samaritans worshiped on a particular mountain and the Jews worshiped in the Temple but the days will come when true believers will worship God,not in some special place, but in Spirit and in truth. I don't go along with the expression, "The House of God" as if a church is a type of temple where God lives. When we all go to church, we bring the Holy Spirit with us. When we all leave, the Holy Spirit goes away with us. There is no residual presence of God in the building when everyone leaves. The Holy Spirit dwells in believers, not in buildings.

Five. It is false to meet on a Sunday.

It was the custom of believers to meet together on the first day of the week. This was because Jewish believers went to the Temple on the Sabbath. Gentile believers didn't observe the Jewish Sabbath so they met whenever they wished. As the Jewish believers spread around the known world because of persecution in Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, it became the practice to worship on Sundays. Again, God doesn't care because we can worship anywhere on any day of the week we choose. Anyway, church should be more of a fellowship place where we can encourage each other in the faith.

Six. it is false to tithe 10% of your income.

The tithe was the Jewish form of taxation. In a sense when we pay tax to the IRD (or IRS) we are in effect paying a tithe to the government. Paul did not support tithing. He taught that believers should give as they are able, in other words, what they can afford. This meant that some gave more, some less. If a person chooses to give 10% that is a free decision on his part, but if a church demands 10% then that is false and wrong.

Seven. it is false to have one man do everything in a meeting.

In times past this did not stop God bringing revival to churches and even whole regions. But for a healthy church it is much better if it has "body" ministry instead of one "entertainer" at the front ministering to a crowd of pew-sitting "wooden indians".

Eight. It is false to have female Elders.

Male and female ministries were common in the Early Church. Aquilla and Priscilla were joint ministries and viewed as elders in the church. The only reason why there weren't more female elders was because of the customs of the time, and not because they were prohibited by the Holy Spirit. In our more relaxed modern times, we have seen the blessings of female ministries, and having female elders would not hinder the Holy Spirit moving as He wants to.

Nine. it is false to take up an offering every meeting.

The church has to be financed somehow, because there are bills to pay. Some want a free ride when they come to church and others are very happy to contribute. If one is a member of a club or society they have to pay a subscription, because if they didn't the club would run out of money and go bankrupt. In my church we give the opportunity for members to contribute but we tell visitors that they are free to contribute or not because there is no obligation on them.

Ten. It is false to bring a man from outside of the fellowship to run the place.

We often having visiting ministries and they are a real blessing to us. We have already considered about the one-man-band way of church leadership, and that type of leadership is not as effective as a plural eldership. But when the church gets into conflict, then it may be advisable to get a person in as a transition ministry to get things right side up again. That's what Paul was going to do with the Corinthians. It is interesting when I think about it that Paul founded that church and so he was viewed as the principal ministry there, and then Apollos came after Paul and he was prominent. Then it seemed that afterwards the church went back to a plural leadership but it split into factions where some were adhering to Peter, others to Apollos, and others to Paul, and still others were saying, we're dumping the three of you and adhering to Jesus only. Paul was intending to go there and sort them out. But I think his intention was just to be a transition ministry and not a permanent one.

 

[DingDing]

So, I ask again, where did Paul promote false teachings?

Simple answer:

I Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11-12

Jesus plainly commanded that only He has authority in the church; furthermore, the Lord stated that even apostles were not allowed to exercise authority over the brethren.

You would have to explain how you get Paul promoting false teaching out of these verses.

 

[DingDing]

So, what in your response addresses the fact that I see Charles Stanley as a legitimate, fellow Christian and teacher? Are you implying that Charles Stanley is a 'false teacher'?

I know this was not addressed to me, but stanley promotes a 'cheap grace' gospel - fire insurance, if you will. If you were to go to the link I provided, you can see some of what he teaches. It is a very deadly, watered-down gospel; but one that is very popular with a great many. It tells them what they want to hear: a gospel which promises eternal life without any stipulations or demands or expectations; just accept Jesus as Savior and you have your "get out of jail free" card - how you live your life is a separate issue and in no way connected to salvation. That is about as cheap as you can get - and it is very deadly to many who fall for it.

 

[miknik5]

You know, if you had just googled the phrase "charles stanley live like the devil", like I had recommended and had started reading, you would have spent less time than continuing to ask. Here is the very first web page that comes up for me. It should only take you about 5 or 10 minutes to read through this article - which I recommend you and others do - and in that article you will find the quote I mentioned plus many others.

CHARLES STANLEY In Touch Ministries is WRONG

How do you post a link of a third party quoting what Charles Stanley was supposedly quoted as saying

I was expecting to hear Charles Stanley preaching, not a woman offering her input and "quoting" Stanley

By the way, here is what she quoted Stanley as saying:

"You can't live like the devil

Not

You can live like the devil

 

[miknik5]

This woman speaking for Stanley and also stating that there are no scriptures which speak of eternal security

Here they are:
Ephesians 1:14
Ephesians 4:30

 

[Episaw]

Indeed...then by the time emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of Rome in the third century the model of a hierarchical church fitted well with the the Roman hierarchy. In fact many say that Roman Catholicism is the ghost of the Romans empire. Moving on 1400 years or so protestant churches evolved out of Roman Catholicism and in the process of rejecting many a false doctrine held onto that papal model of the local priest for the local church, we have just renamed them calling them protestant names like pastor, vicar, the minister or senior pastor. As a good friend of mine once said " there are protestant popes too". God works with it but He walks with a limp.

God works with it but He walks with a limp.

A very perceptive comment.

 

[DingDing]

How do you post a link of a third party quoting what Charles Stanley was supposedly quoted as saying

I was expecting to hear Charles Stanley preaching, not a woman offering her input and "quoting" Stanley

By the way, here is what she quoted Stanley as saying:

"You can't live like the devil

Not

You can live like the devil

 

[DingDing]

How do you post a link of a third party quoting what Charles Stanley was supposedly quoted as saying

I was expecting to hear Charles Stanley preaching, not a woman offering her input and "quoting" Stanley

By the way, here is what she quoted Stanley as saying:

"You can't live like the devil

Not

You can live like the devil

I have no idea what "woman" you are talking about - all I asked you to do was read the text,so I don't know what link you followed or even what you are talking about. And you saw the quote in full, so don't twist it; stanley says that you can't live like the devil and get away with it; there will be consequences, but loss of salvation isn't one of them. So, yes, he is telling people they can live like the devil and still be saved.

 

[miknik5]

I have no idea what "woman" you are talking about - all I asked you to do was read the text,so I don't know what link you followed or even what you are talking about. And you saw the quote in full, so don't twist it; stanley says that you can't live like the devil and get away with it; there will be consequences, but loss of salvation isn't one of them. So, yes, he is telling people they can live like the devil and still be saved.

Sir, you went back and forth about how incompetent I must be. Computer illiterate because I couldn't find anything for Charles Stanley "live like the devil"

So I asked you to provide the link

You finally did
And I finally clicked on it and listened to it

And now you don't remember posting the link?

Please go back to your post and pull up the link yourself and listen for yourself

If you hadn't already

 

[DingDing]

Sir, you went back and forth about how incompetent I must be. I asked you to provide the link

You finally did
I finally clicked on it today

And now you don't remember posting the link?

Please go back to your post and pull up the link yourself and listen for yourself

If you hadn't already

Sorry, but I only asked you to read the text, I'm sure there are links to other things; you are on your own at that point. If you have some issue with some woman, you can take that up with her.

 

[miknik5]

Ding ding.....

Just expand your post which I posted off of