In the world today we have to be diligent when studying the Bible. There are many “Preachers” and teachers out there teaching for there own agenda. More and more do we see people turning away from the Gospel of Christ which tells us that we are sinners and Christ is the only way to everlasting life. There are false teachers that are simply motivational speakers. One of the major reasons Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians because they had encountered false teachers who have told them their faith and God’s grace is not enough for salvation. So I want to take some time and help you to be able to recognize false teaching.
Galatians 4:17 (NIV)
“Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.”
The number one thing false teachers do is lead you to become more dependent on the teacher and less dependent on Christ. They want you to only listen to their teaching. I have seen this in people who hero worship some “Preachers” (and I use that term loosely). They take everything the speaker says as gospel and does not check for themselves or study the bible to make sure the teaching is sound. It’s very controlling and not freeing like the gospel of Jesus Christ is.
A false teacher will be zealous for you. They will build you up, not to grow your relationship with the Lord, but to grow your loyalty to them. It’s all about them and their ego and what they can get from you to build themselves up, not the Kingdom of God. So they will tell you what you want to hear, even if it does not align with God’s truth. It will seem like they want to help and care about you because they are telling you all these good things. But true love does not tell you what you want to hear. True love tells you the truth. False teachers will lure you with flattery, and they will speak to the desire of your flesh more so than the things of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ that gives all honor to Him and not our works.
False teaching will look really religious. As we see with the Galatians, they were told to do all these religious things in order to be saved. But the true teaching of Jesus Christ focuses on the finished work of Christ and not what we can do for Him. Always Check for yourselves. Study they word and let God show you His gospel.
If you find yourself being drawn in by one of these false teachers, remove yourself from that situation. God is not going to lead you to a church that is not teaching his word. If you have the opportunity and feel safe, let them know why you’re leaving and why you believe their teaching is false. If they’re unwilling to change, you’re going to have to dust your hands off and find a good Bible-teaching church that stays true to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Do your homework and study the Bible. Be grounded in your faith in God and not faith in a teacher or a church building. If you know what you believe you are like a old tree with deep roots in the word, unwavering. If you aren’t rooted in the word, any gust of wind could uproot you and blow you away.
When Jesus died on the cross, He opened the door for everyone to know Him personally. When you accept Him as your Lord and Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit to help guide you in your walk with Him. Use those things to dig into the Bible and start growing roots.
I strongly believe in joining a local church, but I also believe in seeking the Lord for yourself and not always relying on someone else to pray for you, understand God’s Word, and hear from God. God wants a personal relationship with you, not some secondhand relationship through someone else.
So, as a quick review, false teachers:
Want you to be dependent on them, not dependent on Christ.
Are not focused on Jesus’ finished work on the cross, but on our works.
Use flattery to build loyalty only for the purpose of building themselves up.
Tell people what they want to hear, even if it means not telling the truth.
There are many Bible believing preachers and teachers out there, do not get me wrong. But as long as Satan in prowling around looking for those he can devour, unfortunately some people are going to fall in his trap.