"And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you." (Matt 24:4) "When he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly" (Prov 26:25-26) For deception to work, it has to be cloaked with sincerity, goodwill and mystery. According to the Bible, false teachers are an apparition of nature - appearing like the image on our cover photo; a wolf in sheep clothing. The secret of the greatest con is to hide your interest by creating a situation where the mark feels they need you, and are naturally seeking you. False teachers are among us! This is no longer a warning; it is now a statement of the fact. In this month of abundance, before we delve deeper into our teaching on abundance; God has asked me to lead you through this extensive exposition on the ills of false teachings and false teachers in our society. Today, we are going to learn how to unmask the perpetrators!.
The question I want to answer today is how do you recognize a false teacher; and how do you guard yourself against false teaching. The first thing we must understand is that Jesus Himself clearly warns us that there will be false teachers, and we must be careful not to be deceived by them.
Coincidentally I taught a group of young people how to identify false teachers; and what I am going to be writing is an extension of the lesson I gave them. If I were to add the phrase "false teacher" to the dictionary, I would give it thre different definitions and these are my definitions of a false teacher:
1. A false teacher is someone who teaches something that has no basis in the Bible. A person who is teaching a doctrine, a practice, a belief that cannot be traced to any portion in the Bible is a false teacher. There are some practices held in some churches which has no scriptural backing, those practices are false teaching. Some people teach rituals, occult practices, etc in the name of religious truth. If what you have been taught cannot be found in the Bible then it is false. Next time someone is teaching you something, simply ask "Where is it in the Bible?"
2. A false teacher is someone who teaches something that is based on the Bible but gives it a different meaning or interpretation. This is the most dangerous type of false teaching. The more clever false teachers will read from the Bible and then twist the scriptures to mean something else. Satan did it three times while tempting Jesus in Matthew 4. This is why we must have a sound understanding of God's word with the aid of thorough study and the help of the Holy Spirit. If we do not study the word of God, we will stand at the risk of false teachers who will misinterpret the Bible to suit their own goals.
3. A false teacher is someone who teaches correctly from the Bible but does not practice what he or she teaches. If it is difficult to reconcile one's action with one's teaching, then such a person is a false teacher. The best lesson are learn by observation, not just by hearing!
God bless you