Great message this morning

[David]

Wonderful message this morning:

 

[David]

What If the False Teacher Sounds Like a Man of God?​

I was thinking about something today that I believe every Christian needs to seriously consider. We hear a lot about deception, but most of us probably think we would recognize it if we saw it. If somebody stood up and openly denied Jesus Christ or said the Bible was false, most Christians would immediately know something was wrong. But what if the person deceiving you carried a Bible, talked about Jesus, quoted Scripture, called himself a preacher and told you that God had spoken to him? Would we recognize the deception then?

That is what makes the story in 1 Kings 13 so interesting to me. The man who was deceived wasn't someone who knew nothing about God. He was actually called a "man of God." He had heard from God, obeyed God and courageously stood before a king. Yet before the story was over, another religious man convinced him to disobey something God had plainly told him.

Jeroboam had led Israel into idolatry, and God sent this unnamed man of God to Bethel with a message of judgment. The man did what God told him to do. He stood before Jeroboam and delivered God's message. When Jeroboam stretched out his hand and ordered that the man be seized, his hand dried up so that he could not pull it back. The altar was also split apart, just as the man of God had said. Jeroboam then asked him to pray that his hand would be restored. The man prayed, and God restored the king's hand.

Imagine being that man. You have just stood before a king without backing down. You have watched God confirm His Word right in front of you, and you have seen God's power with your own eyes. Then the king invites you home and offers you a reward. The man refuses because God had already given him specific instructions: "For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest" (1 Kings 13:9).

There wasn't any confusion. He knew exactly what God had told him. Then another prophet showed up, and that is where everything changed.

The old prophet found the man of God sitting under an oak and invited him home to eat. The man of God refused again and explained that God had commanded him not to eat bread or drink water there. Then the old prophet said, "I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water" (1 Kings 13:18).

If we stopped reading right there, that might sound convincing. Here was another prophet claiming that an angel had spoken to him and that his message came from God. But Scripture immediately tells us what was really happening: "But he lied unto him" (1 Kings 13:18).

Think about that for a minute. The old prophet did not approach the man and say, "Forget what God told you and disobey Him." That probably would not have worked. Instead, he basically told him that God had given some new information. It sounded spiritual. It involved a prophet, an angel and supposedly a word from the Lord. The problem was that it contradicted what God had already said.

The man of God didn't need another revelation because he already had God's Word on the matter. Yet he listened to another religious voice instead, went home with the prophet and disobeyed God's command. It eventually cost him his life.

That is what makes this story so sobering. The man who was deceived wasn't a pagan. He wasn't ignorant of God. He had obeyed God, spoken God's Word, stood courageously before a king and witnessed God's power. If someone like that could be deceived, we had better not think deception is something that can only happen to somebody else.

Sometimes some of the most dangerous words a Christian can hear are, "God told me." Someone can stand behind a pulpit and say that. Someone can tell us, "The Lord showed me." Someone can claim to have received a dream, vision, prophecy or special revelation. But if what they are telling us contradicts what God has already said in Scripture, we don't need to wonder which one we should believe.

Paul takes this so far that he even includes himself and angels in the warning: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). Even if an angel appeared with another gospel, Christians were not supposed to believe him. The appearance of something supernatural does not give us permission to disregard what God has already revealed.

This becomes harder when the person teaching error is someone we like. It is easy to talk about false teachers when we are thinking about somebody else's favorite preacher. It becomes much more difficult when it is ours. Maybe we have listened to someone for years. Maybe we have learned good things from him. Maybe he knows Greek and Hebrew, has written books and has thousands of people listening to him every week. None of that makes him the standard. Scripture is still the standard.

Jesus warned, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15). A wolf walking toward a flock looking like a wolf isn't going to fool many sheep. The danger is that he looks like one of them. That is the whole point of the warning. False teachers do not necessarily announce themselves as false teachers. They may sound biblical, quote Scripture, talk about Jesus and appear completely sincere. That is why we cannot judge a teaching simply by the person delivering it. We have to judge what is being taught by God's Word.

Jeremiah 23 gives us another picture of the same problem. God was dealing with prophets who claimed to speak for Him but were actually speaking from their own hearts. God said, "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied" (Jeremiah 23:21). They were speaking, people were listening, and they were doing it in God's name. The problem was that God had not sent them.

God then tells us something very important about what would have happened if those prophets had actually been speaking His Word: "But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings" (Jeremiah 23:22). Instead, Jeremiah says these prophets strengthened "the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness" (Jeremiah 23:14).

Imagine going to a doctor who discovers that you have a deadly disease. He knows something is seriously wrong, but he doesn't want to upset you. So instead of telling you the truth, he smiles, pats you on the shoulder and tells you that everything looks great. You walk out of his office feeling wonderful. You may even tell everyone what a kind and encouraging doctor he is. The problem is that his kindness didn't help you. It may have actually kept you from seeking the treatment that could have saved your life.

We would never call that compassion. The loving thing would have been to tell you the truth while there was still time to do something about it. The same thing is true when God's Word warns us about sin. A preacher isn't loving people when he hides what God has said because he doesn't want to offend them.

That brings us to something God told Ezekiel. God specifically appointed Ezekiel as a watchman to Israel and said, "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me" (Ezekiel 3:17). We need to keep that passage in its context. God was speaking directly to Ezekiel about the responsibility He had given him. But there is an important principle in what God said that fits perfectly with Jeremiah 23.

God told Ezekiel to "hear the word at my mouth" and then give the people God's warning. Ezekiel wasn't supposed to invent the message, soften it or first determine whether people would accept it. He was supposed to faithfully deliver what God had said. If he warned the wicked and they refused to turn, Ezekiel could not force them to repent. His responsibility was to faithfully give the warning God had given him.

We see that same concern in the New Testament when Paul tells Timothy, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Timothy 4:2). Paul immediately explains why this would become so important: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears" (2 Timothy 4:3).

That makes me think about what happens today. Sometimes the problem isn't that people cannot find the truth. The problem is that they keep looking until they find somebody willing to tell them what they already wanted to believe.

The internet has made that incredibly easy. Years ago, if you wanted to hear a preacher, you normally had to go somewhere to hear him. Today I can pick up my phone and within an hour listen to ten different people teaching ten different things about the same passage. If I don't like what the first person says, I can keep scrolling until I find somebody who agrees with me.

Suppose I come across a passage of Scripture that says something I don't like. Instead of allowing Scripture to correct me, I start searching. Eventually I find somebody saying, "That verse doesn't really mean what you think it means." Then someone else tells me Christians have misunderstood it for centuries. Another person tells me the Greek or Hebrew actually means something completely different. Before long I may find exactly what I was looking for. The problem is that I wasn't really looking for truth. I was looking for an excuse not to believe what I had already read.

That is why the Bereans are such an important example. When Paul preached to them, Scripture says that they "received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11). They checked what Paul was teaching against Scripture. If Paul's preaching was examined that way, why would we ever put some preacher on television, YouTube, Facebook or behind a pulpit beyond examination?

There is another part of 1 Kings 13 that I think we need to notice. The man of God knew what God had said. He could repeat God's instructions. His problem wasn't that he didn't know the truth. His problem came when another voice persuaded him to act contrary to the truth he already knew.

That can happen to us too. We can know Bible verses and still disobey them. We can win an argument about doctrine while refusing to obey the doctrine we just defended. We can recognize false teaching in somebody else's life while making excuses for something in our own. James tells us, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). God did not give us His Word merely so we could discuss it. We are supposed to believe it and obey it.

John gives us a simple command that we desperately need today: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). We are not told to believe everything that sounds Christian. We are told to test it.

That brings us right back to the man sitting under the tree in 1 Kings 13. God had told him one thing, and a prophet told him something different. At that moment he had to decide which voice he was going to trust. In reality, there should never have been a contest because God had already spoken.

We face that same basic decision whenever somebody teaches us something about God. The question isn't whether the teacher is popular, entertaining, educated or successful. It isn't how large his church is, how many books he has sold or how many people follow him online. It isn't even whether he has taught us good things in the past. The question is whether what he is saying agrees with what God has actually said.

There is something about the story in 1 Kings 13 that really stays with me. This man was strong enough to stand before a king, but he was deceived by a prophet. Maybe he expected opposition from the king and didn't expect deception from somebody who appeared to be on his side.

That is something worth thinking about because the voice most likely to deceive us may not be someone standing outside Christianity attacking the Bible. It may be somebody standing inside Christianity holding one. That is why our confidence cannot ultimately rest in a preacher, teacher, ministry, denomination, website or even this forum. It has to rest in the Word of God.

Jeremiah puts it about as plainly as it can be said: "He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD" (Jeremiah 23:28).

That is what we should want from anyone who teaches us. We don't need something new simply because it is new, and we don't need something comfortable simply because we like hearing it. We need God's Word faithfully taught, and then we need to be willing to let that Word correct us when we are wrong.

So here is something I think all of us should seriously consider. If one of our favorite Christian teachers began teaching something that we discovered clearly contradicted Scripture, would God's Word be enough for us to reject that teaching, even if we really liked and respected the person teaching it?

 

[Yesua888]

Suppose I come across a passage of Scripture that says something I don't like. Instead of allowing Scripture to correct me, I start searching. Eventually I find somebody saying, "That verse doesn't really mean what you think it means." Then someone else tells me Christians have misunderstood it for centuries. Another person tells me the Greek or Hebrew actually means something completely different. Before long I may find exactly what I was looking for. The problem is that I wasn't really looking for truth. I was looking for an excuse not to believe what I had already read.

Hi David,
I have singled this paragraph out because what jumps out at me is an examples that comes to mind: of "marriage", "divorce" or even "abortion". "Divorce" alone requires so much bible study, to come to terms with what is Written.
It is so easy to look for answers that line up with what we want to hear; it is human nature?
We might get "our answer" from the first click or question asked of another, and then look no further.
Seldom do we look any deeper when the "answer" sits well with what we want to hear.
However, we really do need to find the Truth in Scripture, and not rely on what the "World", or even "experts" or "loved ones" who tell us what we want to hear.
Yes, I am sure that many of us have been "guilty" of searching for answers that we want to hear.
I am also sure that most of us find ourselves in conflicts with each other, because we do not want to hear what the other person has to say; rather we want to hear our own versions of the "Truth".
The more I delve into the Word and the Truth of God, the more I realise that I am pretty flawed, and conditioned by this world.
I strive to change this "conditioning" ...
We should Trust that God will give us the answers, and never give up on seeking His Truth.
Thank you for sharing this important post : )

 

[bobinfaith]

What If the False Teacher Sounds Like a Man of God?
I was thinking about something today that I believe every Christian needs to seriously consider. We hear a lot about deception, but most of us probably think we would recognize it if we saw it. If somebody stood up and openly denied Jesus Christ or said the Bible was false, most Christians would immediately know something was wrong. But what if the person deceiving you carried a Bible, talked about Jesus, quoted Scripture, called himself a preacher and told you that God had spoken to him? Would we recognize the deception then?

That is what we should want from anyone who teaches us. We don't need something new simply because it is new, and we don't need something comfortable simply because we like hearing it. We need God's Word faithfully taught, and then we need to be willing to let that Word correct us when we are wrong.

So here is something I think all of us should seriously consider. If one of our favorite Christian teachers began teaching something that we discovered clearly contradicted Scripture, would God's Word be enough for us to reject that teaching, even if we really liked and respected the person teaching it?

Good morning, David;

In your opening paragraph, I experienced this many times. The messenger carried a Bible, used big words, and talked with "overconfidence."

It felt right and it made me feel good. At times I would listen to him / her and just "let it go" (my lack of attention) Other times the message was outrageous so I took the message to a seasoned Christian and I'm glad I did. A lot of this happened in the 1980s and 90s. Back then I was growing but not disciplined with mature, spiritual wisdom and discernment.

This made an impression on me but as I was slowly growing as a disciple, God helped me learn from it.

It was about that time when I learned more that the Bible didn't necessarily make me comfortable listening, many times I felt convicted as if the Word was speaking to me, and it should. For a period I didn't like Paul and thought he was an arrogant wise guy. How silly of me.

Years later, praise God. I learned many of those messengers were deceptive. Devout believers gain better understanding of the Bible but the application from God's Word helps us gain further wisdom and discernment. It's important to develop this discipline. Don't automatically take our favorite Christians teachers at their word, test every teaching against the Bible rather than accepting Christian leaders or favorite teachers blindly.

1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, 19 Don’t stifle the Spirit. 20 Don’t despise prophecies, 21 but test all things. Hold on to what is good. - HCSB

David, one thing we need to remember. None of us has mastered the Bible or our Christian walk. We should praise God for that. He continuously builds each of us up, because He loves us and wants us to to become more seasoned sharing the Truth of the Gospel.

Today I love studying Paul's epistles (13 letters) in the Testament.

God bless you, David, these were my thoughts to your good OP.

Bob

 

[David]

David, one thing we need to remember. None of us has mastered the Bible or our Christian walk. We should praise God for that. He continuously builds each of us up, because He loves us and wants us to to become more seasoned sharing the Truth of the Gospel.

You mentioned conviction, and I think that is important. Sometimes the very passage we would rather not hear is the passage we most need to hear. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).

Maybe that is another good test for all of us: Do I want Scripture to tell me what is true, or am I looking for a teacher who will tell me what I already want to hear?

 

[Yesua888]

It was about that time when I learned more that the Bible didn't necessarily make me comfortable listening, many times I felt convicted as if the Word was speaking to me, and it should. For a period I didn't like Paul and thought he was an arrogant wise guy. How silly of me.

Bob, when I was looking for answers to the troubles that I was experiencing in "marriage", it was Paul's words that did not sit well with me, so I questioned more ...
Oftentimes God's way may not sit comfortably with us, but does that make it "wrong"?
This Spiritual Journey is incredible ... "The Incredible Journey" : )