False Teachers and You

The Bible has a lot to say about teachers, both the kind you should follow and the kind you shouldn't. The latter have been on my mind a lot lately.  

Paul instructs Timothy in 1 Timothy 1 to stop certain teachers from spreading false information about the gospel. These teachers were focusing more on myths, genealogies, controversies, and meaningless talk than they were on God's commands and the gospel message. We're called to tell people about Jesus, not spend all day teaching theories and other topics that distract from the truth. He says in chapter 6 that such teachers are conceited, lack understanding, and teach in a way that leads to ungodliness and corruption. Jesus also repeatedly taught people not to listen to false teachers, and even lists off seven woes on the teachers of the law because of how ungodly they truly were. They would do "godly" things for show and status, praying long-winded prayers to make a scene and teaching ungodly messages despite their Bible knowledge. We have to be on guard for teachers who look godly on the outside, but are actually living sinful lives. 

But what do we do if we encounter a false teacher? Jesus taught in Matthew 18 about when another believer sins against you: confront them alone first, then with one or two others, and finally with the church. If somewhere along the way they repent and start living in godliness again, hallelujah! If not, treat them the way you would a pagan or tax collector. Now, Jesus still regularly interacted with and showed love to pagans and tax collectors, but it was always to show them who he is and his love for them. He wasn't learning from them or listening to their teachings, but he was teaching them about the gospel and what godly living looks like. 

2 Timothy 2 also instructs that when someone opposes the truth, we should gently instruct them in the hopes that they will turn to God, but not to engage in their quarrels. However, it's hard to know where the distinction lies between this and chapter 3, where Paul instructs Timothy that in the last days (which I believe we are nearing if not already in), people will be living in sin like never before, "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (v. 5), and that we should turn away from such people. I think the difference here is that in the first situation, we should lovingly seek to persuade such people that there is a better teaching, and the second situation involves deliberately not spending time with ungodly people so we don't fall into the same traps they did. It's not to say we can't still teach such people what is right, but we should not allow such people into our inner circle and spend significant amounts of time with them.

This is very different than what Paul taught about in Philippians 1, in which he explained that even though some were teaching the gospel with ungodly motives, what matters is the gospel is being taught. Now, he's not saying that it's okay to teach the gospel out of evil. He's actually saying that it matters more what's being taught than who's teaching it. In this case, the people speaking are not false teachers, but they are teaching the truth without love. For those of us paying attention to what God wants us to do, we should be seeking to live godly lives and teach with godly intentions and love, not out of spite or jealousy. We also must be vigilant to ensure that we don't fall into the categories of false teachers either. The Pharisees and Sadducees believed they were in the right when they taught, when in reality, they were leading people astray. We must be careful to learn from godly teachers and teach God's Word as it is, not as we wish it would be. 

As for you, guard your hearts and minds from false teachings, and ask God to give you discernment into who is a trustworthy, godly influence and who you need to turn away from.