Month: June 2023

Discernment

Throwback Thursday ~ Bad Fruit, Diseased Trees, and the Authority of God’s Word

Michelle Lesley

Originally published October 14, 2016

I hate having to warn women against false teachers. I really do. I would like nothing better than to write Bible studies all day long, but, like Jude said, sometimes contending for the faith is more urgent at the moment. Today, as it was in the New Testament church, false doctrine is rampant. You can hardly throw a rock out the sanctuary window without hitting a false teacher, particularly female false teachers.

You can hardly throw a rock out the sanctuary window without hitting a false teacher, particularly female false teachers.

Invariably, when I warn against a specific popular false teacher I get a few responses from disgruntled readers jumping to that teacher’s defense. (I understand where those feelings come from. I’ve had to hear hard, biblical truths about teachers I’ve followed, too. It’s no fun.) I tend to hear the same arguments over and over (which is one reason I wrote this article). But there’s one thing all of these arguments have in common:

They’re not based on rightly handled Scripture.
Sometimes they’re not based on Scripture at all.

As Christians, we are supposed to base everything we believe and teach upon the truth of Scripture. And the women defending these false teachers aren’t doing that. They’re basing their defense of a false teacher on twisted, out of context Scripture and/or their own opinions, feelings, experiences, and preferences.

As Christians, we are supposed to base everything we believe and teach upon the truth of Scripture. And the women defending these false teachers aren’t doing that.

Twisted Scripture:

Sometimes these ladies will try to appeal to Scripture to defend the false teacher. I applaud them for that. Genuinely. At least they know that we’re supposed to be basing what we say and do on the Bible. That’s a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, most of these attempts only reveal how poorly they’ve been taught the Bible by the false teachers who have trained them.

“Did you meet privately with this teacher before writing this article?”

“You’re just judging! The Bible says not to judge!”

“You’re creating division in the church!”

Most of the time these women have no idea where those Scriptures are found, or even precisely what they say, much less the context of the verses they’re appealing to. (In order not to misunderstand their intent, I usually have to respond by saying, “Are you referring to Matthew 18:15-20?” or “I’m sorry, could you tell me which verse you’re talking about?”) They don’t know or understand the Scripture they’re alluding to, they’re just repeating what they’ve heard from the false teacher (or her other followers) defending herself and lashing out at those who call her to account.

Nothing More than Feelings:

Perhaps more disturbing are the near-Stepford gushings of some defenders:

“I’ve never heard anything so mean! How could you say such things about this wonderful teacher?”

“I just love her and the way she teaches!”

“You’re just jealous of her success.”

“She’s been such a help and encouragement to me!”

These ladies don’t even attempt to bring the Bible into the discussion, and their loving support for the false teacher is often coupled with vitriolic, completely un-Christlike, devoid of any fruit of the Spirit, attacks on those who dare to question the false teacher. I like this person. I’ve had a positive experience with this person. I have good feelings and opinions about this person. And that – not the Bible – is what I’m basing my decision to follow her upon. How dare you speak against her?

And is it any wonder? When women sit under the teaching of pastors and teachers who skip through the Bible ripping verses out of context and twisting their meanings, who say “the Bible says” followed by their own agenda and imaginings, who point women back to themselves as their own authority, rather than Scripture, by basing their teachings on their own ideas and life experiences instead of the Bible, what do we expect?

Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (emphasis, mine)


Ladies, look at the fruits of these false teachers: women who believe false doctrine because they are unable to properly read, understand, and handle God’s Word, and who base their belief system on their own feelings rather than on the authority of Scripture. That is bad fruit from a diseased tree.

Look at the fruits of these false teachers: women who believe false doctrine because they are unable to properly read, understand, and handle God’s Word.

Christian women must be properly trained in the Scriptures. How? By eradicating false teachers and all their sundry materials from our churches, homes, and Bible study classes. By properly training Sunday School and Bible study teachers. By teaching the women of our churches proper hermeneutics and sound doctrine. By exercising biblical church discipline against false teaching. And most of all, by reinstating the authority of Scripture to its rightful preeminence in our lives and in our churches.

It is imperative that we train Christians to understand and embrace that Scripture alone decides what we believe, which teachers we allow into our churches and our lives, and how we are to worship and practice the Christian faith. Basing these things on our feelings, opinions, and preferences is folly, a house built on the sand, because our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick, and we will always trend toward having our ears tickled with smooth words rather than having our souls pierced by the sharp two edged sword of God’s Word. “Sanctify them in the truth,” Jesus prayed in John 17:17, “Your Word is truth.” And, indeed it is. It is the only trustworthy basis for life, faith, and doctrine that will never lead us astray. When our feelings and opinions rise up against God’s Word, God’s Word wins.

When our feelings and opinions rise up against God’s Word, God’s Word wins.

May we hold high the banner of Sola Scriptura, training the precious souls of women to understand and submit to the authority of God’s Word, that one day, bad fruit and diseased trees might become a thing of the past.

Discernment Bible Study

Choose What Is Right: A Study in Discernment- Lesson 8

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Ewes Need to Take Care
to Avoid the Wolves

Read These Passages

Questions to Consider

Throughout this study we will be looking at various passages of Scripture rather than working our way through a book of the Bible verse by verse. Because of that, we will need to be extra vigilant to rightly handle these passages in context. I will always attempt to provide the context you need for understanding these passages correctly, but if you need more clarity please feel free to read as much of the surrounding text as you need to – even the whole book, if necessary – in order to properly understand the passage presented.

1. Carefully study the first five verses of the 2 Timothy passage. Using your cross references, any other related passages, and perhaps a side by side comparison with other reliable translations, or an interlinear, define or explain each of the characteristics listed in these verses:

  • lovers of self-
  • lovers of money-
  • proud-
  • arrogant-
  • abusive-
  • disobedient to their parents-
  • ungrateful-
  • unholy-
  • heartless-
  • unappeasable-
  • slanderous-
  • without self-control-
  • brutal-
  • not loving good-
  • treacherous-
  • reckless-
  • swollen with conceit-
  • lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-
  • having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power-

Is Timothy saying these things are characteristic of the world, the visible church (Christians and non-Christians), genuinely regenerated Christians only, or some combination of these three? Why do you think so?

From the immediate context and the context of the Bible in general, does verse five’s admonition to “avoid such people” mean only the people described in verse 5 or all of the people described in verses 2-5? Generally speaking, why would God want us to avoid all of these types of people, especially if they claim to be Christians (5) while acting this way? Go back through your list above and explain why it would be detrimental to your character and your walk with the Lord to associate with people of each of these character types.

2. Now, more specifically, why does verse 6 say to avoid these types of people? (Note: What word does verse 6 start with? What’s another word we could use there in place of “for”? When you’re looking for the reason God said something, words like “for” and “because” can help you answer the question, “Why?”.)

Compare the phrase “those who creep into households” in verse 6 with the metaphor we saw Jesus use in lesson 6 (link above), particularly in John 10:1. Who are both of these verses talking about? How do both of these verses describe the infiltration of false teachers into the church and home? Are false teachers above board, walking in the truth of Scripture?

Compare the concept of “capturing” in verse 6 with the concept of “thief and robber” in John 10:1. What does it mean to capture someone and to commit thievery and robbery? Why does God use this imagery for false teachers? Compare this idea of false teachers absconding with or luring away people to whom they have no right with John’s description of doctrinally sound “gatekeepers” (pastors and teachers, v. 3). Do doctrinally sound pastors have to deceptively lure or steal people away to the true teaching of Christ? Why not? What do they do instead (3)?

3. At this time, I’d like “ewes” :0) to focus on the second half of verse 6. Who, precisely, does God say the false teachers creep in and capture? Does He say “weak men”? “Weak Christians”? “Weak people”? Considering the fact that God never misspeaks and always says exactly what He means, why (6b) does God specify that “weak women” are in danger from false teachers?

What does God mean that these women are “burdened with sins” and “led astray by various passions“? Why would a woman in this spiritual condition be especially vulnerable to false teachers? What would a doctrinally sound pastor or teacher tell her about her sins or her fleshly cravings and feelings? Read 6b in light of 2 Timothy 4:3-4. How would a false teacher scratch her itching ears about her sins and passions?

4. Really ponder the meaning and weight of verse 7. Gaggles of weak, sinful women always reading a book or listening to a podcast by a false teacher, going to “Bible” study after “Bible” study featuring materials by false teachers, spending hundreds of dollars year after year on tickets for conferences and simulcasts headlined by false teachers. Always learning, but never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Jesus said, “I am the truth,” and “[Father,] Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth.” Think about it. If your friends who follow false teachers are never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth, Who and what are they not learning about?

5. And why is that? How do we know they’re not learning the truth from these false teachers according to verse 8? In what three ways does God characterize these false teachers in 8b? What does it mean that they “oppose the truth,” are “corrupted in mind,” and are “disqualified regarding the faith”? How do each of those characteristics prevent vulnerable women from arriving at a knowledge of the truth?

6. Remember that 2 Timothy is a pastoral epistle, so the passage we just read may be instructive to us as women, but to whom is it primarily written? (see lesson 7, link above, if you forgot). How is God demonstrating His love and care for women in this passage by instructing pastors to watch out for these false teachers who prey on women, and keep them out of the church?

7. Read the Genesis 3 passage and 1 Timothy 2:14 through the lens of what we’ve just looked at in 2 Timothy 3. Why do you think Satan may have approached the woman in the Garden instead of the man? How do these passages work together to alert us as women to vigilantly watch out for a potential blind spot we may have regarding false teachers and deception?

God created women with some incredible strengths. Generally speaking, women are usually much better nurturers than men. We’re usually better communicators than men. And, frequently it’s much easier for women to trust, love, and give the benefit of the doubt to others than it is for men.

And along with those unique strengths come unique challenges. For example, being trusting is a fantastic character trait, but it’s imperative that we be vigilant not to put our trust in the wrong person – like a false teacher.

Why is it especially important that women learn and practice discernment?

Homework

  • Second Timothy 3:5 instructs us to “avoid” ungodly people, especially those who claim to be Christians and turn out to be false teachers. “Avoid them.” Does this command leave room for the “chew up the meat and spit out the bones” approach so many Christians think is appropriate to use with false teachers today? What about the common idea that it’s OK to use songs with “biblical” lyrics from heretical groups (like Bethel, Hillsong, and Elevation) in our worship services? Does “Avoid them” allow for that? Read #8 here.
  • Some professing Christians defend false teachers by saying, “Look how many people she’s helping!”. If false teachers’ audiences are “never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth,” are they really helping anybody? Read #3 here.

Suggested Memory Verse

Mailbag

The Mailbag: Communion Questions

Michelle Lesley

Is it biblical for women to administer communion to other women in a local church or a parachurch ladies gathering? It it biblical for a couple to administer communion at a social gathering in their home?

Communion.. the Lord’s Supper… the Lord’s Table… the breaking of bread and drinking of wine (or grape juice) as a memorial to our Lord’s suffering and death is an extremely solemn and serious ordinance of the church.

I mean, in the Corinthian church, people were getting sick and dying because they weren’t handling the Lord’s Supper in a godly way.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
1 Corinthians 11:27-30

Take a moment and meditate on what that means. How seriously does God take the Lord’s Supper?

The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of the gathered church, just like baptism is. You wouldn’t (I hope) baptize people at your Tupperware party or even your weekly women’s Bible study, and you shouldn’t be observing the Lord’s Supper in those sorts of venues either.

Look at the language in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 and how it differentiates between eating outside the church gathering (at home) and partaking of the Lord’s Supper inside the worship gathering of the church. The language assumes that the Lord’s Supper takes place in the church gathering: “When you come together…” (17, 20), “When you come together as a church…” (18), “Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God…” (22), “when you come together to eat” (33), “if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together…” (34).

When you unbiblically remove the Lord’s Supper from the worship gathering of the church body, you immediately cheapen it. It becomes lesser. Just some little thing we do so we can feel like we’re being holy, or because we crave ritual. It’s reduced to the level of hors d’oeuvres or a party game. The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is for the gathered church to proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (26).

And because it is an ordinance of the church, those who shepherd the church – pastors and elders – are responsible for administering it in a biblical way. That responsibility has not been given to any Tom, Dick, and Harry (or Dawn, Pat, and Mary, if you will) who decides he or she wants to offer it at a private shindig. It is a pastoral responsibility, which includes fencing the table.

So the answer to all of your questions is no. The Lord’s Supper should not be observed at parachurch meetings or social gatherings at all. (Or weddings. You didn’t ask about that, but I’m going to throw that in there, too, for the same reasons.) And the only reason I can think of that a church would have women administering the Lord’s Supper during a worship service instead of the pastor, elders, and/or deacons is either to appear egalitarian or because they are egalitarian, so that’s a “no” too.

What about situations like COVID, when the church can’t gather? Is “online communion” (taking the Lord’s Supper at home with whatever elements I have on hand while watching the pastor “administer” it online) OK?

No. First of all, as we learned from COVID, while there may be very temporary emergencies, the church can gather if it is being obedient to the Lord. Sometimes obedience is costly, but it can be done. Just ask our Savior, whose obedience cost Him torture and death.

Second, there’s no requirement for how often the church must observe the Lord’s Supper. Jesus said “as often as you do this,” not “every week” or “twice a month”. Once the temporary emergency is over the church can come back together and observe the Lord’s Supper as a body, in person, as indicated by Scripture.

“What about homebound, hospitalized, or dying people who are Providentially hindered from gathering with the church? Can a pastor administer the Lord’s Supper to those people outside the church gathering?”

I would leave that to a pastor’s discretion, but, if I were a pastor, I would be very reluctant to do so. Personally, I would urge those people, as well as anyone else who wants to observe the Lord’s Supper outside of the gathering of the church body to consider why they want to do that. I mean, dig deep and do some serious introspection about your reasons and what you actually believe about the Lord’s Supper.

I suspect some Christians, without even realizing it, may hold some Roman Catholic-adjacent or superstitious beliefs about the Lord’s Supper.

It’s not the thing you do right before you die (or any time) to make you right with God, forgive your sins, or secure your place in Heaven. That’s what Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection were for. And if you’re placing your faith for any of those things in partaking of the Lord’s Supper instead of, or in addition to Christ’s finished work on the cross, that’s idolatry.

It’s not something you do to assuage misplaced guilt about not being physically able to attend church (or, for that matter, to assuage appropriate guilt about forsaking the assembly when you actually could be there). If you are legitimately Providentially hindered from faithful church attendance, God knows that. He’s the One who allowed or placed you in that situation in the first place. You don’t need to “make it up to Him” or try to get “back” into His good graces by performing for Him by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Rest. Rest in His grace, mercy, and divine Providence. You can partake when you’re able to go back to church, or when the whole church is one day gathered for the marriage supper of the Lamb.

It’s not something you do to somehow conjure up or invoke God’s presence into your midst. That’s a variant of necromancy or witchcraft. God is omnipresent. There’s not a millimeter of the universe in which He is not present. He’s at your social gathering. He’s at your parachurch meeting. What you want to do at those events is to pray, not observe the Lord’s Supper. In prayer, you recognize God’s presence, submit yourselves and your gathering to Him, and ask Him to guide your meeting. And, no, observing the Lord’s Supper isn’t “leveling up” on “just prayer”. Prayer and the Lord’s Supper are two different worship practices with two different purposes.

And, finally, the Lord’s Supper isn’t something you do to secure God’s blessing on whatever activity or venue you’re observing it in. It’s not a talisman. It’s not like rubbing a rabbit’s foot for luck or a baseball player going through his superstitious pre-game rituals so he’ll play well and win the game. Participating in the Lord’s Supper with your church family is a blessing – it’s the blessing of unity in Christ and the fellowship of proclaiming His death together until He comes, but you don’t do it to get God’s blessing on your marriage, your dinner party, or your pro-life meeting.

What would you say to a church not using unleavened bread for communion? The last time we took communion the bread was Italian bread, obviously had yeast in it. I don’t want to take the Lords supper with bread with yeast in it because yeast represents sin and Jesus has no sin in Him, and if we are to remember what He did, how can we use just regular bread. I did ask the pastor, he thought I had a good point, but I haven’t heard from him yet.

It’s great that you asked your pastor about this. That’s exactly what I would have advised you to do. I would encourage you to submit to his leadership on this issue.

Leavened bread is not a reason to abstain from the Lord’s Supper any more than grape juice instead of wine (or vice versa) is a reason to abstain. My personal opinion (not biblical mandate) is that unleavened bread and wine should be used because they are more historically accurate and truer to the details of Scripture than leavened bread and/or grape juice. That being said, I’ve never been a member of a church that didn’t use grape juice, and I have participated in observances of the Lord’s Supper that used leavened bread, and it didn’t bother me in the least.

We need to remember that the reason unleavened bread was used was not because leaven represented sin, although we do see that symbolism later, but because the Lord’s Supper began as the Last Supper, which was an observance of Passover. Unleavened bread was used for Passover because it memorialized the Israelites’ flight from Egypt. They did not have time for the dough to rise before the exodus. That’s where the unleavened bread for Passover, the Last Supper, and the Lord’s Supper came from. It had nothing to do with Jesus’ sinlessness because Jesus had not yet come at the time of the exodus.

We can also remember that Jesus used leavened bread when He fed the 5000, and in that very context of leavened bread, He Himself said, “I am the bread of life.” If leaven always represents sin, why would Jesus, who was sinless God, have referred to Himself in the context of everyday leavened bread?

If leavened bread is the only reason you’re abstaining from the Lord’s Supper, I would encourage you to stop abstaining and partake joyfully with your church family, proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes.

We recently moved and have been attending a Southern Baptist church. They have not had communion for over two months. Isn’t it the norm to have communion at least once a month? …since we are new to this church we are still waiting and learning our place. We hesitate to make ourselves known as possibly unsubmissive or question why they do things the way they do. (From The Mailbag: Potpourri (…SBC Communion…))

These are such great questions because they help me, as a Southern Baptist, think about the way we do things and how those practices might be perceived by visitors or new members.

Every Southern Baptist church is autonomous, so each church has its own policy or practice about how often the Lord’s Supper is observed. There are some SBC churches who hold the Lord’s Supper every week and probably others who hold it only once or twice a year, although I don’t personally know of any who hold it that infrequently.

In my experience, most Southern Baptist churches observe the Lord’s Supper several times a year, usually on a schedule like the first Sunday of the month, once a quarter, or every “fifth Sunday” (in months that have five Sundays). In addition to these scheduled observances, many churches also observe the Lord’s Supper at their Christmas Eve, Good Friday, or Easter service.

I would encourage you and your husband to set up an appointment with the pastor and ask away! It is certainly not unsubmissive to sit in his office and politely say, “We’re new here and we were just wondering about…” Most pastors I know would love for potential members to do this.

We run into trouble when we start trying to “improve” on God’s Word and His ways. The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of the church, to be observed in the gathering of the church body, and to be rightly administered by the pastor, elders, and/or deacons. Let’s leave it at that – nothing more, nothing less – right where Scripture leaves it.

Additional Resources:

The Last Supper ~ The Lord’s Supper

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Discernment Bible Study

Choose What Is Right: A Study in Discernment- Lesson 7

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Refuse to Heed the Shepherd and You’ll Have the Wool Pulled Over Your Eyes

Today’s Scripture passages are embedded in the body of the study. Please click the links in each question.

Questions to Consider

Throughout this study we will be looking at various passages of Scripture rather than working our way through a book of the Bible verse by verse. Because of that, we will need to be extra vigilant to rightly handle these passages in context. I will always attempt to provide the context you need for understanding these passages correctly, but if you need more clarity please feel free to read as much of the surrounding text as you need to – even the whole book, if necessary – in order to properly understand the passage presented.

1. We need a firm foundation. What is that firm foundation? First and Second Timothy and Titus comprise what are known as the “pastoral epistles”. They are God’s instructions, via Paul, to Timothy, Titus, and all other pastors about how to run the church. I often liken the pastoral epistles to a “policy and procedure manual” for the church.

Even in these three very brief epistles, God has a lot to say about sound and false doctrine, and sound and false teachers. Read these passages from the pastoral epistles (you may wish to read more of the surrounding verses for context). What is the foundation of a healthy church? How does a foundation of being intentional and purposeful to preach and teach sound doctrine protect a church against the infiltration of false doctrine and false teachers?

Meditate on Paul’s solemn charge to pastors in the 2 Timothy 4:1-2 passage. Explain exactly what he is saying in these verses. Would you liken this charge to a vow or “oath of office”? Why or why not? Put yourself in Timothy’s sandals. Do you feel the weightiness of this charge and responsibility? How so?

As Paul is preparing to leave the Ephesian church, he mentions two ways, in Acts 20:29-30, in which false teachers can infiltrate the church. What are those two ways? How does a solid foundation of sound doctrine help guard against false teachers coming into the church from the outside, and prevent those who are already church members from believing false doctrine and becoming false teachers inside the church?

2. Regarding discernment, why do we need the firm foundation of the preaching and teaching of sound doctrine? Examine these passages. (Compare the verse references to the passages from question 1. See the proximity and context?) Why, in the context of discernment, is the teaching and preaching of sound doctrine so crucial? What will happen to those who refuse to heed sound doctrine? Which adjectives does Paul use in the 1 Timothy passage to paint a picture of the deceitfulness of false teachers? How does Paul address the idea of people being deceived and departing from the faith in these passages – as a possibility or a certainty? (Hint: Look for the word “will”.)

3. How is this deception accomplished? Are these people who “depart from the faith” deceived solely by the false teachers, self-deceived, or both?

Study these passages. What do they tell us about a person’s role in her own deception? Who is taking the initiative in these two passages, the false teachers/prophets, or the people who want to follow them? In the Isaiah passage, before the people turn to the seers and prophets in verse 10, how does verse 9 describe them? What have they already turned from? In the 2 Timothy passage, before the people turn to false teachers (3b) and myths (4b), what have they already turned away from (3a, 4a)?

Compare 2 Timothy’s “they will accumulate for themselves” and “teachers to suit their own passions” (3b) with Isaiah’s 10-11. How did the people in Isaiah proactively pursue or accumulate false teachers? What were “their own passions” they wanted to suit? Are people who turn to false teachers hapless, powerless victims of those false teachers or willing participants in their own deception?

Again, what happens when you “refuse to heed the Shepherd” (Jesus, His Word, sound doctrine, etc.)? Think about the nature and definition of the word “deceived”. Do deceived people know they’re deceived?

But if every teacher out there only taught sound doctrine, would self-deceived people be able to accumulate teachers to themselves to suit their own passions? It’s kind of a symbiotic relationship, isn’t it?

Study these passages. What do all of these passages say false teachers disguise themselves as? Make a list of the words and phrases from each passage that led you to your answer:

  • 2 Corinthians 11:
  • Galatians 2:
  • 2 Peter 2:
  • Titus 1:

Think about some of the false teachers you’re aware of (or check here if you need a little help). Do any of them go by the title “False Teacher”? Introduce themselves as false teachers? Write books and give interviews as experts in the field of false teaching? What titles do they go by? What do they want to be known as?

In the 2 Corinthians passage, what does Paul say the false apostles claim? (12) Are their claims true? (13) What three words in verse 13 indicate that these men are not honest? Compare verses 14-15 with Jesus addressing the Pharisees (the false teachers of His day) in John 8:42-47. Who is the spiritual “father” of these false teachers in both passages? Who do they actually serve? Are they actually Christians, as they claim to be? What does Paul mean, “Their end will correspond to their deeds.”(15)? What will their end be? (Hint- use your cross references)

Why do you think some professing Christians believe even the most egregious false teachers are actually Christians despite what these passages teach to the contrary? Is it fair to say they are believing the false teacher’s word over God’s Word?

Compare the 2 Corinthians passage and the John 8 passage above with Genesis 3:1-7. What similarities do you see when it comes to the descriptions of Satan’s character and methods?

Homework

Read 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. Carefully examine each passage that deals with either the need to preach and teach sound doctrine or the need to rebuke and refute false teachers or false doctrine. Why is the proactive, purposeful, and intentional teaching of sound doctrine vital to the health of the church? How does sound doctrine itself refute false doctrine? Why is it imperative to rebuke and remove unrepentant false teachers from the church?

A common argument against the public rebuke and refutation of false teachers is that, “You shouldn’t warn against them, you should just pray for them.” (see #10 here). How would you answer that argument with the passages you examined in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus?

You may wish to refer to parts of my studies on the pastoral epistles as you study:

1 & 2 Timothy: The Structure and Spirit of the Church

Titus: God’s Order of Service

Suggested Memory Verse

Discernment

Throwback Thursday ~ Discernment Hysteria and the God Who Wins

Michelle Lesley

Originally published April 8, 2016

There are a lot of different facets to Christianity. There’s worship. Fellowship with other Christians. Studying God’s Word alone, with our families, and with the local church. Evangelism. Serving at church. Teaching. Discipling other believers. Prayer. All of these things, and others, are vital to a healthy, growing relationship with Christ.

But things can get out of whack if we focus too much on any one of these areas to the neglect of others. Spend too much time in prayer, and you could overlook serving others. Focus on evangelism too much, and your Bible study time might suffer. It can be tricky, but it’s important that we keep a good balance in our walk with the Lord.

If you’re like me you probably have one or two areas that you’re tempted to go overboard in. My temptation is studying, particularly in the area of discernment- false doctrine and false teachers. It’s a fascinating topic, and people educated in the field of discernment and doctrine are desperately needed in the church today.

But if you spend a lot of time studying discernment –and many do- it can get pretty discouraging pretty quickly. You begin to realize just how pervasive false doctrine is and how many false teachers there are. It’s in your church, at your child’s Christian school, on your Christian radio and TV stations, in your Christian bookstore. It’s everywhere. And it’s not just the home grown heretics who spring from the soil of already apostate “churches.” We’ve also got men and women who were once trustworthy teachers and preachers of God’s Word turning traitor and joining the forces of evil at an alarming rate. They just keep coming and coming, always more and more. It’s starting to feel like Invasion of “The Body” Snatchers.

False teachers just keep coming and coming. It’s starting to feel like Invasion of “The Body” Snatchers.

I hear often from women approaching panic and frenzy over the state of the church. And I get that, because I regularly feel the same way. But for all of us, there are some great reasons to take a step back when we get overwhelmed. To breathe, to relax, and to rejoice in some good news in the midst of the heresy hurricane.

There are some great reasons to take a step back when we get overwhelmed. To breathe, to relax, and to rejoice in some good news in the midst of the heresy hurricane.

God is both sovereign and just.

And praise His name for that. Nothing, and I mean nothing, escapes His notice. He sees everything- every thought, every action. There is going to come a day of reckoning for the enemies of God. They will get exactly what they deserve, and God will be good for punishing them. When it’s all said and done, nobody’s getting away with anything, and nothing is going to slip through the cracks.

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Hebrews 4:13

It is God’s job to preserve the church, not ours.

Thousands of years. Extreme idolatry and blasphemy. War. Exile. And yet God preserved a remnant of His people throughout the Old Testament. He preserved the church through its infancy of persecution and heresy. And He will continue to preserve His church today. Should we fight false doctrine the best we can? Yes. Will some local churches fold and apostasize? Yes. But, saving the church is way too big a job for us. Ultimately, the burden of preserving the Bride is on the Bridegroom.

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25b-27

God’s Word isn’t changing.

It doesn’t matter how loudly people scream that this sin or that sin is OK. It doesn’t matter how many people teach the most unbiblical false doctrine or how widespread its acceptance is. God’s Word is God’s Word. And God’s Word changes for no man. The Bible – not anyone’s opinion or the general consensus of sinful humans – is the standard God has issued and the rod of judgment He will wield. God’s Word isn’t going anywhere.

for
“All flesh is like grass
    and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
    and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
1 Peter 1:24-25

It doesn’t matter how many people teach the most unbiblical false doctrine or how widespread its acceptance is. God’s Word is God’s Word. And God’s Word changes for no man.

The gospel still has the power to save.

God is mightier to save than any false teacher is to deceive. Get out there and keep faithfully scattering that gospel seed and proclaiming God’s truth. A lot of people will reject it – just like they did when Jesus preached it – but some will listen and be saved. They’re worth it.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
Isaiah 59:1

God is mightier to save than any false teacher is to deceive.

Heaven awaits.

Look around. This is all just temporary. In Heaven, there is no false doctrine. There are no false teachers. There will be no more contending for the faith. We will all finally be able to worship Christ in the splendor of His holiness with out any hint of error impeding us or infiltrating the Body.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Revelation 21:1-3

Be encouraged my sisters, and don’t grow weary in well doing. Because God is mighty. He is still on His throne. He is still saving souls.

And hear me, and cling to this as you walk through this evil world: God wins.

Let that sink in and drive you to rejoice and worship. The devil may do his worst in the world, but God wins.

he wins

Cling to this as you walk through this evil world: God wins. Let that sink in and drive you to rejoice and worship. The devil may do his worst in the world, but GOD WINS.