Originally published November 6, 2015
“She’s at it again, going off the deep end about some church or Christian celebrity who does things just a little differently. She’s so nit picky, judgmental, and divisive. Why doesn’t she just shut up and be nice?”
That’s what I imagine most of my friends on my (personal) Facebook page are thinking whenever I post something about the latest false doctrine or false teacher. Maybe that’s what you think, too. “Ugh. One of those dreaded discernment bloggers.”
I don’t consider myself a discernment blogger, but rather a discipleship blogger. Discernment (warning against false teachers and false doctrine) is part of discipleship, but so is missions and evangelism, Bible study, and assorted “Christian living” topics, all of which I try to cover in balance.
Nobody seems to mind those latter topics, but a lot of people get their noses out of joint when I call attention to a false teacher, an unbiblical doctrine or practice, or an apostate “church.” I have been asked why I hate women. I’ve been told I’m what’s wrong with Christianity. And, I’ve been called every name in between for pointing out “Christian” teachers, doctrines, and “churches” that behave and teach in ways which directly contradict Scripture.
Who needs that? Who needs the hassle and emotional stress of being attacked, especially when you’re not even getting paid for it? Why don’t I just drop the discernment portion of my blog and social media and blow rainbows and unicorns up everybody’s skirt? It’s certainly a formula that works for other bloggers who choose to go that route, and everybody would be happier.
Well, let me tell you a little story.
I recently shared the gospel with someone who claimed to be a Christian. Why would I do that? If she says she’s a Christian, she must be one, right? Wrong. Before I shared the gospel with her, I asked her to explain her understanding of the gospel to me. Instead of talking about repenting of her sin and placing her faith in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection to save her from her sin, she gave me a laundry list of ways she was a good church member and all the activities she had ever participated in at her church. The name of Jesus did not come up once, nor did the cross, sin, nor repentance.
In case she had misunderstood my question, I then gave a very simple, biblical explanation of the gospel. She proceeded to tell me how wrong that was according to the teachings of her church. You see, all her life, this lady has belonged to an apostate church that teaches a false gospel of works righteousness (your own good works make you righteous before God, instead of Christ’s work on the cross).
This is a very real lady who really believes she’s a Christian who’s going to spend a very real eternity in Hell unless she repents and believes what the Bible says about salvation. Which is not what her so-called church is teaching her.
That’s why I do discernment work. Because real people’s eternities are at stake. False doctrine is not some trivial little difference of opinion over nothing issues in the church like pews versus chairs or what color the sanctuary carpet is. I’m not being judgmental or hateful over unimportant preferences.
People are dying and going to Hell forever because they’ve been taught false doctrine.
And sometimes I wonder if anybody gets that.
People are dying and going to Hell *forever* because they’ve been taught false doctrine. And sometimes I wonder if anybody gets that.
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So, if that’s what’s so important, why don’t I limit myself to writing about “first tier” issues like works righteousness or the deity of Christ which directly affect a person’s salvation? Does it really matter if churches allow practicing homosexuals to be church leaders or allow women to preach to, teach, and exercise authority over men?
Yeah, it does. Because if you take a look at churches that have their first tier issues wrong, they took their initial steps down the road to that destination by compromising and disobeying Scripture on issues, such as homosexuality and female usurpation, which are indirectly related to salvation. In other words, by the time the cancer has metastasized, it’s too late. Early detection, early cure.
Galatians 5 and 1 Corinthians 5 put it like this:
A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
In the same way that a couple of teaspoons of yeast leaven my entire batch of dough and a few cancer cells will grow and spread throughout the whole body, so, a little false doctrine, if left unchecked, will spread throughout the local Body of Christ and eventually kill it.
I care about y’all. I care about your churches. I don’t want to see a single person damned or church turn apostate. It absolutely breaks my heart when I encounter women who don’t know the gospel or have a complete misunderstanding of Scripture simply because that’s what they’ve been taught by a so-called church or a “Christian” celebrity that they trusted. These things should not be. Christ loves you and wants you to have a right relationship with Him and a right understanding of Him and His Word. And I couldn’t live with myself – or Him – if I didn’t tell you that.
Christ loves you and wants you to have a right relationship with Him and a right understanding of Him and His Word. And I couldn’t live with myself – or Him – if I didn’t tell you that.
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My voice and my platform are small. I don’t reach the millions of people the false teachers on the shelf at your local Christian bookstore reach. I am flawed and far from perfect. But I will continue to do everything I can, as biblically as I can, where I am and with what God has given me, to reach the women God places in my path in real life an on line with the glorious truth of His word.
Eternities are at stake. The church is at stake. I can’t sit down, shut up, and play nice.
Eternities are at stake. The church is at stake. I can’t sit down, shut up, and play nice.
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Michelle Lesley 
Amen, thank you for your dedication to teach the truth and to spread the message of the true Gospel!!
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Keep speaking truth . 🙏💕
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Keep doing what you are doing! You have helped me in so many ways, and I am often recommending your name and Facebook pages to other women. Thank you for taking a stand and using your voice – you have encouraged me in doing the same!
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And I’m so thankful you do what you do because we need it and is very helpful. I have learned so much from your ministry
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Dear sister,
Thank you so continually speaking and teaching the truth of God’s word! I am so thankful to God that I stumbled across your Instagram page when I was researching the IF conferences.
While I am not of the Baptist faith, we have a lot of common beliefs and your posts and blogs have been so beneficial to my spiritual walk.
I often feel like I am so alone in my faith walk even among so-called Christians. So many women have bought into the false teachings of these famous false teachers.
It is so refreshing to read your blogs and listen to your podcasts! I know that what I read and hear will be straight from the word of God!
I am thankful that you are keeping us informed about these false teachers because they are everywhere. And just like their father, the devil, they are so sneaky and so subtle that it can be hard to miss if you aren’t grounded in the truth of God’s word.
Keep shining the light and know that you are making a difference!
In Christ,
Kimberly
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Thank you so much for your kind words, Kimberly. It is my pleasure to serve you in Christ. :0)
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I understand your great concern. I have tried to warn some people about false teachers they are following (Steve Furtick, Beth Moore, Joel Osteen), but they say “who says” and have said they want to make their own decisions. I just hope that in telling them, that they are more discerning then if I had said nothing. I pray for them.
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AMEN! Well said!
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Many people stay in their apostate churches because they like to have their ears tickled. Don’t you dare speak out against their favorite false teacher! They don’t want to admit that maybe their church isn’t teaching them Biblical doctrine. Furthermore, it takes effort to be a “Berean” and many people are just too lazy. I commend you on your work and dedication to teaching us sound doctrine and warning us against false teachers.
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Reblogged this on Inside Cup and commented:
Louder in the back
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I echo what all these ladies have said. Thankful for you and your ministry!
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Amen sister. Keep
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Michelle, I can’t put into enough words how thankful I am that God guided me to your site. I was completely clueless about false doctrine, had done numerous Bible studies using false teacher books because I didn’t know any better (nor did any of the other “Christian” women I had done studies with who gush about these authors to this day), and while I had “read” the Bible over the course of a year, I had never “studied” it, or honestly, really grasped what I was reading, except for the parts that appealed to my sinful nature and soothed my navel-gazing ego. If it had not been for you and your blog, and your very clear teachings (that truly help me understand…I am not a fast learner), I’d still be on a clear path to an eternity in Hell. Friendships and acquaintances have taken a turn because now I make it very clear that I can’t follow the Beth Moores and Pricilla Shirers of the world, nor be okay with women preaching in church, nor believe that this name-it-and-claim-it thing is at all biblical, etc. The push back I’ve gotten has been fierce, yet, that just tells me that I need to stay grounded in the truth of Scripture. And without your help, I’d never have known how to do that, or that I even should. So, thank you, Michelle. You are VITAL to us women who need to hear these things repeatedly, because we face these situations repeatedly every day. I am so sorry for the abuse that you suffer at the hands of people who are either fearful or prideful or just plain hateful. That cruelty can be so very discouraging. But every time you speak up you glorify God with the gifts he has given you. And what a gift you are to us!
God bless you big,
Shannon =o)
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Shannon- God blesses me big every time you and others take time out of your busy day just to encourage me. I can’t express how meaningful that is to me, and I am always deeply grateful. Thank you. As always, it is my pleasure to serve you in Christ. :0)
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I am in awe of your guidance.
Thank you.
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I stumbled upon your page when “Christians” that I respected were horrified by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. I was seeking more of Him, when I got caught up in the muck and mire of false teachers. I desperately longed for a closeness to God that made me easy prey for codependents with pride issues who like to tickle the ears of babes. I cannot thank you enough for your obedience to Christ, discipleship to women, and obedience to His Word. In His love, Kim
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I just recently went head-to-head with a missionary and former college classmate. She was on a platform publicly praying over a woman who was just elected interim president of what used to be a solid biblical Bible School. (The new president is an female ordained minister.) ~ My former acquaintance took scripture and twisted it all up. She said she had been to seminary (and I had not). She refused to acknowledge what Scripture says. She said she is “good in her heart before God”. ~ Other than standing for TRUTH, I could only suggest that this was no longer a college/university that I would recommend to anyone wanting to know and study the Bible. ~ And I sent her the link to this blog as reason for my standing up to FALSE beliefs and ERROR in what Scripture has to say about all of this. ~ So THANK YOU for this resource and Truth in Action. (It truly is an encouragement to continue the course that God has set before me.)
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Thank you for your service to God and please keep doing your hard work here. You have helped me since the time I first found you as I searched the web for “discernment”. I echo so much of the comments of others and I enjoy your podcast with Amy as you touch on such practical discernment issues. I praise God for your ministry!!
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Thank you for always speaking the truth! It’s refreshing!
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I praise God that you can’t sit down & shut up! We need your voice crying in this barren wilderness. I’m dealing with a woman at church now who says she has been a “Christian” for 23-24 years & is “spiritually mature” while stating:
1. no one shared the gospel with her when she was saved
2. she’s had idols ever since becoming saved
3. she’s been under false teaching all her life
4. a preacher friend of hers told her a few years ago he couldn’t help her in her unbelief & she needed to look to the cross. Today she says she has no idea what he meant by her “unbelief”
5. she confesses of having an “ever-present sin of pride & legalism” and
6. uses a despicable phrase (that I will not repeat) when I use Scripture to correct her false beliefs
Knowing all the above, our “pastor” says this woman is a Christian. Discernment & obedience to God’s Word seems to be ancient history.
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If I’m correctly understanding the situation, you don’t actually have a pastor. May I suggest this be your next click: Searching for a new church?
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Thank you Michelle. I appreciate that you are willing to take the time to warn women against false teachers and unbiblical trends.
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