The reason I am writing this blog is because this issue has taken top priority in the church. The Bible tells us to expose the works of darkness, the schemes of the devil, and we have to do that, but we have to do that carefully, or we will be playing along with the devil's game.
I have read so many Facebook posts on false teachers and false prophets. While I think we need to expose false teaching in the church, could it be that we have gone way overboard in our activity in trying to hunt down every false teacher that exists? Wouldn't it be better for us to teach truth and correct doctrine along with teaching others how to be discerning?
Don't get me wrong, I believe in exposing things that are wrong, especially when they are in the church. I am especially concerned where there is false doctrine which seems to blend in with everything else we believe in, as taught at our churches (see my post beneath this one).
I think that probably 75% of what I see on Facebook in my Christian circles has to do with exposing false teachers. Maybe more. I see people wanting to make blog pages on false teachers. I see groups with names like 'Heresy Hunter' or with descriptions like 'We shred wolves to pieces'.
Do you think that God really wants us to go hunting for false teachers, and if so, should we shred them to pieces? Do we see Paul or Jesus doing this? Paul named those who were causing problems this way, but their names were only mentioned occasionally.
Do you think it is ok to destroy someone if they really are a false teacher? Does this give us permission to hate someone and smear his or her name on the Internet? Could it be, that we really enjoy doing this because of indwelling sin in our own hearts? We are to be marked by the love of God, as well as love for the Truth.
I have exposed a few false teachers and will continue to do so, as I think their teaching could harm the church. One of them is Rob Bell, and the other is Amy Grant. I will explain further what I mean.
One day, I ran into 4 young adults who tried to convince me that evangelism was wrong. Two of them were professing Christians. They told me that when I give out a tract to someone, it means I put a check mark in the box. I guess the goal was supposed to be to get a lot of check marks? They recommended that I read a book written by Rob Bell, which led me on a search for Rob Bell and 'Velvet Elvis'. I was amazed that so many reasons they told me that evangelism was wrong, were in Rob's book. They got their information right out of 'Velvet Elvis'! Even the thing about giving out a tract and putting a check mark in the box was in the book, only instead of a check mark in the box, Rob Bell used the illustration of putting another notch in your belt. I studied more about Rob Bell and what he believed in (or didn't believe in) and found that he hates evangelism and claims that Jesus hates evangelism as well. I never saw anything about the Gospel or his relationship with the Lord in his writings or video. It doesn't appear that he understands the Gospel, and sadly, what he has seen done by 'evangelists' has a lot to be desired.
Amy Grant is a different kind of false teacher, and I put her in this category because people, for whatever reason, look to her as a spiritual authority and a Godly influence.
Amy started her career as a young woman around 18, I believe, and was recognized by a man who was in the Christian music industry. Her career blossomed overnight. She complained about a fear she had that she was gaining a reputation of being a 'female Billy Graham', so, she makes it clear that she can 'kiss, flirt, and date' guys. She also made mention of how people would ask her deep theological questions to which she had no idea what the answer was to the question.
OK, we can give her some slack. She is young and has a lot of growing to do. But life continues for her, and so does her lack of Biblical principles when it comes to relationships with men and her concept of marriage. She was married to a man who professed to love God, and appeared to be a good husband and father to her children. But she wanted out of the marriage, as she was seeing another man. One of the quotes I found on marriage that she stated was one that said something along this line: 'God created marriage so that each person can enjoy their spouse to the fullest......If you are not happy in your marriage, I say, 'get out'. She believes the false doctrine that God wants us happy.
Again, the reason this is so concerning is that people have a high regard for Amy Grant. She took a break from being in the lime-light for 10 years, and when she was coming back on the scene, the radio DJs were very excited to have her back. Again, I had the feeling that they were equating her talent with her commitment to God. Her teaching (through her valued quotes) is dangerous. If people adopt that kind of belief system, they will think it is ok to be immoral. Why, if I am not happy in my marriage, Amy Grant recommends to get out of it. Whether we want to accept this or not, there is some authority behind what she says, just because of her position.
I will expose these kinds of teachings, but while I believe in exposing them, I am not going to hate Rob Bell or Amy Grant. I will not go around telling people about them except that their teaching is wrong and how it doesn't line up with what the Scriptures say. I'm not going to resort to name calling or ripping them up. I am also not going to say that they aren't saved, although I will say that I don't see any Christian fruit coming from their lives.
If we take these people and rip them up, aren't we doing what the devil wants us to do? It's one thing to explain to people what they are teaching as wrong, but it is another thing to put a high priority on destroying the person. We can destroy the doctrine, while not destroying the person. Plus, we enter into slander when we do that. I know Christians justify doing this because false teachers are a special case. Well, we don't find it in the Bible, and we shouldn't do it either.
Yes, I know Jesus was blunt with the Scribes and Pharisees. He was able to see deep, deep into their hearts, and bring out what was in them. Jesus was trying to show people what His Father was like. The Scribes and Pharisees were getting in the way and were dishonoring His Father while trying to promote their own agenda. God was trying to reach us with His Gospel message and saving power, but the Pharisees interrupted that. But, some of the Pharisees did get it.
We need to protect the church against false teachers. We need to use all means to do this with. But, when we resort to slander and name calling, hating, causing harm, etc., we need to be careful because we could easily overstep the boundary. Could it be Satan's ploy to get us to believe that false converts never get saved? Could it be a lie of the enemy that leads us to believe that false teachers will never come to Christ? The way we handle this issue could make the difference in eternity for some.
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