Tag: Christian Women

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

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 Bible Study

Choose What Is Right: A Study in Discernment- Lesson 6

Michelle Lesley

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

Sheep Follow the Shepherd,
Not Strangers

Read This Passage

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. Read John 9. Note the motifs of darkness and light, blindness and sight, night and day. What do darkness, blindness, and night represent? What do light, sight, and day represent? What is Jesus saying about Himself in v. 5? What is the spiritual truth Jesus is trying to convey in chapter 9 – to His immediate audience, and to us? In what ways does this story mirror a person being saved?

What is the spiritual parallel and significance of 8-9? In what ways do we look different to others after salvation?

Describe all of “the works of God” (3) that were displayed in the blind beggar – was it simply God’s power to heal, or was there more to this situation than that?

2. Review legalism and antinomianism in lesson 3 (link above). Which kind of false doctrine were the Pharisees displaying in chapter 9? Give some specific examples of their legalistic remarks, accusations, beliefs, etc.

Compare the works of God displayed in the blind beggar to the works of “their father, the Devil” displayed in the Pharisees. What fruit do we see from the works of God? From the works of the Devil? What is the culmination of the works of God (30-32, 35-39)? The culmination of the works of the Devil? (39-41)

3. Compare the healed man’s parents’ fearful response to the Pharisees (18-23) with the healed man’s “wild abandon” response to the Pharisees (17, 24-34). What made the difference between those two responses (35-38)? Can a false teacher have power over someone who has truly been set free in Christ? Why or why not?

4. Describe Jesus’ disposition toward the false teachers in chapter 9. Toward the repentant, victim of the false teachers? What example does this set for us regarding our own disposition toward false teachers versus our disposition toward those who are trapped in false religious systems and need the gospel?

5. Read John 9:35-10:21 without chapter and verse markings. (If you’re using Bible Gateway, just click on the “page options” icon and uncheck “verse numbers”.)

Do you notice the flow from chapter 9 into chapter 10? What does that tell you about the timing and the relationship between the events and remarks in chapter 9 and Jesus’ teaching in chapter 10? (Hint: See 10:21b). How do the events of chapter 9 lay the foundation for the teaching of chapter 10?

6. Carefully study 10:1-21. What type of literary device is Jesus using to illustrate His point in chapter 10? Is Jesus using literal or figurative language in this passage?

Identify who or what each of the following represent (hint: there’s some overlap):

  • The thief/robber (1,8,10)
  • The shepherd (2)
  • The gatekeeper (3)
  • The sheep (3ff.)
  • The stranger (5)
  • The door of the sheep (7,9)
  • The good shepherd (11,14)
  • The hired hand (12,13)
  • The wolf (12)
  • The flock (16)

7. False teachers today often use the phrases “The sheep hear his voice” (3), “they know his voice” (4), “they will listen to my voice” (16), and “My sheep hear my voice” (27), from this passage to teach that Christians should hear God talking to them audibly (extra-biblical revelation). Examine all of the references to listening, hearing, and voice in this passage. Is this passage teaching that you should hear God talking to you audibly? Why not? What role does context play in your answer? If this passage is a metaphor, which uses figurative language, why would the “sheep” part of these phrases be figurative but the “voice/hear/listen” parts be literal?

Explain what Jesus means in 3b-5, 8, 16b, 27 when He says that His sheep listen to His voice and follow Him, and that they will not follow the voice of strangers. What does “knowing” Jesus and His voice (4-5, 14b) have to do with this? Think back over the message of chapter 9. How does having one’s “eyes opened” connect to this?

If genuinely regenerated Christians (Jesus’ sheep), generally speaking, do not follow false teachers (thieves, robbers, strangers), what can we reasonably conclude about people who claim to be Christians, yet whose lives are marked by a consistent trajectory of following false teachers and listening to the voice of false doctrine over a long period of time? Are these people likely to listen to and understand your voice and the voice of Scripture as you point out what is unbiblical about their favorite false teachers? (6) Why not? Thinking back over the message of chapters 9 and 10, what do they need first in order to “see the light”?

Is it possible for a genuine sheep (Christian) to wander a few steps away from the Shepherd toward a false teacher (i.e. temporarily show an interest in a false teacher or false doctrine)? What does a Good Shepherd do when a sheep wanders?

8. Explain why it is crucial for the local church to have a gatekeeper (3) who only opens the door to sound doctrine and the true Jesus of Scripture, and who chases off the thieves, robbers, and strangers (1,5) who sneak in (1)? Compare your answer to Titus 1:9-16.

9. In lesson 5 (link above) we touched on the idea of whether or not a false teacher (someone who consistently and unrepentantly teaches demonstrably false doctrine, not a doctrinally sound teacher who occasionally makes a mistake) could actually be a genuinely regenerated Christian. Notice the way this passage describes false teachers, their goals, and their effects. What inferences can you reasonably draw about a false teacher’s salvation?

Homework

  • I have heard this scenario from Christian women numerous times and experienced it myself, personally: “I went to a women’s Bible study where they were using a book by __. I sat there and listened, and I just knew something was wrong. I didn’t know my Bible well enough at that time to be able to put my finger on it, but I got out of there, started studying my Bible and researching this teacher, and now I know she’s a false teacher.” Have you ever had an experience like that? How does the concept of sheep listening only to the Shepherd and not to strangers apply to this scenario?

Suggested Memory Verse

Discernment Bible Study

Choose What Is Right: A Study in Discernment- Lesson 5

Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4,

False Teachers, God’s View, Our Response

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. Examine today’s passages and answer these four questions about each (if applicable):

  • How does God describe false teachers in this passage?
  • What is God’s opinion of false teachers in this passage, and what consequences will they face?
  • How does this passage describe the way people respond to and/or should respond to false teachers?
  • What is God’s opinion of people who follow false teachers, and what consequences will they face?

Using your answers to the first two questions, write a character sketch of a typical false teacher.

Using your answers to the last two questions, write out a description of the way God is generally disposed toward those who follow false teachers and how He wants us to regard and respond to false teachers instead.

2. Considering the Isaiah passage alongside 2 Timothy 4:3-4, are people who follow false teachers innocent victims of these teachers? Why or why not, according to these passages? How do these passages describe people’s disposition toward God before they start following false teachers?

3. Examine the 2 Corinthians passage. Who do false teachers disguise themselves as? (13,15) Instead of “apostles,” “workmen,” and “servants,” what words or titles do we generally use for these people today? (Hint: Think of a popular false teacher. What position or title does s/he hold?) How do false teachers characterize their work or “ministry”? (12) Rather than serving Christ, who do false teachers really serve? (15) How does verse 14 connect to Genesis 3:1-5?

4. Compare the light/darkness, and the fruit/unfruitful motifs of the Ephesians passage to verses 17-19 of the Matthew 7 passage.

How does verse 11 of the Ephesians passage refute these ideas held by some professing Christians?

  • “I know Teacher X teaches some things that are false, but I just chew up the meat and spit out the bones.” (11a)
  • “You shouldn’t warn against false teachers, you should just pray for them.” (11b)
  • “I don’t name the names of false teachers in my sermons, I only preach sound doctrine. That’s the way people learn to recognize false teachers. After all, that’s how bank tellers learn the difference between counterfeit and real money, by only familiarizing themselves with real money.” (11b, see also verse 9 of the Titus passage- Consider this: If there were counterfeiters running around your town passing fake money, what do you think the police and news media would do to alert the banks and the public so they could catch these criminals, stop them, and mete out justice to them?)

5. In the Matthew 7 passage- explain in your own words what the sheep and wolves metaphor in verse 15 means. How do the examples in verse 16 relate to the sheep and wolves metaphor in verse 15, and also to the concept of false teachers disguising themselves in the 2 Corinthians passage?

In 17-19, who are the healthy and unhealthy trees? What is the good and bad fruit of these trees? Who is the fruit of a false teacher’s ministry, and how would you characterize them? Who is the fruit of a sound teacher’s ministry, and how would you characterize them?

Think about people you know who loyally and diligently follow false teachers. Are they growing in holiness as the Bible describes it? Forsaking sin more? Growing in spiritual maturity? Increasingly exhibiting fruit of the Spirit? Studying their Bibles (not the teacher’s books and materials, but the Bible) and praying better and more frequently? Increasing in their love for and service at a doctrinally sound church? Becoming more skilled at rightly handling, understanding, and obeying God’s Word in context? These things are the fruit of a teacher’s ministry.

Christians often wonder whether false teachers knowingly teach false doctrine and deceive people, or if they’re so deceived that they actually think they’re genuine Christians teaching biblical truth. Compare 21-23 with the 2 Corinthians passage. What do you think? Could there be some of each?

6. Think back to lesson 3 (link above) and the difference between antinomianism and legalism. In the Matthew 23 passage, is Jesus rebuking the Pharisees for being antinomians or legalists?

If your pastor preached Matthew 23 to or about a specific false teacher or group of false teachers and posted the video of it on social media, what do you think non-Christians would say about him? What do you think most professing Christians would say about him? Some professing Christians think it is mean, hateful, unloving, unkind, even unChristlike to call out a false teacher or even suggest that people shouldn’t follow a certain false teacher, no matter how gently and kindly it is done. Is that true? How do you know, based solely upon Matthew 23?

7. Examine the Titus passage. Who is “he” in verse 9 (see verses 5-8)? What two things does God require of pastors and elders in verse 9? If a pastor only preaches sound doctrine and never rebukes, preaches against, or warns against false doctrine and false teachers, is it fair to say he’s only doing half his job? Why or why not? (Support your answer from rightly handled Scripture, not emotion or personal opinion.)

Consider verse 11 alongside 2 Timothy 3:6-7. What is the impact on the family when women follow false teachers and bring their false doctrine into the home?

Note the word “rebuke” in verses 9 and 13? Why are pastors to rebuke false teachers and those who follow them?

8. Sometimes Christians wonder whether or not false teachers (at least some of them) are truly born again. In today’s passages, carefully examine together 2 Corinthians 11:15, Ephesians 5:6, Matthew 7:15, 19, 21, 23, Matthew 23:15, 33, Titus 1:15-16. What do these verses indicate is the answer to that question? Think about the way Scripture describes and characterizes the life and eternity of Christians. Do these verses about false teachers match Scripture’s description and characterization of Christians?

Homework

Read my article Answering the Opposition- Responses to the Most Frequently Raised Discernment Objections. Which of the Scriptures you studied today answer some of these objections? How? Are there other objections to discernment that you’ve heard that are not on the list, but are answered by today’s passages? Which objections would you add to the list, and how would you answer them from today’s passages (and others)?

Suggested Memory Verse