What is a "False Teacher"?

In talking to people I realize there are varying opinions as to what a false teacher is. Is it the same as a false apostle or false doctrine? One thing that strikes me as odd is we almost always agree on these terms when it applies to worldly things. For instance, if Hitler gave his officers an order and another officer countered that with a different order, what would be the result? I remember when Saddam Husein took over Iraq. He walked into a government meeting and declared he was now THE leader. When a man stood up to oppose him, Saddam had him shot. No one else stood against him or even questioned his authority again. That is what "absolute" authority means, no one can say anything different than what you say.  It's as if these men were Kings.

    Mathew 28:18  "And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority  has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." 

  Jesus is a King, our Spiritual King, the King of Kings. When He tells us things it is not just for our listening pleasure, we are to listen and obey.  

    Jeremiah 14:14   "Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds."

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:26    I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;

What about Galatians 2:4     But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.

Ok, one more, Galatians 1:8    But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

You get the idea. There are a lot more verses telling us we are not to teach anything other than what the Apostles taught and they taught only what has been taught by Jesus and had been brought to their remembrance by the Holy Spirit. The narrow idea that a false prophet is only one who didn't believe in Jesus and the resurrection does not taking in account everything Jesus taught. The Word of God teaches a false teacher, prophet or even false doctrine comprises anyone and or anything that teaches one word different than what the Bible teaches. This is difficult to accept because it means there are a lot of people talking about God who are in fact false teachers.

Is it of God or man?

I have been asked several times how can there be so many different types of religious beliefs. The answer is really very simple. 2 Timothy 3:13 says; "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." Satan is the master deceiver, he knows in order to keep people from knowing and obeying the truth he must confuse them with lies. He tells people there are different ways to be saved. He tells people there are different ways to worship God. He even tells people there are different god's. I have even heard people say, you don't have to worship, just believe. How can there be so many different types of religious beliefs? Because Satan has deceived man. A religious man will teach a lie either intentionally not telling the truth or because he himself has been deceived by Satan. That is why it is important for us to search the Scriptures daily and test the spirits to see if they are from God. The plan of Salvation is simple and easy for anyone to understand. It sometimes takes a preacher or a person with a "Bible degree" to confuse us. Don't let Satan distract you from the truth. Read the Book of Acts for yourself, obey the Gospel and then continue in your walk to be more Christ like.

Let The Spirit Loose

Jesus said in John 16:8, “The Spirit would convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Paul said Christians were to walk after and be led by the Spirit. Romans 8:1, 14. The question becomes, how can the Spirit convict sinners and lead Christians? Some want you to believe He works in a miraculous way. Others say He convicts people differently, they say He may come to you at a ball game or while driving down the road, or maybe while watching TV. What does the Bible say; Acts 10:34   “So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality.” God does not treat us differently, He is no respecter of persons. So, the question still remains, how does the Spirit convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment? In order for us to understand how and understand God’s will, we must go to the scripture. Remember the story of the Eunuch in Acts 8:31? Philip asked; do you understand what you are reading? He said; how can I except some one teach me. Also think of Paul, he taught Timothy to teach others, to teach others. If we turn to the Bible with Bible questions, we will receive a Bible answer. God’s Word tells us the only way the Spirit convicts the world of sin is by teaching people the Word. We must teach people about Heaven and teach them about Hell, that’s the only way to strip every excuse away. It’s time to let the Spirit loose and teach others about Jesus.

Our Precious Children

After what has happened in our schools lately the Marine in me wants to gather up all of the retired Marines and stand guard at the doors of our schools. Armed and ready to take out any and all who want to cause harm to our children. The Christian in me understands, God is more powerful than I will ever be. The Word of God is my weapon and it is only the Word of God that can convict the world of sin. Dear God, please stop this senseless killing of our children, and thank you Lord, for my conceal carry license, may my aim be swift and true before an innocent life can be harmed.

Wanted: Dead or Alive

Dead not Lost

As a Marine trained in land navigation, I have never been lost. I have taken a wrong turn every now and then or maybe taken the scenic route but never have I been lost. The world has trained us to define lost as making a mistake and let’s face it, men don’t like to admit when they’re wrong. But lost really has a more definite meaning, it’s the opposite of being found. The Bible relates lost to being Dead. Now that’s definite, and we understand what dead means, it’s permanent, not alive. We all have someone who has died and we wish they were still with us. We don’t like death but we understand it is real. We try our best to prevent death. In some cases, people have even given their own lives to save someone else. Our military men and women risk their lives everyday to protect our freedoms and we are thankful for their sacrifice. We clearly understand the word dead, so when we think about those who are lost in sin, we need to remember the Bible says they are dead. Ephesians 2:1-3 says;  “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ⁱⁿ which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ^among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

            The world wants to sugar-coat it and make it sound like someone who is lost in sin is just around the corner, or they are not far away, so they don’t have to feel guilty about either turning their life around or they don’t have to feel guilty about not trying harder to share the gospel with their loved ones. The truth is, if you are outside of Christ, you are dead. The only way to live is to be IN Christ. Colossians 2:12 “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”

            God’s plan of salvation is clear. In order to have our sins washed away, we must be buried with him in baptism. When the first Gospel sermon was preached in Acts 2, religious people asked, what must we do. In Acts 2:38 the answer was given and it is the same answer for us today. “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” We are either “In Christ” or “Out of Christ”. We are either Alive or Dead.

What Is That Supposed To Be

 
    A little old lady was among a group looking at an art exhibition in a newly opened gallery.  Suddenly one contemporary painting caught her eye.  "What on earth," she inquired of the artist standing nearby, "is that?"    He smiled and said. "That, my dear lady, is supposed to be a mother and her child."   "Well, then," snapped the little old lady, "why isn't it?"   I've seen some of that "modern art", so I can relate.  But it makes me stop and wonder:  Does the same thing ever happen spiritually in my life?  I'm "supposed" to be a Christian, a child of God, a person whose life is dedicated to serving God.  Peter reminds me:  "You ought to live holy and godly lives." (2 Peter 3:11)  But is there anyone who looks at my life and says, "who on earth is he?" The picture my life presents to the world should more clearly reflect Christ. 

Lesson Learned

Our daughter called us last night just as it was getting dark because she had a rattle snake in her yard. Peggy and I grabbed a flash light and rode the 4-wheeler to her house. When we arrived, the snake was curled up right on the other side of her fence. I had my shovel in hand, climbed over the fence and as I was trying to kill the snake it started crawling away from me toward her yard, I immediately went into pursuit and rolled my ankle, fell down toward the snake and well, no more snake. As I think of this past week, I have been bucked off my horse and twisted my ankle going after a rattle snake. I’m starting to think there are times when you just need to stay home and meditate. Maybe this is one of those times. Jesus took time to be alone and talk with God. We need to do the same thing; spend time alone with God, talk to Him and meditate on His word. These are the times when we can re-energize ourselves and get prepared for whatever the world has to throw at us. Our bodies and minds can only take so much and when we are tired and weak is when Satan attacks us and we become vulnerable. Allow yourself some time to refresh. Your body needs the physical rest and your mind needs to remember the love of the Lord and focus on His word. Have you heard the expression “sharpen your axe”? A person cutting down a tree has to stop from time to time to sharpen his axe. If he doesn’t, he will never be able to cut the tree down with a dull axe, but by stopping to sharpen his axe the tree comes down easily. Spend time alone with God and “sharpen your axe.”