False Gospels: Are You Following One?–Part 2

“If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” [1Ti 6:3–4 ESV]

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel– not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” [Gal 1:6–9 ESV]

“Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world–to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” [Jhn 18:37–38 ESV]

“I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right.” [Isa 45:19 ESV]

“…There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me. “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.” [Isa 45:21–22 ESV]

In my last post, I introduced some of the reasons why false teaching is influencing the Church here in the United States so strongly in our time, namely, the over-reliance on extrabiblical study aids marketed in the Christian publishing industry and a growing attack on the verity of the Bible. My heart in this post is to help those who are being misled by false teachers or influenced by false teaching. If many of my points seem to be obvious to some of you, please remember that those under false teaching may be spiritually young Christians, or folks who are confused, or people who are being drawn in by the promise of wealth or healing, even those who have been in a false church setting all their lives and have never had a true church to compare it to. I recognize too, there are also, sadly, those that simply don’t want to hear about truth. My prayer is that if you love the Lord Jesus, that you would ask Him to reveal any false teachings you may believe and to give you spiritual discernment. If in your heart you want to know truth and follow Him, He will most assuredly answer your prayers.

If you think that you are standing firm in faith and have no fear of being wrong, I ask you to consider for a moment that you could be wrong. I was brought up a Jehovah’s Witness, and I thought I knew all the right answers. It was not until I accepted the idea that I could, just possibly, be wrong, and prayed that the Lord would show me any wrong beliefs I held, that He answered my prayers. If He could show someone like me who was so convinced of that their false theology was true, He can show anybody the correct interpretation of His Word who with a humble heart asks for the truth:

“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” [Luk 11:9–13 ESV]

That being said, let’s focus on the how of false teaching, instead of the who, because there are so many false teachers these days this blog post series would be longer than U.S. Route 20 which runs from coast to coast! There is a place for naming false teachers, which I do from time to time, and there are ministries that focus their blogs on calling out false teachers and exposing false teaching–even those that write entire books, authors like Ron Rhodes and the late Dr. Walter Martin who deal extensively in defending the true Christian faith. So, there are good discernment ministries out there if you would like to research it further.

The first thing I’d like to point out is the deceptiveness of our fleshly desires, whether it be for wealth, good health, power, a craving for recognition or popularity, striving for importance, the at times overwhelming desire to belong, the need for excitement, inordinate fear, fickleness, and so on. Jesus stated that false christs and false prophets will even attempt to lead astray God’s elect–those destined for salvation, those who have been and will be been born again–so we still need to remain on our guard because all our fleshly desires detract us from God’s will.

Now, let’s deal with the first carnal desire: wealth. Jesus states: “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” [Mat 13:22 ESV] The same Greek word is used here: “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.“ [Heb 3:13 ESV] English synonyms for deceitful include deceptive, dishonest, false, and misleading. On the subject of money, the Apostle Paul states, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” [1Ti 6:9–10 ESV] So, we see that the desire for wealth is a temptation, a snare, that harbingers many other foolish and hurtful desires when our motives are to always get more, ursurping a rightful first allegiance and love for God, to the detriment of our faith. Jesus warned us: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” [Mat 6:24 ESV]

False teachers will appeal to this carnal desire by either promising that God will give you more wealth in return for your generosity to their ministry, or by teaching that you somehow deserve more because you are a child of God. This contradicts scripture:

“If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” [1Ti 6:3–8 ESV]

The example of the Apostle Paul was this: “I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” [Act 20:33–35 ESV]

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”” [Heb 13:5 ESV]

The gospel message, the Lord’s teaching in the Bible, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and one’s eternal life are not bought or kept with money!

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” [Isa 55:1 ESV]

“And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.” [Rev 21:6 ESV]

“The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” [Rev 22:17 ESV]

“Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” [Act 8:18–20 ESV]

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.” [Mat 10:8 ESV]

Ask yourself: why would God allow someone to chase wealth if it had such a dangerous influence? We have to remember that the Lord has our eternal good in mind, not just our blessings in the here and now. Some religious leaders teach that God wants to make you wealthy, as if He is in the business of building our bank accounts. This is not a biblical view of God’s purpose for our lives. Scripture states that God’s purpose is to conform us to the image of Christ. Did Christ pursue wealth, or His Father’s will? We are to be imitators of our Lord, not the world:

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. … For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” [Eph 5:1–3, 5–6 ESV]

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world–the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life–is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” [1Jo 2:15–17 ESV]

Please note that in all these scriptures it is referring to having a unhealthy desire for riches, wealth, and success, so much so that it takes first place in one’s life. There are some Christians that are relatively wealthy when compared to others, but it is not their main focus to pursue it at all costs. Paul’s instruction to those who are rich is summed up here:

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” [1Ti 6:17–19 ESV]

When wealth becomes a number one goal, accompanied by temptations to listen to religious get rich schemes, this is error. Our number one goal in life should be to love God and do His will, which includes loving our neighbors. This singleness of purpose and vision to love helps us be spiritually fruitful and fulfills God’s entire Law:

“For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” [Rom 13:9–10 ESV]

If you are involved in a religous setting that promotes the pursuit of wealth and claims that we somehow deserve to be blessed now that we are God’s children, please know this is a false teaching. First, we do not deserve anything, but everything is provided by God’s grace, His unmerited favor. Secondly, this is contrary to all the examples of the apostles and the early church, who many times worked hard to support themselves or shared to provide for the needs of others. Paul was a tentmaker by trade, and often used what he earned so as not to be a burden on the church and to also set a good example of a teacher without guile, having the best interests of his flock at heart.

Are you influenced by a religious leader who flaunts a multi-million dollar mansion, has a private jet, or drives luxury cars, at the expense of his followers? This was not the example or experience of the Church’s early leaders. No, their lives were marked by hard work, a genuine love for the saints, and times of dire need with many trials and persecutions. A true and godly shepherd will not extort money from his congregants by using empty promises of God’s assured return on their investments, or psychological manipulation by preaching that giving to their ministry will result in your physical health, or the most-oft used guilt trip of either saying outright or by innuendo that you are being disobedient to God if you do not support their organization with large donations. They use phrases like, “sowing a seed of faith,” which on the surface sound spiritual but the motive for the speaker and the hearer is always greed, always giving to get something in return.

The other half of this false teaching is the idea that health is guaranteed or a part of the rights of a child of God, that healing is always the Lord’s will for His children. This is pure gall to assume that God will always heal us. He is sovereign, and many times His will is for us to learn from our illnesses and disabilities so that we can have empathy and be merciful to others. Sometimes, the Lord uses these challenges to humble us, to drive us to depend on Him when our wayward hearts could get us into present heartache or eternal harm. I myself have had a debilitating illness for many years, and as I now look back on my life, I see it has saved me from my obstinate pride and has melded me to my Savior’s side, and I am so, so grateful. I would have been a spiritual shipwreck without it, and I praise my Savior for His loving intervention.

Furthermore, there are instances in the scriptures that show God does not always heal. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul himself writes:

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” To Paul’s credit, he sees and understands that this thorn in the flesh was meant to keep him humble so that the Lord could be magnified and given all the glory in his ministry, for his strength was not his own, but powerful through Christ. Note that Paul didn’t sulk off and forsake his faith, either. He rather stated he would boast and boast gladly about his weaknesses, and be content in them! Also, another key verse that shows God does not always heal is in Paul’s first letter to Timothy, where he instructs the younger preacher to “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” [1Ti 5:23 ESV]

Healing can also be a matter of timing, and God’s timing is perfect. We see Job suffering with his painful boils from head to toe, and sometimes miss the part where he says he has been suffering for months: “so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.” [Job 7:3 ESV] And as with Job, many believers are guilted into the devilish idea that when healing doesn’t come, their faith is inferior or suspect, or that the person has always sinned in some way and thus deserves this punishment. Yet, when the disciples, who thought along the same lines, asked Jesus about why a man was born blind, Jesus stated it was neither the man’s parents or himself who sinned, but his blindness was an opportunity for God to display His power and be glorified:

“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” [Jhn 9:1–3 ESV]

There are times when our own disabilities or illnesses prove to work out for God’s glory. For example, my big brother was born developmentally disabled, and his little quirks and essentricities, instead of being an annoyance, proved to be just the things that endeared him to us and all the people in his life. He was not a burden, but a blessing!

If you find yourself under any one of these health and wealth types of preaching, my prayer is that you would find a godly pastor and gospel-focused, bible-preaching church. I pray that the Lord would give you discernment to realize the false teaching you are under. My heart is one of compassion for those who are lost in this confusing maze of twisted scripture and spiritual manipulation. It may seem simple to recognize by some of you reading this, but I am grieved that one megachurch that preaches a false gospel boasts 45,000 in weekly Sunday attendance with a Google review of 4.6 stars. A popular seeker-sensitive church boasts 30,000 in attendance every Sunday, with 118 positive reviews and only 3 negative reviews. Most comments were on how beautiful the campus is amidst the palms. It’s former lead pastor has sold millions of books. Another false megachurch that boasts 26,000 weekly attendees has a review that states, “God’s presence was real and overpowering!” Beloved, this lack of discernment is staggering. Please pray with me, too. Amen.

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” [Rom 10:1–2 ESV]

Jesus said, ““The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”” [Luk 4:18–19 ESV]

Please be on the lookout for the third installment in this series on false teaching, in which I will hopefully cover a little more ground and talk about the signs and wonders movement and the false teaching of hypergrace.

Photo by Anton Nikolov via Unsplash