Jesus warned us
that
“false Christs and false prophets”
will come
and will attempt to
deceive even God’s elect
(Matthew 24:23-27; see also 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 17-18).
The best way
to guard yourself against
falsehood and false teachers is
to know the truth.
To spot a counterfeit, study the real thing.
Any believer who “correctly handles the word of truth”
(2 Timothy 2:15)
and who
makes a careful study of
the Bible
can identify false doctrine.
For example, a believer who has read the activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Matthew 3:16-17 will immediately question any doctrine that denies the Trinity. Therefore, step one is to study the Bible and judge all teaching by what the Scripture says.
Jesus said “a tree is recognized by its fruit”
(Matthew 12:33).
When looking for “fruit,” here are
three specific tests to apply
to any teacher to determine
the
accuracy of his or her teaching:
1) What does this teacher say about Jesus? In Matthew 16:15-16,
Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answers,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,”
and for this answer Peter is called “blessed.”
In 2 John 9, we read,
“Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the
teaching of Christ does not have God;
whoever continues in the teaching has both the
Father and the Son.”
In other words,
Jesus Christ and His work of redemption
is of
utmost importance;
beware of anyone
who denies that Jesus is equal
with God,
who downplays Jesus’ sacrificial death,
or
who rejects Jesus’ humanity.
First John 2:22 says,
“Who is the liar?
It is the man who
denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Such a man is the
antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son.”
2) Does this teacher preach the gospel?
The gospel is defined as the
good news concerning
Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection,
according to the Scriptures
(1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
As nice as they sound, the statements
“God loves you,” “God wants us to feed the hungry,” and
“God wants you to be wealthy
” are
not the complete message of
the gospel.
As Paul warns in Galatians 1:7,
“Evidently some people are
throwing you into confusion and are
trying to
pervert the gospel of Christ.”
No one, not even a great preacher, has the right to
change the message that God gave us.
“If anybody is preaching to you a
gospel
other than what you accepted,
let him be
eternally condemned!”
(Galatians 1:9).
3) Does this teacher exhibit
character qualities that
glorify the Lord?
Speaking of false teachers, Jude 11 says,
“They have taken the way of Cain; they have
rushed for profit into Balaam’s error;
they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.”
In other words,
a false teacher
can be known by his pride
(Cain’s rejection of God’s plan),
greed (Balaam’s prophesying for money),
and rebellion (Korah’s promotion of himself over Moses).
Jesus said to beware of such people and that
we would know them by their fruits
(Fruits of Repentance, holy spirit of Truth)
(Matthew 7:15-20).
For further study, review those
books of the
Bible that were written specifically to combat
false teaching within the church:
Galatians, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, and Jude.
It is often difficult to spot a
false teacher/false prophet.
Satan masquerades as an angel of light
(2 Corinthians 11:14), and his ministers
masquerade as servants of righteousness
(2 Corinthians 11:15).
Only by
being thoroughly familiar
with the truth
will we be able to recognize a
counterfeit.
There are five verses in the Bible that refer to a
“seal of God”
or an object or person
sealed by God
(John 6:27; 2 Timothy 2:19; Revelation 6:9; 7:2; and 9:4).
The word sealed in the New Testament
comes from a Greek word that means
“to stamp with a private mark”
in the interest of keeping something secret or protecting or preserving the sealed object. Seals were used for official business: a Roman centurion, for instance, might have sealed a document that was meant
only for the eyes of his superior.
If the seal were broken, the one receiving the document would know that the letter had been tampered with or read
by someone other than the sealer.
Revelation 7:3–4 and 9:4
refer to group of people who have the
seal of God,
and thus His protection,
during the tribulation.
During the fifth trumpet judgment, locusts from the Abyss attack the people of the earth with “power like that of scorpions” (Revelation 9:3).
However, these demonic locusts are limited in what they can harm:
“They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads”
(Revelation 9:4).
The individuals who are
marked by God are preserved.
The seal of God during the tribulation
is the
direct opposite of the mark of the beast,
which identifies people as followers of Satan
(Revelation 13:16–18).
Paul speaks of the
seal of God
in the context of
foundational truth.
He tells Timothy that false doctrines
are circulating and
some people are trying to destroy the faith of believers.
Then he offers this encouragement:
“Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm,
sealed with this inscription:
‘The Lord knows those who are his,
’ and,
‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord
must turn away from wickedness’”
(2 Timothy 2:19).
The picture is of a building’s foundation that has
been inscribed with two statements giving
the purpose of the building.
The church’s foundation has been laid
(Ephesians 2:20),
and the eternal “seal” or inscription
sums up
the two aspects of faith—trust in God and departure from sin
(see Mark 1:15).
The passage goes on to describe the contents of the
great house so inscribed: vessels for honorable use
and those for dishonorable use.
“If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,
he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy,
useful to the master of the house,
ready for every good work”
(2 Timothy 2:21, ESV).
Jesus Christ bore the seal of God:
“On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval” (John 6:27).
Those who trust in Jesus also possess the seal of God,
which is the Holy Spirit:
“You also were included in Christ
when you heard the message of truth,
the gospel of your salvation.
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (Ephesians 1:13–14). It is good to know that God’s children are sealed, secure, and sustained amid the wickedness of this transitory world.