False Teachings in Today’s World - Part 2

As we continue looking at the many false teachings being preached under the banner of “Christianity” I hope you understand that I do this out of love for my brothers and sisters, and a desire to see the truth being taught.  People must be warned! 

“But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.” (Ezekiel 33:6)

It is so easy to mislead someone with half-truths.  Very little poison will harm someone.  A few drops of arsenic added to a drink can kill even though the majority of the drink is fine.  So, too, with false teaching.  It isn't the majority of the good stuff that is a concern.  It is the small amount of error.  Some error does not affect one's salvation, but others do. 

If someone were to teach that the rapture isn't going to happen at all, that doesn't make the person a dangerous teacher.  But, if that same person said that Jesus was not God, then it would mean the person is violating one of the essentials of the faith and that person should be avoided.  Again, just a little error of the right kind is dangerous.

So, when we examine the various teachings being proclaimed, we aren't so much concerned with the differences of opinion in the non-essentials.  We are interested in the issues that concern the health of the church, and the proper representation of Biblical theology.

So, shall we begin!  

Receiving God’s blessing on the basis of human performance

The following teachings are among those commonly found in contemporary Christianity in relation to how the blessings of God are obtained:

1) Blessings are obtained by having no hidden or unconfessed sin in your life.

2) Blessings are obtained by having enough faith.

3) Blessings are obtained by having a special kind of faith

4) Blessings are obtained by the power of faith.

5) Blessings are obtained by positive confession.

6) Blessings are obtained by “word faith”

7) The Holy Spirit is obtained by “emptying yourself,” surrendering, etc

8) The power of our “word faith” or “positive confession” is necessary to release salvation or blessing.

The idea that the absence of blessing (commonly understood as the absence of health or wealth, and/or the presence of sickness, disability, or poverty) is taught to be the evidence of sin in one’s life, or of inadequate or wrong faith.

Misunderstanding the impact of the cross of Christ on Satan and demons

Some contemporary teaching gives false impressions, all of which reduce our concept of salvation:

1) That Satan was not totally defeated by the death of Christ on the cross

2) That Satan still has authority over believers

3) That Satan still has the right to accuse and condemn believers

4) That genuine believers are vulnerable to possession by Satan or demons

5) A preoccupation with Satan and demons that renders our salvation in Christ ineffective

6) Certain aspects of contemporary spiritual warfare teaching assumes that Satan and demons must be bound before evangelism can be effective in a given area or city

We could also mention here the belief that personal sins are caused by specific demons such as the spirit of lust, the spirit of anger, etc.  Such teaching interferes with both the meaning of Christ’s substitutionary death for our sins, and also the meaning and completeness of the salvation he gained for us. It also robs the believer of personal responsibility regarding his current sin.

Now, let's finish this up with a look at several areas I feel are rife with false teachings, and very destructive to the Christian faith.

Denial of all supernatural events mentioned in the Bible

This error denies God’s miraculous intervention in human history and human lives, denying miracles altogether, or attributing abnormal and seemingly unexplained events to natural causes or origins.

For example:

1) Creation of the world

2) Revelation and writing of the Bible

3) The Genesis 6-9 flood

4) Abnormal events in human lives—for example, the Red Sea crossing, the Jordan crossing, the water from the rock, all the miracles of Christ and the apostles

5) The miracles of Christ’s conception, incarnation, resurrection and ascension.

This mindset is found both in those who deny the existence of a real and Sovereign God who is actually there, and in those who deny the present involvement of God in things that happen on earth.  Deism, as an example of the latter, believes in “God,” but not a God who has any interest or involvement in what happens in the things He created.  He is a hands-off God.

Denial of the necessity for prayer

This denial comes from those who believe any of the following:

1) Karma. My life this time round is the necessary outworking of my karma from my previous life or lives.  There is no use and no point in praying for change of unpleasant circumstances. (It is my opinion that Karma is responsible for putting, and keeping, millions in the chains of poverty and misery around the world)

2) Deism: God is there, but not interested, and not involved.

3) Fatalism: God is there, and involved, but is not and cannot be moved by human supplication or human pain. His purpose for my life (my fate) is locked in.

4) Hyper-Calvinism: God is there, and involved, and cares, but He will, because he is sovereign, do whatever He has planned to do, so prayer is redundant and irrelevant.

Note: The last two of these do not deny the ability of God to do miraculous things; what they deny is that God can be moved to intervene with out-of-the-ordinary actions as a result of human prayer.

Giving miracles a different role than Jesus and the apostles gave them

While Jesus and the apostles were very conservative about the miraculous, and used it only within well-defined restrictions and purpose, in some areas of contemporary Christianity we observe:

1) Using the miraculous to manipulate people and their emotions

2) Using the miraculous to coerce faith

3) Using the miraculous to attract attention

4) Peddling the spectacular

5) Using the miraculous for financial profit

6) Cashing in on peoples’ suffering with promises of healing

7) Failed healing attempts

8) Focusing on the miraculous instead of on teaching God’s truth

9) Healing meetings

10) Use of supposed miraculous spiritual insight to identify particular ailments present in a crowd

11) Promising healing if the person has enough faith

12) Teaching that healing is in the atonement—that all believers should be healthy and wealthy because Christ bore our sicknesses on the cross as well as our sins

13) Demanding or claiming healing from God on the basis of the previous point

14) Teaching that we can or must “release” this healing by our word faith or positive confession

15) Teaching that God can’t act unless we “release” Him by our word faith or positive confession

16) Speaking to or into the sick or injured part of a person’s body

The last three mentioned use the same methods as historic and contemporary secular and pagan creative visualization techniques.  They have almost everything in common with these techniques and practically nothing in common with Biblical practices.  That they are currently accepted and practiced in many Christian churches today is clear evidence of the deceptive power of Satan.

In addition, many of the contemporary practices listed above seem to be trying to create heaven on earth.  They overlook the fact that, according to the Bible in general, and Romans 8 and Revelation 21 in particular, pain and suffering, and crying are part of life on earth until the final judgment day.  It is only after that suffering will cease.  (See also Psalm 119:107, Psalm 119:50, Isaiah 38:7, James 1:13-17, John 16:33, 2 Corinthians 12:7, 2 Timothy 3:12, Romans 5:3-4.

Physical pain and suffering are part of the human existence.  No one likes to suffer, and it is difficult to understand why an all lov­ing God would allow His children to experience pain, sickness, illness, handicaps, incurable diseases, and death.  However, God did not create the world this way. It was only through man’s disobedience and rebellion that suffering and death entered into the world. 

 Do not blame God.  Instead, in your suffering turn to the Lord for healing, comfort, and help in dealing with your pain and afflictions.  Suffering is not always “bad” for us.  Suffering can bring us closer to God and point us toward the eternal glory that awaits us in heaven—where there will be no more pain and suffering, and where we will spend eternity with God.

Errors relating to Satan and demons

The following errors can be noted:

1) Supposed miraculous protection from Satan and demons by possession/wearing of physical objects—charms, a cross, a rosary, a medal

2) Supposed miraculous protection from Satan and demons by repetition of prayers or mantras

3) Supposed miraculous protection from Satan and demons by observation of a range of superstitious practices, some of which are residual from old pagan belief systems

4) A range of exorcism or “deliverance” practices which differ from the biblical methods of dealing with demons

5) Exorcisms that are only partially effective, necessitating a long drawn out process of sessions to achieve complete “deliverance”

6) A range of practices advocated by the modern “spiritual warfare” movement

The Last Days

Eschatology, the study of the last days, is probably, one area of truth with the least recognized clarity and definition.  This is not to say that God has not adequately revealed His truth in this area.  What it does say is that the church finds it impossible to agree on what that truth actually is in some areas.  

Because the book of Revelation a great deal of symbolism, there are different interpretations of the meaning of those symbols.  Certain segments of the church which agree on all other points of doctrine, agree that Christ is coming back, on the resurrection of the dead and final judgment, differ on some eschatological points.  

Errors where there is clear departure from the Scripture

1) Obsessive focus on the last days

2) Denial of the return of Christ.

3) Denial of the judgment day

4) Denial of the resurrection of the dead

5) The doctrine of “soul-sleep.” (Teaches that at death the soul of the believer “sleeps” rather than going straight to be with the Lord.)

6) Denial of eternal punishment of the unsaved (denial of hell).  Sometimes annihilation is taught as the fate of the unsaved.

7) Universalism: Teaches all will ultimately be saved, because Christ “died for all.”

8) Setting of dates for the return of Christ: People claim to have inside information; or calculate the date of Christ’s return based on what they believe are clear indications.

9) Interpreting various historical figures or government regimes as the antichrist. (666)

10) Teaching that tries to bring the perfection of heaven into the here and now

11) Teaching that there is going to be a massive revival before Christ returns

False preachers preach a different gospel that is the exact opposite of the true gospel.  Paul warns about this, "If someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you received a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough." (2 Corinthians 11:4)

So, if error crept into the early church so quickly, shouldn't we be all the more conscientious now and examine those teachers and preachers who offer so many contradictory interpretations of Scripture?  Of course we should.  After all, the Scriptures tell us that even Paul the apostle was checked against Scripture:

“As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:10-11)

Are today's teachers any better than Paul?  Not by a long shot!  But we need to be careful because: “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect...” (Matthew 24:24)  And in John we are told, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)

It is not my desire to look only for dirt on people.  In fact, I feel sad that there is even a need to examine (Judge) the various teachings within the Christian community and identify any problems; problems that are, unfortunately, way too profound and common.  But, scripture obligates each of us to compare all things to Scripture, to use sound judgment, to promote the truth of God's Word, and to denounce all who would oppose and misuse it.  May these examinations of the theology of various preachers and teachers be used by God to inform the body of Christ.  And by His grace may this help those repent of their false teaching.

I don’t want to leave you feeling frustrated, so on Friday we will look at how Christians can recognize and respond to false teachings.   

Come join us!  Would love to hear your thoughts on this. 

Don't miss out on the complete series on False Teachings:
False Teachings in Today's World -Part 3
False Teachings in Today's World -Part 1