Spiritual Frauds
False Teachers: How to Watch Out for Spiritual Frauds
We live in a day and age when we get phony text messages, emails, phone calls, and mailings with the goal of gaining our trust and stealing our money in one way or another. Unfortunately, this habit of misrepresentation, deceit, and thievery has been going on from the early days of humanity. One of the most dangerous forms of such fraud is when it happens in church and regarding Bible teachings. For that reason, God gives His followers many warnings about false prophets and false teachers. Here are some helpful truths from God in 2 Peter 2 and beyond:
2 Peter 2:1 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies” (ESV)
1. False Words (2 Peter 2:3; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Jude 1:4) – They overtly and covertly lie. They speak half-truths. They tell people what they want to hear. They stray from the Scriptures into legalism or license and away from the teachings of Christ.
2. Speaking Ignorantly (2 Peter 2:12; Matthew 22:29) – They have not personally experienced the Scriptures or the power of God. They are without the Holy Spirit. They prioritize their experiences and opinions above God’s Word.
3. Endorse Sin (2 Peter 2:2, 13-15, 18) – They promote and encourage worldliness. They question and sow doubt about biblical morality. They justify and encourage others into immorality.
4. Self-Focused: Fleshly, Greedy, Lazy, Gluttonous (2 Peter 2:2-3, 14; Titus 1:10–16) – The works of the flesh show in their lives (Galatians 5:16-26). They are hypocrites, teaching one thing and then doing another. They hide or justify their own personal immorality.
5. Proud w/no Accountability (2 Peter 2:10, 18; Jude 8) – They are arrogant. They flatter. They think more of themselves than others. They use others and churches for their own means. They keep people at a distance so as to protect their deceptions and maintain their power. They manipulate.
6. Make Empty Promises (2 Peter 2:19) – They are not true to their word. They may claim biblical truths while living in slavery to Satan and sin. They do whatever they feel is in their best interest.
7. Rely on Experience/Dreams (Jude 8) – They share their own opinions, experiences, and dreams as authoritative. They want people to trust in them more than they trust Jesus and the Word of God.
8. Speak Flippantly to Satan/Demons (2 Peter 2:10-13; Jude 8-10) – They build ministries around their name, reputation, and abilities. They show off by speaking arrogantly to Satan and his demons while emphasizing their effective “deliverance ministries.”
9. Have Some Scriptural Knowledge, But Wander from It (2 Peter 2:20-22) – They may have had some initial evidence of biblical understanding but then strayed away into their false teachings. Some avoid speaking truth to tough issues or making exclusive truth claims. They often resort to platitudes and generalizations to avoid controversy and build an audience.
10. Misrepresent their Communication with God (Jeremiah 23:29-30) – In order to gain a following, they claim a personal time with the Lord that they do not have. They plagiarize the words of other pastors, preachers, and prophets in order to make people think well of them.
Are you prepared? When someone gets scammed, they often feel betrayed, hurt, and embarrassed. But after the fact, they usually resolve to warn others and not get tricked again. Professional con-artists are good at what they do, so God warns us about their historical existence so we will be prepared for future attacks. False teachers are more dangerous than we realize. Be ready!
2 Timothy 4:3–4 “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, [4] and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (ESV)
How to Spot Them? When you get a call, text or email from an unknown contact, your fraud radar should immediately be on high alert. May these 10 characteristics of false teachers get our attention! Watch out, they are here already!
False Teachers: What to Do About Spiritual Frauds
Inevitably we will come into contact with false believers and false teachers, whether in person or through their writings, videos, and social media. God warns us, so that we do not become one. God warns us, so that we can protect ourselves and others. What should you do when you encounter a false believer or false teacher?
Here are 6 biblical steps to take when you encounter false believer and false teachers:
1. Avoid Them – If you play with fire, you will eventually be burned. While we should desire to reach the lost with the Gospel message, God warns us about those who claim to be Christians, but whose lives evidence the opposite. We hear in 2 Timothy 3:1-9 “that in the last days” there are be all sorts of people who are “always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” Our response? Avoid them. We are also warned about “foolish controversies…dissensions, and quarrels” that are “unprofitable and worthless” (Titus 3:9-11). Our response? Avoid them. We are also told there are people “who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine” with “smooth talk and flattery” (Romans 16:17-18). Our response? Avoid them.
2 Timothy 3:1–5 “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. [2] For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, [4] treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, [5] having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (ESV)
2. Rebuke Them and Warn Others – When we witness false believers and false teachers we should experience a mixture of emotions. Righteous anger for their offense to God and His Word. Urgent concern for those who they might influence. Loving care for them as they demonstrate that they are on a path towards God’s eternal wrath in Hell. Our response? Call out the false believers and false teachers on their hypocrisy and rebellion with the hope of the Lord correcting them. Sometimes a public rebuke is necessary because of the nature of the influence. Such a rebuke should be done in love and rooted in truth in order to best warn others who might be vulnerable to their false ways.
Titus 1:9 “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.”
3. Pray for and Love on Them – Ask the Lord to save their souls and stop their teachings. Pray specifically for them by name. Pray against the lies that they believe, practice, and share. Lift up the intervention of others to make an impact. Look for opportunities to bless and love on them without equipping or enabling their false ways.
Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
4. Correctly Teach Yourself and Others – The best offense is a good Scriptural foundation that functions as a spiritual defense through Christian maturity. When we know and love what is genuine, we will better be able to recognize what is fraudulent and foolish. As we grow in our faith, we will better avoid being “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” (Ephesians 4:14)
Jude 1:3 “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.”
5. Expect Them and Watch Out for More – Prepare for Satan’s next attack, as he is relentless since his days are short. People will desert us and the faith. Others will actively seek to harm us and our churches. Jesus had a Judas. Paul was abandoned by Demas who was “in love with this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10). Alexander the coppersmith did Paul “great harm” (2 Timothy 4:14). We can expect similar sorts of experiences ourselves, so stay on your guard!
2 Timothy 4:14 “Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.”
6. Trust the Lord - When we get duped by a smooth-talking false teacher, it can be frustrating, hurtful, and maddening. Sometimes we will be tempted in the flesh towards vengeance. We need to remember the Lord’s perfect justice. His timing and ways are better than ours.
Hebrews 10:30–31 “For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ [31] It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”