Last week I published two articles as a caution against false teachers with some tips on how to recognize them. I wrote these for my church. My intent was to lovingly serve them and honor my New Testament charge to guard against false teachers. I had no idea that anyone, other than those close to me, would be interested. No one was more surprised than me by the whirlwind that ensured.
These posts were shared around the world. After more than 550,000 views the number of readers, re-posts and Facebook shares continues to climb–rapidly. That is both awesome and overwhelming. I have received messages from pastors across our country and from around the world. There have been more than 1,000 comments. Some are encouraging; some are angry, but many are laced with confusion and questions that deserve an answer. My hope is to respond over the next couple of weeks with posts that offer clarity for many of the great questions and comments that were submitted.
I would like to invite you to join me in loving well and thinking hard as we wander into this messy affair of grace.
NOBLE-MINDED (Biblical Discernment)
There is no command in the New Testament to lovingly dialogue with false teachers. There is no command in the New Testament to ignore false teachers, nor to leave it to God to judge. There is no command, example nor encouragement in the New Testament to discern truth or the trustworthiness of a teacher by the way we feel. There is no command, example nor encouragement in the New Testament to discern truth or the trustworthiness of a teacher by appealing to the Holy Spirit or prayer. Throughout the New Testament we are commanded to evaluate every teacher, how they act and what they say, against Scripture alone. Consider why the Bereans were praised in Acts 17.
Acts 17:10-12 The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.
It would seem that they wanted to believe the Gospel, but would not allow themselves to believe until the Gospel message was validated by Scripture. That is staggering. They were actually commended for with holding belief until verification. Let’s choose to be noble-minded. That means, even if we disagree, we are guided by our best attempts to understand Scripture and evaluate teachers and truth claims by that understanding.
False vs. False Teaching
Some teachers say things that are false and some teachers are false. There is a difference. If we can’t tell the difference we are likely to be hard-hearted, sentimental, cynical or deceived. I once mistakenly referred to Benjamin Franklin as a former president. I once wrongly attributed a psalm of Asaph to David. I once heard a pastor mistakenly say, “In the day of the Lord’s erection,” instead of resurrection. That was funny! Each of these are examples of false things said in a sermon as if they were true. Does that make me or the other unfortunate pastor false teachers? Of course not.
Some people teach a view of salvation that is known as Calvinism. Some teach a view that is known as Arminianism. These camps disagree and sometimes strongly. We really only have 3 options with this type of disagreement:
- One is right and the other is wrong.
- They are both wrong.
- They both have a mixture of truth and error.
Which one’s mixture is heavier on error is a long standing debate. But lets assume that one side is all wrong. Let’s assume that a pastor from the wrong side teaches his view of how salvation works. Is he a false teacher? For many, the answer to this question is not so obvious.
In the New Testament some examples of false teachers are those who:
- Present a different gospel.
- Teach salvation through works or the law.
- Deny the deity of Jesus.
- Deny the physical incarnation of Jesus.
- Deny the resurrection of Jesus.
What all false teachers share in common is that they undermine, reject or redefine the promise of the Gospel. They undermine the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Back to the Calvinists and Arminians–they disagree on why people believe the promise of the Gospel, but they don’t disagree on what the promise is. I suggest that a false teacher is and only is one who undermines, rejects or redefines the promise of the Gospel.
Is Any Preacher, Teacher or Pastor Anointed?
NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. Pastors and teachers are either true or false. They are not anointed. There were people in the Old Testament who were anointed. They were generally prophets or kings. They were God’s representatives. Standing against them, when they spoke for God, was equivalent to standing against God. Consider the unfortunate events of the youths who insulted the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings 2. But the anointed of God were not beyond reproach. Remember that the prophet Nathan rebuked David for his sins of adultery and murder in 2 Samuel 12. This only happened sparingly and entirely in the Old Testament (with the exception of Jesus and John the Baptist).
Anyone who claims an anointing is ascribing to themselves and their words something that is never uniquely ascribed to any disciple, apostle or New Testament author. This description is not used to elevate a single person, act nor utterance in the New Testament (with the exception of Jesus and John the Baptist). This is Christian speak, derived from the Old Testament. Teachers who use this term to describe themselves or their teaching are misguided at best and manipulative at worst. This puts listeners in an inferior position that tends to come with unquestioning adherence. That is neither good, nor biblical.
That being said, it is true that all believers are “anointed.”
1 John 2:27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
What this means is that all believers in Jesus have the Holy Spirit in them. But that is never what a teacher means when he or she claims an anointing on themselves, their ministry or their message. Followers of Jesus do have spiritual gifts, but that is not the same thing as anointing. Spiritual gifts are abilities that the Holy Spirit empowers in all believers for the good of His church.
Romans 12:3-8 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Some teachers have greater, larger or wider impact. That is not anointing. That is a combination of a number of factors, not least of which are determination, hard work, capacity and the choice of the Holy Spirit to particularly empower a particular person for a particular time. If that happens it does not elevate the teacher over others. That is not anointing. That is grace.
CONCLUSION
Develop noble-mindedness and biblical discernment by studying the Bible well. Then you can tell the difference between teachers who say something false from those who are false teachers. Finally, no one is anointed. All Christians have spiritual gifts and no one is more important than another.
