false teachers
The term “false teachers” isn’t one I use very often. It seems like a term that one of those “holier-than-thou” type Christians would always be using and I spend a great deal of time working on not being one of those folks. The truth though, is that I haven’t been able to get away from the term this last week. I read a good chunk of the new testament of the Bible in the last few weeks and I’m absolutely astonished as to how many references there are to false teachers. In fact, there are a few books like Jude or 2 John, that basically contain nothing but warnings against false teachers. Yup, entire books of the Bible dedicated to telling us to watch out for people who sound like they know the Bible but really aren’t on point at all.
If we subscribe to the common tennet of Christianity that God’s word is not only what God said 2000 years ago, but what he is saying today…well, its pretty hard to imagine that now in 2009, we suddenly don’t have to worry about this problem. So what does this mean?
I guess it means that we are needing to be wise in what we accept as good teaching. Perhaps it means that we need to study the Bible on our own and discern whether or not what we are being taught is true. I am no expert in this…in fact, over the course of my life I’ve been pretty bad at studying the Bible on my own. But I work on it. I’m just thinking out loud here.
I’d love to take the next few years and study the teachings of all the preachers on TV and radio and examine their doctrines…but I’m hardly qualified. I can tell you though, if your teacher tells you that Jesus wants you to have a life without suffering, or perhaps a life of financial prosperity…well, he isn’t reading the same Bible that I do :)
But seriously, I was just amazed at the frequency with which the net testament exhorts us to be careful about false teachers. I’m going to be thinking about that this week.
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“Perhaps it means that we need to study the Bible on our own and discern whether or not what we are being taught is true.”—- Sorry to just copy and paste, but I completely agree with this statement. And it’s something I really need to get in the groove of doing a lot more often.
I am going to really use my christian self control and NOT list TV preachers who smile a lot and tell people how great they are… all, while hardly EVER naming the name of Jesus! Oh, this is hard. I can do it. Yes I can. I won’t stoop low. No. No. No. I won’t.
There. I did it!
G.K. Chesterton once said:
“Any number of people assume that the Bible says that Eve ate an apple, or that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Yet the Bible never says a word about whales or apples. In the former case it refers to a fish, which might imply any sort of sea-monster; and in the second, to the essential experience of fruition, or tasting the fruit of the tree, which is obviously more general and even more mystical . . . The things that look silly now are the first rationalistic explanations rather than the first religious or primitive outlines. If those original images had been left in their own natural mystery of dark fruition or dim monsters of the deep, nobody would have quarrelled with them half so much . . . But it is unfair to turn round and blame the Bible because of all these legends and jokes and journalistic allusions, which are read into the Bible by people who have not read the Bible.”
Biblical illiteracy is a real problem, and one that is becoming more and more prevalent as we hand the next generation the sacred Word of God. I think you are right. Until we, each, as individuals take the responsibility to become Biblically literate we will not stem the tide of false teachers, and shallow faith. I am constantly reminded as a minister of the Gospel; my job is to work myself out of a profession. Until we all embrace that we are meant to be a Kingdom of priests. We will be group of consumers sucking the baby bottle, missing the meat God has laid out for us.
Going to the Word…..
Thank you for thinking out loud.
So true. Suffering is a MAJOR part of the walk. Why do so many Christians ignore that?
I am SO excited I can comment again!!!!