There are tremendous joys and blessings that become ours when we commit to following Jesus Christ. But trying to figure out if this preacher, teacher, author, or blogger is speaking TRUTH to us is not one of them! Knowing how to spot false Bible teachers is a critical skill. Messing this up has very real and eternal consequences. Therefore, I chose this topic for my first blog post here on WingAbouts. Not only to help you decide if you should be paying attention to anything I have to say, but also to help hold myself accountable.
There are three basic benchmarks to always keep in mind:
1. Who is Jesus?
2. What is the Bible?
3. How do you get to heaven?
I’ve chosen these three questions because it is here that many go astray, false teachers arise, and cults are birthed. When put together, these three will determine if a teaching is true or not. This is not a game of horseshoes – getting 2 out of 3 right is not “close enough”. Jesus warns us in Matthew 15:14 that false teachers are blind guides… “And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Heaven is at stake here.
1. Who is Jesus?
Simon Peter answered correctly when he proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:16). There’s a lot of theology packed into that one statement! But, suffice it to say, false Bible teachers often demean or outright deny the deity of Jesus Christ. Cults portray Jesus as an angel, political leader, mere prophet or good teacher. In II Corinthians 11:4, the Apostle Paul chastises those who have accepted teachers bringing them “another Jesus”, offering a Jesus who is not as the Scriptures reveal. Jesus clearly claimed to be deity and the Jewish people sought to kill Him for His supposed blasphemy (John 10:30-33).
2. What is the Bible?
The Apostle Paul tells us that ALL Scripture is God-breathed and profitable (II Timothy 3:16, 17). I want to emphasize the word “all” used here because false teachers often times ignore large portions of the Bible. They also portray the Scriptures as outdated or untrustworthy. Furthermore, false teachers will add man’s doctrines to the Scriptures. Jesus warned us about this in Matthew 15:8, 9 when He said, “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.”
3. How do you get to heaven?
The road to heaven is through the cross of Jesus Christ, His sacrifice, His atoning blood, His death – burial – and resurrection… AND God’s grace to believe this is all true. It is by faith we are saved, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Teachings about salvation that require us to DO something (anything) are coming from false teachers. Jesus is sufficient! He alone is the way, the truth, and the life – no one comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6).
Conclusion:
Ultimately, spotting a false Bible teacher boils down to a simple question. Are they adding to, or subtracting from, the Scriptures? There are perhaps many more things I could address here. But these three are the foundational truths of Christianity. Together they form a framework by which you can know if someone is a false Bible teacher. It is also how you can now decide for yourself if WingAbouts is a spiritually “safe place” for you to hang out.
In closing, let me just add that the single most critical thing for me is to be biblically correct. If you ever have a concern that something shared here on WingAbouts is otherwise, please let me know!