A salesman once entered The Doctor’s workplace selling pen-and-paper desk sets. Each set contained 2 pens, a notepad and a nice little digital clock mounted on an attractive base. Since The Doctor has an unfortunate tendency to lose little things like pens, car keys and (occasionally) his mind, he thought that this represented a pretty good deal and happily turned over his money in exchange for one of these sets.
All went well for three days. Then the clock stopped working. Two days after that, one pen ran out of ink. A week later, the second pen ran out of ink. This left The Doctor with some very expensive notepaper and an important lesson learned- be careful who you buy from!
You see, the salesman who sold this desk set probably wasn’t completely honest about what he was selling. It’s the same way with some people who claim to be “Christians.” Over time, you’ll find that not everyone who claims to be a follower of Christ really holds to the teachings of the Bible. For example, can you spot the falsehoods hidden inside these beliefs held by groups that claim to be “Christian”…
- Jesus was a God.
- As man now is, God once was.
- The Bible is one of many sacred books.
It’s a sad reality but just because someone slaps the word “Christian” across a book or teaching doesn’t necessarily mean that it is. Paul the Apostle recognized this unfortunate truth back in the first century when he said this to the church members in the town of Ephesus…
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and not spare the flock. Even from your own number, men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard!…” (Acts 20:29 NIV).
O.K., here are some strategies that should be part of your overall game plan to protect yourself against false teachers…
1) Remember that the “Jesus” many groups talk about may not be the Jesus found within the Bible!
Probably the fastest way to find out what someone really believes about Christianity is to simply ask them who Jesus is. Some groups that call themselves “Christians” believe that Jesus was “a” God. Others believe that He was just a messenger for God. These beliefs sound nice and religious but they don’t totally agree with what you read in the Bible.
Remember, Jesus isn’t simply a god, He is the God (John 1:1, Titus 2:13). Jesus was fully human and fully God (John 1:14) and He claimed to be God while here on earth (John 8:58). He is all-powerful (Matthew 28:18), has the right to forgive sins (Luke 7:48) and will judge everyone (John 5:22). Those people who do not hold to these basic beliefs about Jesus as found in the Bible cannot really be called Christians.
2) False teachers often have a weird concept of God
What if God is just someone who attained some “higher consciousness”? Or perhaps God has a “good side” and a “bad side” that are constantly fighting each other. Or maybe there are multiple Gods- many groups believe that. All of these beliefs about God cannot all be right- yet many people still believe them. This is why a proper understanding of God is really important. You see, if we have a basic misunderstanding of who God is then every thought, word, and action that proceeds from it will also be wrong!
So what is the truth about God? Well, here’s the Word right from The Book…
The Bible tells us that there is one God (1 Timothy 2:5) who has always existed (Habakkuk 1:12) and has always been God (Isaiah 44:6). God can never make a mistake (Psalm 18:30) and never changes (Malachi 3:6). This God is a God of love (1 John 4:8). He is holy (or morally perfect- Isaiah 57:15), all knowing (Psalm 147:5), and all powerful (Deuteronomy 32:39). God is absolutely good (Jeremiah 29:11), merciful (Psalm 103:8), and totally righteous in His judgments (Psalm 96:13). Before you were even born, God knew everything about you! (Psalm 139:13-18). God has no equal anywhere- this is the God of the Bible.
Now before we move on, we need to take a quick look at one aspect of the Bible’s teaching about God that is often an element of false teaching. You see, false teachers often twist or deny what is referred to as the triune nature of God. Here’s what it’s all about: The Scriptures tell us that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), but this one God is revealed in three distinct Persons- The Father (Jude 1:1), The Son (Hebrews 1:8) and The Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4), all of whom are one God.
This Scriptural teaching is difficult for us to understand, but let’s establish what it does not mean- it does not mean that there are three Gods or that God changes into the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit whenever He desires. God is a Unity subsisting in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit- all three of whom are one God.* This is what the Bible teaches about the nature of God.
O.K.- now that everybody’s clear on that, check out this one…
3) False teachers often do not recognize the Bible as God’s final authority
Perhaps you’ve spoken with those who claim to have “another” Gospel of Jesus Christ. Or maybe you’ve been visited by others who believe that their interpretation of the Bible is as important as the Bible itself. Perhaps you’ve heard of someone who has some “new revelation” to add to God’s Word. How do we know what’s right and what’s wrong when it comes to the Bible?
Well, to answer this question it helps to be clear on what the Bible says about itself. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is inspired by God Himself. Because God is responsible for inspiring His Word we can be totally confident that the Bible is free from errors or mistakes as originally written.
In the Biblical book of 2 Peter, chapter one, verses twenty to twenty one (1:20-21) we’re told that the Bible’s human authors spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. To get an idea of what this means, you might picture a sailboat on a lake. The Biblical writers were carried along by the Holy Spirit just as the wind fills a sailboat’s sails and carries it across the water.
For this reason, the Bible can rightfully claim to be authoritative (Exodus 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 2:13), eternal (Psalm 119:89, Matthew 24:35) and completely true (Psalm 119:142, John 17:17). This faith has been delivered once for all (Jude 1:3) and cannot be added to today.
We also have the word of Jesus Christ Himself regarding the Bible. Jesus taught that the Scriptures were the command of God (Matthew 15:3-4), contained no mistakes (John 17:17), were totally reliable (Matthew 26:54), and could not be broken (John 10:35). Jesus also promised that the Holy Spirit would guide His disciples into all truth and remind them of those things that He said and did (John 14;26, 15;26-27). This is why Paul (1 Corinthians 14:37) and Peter (speaking of Paul in 2 Peter 3:15-16) can both state their writings as God’s Word. Jesus, being God, can never lie to us, and his Word is the final authority on the Bible. Because of this, you can have confidence in God’s Word.
(If you’d like to read a little more about how we got the Bible and why it’s trustworthy, just take a look over here).