The Apostle Paul gives stern advice to his son in the
Gospel to maintain the Faith and continue to love in 2
Tim. 1:13-14. My research and experiences over the
years has led me to question the basis of where the
body of Christ is concerning sound biblical teaching.
We are faced with dangerous theological distortions
all the time from various sources. Just how do we
define what's true or false when everything we know
or believe about scripture is challenged by science,
history revisionists, and corruption? In the midst of all
this though, if we are Christians, it should not shake
our faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 3:3).
Not only do we have to worry about the attacks from
outside the church, but we must contend with false
teachers perverting the truth within the church. The
problem is these individuals fall into two categories.
- Ones who knowingly pervert the truth and;
- Those who believe the false truth they have
perverted is real.
It's the later group that worries me the most. The self-
deceived group that believe they are serving a greater
good by distributing poison truth. I had a conversation
with a pastor some time ago and it became evident to
this person that several doctrinal errors he was
teaching were discovered within our conversation. The
unfortunate outcome was that he decided to do
nothing because it would require too much effort and
embarrassment to undo the errors than correct them
in his church.
It's this kind of thinking that causes the spread of error
that we feel is innocent or not harmful. What if every
preacher was not brave enough to correct doctrinal
miscalculations in their study and sermons? Either
because they don't know how to or wrongly concluded
the wrong premise, or because it was too expensive
to correct. After all, we market about everything we say
or dramatize on media and distribute it globally. In the
professional world, that could be interpreted as
malpractice and would demand a recall.
When I researched what we term, "The early or
primitive church," I was amazed at the amount of
cautions and warnings regarding false teachers. They
were constantly commanded to guard their faith and
salvation. They were challenged to build ourselves up
through prayer and discernment. In Jude v20, "but you,
dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most
holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit" (Net Bible) and
Jude v3 suggests, that we should contend for the
Faith. This means we should fight, question, and
stand firm against heresies that arise in opposition to
the faith of the Church. Jude states again, " Dear
friends, although I was eager to write to you about the
salvation we share, I found it necessary to write to you
and urge you to continue your vigorous defense of the
faith that was passed down to the saints once and for
all." (ISV)
The best way to administer poison is to hide it in
something good. So, false teachers are not standing
up waving a flag saying they are teaching false
doctrine. No, they are mixing truths, lowing standards,
and secretly denying major doctrines of the Faith. The
Word of God is said to be "nourishment, energy, and
development" in truth. Any sort of theological poison
morsels that are planted in the midst of a solid base
of truth will upset the balance. We must be on guard
by studying (2 Tim 2:14-15), praying (Eph 6:18), and
trusting God (Heb 11:6).
The early Apostles expected believers to be able to
discipline themselves in doctrine and maintain strong
Christian values. However, it became evident quickly
that this was not going to happen without teachers
and prophets (Acts 13:1). Ancient documents of the
Early Church demonstrate that the Church Fathers all
believed in the primacy of a one universal church
under apostolic authority. According to the scriptures,
the apostles were given the necessary authority to
train teachers and appoint elders or pastors to spread
the faith (Acts 20:28).
I believe the problem is we depend too much on the
popularity of preaching than on the integrity of
teaching. But in order to identify false doctrine, one
must be thoroughly engulfed in true doctrine. This can
only be maintained through proper training and
dedication. Another problem is a lot what we see and
hear today depends on revelatory inspiration and
private interpretation by untrained, but gifted preachers
who don't trust or are too proud to discuss their
findings or conclusions with their colleagues. So
when they minister if people respond or embrace the
concept they are home free.
There are several steps I believe will put us back on
the right path.
- Pray for Understanding (Eph 1:17-19; Pro. 4:7 NIV)
You should know that your hope is based on
what we believe to be true about the founder of our
Faith (Jesus Christ) . If He is really the redeemer
identifying himself as "the Son of God" becoming a
part of creation and redeeming us through His blood,
than everything else we believe about Christianity is
linked to the God-man, man-God theology of salvation.
God indeed became a man, so that as a man, He
could redeem humanity through His sacrifice, and
become the visible God of Glory (I Tim. 2:5).
- Seek Love as a foundation for Knowledge (I Cor
8:1-2 NIV)
Now if this position is compromised, we are
then left with hollow imposers or false messiahs
attempting to lead us into broad paths of truth. Let's
examine what's true so we can really know what is
false. Could it be that we have given too much
attention to gifted individuals and not enough time to
intimate worship (John 4:23-24)?
- Trust that God is taking you on the Ride of your
Life (Ps 23:4 NIV)
The prime question, then is, are the
situations that I find myself in designed by God for His
glory or for my comfort (Acts 17:26-27 NIV)? What
does that mean to me? Jesus is Lord (Mt 28:18).
Peter, addressing the great multitude of Jews on
Pentecost, declared, "God has made Jesus both Lord
and Christ" (Acts 2:36). As God's Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, from His place of enthronement, continues His
life and ministry on behalf of both God and man (2 Tim
2:5). He has plans for your life beyond your
comprehension (Jer 29:11).
In light of these important truths, we need to reinforce
our minds to protect the canal doctrines of the Faith in
our spirit (Ps 119:11). We need to learn more and love
stronger. Remember, the one thing we will never stop
being, is learners. That's true discipleship. More
important, we need an understanding of what we
learn (Pro. 4:7) and a love for God that transcends
time and circumstances.
The issue of trusted leadership has been questioned
in character and skill since the inception of the church.
Just who do we trust with our Faith? Do we trust
clergy to inspire us? Do we trust scholars to
investigate for us? Do we trust teachers to exegete
correctly? Do we trust prophets to reveal to us? Do we
trust modern day apostles to establish us? Do we
trust bishops to regulate us? Or do we simply trust the
Holy Spirit to lead us (John 16:13)? The real question
is if the Holy Spirit is not working through any of the
above mediums, how does He speak? More
important, who can determine when and where He
reveals Himself?
