How Dangerous False Teachers Are, Part 2 – Luke 6:39-45

It is the true gospel of Jesus Christ versus all other false gospels that all of us face in this world.  And it is the false teacher that leads people to hell by preaching and teaching a false gospel. The late great theologian, Francis Schaeffer, succinctly stated the reality of this spiritual warfare as follows:

“Make no mistake. We as Bible-believing evangelical Christians are locked in a battle. This is not a friendly gentleman’s discussion. It is a life and death conflict between the spiritual hosts of wickedness and those who claim the name of Christ. It is a conflict on the level of ideas between two fundamentally opposed views of truth and reality.”

Today’s passage shows that every student, after being fully trained, will be like their teachers and teach a fatalistic gospel. Countless times we see warnings of this is Scripture. Hosea echoes the same truth (4:9). Apostle Paul’s example prior to believing having been under Gamaliel echoed the teachings of Judaism before becoming a Christian. There is a myriad of examples in today’s false religions such as Mormonism that teach about Jesus and other biblical terms but falsely.

False teachers that preach Jesus present a false Jesus. But those that truly follow the biblical Jesus will demonstrate “righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Phil. 3:9b) and “whatever is true, what is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable” (Phil. 4:8). Therefore, we need to ask who our teacher is. Is it the Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit himself (Gal. 1:11-12)? Is the gospel what transforms and continues to be the central teaching or is it something else? Who do you look up to everyday? The Jesus of the Bible or a false Jesus presented by false teachers?

Jesus warns believers not to be misled by false teachers. If the Lord himself has not called or sent them, they will teach falsehood in God’s name by the deception of their own minds (Jer. 14:14). Today, there are many false teachers, and they all have one thing in common: self-interest.

How can we identify false teachers? False teachers can be put into the following categories and these signs should warn the believer: heretics/cults, charlatan, prophets (modern day self-proclaimed), abuser, ear-tickler (Jer. 6:14), speculator (try to decode the Bible), new age politician, and more.

In order to grow in our love, faith, and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, it is imperative to master the word of God through careful study and meditation, possess a discerning ear, and risk our lives for the sake of truth no matter the cost.