False Prophet – Page 2 – Michelle Lesley

Photos courtesy of cristoraul.com, Joyce Meyer Ministries, TD Jakes Ministries, and TBN — Photos courtesy of cristoraul.com, TBN, Joyce Meyer Ministries, and TD Jakes Ministries

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week. Click here for last week’s lesson.

Through the Bible in 2014 ~ Week 27 ~ June 29- July 5
1 Kings 22-2 Kings 13, 2 Chronicles 18-24, Obadiah, Psalm 82-83
Michaiah: True Prophet vs. False Prophets

1 Kings 22:1-40

Setting the Stage
Ahab was one of the most wicked kings ever to sit on the throne of Israel. The previous chapter (21:25) says “There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab”. He has just been confronted by Elijah for his numerous abominations, and has humbled himself and repented.

Getting back what’s mine (1-4, 20:34)
Israel had had peace for three years, but it was bothering Ahab that Syria still had control of the city of Ramoth-gilead, when Ben-hadad (Syria’s king) had promised to return all of the cities Syria had captured during his father’s reign as part of his terms of surrender (20:34). Ahab asked Judah’s king, Jehoshaphat, to join him in recapturing the city, and Jehoshaphat agreed.

Not just any prophet will do (5-12, 18:1ff, 20:26)
Jehoshaphat was a godly man and knew that the right thing to do would be to inquire of the Lord before going into battle. Why do you think Ahab didn’t suggest this? What do we know about Ahab’s walk with the Lord? We know from 20:26 that he was an idolator, from chapter 18 that he was a Baal worshiper and had led Israel into Baal worship, and that he also supported the golden calf worship centers that Jeroboam had set up. So, when Ahab summoned 400 of his favorite prophets in order to appease Jehoshaphat, do you think they were true prophets of the Lord, or false prophets of idolatry? They were false prophets.

Tell him what he wants to hear
Was Ahab’s desire to hear and obey the word of the Lord? Was it the desire of the 400 prophets to truly hear and accurately report the word of the Lord? We can answer a resounding “no” to both questions. Ahab’s desires were, a) to hear what would make him happy, b) to make Jehoshaphat happy by granting his request and calling up so called “prophets of the Lord” and c) for Jehoshaphat to hear that they wold be successful so that Jehoshaphat would agree to go into battle with him. The “prophets'” desire was to keep the king happy and thus stay alive and prosper in their positions.

How do you spot a false prophet?
The 400 prophets certainly seemed to be prophets of the Lord. They brought a positive, encouraging message and made Ahab happy. Zedekiah (11) even prefaced his message with “Thus says the Lord,” the same words all true prophets of the Lord used. And all the prophets predicted triumph and that the Lord would give the battle into the king’s hand, words spoken on many previous occasions to other kings by true prophets of the Lord. So, why would Jehoshaphat think these were not true prophets of the Lord?

1. Where they were coming from (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)
Jehoshaphat knew that these guys were coming from a temple to a false god, even if they called those golden calves “God”. They were idolators so they were breaking God’s law in word and in practice. Deuteronomy 13:1-3a, 5a says:

If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams…. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God,

When it came to the office of prophet, true prophets stayed true to the one true God of the Bible, and His word, in what they proclaimed as well as what they practiced in their daily lives and in their jobs as prophets (Isaiah and Jeremiah are good examples of true prophets). It did not matter how many times a person claimed to speak for God or used godly sounding terminology. If he led people to worship idols, he was a false prophet.

2. Whom they were prophesying for
Sometimes (but not always) the person the being prophesied for was an indication of whether or not the prophet was a true prophet. In this case we have Ahab, who we know was not genuinely seeking the Lord. Ahab was about Ahab, and nobody else. We can look at his life and see that he would not be seeking out the type of prophet who would be telling him the truth of God’s word. He was merely using the appearance of seeking the Lord to get what he wanted. False prophets are always happy to oblige such people.

3. Did the message come true? (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 tells us:

And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

If a prophet’s message did not come true, he was not to be believed, because he was a false prophet. He was also to be put to death. As we see later in this chapter, these prophets’ predictions of victory for Ahab did not come true.

Today’s false prophets
False prophets are not relegated to the Old Testament. We also find them in the New Testament and throughout history. We have many false prophets today. While some actually claim the title of “prophet,” most go by the title of “pastor,” “Bible teacher,” or “Christian author.” False prophets such as Joyce Meyer, Joel and Victoria Osteen, and TD Jakes, to name some of the most popular ones, preach encouraging messages to make people happy, use Bible verses (usually twisted and/or out of context) and other Christian sounding terminology, and tell you that you’ll be victorious over life’s problems, or that you’ll be successful or wealthy or healed. But how do they measure up against the false prophet test, above?

1. Where are they coming from?
Meyer, Jakes, and the Osteens (and numerous others) all preach the prosperity gospel in one form or another. They teach that it is never God’s will for you to be sick or poor, that if you are experiencing suffering it’s because of your lack of faith, and that because we are little gods, we have the same power God has to speak things (like health and wealth) into existence.

Additionally, TD Jakes is a modalist (a false view of the Trinity), Joyce Meyer has a number of false soteriological beliefs, and all of them, because they are teaching people to believe in a golden calf of their own making that they call Jesus, are leading people into idolatry.

2. Who are they prophesying for?
In most cases, people who follow false teachers today are not like Ahab. They think what they’re getting from these false teachers is biblical Christianity. Sometimes, however, what they’re really looking for isn’t Christ, but the “stuff” (happiness, encouragement, healing, a better life, money) they think Christ will give them. And when you look to Christ for stuff instead of looking to Christ for Christ, you’re probably going to end up following a false teacher, because that’s what they promise. 2 Timothy 4:3-4 says:

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

3. Does the message come true?
People like Meyer, Jakes, and the Osteens have millions of followers whom they promise health, wealth, and the realization of all their dreams and goals on a weekly basis. Out of all those millions of listeners, how many do you think are always healthy? How many get terminal diseases and aren’t healed? How many send in their “seed offering” and still can’t pay their bills? How many have failed businesses or never see their dreams come true? If one of these preachers promises anyone, even once, that “God says…” and it doesn’t come true, he is a false prophet.

Just because someone says what we want to hear (as the 400 prophets did for Ahab) doesn’t mean he is telling us the truth of God’s word.

Micaiah: True Prophet of the Lord (13-28)
A number of things tell us that Micaiah was a true prophet of the Lord:

True prophets don’t bow to what’s popular (13-14)
Do you find it interesting that Ahab didn’t want to summon Micaiah because he knew Micaiah’s message would be against him (8)? The messenger (13) also seemed to know this. Perhaps it was because Ahab (and the messenger) already knew he was living in constant sin and that the Lord’s hand was against him. The messenger, already sensing what Micaiah’s prophecy would be, tried to get him to go along with the crowd, but Micaiah would have none of it. He would only speak the truth of God’s word.

Today it’s popular to go along with the crowd that preaches that God wants everybody to be happy and successful, that you can have God and still hang on to your sin, etc. But today’s true prophet will only speak the truth of God’s word, even if it isn’t the popular thing to do.

True prophets speak the truth even when the truth is unpleasant (15-18)
It would have been much easier for Micaiah to just parrot what the other prophets had said. He knew that what he had to tell Ahab was not going to be what Ahab wanted to hear and that he was risking his life by upsetting him, but Micaiah still boldly gave God’s entire message.

Today’s true prophets can be heard saying unpleasant things such as “Jesus is the only way of salvation,” “Homosexuality is a sin,” and “God uses suffering to make you more like Christ.” They might be risking their jobs, but they don’t leave out of their sermons the parts of the Bible that are uncomfortable for people.

True prophets warn people about, and confront, false prophets (19-25)
It wasn’t enough for Micaiah just to speak the word of the Lord concerning the outcome of the battle. God, in yet another act of mercy towards Ahab, wanted Ahab to know that he was being lied to by these false prophets so that he could repent and believe the true word of the Lord.

Today’s true prophets don’t just proclaim God’s word, they warn fellow Christians about false doctrine and false teachers so that they can repent of their false belief and believe the true word of the Lord.

True prophets will risk everything for the truth of God’s word (26-28)
Micaiah knew his life was on the line, but he knew something even more important. God’s word is true, and he was willing to stake his life on it. He would not compromise the truth or attempt to soften his message just to save his own skin.

True prophets of today, especially those who live in countries hostile to the gospel, stake their lives and their families’ lives on the gospel. Often, they are martyred for their faith, but they refuse to compromise the truth or soften God’s word just to save their own skin, their jobs, or anything else.

God will accomplish His word (29-40, 21:19)
Ahab arrogantly tried to subvert God’s word by disguising himself, hoping that if a king were to die that day, it would be Jehoshaphat. But in the end, we see that God’s word always prevails. Not only did Micaiah’s prophecy come true, so did Elijah’s (21:19).

We can trust that God’s word — both the unpleasant parts and His glorious promises– will always be accomplished.

Additional Resources:
Joyce Meyer at carm.org
The False Teachers: TD Jakes at challies.com
TD Jakes at carm.org
Joel Osteen and “Joel-likeness” at challies.com
Lessons I’ve Learned from False Teachers at challies.com

Discernment, Old Testament, Sunday School

A Non-Prophet Organization ~ Sunday School Lesson ~ 6-29-14

June 29, 2014April 5, 2019 Michelle Lesley

These are my notes from my ladies’ Sunday School class this morning. I’ll be posting the notes from my class here each week. Click here for last week’s lesson.

Through the Bible in 2014 ~ Week 26 ~ June 22-28
Proverbs 30-31, 1 Kings 12-21, 2 Chronicles 10-17
A Non-Prophet Organization

1 Kings 12:32-13:34

Setting the Scene (12:32-33)
Solomon has died, and Israel has been divided into two parts: the Southern Kingdom, consisting only of the tribe of Judah, and the Northern Kingdom, Israel, consisting of the other ten tribes. Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, is king of Judah. Solomon’s former servant, Jeroboam, is king of Israel.

Jerusalem, where the temple is located, is in Judah. Jeroboam (king of Israel) figures that if his people continue traveling to Jerusalem for feasts and sacrifices, they will eventually turn their loyalty back to the the kingly lineage of David (12:26-27) and he’ll lose both his kingdom and his head. So, in order to keep the people inside the borders of Israel and control them, he makes a couple of golden calves (which somebody should have remembered turned out bad the last time that was tried {Exodus 32}) for them to worship at either of two convenient locations, Bethel, in the south, and Dan in the north. Jeroboam, leading the way, had the Israelites simply transfer their feasts and sacrifices that they would have offered to God to these golden calves.

Prophet #1 (13:1-10)
Since we aren’t told the names of either of the prophets in this chapter, we’ll just call them Prophet #1 and Prophet #2. This section is about Prophet #1.

In Flagrante Delicto (1-3)
The Latin phrase, in flagrante delicto, literally means “in blazing offense.” In the American justice system, it means that someone was caught in the act of committing a crime. And, there’s no better way to describe Jeroboam here, standing by the altar, the offensive sacrifice blazing away, when God confronts him about his sin through the prophet.

Normally, when a prophet has a word from the Lord for someone, we see him speaking directly to that person, but here, we actually see Prophet #1 speaking to an altar. Why? Scripture doesn’t say. But, since Jeroboam was standing right there, he got the message.
Prophet #1 prophesied that a new king, Josiah, would come out of David’s line, and slaughter the pagan priests on their own altars. Since Josiah was not to come for about 300 more years, God gave a miraculous sign that He had spoken. The altar was torn down and the ashes “desecrated” (if it’s possible to further desecrate ashes of an idolatrous sacrifice) by pouring them on the ground.

Hypocrisy (4-7)
As soon as Prophet #1 had finished speaking, Jeroboam reached out to kill him, and God protected the prophet by shriveling up Jeroboam’s hand. But, when Jeroboam saw God’s word fulfilled in the altar being torn down and the ashes scattered, he quickly changed his tune. He stopped trying to kill the prophet. And whom did he entreat to heal him? Not the golden calves, but God. Next, he invited the prophet back home for supper and a reward. It sort of looks like he repented. Did he? As we’ll see later in the chapter, he did not.

Jeroboam changed his actions, but so did God. God went from an expression of wrath to an expression of mercy in a heartbeat. When man changes his actions, but not his heart, it’s called hypocrisy. When God changes His actions because of His heart, it’s called grace. Common grace for the sinner, saving grace for the penitent. He did it at the cross, and He does it for each person who will repent and put his faith in Christ.

So, one minute Jeroboam is trying to kill the prophet and the next, he’s being hospitable and wants to reward him. With such a quick turnaround, you have to wonder if he was trying to lure the prophet back home to kill him. We can’t know for sure, but even if God hadn’t forbade him from accepting, it would seem he was wise to decline.

Thanks, but no thanks (8-10)
Contrast the lengths of self denial the prophet went to (“if you give me half your house, I will not…) in order to stay true and obedient to God, and the lengths of disobedience and betrayal of God that Jeroboam went to (12:25ff) to indulge his desire to stay in power. Prophet #1 could have had it made, but his love for the Lord was greater than his love for stuff. It was time to hit the road.

Dueling Prophets (13:11-32)

Prophet #2 and his false prophecy (11-19)
We don’t really know anything about Prophet #2 either, except that he lived in Bethel near one of the golden calf altars. We don’t know why he went out so urgently after Prophet #1 or why he wanted Prophet #1 to come back home with him, and we certainly don’t know why he lied to Prophet #1 to get him to disobey the Lord. It’s ok to try to guess what might have motivated Prophet #2, but we have to remember that anything we come up with will be just that, a guess. Where God’s word does not speak definitively, we cannot speak definitively.

The discernment factor (14-19, Numbers 23:19, Proverbs 30:6, 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, Galatians 1:6-9)
Prophet #1 gives us a valuable lesson in the importance of comparing to God’s word everyone and everything that claims to be to speaking for God. Prophet #1 certainly knew that

“God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Numbers 23:19

God does not contradict His word. If we “hear” from the Lord, or someone gives us a “word from the Lord” or says “God says/wants/thinks…,” it must be in line with Scripture, or it is not truly from the Lord. Whenever we hear preachers, teachers, friends, etc., saying things like that, we need to ask ourselves, “Where does God’s word say that (in context)?” If God’s word doesn’t say it, we need to throw it out. We must be careful not to add to God’s word or believe those who do. Another verse in this week’s reading says:

Do not add to [God’s] words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. Proverbs 30:6

How quickly Prophet #1 turned from obedience (8-9) to disobedience (19). It can be easy to discern between good and evil in a worldly situation (such as the one Prophet #1 faced when dealing with Jeroboam). It’s easy to discern that it’s wrong to do worldly things: get drunk, use a prostitute, steal, etc. It can be much more difficult when we’re in a Christian or church situation (such as the Prophet #1’s situation with Prophet #2). Evil is there, but Paul tells us:

Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. 2 Corinthians 11:14b-15a

We can’t take at face value (as Prophet #1 did) that a book or a pastor or a speaker is doctrinally sound just because it bears the label “Christian.” There are servants of Satan inside the church and they look like, and call themselves, “Christians.” We must compare what they say and teach to the word of God and get rid of them if they contradict it. Galatians 1 tells us people who preach a different gospel are “accursed,” damned. We are to rebuke and (if they don’t repent) remove these people from the church and have nothing to do with them. Don’t buy their books, don’t follow them on Facebook or watch them on TV. Have nothing to do with them.

Prophet #2 and his true prophecy (20-25)
Why would God speak through Prophet #2 when he had just blasphemed Him? God also spoke through Balaam’s donkey and through Saul. God chose many vessels to speak for Him, some clean, and some dirty. His way is to get His message across despite the vessel.

Both prophets sinned. But why did God seem more concerned with Prophet #1’s eating and drinking disobedience than with Prophet #2’s lie attributed to God? Why didn’t God also punish Prophet #2? Most likely because the part about not eating/drinking/stopping, and going home a different way (9) was part of his prophecy, a behavioral picture of the way God had rejected Jeroboam. Prophet #1’s prophecy was also very public, and had large scale, national implications. With great power comes great responsibility. Prophet #2’s sin was on a very small, one on one scale, not that that makes it any less a sin. Also, we don’t know that God didn’t punish him at some later, unrecorded time.

This time, Prophet #2 was truly speaking for the Lord, and his prophecy came true. Prophet #1 was attacked by a lion and died without honor, a disgrace.

A change of heart? (26-32)
Did Prophet #2 regret and repent of what he had done when he saw what happened to Prophet #1 and realized God’s word had come true? Had it not been for Prophet #2’s lies, Prophet #1 would have gotten safely home. Prophet #2 certainly seemed sorrowful, mourning Prophet #1’s death and requesting to be buried with him. He also supported and admitted the truth of God’s word that Prophet #1 had spoken to the altar.

Unhappily ever after (33-34, 2 Corinthians 7:10)
Second Corinthians 7:10 tells us:

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

Think about Prophet #2’s remorse. Think about the remorse of Jeroboam earlier in the chapter, and consider these two verses. Which one do you think was experiencing “godly grief”? “Worldly grief?” While it certainly seems that Prophet #2 was exhibiting the “godly grief” this verse speaks of, we know from verses 33-34 that Jeroboam exhibited “worldly grief” back in the first part of the chapter with Prophet #1. He momentarily changed his behavior, but his heart did not change. He continued in sin and was ultimately destroyed.

Celebrity Pastors, Discernment, False Teachers, Social Media

Four Reasons Why It Matters Who We Share, Pin, and Re-Tweet

May 22, 2014September 14, 2022 Michelle Lesley

Scroll…scroll…wince…

I find myself wincing a bit when I see people –who I know genuinely love Jesus—sharing, pinning, and re-tweeting quotes from false teachers such as Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes, and Christine Caine, just to name a few. Why? What’s wrong with the encouraging, even biblical, at times, things these people say?

First of all, let me back up a little. What is a “false teacher”? A false teacher is someone who is billed as a Christian pastor or Bible teacher who habitually and unrepentantly writes, teaches, or preaches things that conflict with the clear teaching of Scripture. For example, all four of the people I listed above teach some version of the prosperity gospel, the false teaching that is most rampant in the Western church today. Additionally, T.D. Jakes adheres to the false doctrine of modalism, and Joyce Meyer and Christine Caine blatantly disobey the Bible’s teaching that women are not to be pastors or instruct men in the Scriptures in the church.

These days, it can be difficult to keep up with who teaches sound doctrine and who does not, especially when pastors and teachers we thought were theologically orthodox seem to be turning apostate at an alarming rate. I myself have been a fan of more than one popular writer/teacher/preacher that I later realized was a false teacher (Joyce Meyer was one of them.) as I delved into what they actually taught and believed and compared it to God’s word. I know first hand that it’s easy to think that these people are good biblical teachers and preachers when what they say sounds good, makes us feel good, and has an occasional Bible verse sprinkled in.

Because I’ve been there myself and know how easy it can be to be drawn in by false teachers, I don’t have any less respect for folks who re-tweet the occasional Osteen-ism of the day. In fact, I have more respect for them, because I know they love the Lord, they’re making an effort to find biblical teaching to listen to, and they have the courage to try to share the gospel with their friends and family via social media. Those are all fantastically good things, and they are to be commended.

But, still, the quotes we share and the people who said them matter. Why?

The quotes we share and the people who said them matter. Here are four reasons why…
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1.
Lost people’s eternities are at stake.

Seriously? From hitting the “share” button on a false teacher’s status? Seriously. I don’t think that’s overstating the gravity of the matter. There’s no way to take the possibility of an eternity in hell too seriously.

Think about it: You have an unsaved Facebook friend. She’s getting to the point in her life where she figures it’s time to get her stuff together, so she starts looking into this whole Jesus thing. Where to start? She’s never even set foot inside a church. Aha! She remembers you’re a Christian. Maybe you’ll have a good lead for her. As she’s thinking about all this, you share Joyce Meyer’s status, and it appears in your friend’s news feed. “Ah,” your friend thinks, “this must be a good Bible teacher if my Christian friend follows her.” So she “likes” Joyce Meyer’s Facebook page and follows her on Twitter. Then she starts watching her on TV. Buys some of her books. Maybe attends one of her conferences. Because your friend has zero knowledge of the Bible, she believes everything Joyce Meyer says. It sounds good. It makes her feel good. She’s hearing a few out of context Bible verses here and there. But the problem is that Joyce Meyer doesn’t teach the Jesus of the Bible. She teaches a false god of her own creation. And if your friend doesn’t put her faith in the true Jesus of the Bible, she’s just as lost as she was before. Only now she thinks she’s a Christian. And you can’t convince her otherwise.

Sound far fetched? Maybe. Maybe not. But if there’s even the slightest chance something like that could happen, is it really worth justifying that status share? Furthermore, is it worth even following a teacher who could lead someone you love to an eternity in hell?

2.
It gives false teachers free publicity and a broader platform.

One thing I was very surprised to learn when I first began the process of having my book published¹ is that publishers want non-fiction writers to have a built in audience, or “platform,” before they will publish your book. That means you’re already doing speaking engagements and/or have a decent sized ministry, have lots of followers on social media, etc. As I once explained to someone, “You don’t get your book published and then become [celebrity Bible teacher] you have to be [celebrity Bible teacher] in order to get published.”

Social media stats are a big factor in a celebrity preacher’s/teacher’s platform. If T.D. Jakes suddenly lost the majority of his social media followers, you can bet the TV stations he’s on and the conferences he gets invited to would be taking a serious look at whether or not they’d continue to affiliate with him, because it would indicate that his audience is shrinking.

Conversely, when we re-pin, re-post, or re-tweet these folks, their social media stats go up. They not only get a broader platform on social media from which to spread their unbiblical teaching, they continue to get more book, radio, TV, and other media deals, get invited to speak at more conferences, and even start exporting their false teaching overseas (“missions”) to people who have never heard the gospel before and have no way of knowing they’re being lied to.

When we promote false teachers on social media, we bear some of the responsibility for the spread of their false doctrine.

If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
2 John 10-11

When we promote false teachers on social media, we bear some of the responsibility for the spread of their false doctrine.
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3.
It is disobedient to Scripture.

Often, when a Christian is told she’s following a false teacher, the common response is, “Oh, I just chew up the meat and spit out the bones,” meaning that she takes to heart the “good” things the false teacher has to say and ignores the bad.

The question is: where does the Bible say this is the correct way to deal with false teachers? Answer: it doesn’t. In fact Scripture says exactly the opposite.

For starters, Galatians 1:6-9 says that if anyone preaches a different gospel (such as the prosperity gospel) from the one that’s set down in Scripture, “let him be accursed.” “Accursed” means “damned,” sentenced to hell for eternity.

1 Timothy 4:7 and Titus 3:10 say that we are to have nothing to do with people who teach “irreverent or silly myths” or cause division by teaching false doctrine.

2 Corinthians 6:14-16 tells us not to be joined together or partner with unbelievers, lawlessness, darkness, Belial (the devil), or idols.

1 Corinthians 5:7-13 tells us that when a person infiltrates the church who claims to be a Christian, yet is greedy, an idolater, or a swindler— all of which are things that prosperity preachers are guilty of— we are to “cleanse out the old leaven.” We are “not to associate” with them. We are to “purge the evil person from among you.”

Titus 1:10-16 says of false teachers, “They must be silenced,” because they teach “for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.” Paul instructs Titus to “rebuke them sharply,” and that, “they profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”

The entire second chapter of 2 Peter paints a dismal picture of the motives, the behavior, and the fate of false teachers:

“Because of them, the way of truth will be blasphemed.”

“In their greed they will exploit you with false words.”

They will “be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing.”

“They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you.”

“They entice unsteady souls.”

“For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved.”

“They promise them [people who listen to their false teaching] freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption.”

The entire epistle of Jude is dedicated to exhorting Christians to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” Of false teachers, Jude says:

“Certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ…Woe to them!”

There’s more, because a large portion of the New Testament is dedicated to exhorting Christians to stay away from false doctrine and rebuke those who teach it, but I think you get the picture. Is it obedient to Christ and to His word to follow and promote someone He says is damnable? People who teach another gospel, such as the prosperity gospel, are the enemies of Christ. Who are we going to side with, Christ or His enemies?

People who teach another gospel, such as the prosperity gospel, are the enemies of Christ. Who are we going to side with, Christ or His enemies?
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4.
It is unloving and disloyal to our Master.

Think about the person you love the most in this world. Maybe it’s your spouse, your child, a parent, or a friend. Next, think about your favorite celebrity, perhaps a movie star, a TV personality, or a famous author or athlete. Now try to imagine that that celebrity, in interviews with journalists, on talk shows he appears on, at personal appearances and speaking engagements, in books he writes, etc., routinely tells lies about the character of your dearest loved one. And thousands, maybe millions, of people believe him.

Would you continue to be a fan of that celebrity?

What if your loved one found out you were a fan of that celebrity? How would she feel to know you were a fan of someone who spreads lies about her?

If we wouldn’t follow someone who lies about a loved one, how much less should we as Christians have anything to do with a celebrity preacher, teacher, or author who drags the name of our precious Savior through the mud and lies about the gospel?

How can we as Christians have anything to do with a celebrity preacher, teacher, or author who drags the name of our precious Savior through the mud and lies about the gospel?
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Friends, for all of these reasons and more, let’s stop promoting these false teachers on social media by publicizing their quotes and other materials. Looking for an encouraging quote to share? There’s nothing better than a verse of Scripture. Because Scripture can offer people something that false teachers can’t: truth and hope. As Jesus Himself said,

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17

¹My book, Jacob, Journaling the Journey is no longer in print, and that’s a good thing! I wrote it before learning good hermeneutics and how to handle God’s Word properly. You can probably still find copies of it at online merchants, but I would not recommend that you buy or use it. If you want a good Bible study, the best thing is to simply pick up the Bible and study it for yourself. Right now, I have no plans to rewrite Jacob for future re-release.