Should We Call Out False Teachers or Ignore Them?
00:00:00.000 | Hey, everyone, this is Tony with a little production note before we begin. You know,
00:00:03.840 | just when you cannot imagine John Piper's voice diving any lower than it already is,
00:00:08.160 | here we are. It's bronchial stuff of some sort, and it's plunging Pastor John into new realms
00:00:14.240 | of sub-bass that only a Hollywood movie trailer voiceover guy could probably normally reach.
00:00:18.800 | And that's true here for about the next week or so. Alas, here's today's episode.
00:00:27.120 | Pastor John, here's a question from Caden in Boca Raton, Florida.
00:00:30.160 | "Hello, Pastor John. After seeing the documentary American Gospel,
00:00:34.640 | I was conflicted because I'm not sure if I'm supposed to call out false teachers.
00:00:38.640 | 2 Peter 2, verses 1 to 3 make it obvious that there will be false teachers,
00:00:43.120 | but the text also doesn't say we should point them out. I have heard both sides to this argument,
00:00:47.920 | but I'm still not quite sure. I want to be careful not to pronounce judgment before the time."
00:00:52.560 | 1 Corinthians 4, 5. Does this passage apply here in this situation? Are we taking a judgment that
00:00:58.160 | isn't ours to take, or should we rest in God's ultimate knowledge? And if a prominent false
00:01:02.480 | teacher is to be called out, who does this, where, and how? Maybe it would be helpful to
00:01:08.480 | step back first and get the bigger picture of the New Testament response to those who live
00:01:15.440 | and teach in ways that lead others into error and ruin, and then zero in on 1 Corinthians 4, 5
00:01:24.720 | and some guidelines for how we should speak and write about such people.
00:01:29.200 | So let's begin with Jesus. Matthew 7, 15. "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's
00:01:38.000 | clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves." And the word "beware" means all of us should be alert,
00:01:47.920 | but especially shepherds, to identify not just false teaching, but false teachers
00:01:53.760 | whose ways are subtle, like they're clothing themselves with lamb's wool while they're
00:02:00.800 | wolves. And Paul used the same Greek word for "beware" in Acts 20 when he said, "Pay careful
00:02:08.160 | attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.
00:02:15.360 | I know that after my departure, fierce wolves"—same as Jesus—"fierce wolves will come in among you,
00:02:24.720 | not sparing the flock." Acts 20, 28. Jesus used the same word again in Matthew 16, 6,
00:02:32.880 | but he got more specific. He said, "Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the
00:02:42.720 | Sadducees." Paul had the same kind of group in mind, the same kind of error in mind in Philippians
00:02:51.920 | 2—no, Philippians 3, verse 2 and verse 18. "Look out for the dogs." There it is. "Look out for the
00:03:01.040 | dogs. Look out for the evil workers. Look out for those who mutilate the flesh." And verse 18,
00:03:07.200 | "For many of whom I have told you often and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the
00:03:16.080 | cross of Christ." Then in Romans 16, 17, he warned, "Watch out for those who cause divisions
00:03:24.320 | and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. Avoid them." To avoid them,
00:03:32.400 | you have to know who they are, right? You can't avoid somebody if you don't know who they are.
00:03:39.120 | - Right.
00:03:39.520 | - This idea of identifying and avoiding shows up in 1 Corinthians 5, 11, 2 Thessalonians 3, 6,
00:03:49.680 | verse 14, 2 Timothy 3, 4, 2 John 1, 10. In other words, Christians and shepherds in particular
00:03:58.800 | should be discerning and alert to behavior and teaching that dishonors Christ and destroys
00:04:09.360 | people and not treat it in a casual or harmless way. And then in 1 Timothy 5, 19, Paul went beyond
00:04:21.040 | "avoid them" to "rebuke them publicly." So speaking of elders who persist in error, he said, "Do not
00:04:31.520 | admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those
00:04:39.920 | who persist in sin," and I think that could be sin of false doctrine or sin of evil behavior,
00:04:48.560 | "as for those who persist," they don't accept rebuke, "as for those in sin, rebuke them in
00:04:55.520 | the presence of all so that the rest may stand in fear." And then he went on and actually named
00:05:03.760 | destructive false teachers, "Demus, in love with the present world has deserted me," 2 Timothy 4,
00:05:12.320 | 10. "You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are
00:05:18.880 | Phidulas and Hermogenes," 2 Timothy 1, 15. "By rejecting faith and a good conscience,
00:05:26.320 | some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander," 1 Timothy 1, 19.
00:05:33.120 | "Their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Philetus," 2 Timothy 2, 16. So Paul names at
00:05:42.800 | least six false teachers that the church should watch out for. So I infer from Jesus and Paul
00:05:53.920 | and Luke and John that false teaching and destructive behavior are present dangers in this
00:06:04.320 | fallen world for the church, and that all of us, especially shepherds, pastors, should be alert
00:06:13.840 | and discerning to identify and in appropriate ways expose, expose in order to protect the flock. We
00:06:24.320 | should expose them and minimize the spread of the gangrene, as Paul calls it. Now, in 1 Corinthians
00:06:31.040 | 4, 5, Paul is talking about how the Corinthians should assess Paul and Cephas and Apollos,
00:06:38.240 | because the people are choosing sides and boasting in their favorite teacher. He says, "For I am not
00:06:47.200 | aware of anything in myself, anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is
00:06:54.240 | the Lord who judges me. Therefore don't pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes,
00:07:00.160 | who will bring to light the things that are now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes
00:07:05.120 | of the heart. Then each one," Paul, Cephas, Apollos, "each one will receive his commendation from God."
00:07:15.040 | So Cain is asking, asking me, asking us, whether the words "do not pronounce judgment before the
00:07:24.960 | time" should keep us from identifying false teachers or from naming them. I don't think so.
00:07:33.760 | "Don't pronounce judgment before the time" means don't do what only Christ can do at that last day,
00:07:44.080 | before the time, that time of judgment, the day of judgment. Don't presume to know the heart like
00:07:51.360 | Jesus will know the heart on that day. Only Christ will "bring to light the things now hidden in
00:07:58.320 | darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart." But for now, our job is indeed to do
00:08:06.720 | mouth judgment, writing judgment, behavior judgment—not heart judgment, but mouth and
00:08:15.440 | writing and behavior judgment. When a mouth speaks unbiblical, destructive teaching, when a
00:08:22.240 | blog or an article or a book publishes unbiblical and destructive teaching, when a body, a human
00:08:30.560 | body, a physical body, behaves with unbiblical and destructive behavior, in all these cases,
00:08:39.440 | we are to be discerning and, according to Ephesians 5:11, expose the error. It says,
00:08:46.480 | "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them, censure them,
00:08:54.560 | show them to be wrong," is what that "elenchos" word means. So, the question is, how and when,
00:09:06.480 | not if. And here, I think the Bible calls for wisdom rather than telling us who and when and
00:09:14.480 | how. The question we ask is, how can we best, in our situation, with our gifts and our
00:09:22.480 | responsibilities, how can we best help most people believe and live the most truth, and how can we
00:09:35.520 | protect the most people from destructive beliefs and behaviors? And here are some factors, perhaps,
00:09:42.960 | to consider when deciding whether to name a false teacher. The urgency of your naming a false
00:09:50.960 | teacher increases. So, we've got, what, five factors that would cause the urgency to name
00:09:58.320 | would increase if, one, the seriousness and deceitfulness of the error is great; two,
00:10:05.760 | the size of the audience gets bigger; three, the duration of their ministry—do they make one
00:10:13.440 | blunder, or are they constantly doing it?—four, the vulnerability of the people for whom you are
00:10:20.240 | responsible; five, the role you have in influencing shepherds who really need to be discerning for
00:10:29.440 | who the false teachers are. And when you do name a false teacher, best to do it in a setting where
00:10:38.400 | you do more than name-drop. You explain the error, you give reasons for rejecting it, you communicate
00:10:45.520 | complexities, you set a tone of longing for truth and love, you know, just slinging mud.
00:10:52.960 | The last thing I would say is, let your teaching be so powerful in clarifying the greatness and
00:11:01.760 | the beauty and the worth of God's truth that your people will smell error before it infects their
00:11:09.680 | lives. The shape of error is always changing. You can't preach enough negative sermons to stay ahead
00:11:18.800 | of it, and you don't have to. The best protection against the darkness of error is the light of
00:11:27.840 | truth. Really good. Thank you, Pastor John. And thanks for subscribing to the Ask Pastor John
00:11:33.680 | podcast in your favorite podcast app or on YouTube. We appreciate having you along. Well,
00:11:39.040 | and next time we're going to plunge back into contemporary worship music lyrics. And I know
00:11:43.840 | how much all of you love episodes on contemporary worship music lyrics. We're plunging back in
00:11:50.640 | on Friday. I'm your host Tony Reiki. We'll see you then.
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