Beware of false Doctrine

1. Beware of falseDoctrine – 2nd
April 2017
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are
ferocious wolves.” (Matthew 7:15).
A Doctrine is“a set of ideasor beliefsthatare taught or believedtobe true.” Biblical doctrinerefersto
teachingsthatalignwiththe revealedWordof God,the Bible.False doctrine isanyideathataddsto,
takesawayfrom, contradicts,ornullifiesthe doctrine giveninGod’sWord.Forexample,anyteaching
aboutJesusthat deniesHis resurrection isafalse doctrine,because itcontradictsthe clearteachingof
Scripture:
False doctrine isthatwhichopposessome fundamental truthorthat whichisnecessaryforsalvation.
The followingare some examplesof false doctrine:Firstwe canlookat the erasingof hell bysome who
attemptto do today.The Bible describeshell asareal place of eternal torment,the destinationforevery
unregenerate soul: “Anyonewhosenamewas not foundwritten inthe bookof lifewas thrown into
the lake of fire.”(Revelation20:15). Because we can learnfrom 2 Thessalonians1:8, “He will punish
those who donot know Godand do notobey the gospel of ourLord Jesus.” Asbelieversof JesusChrist,
one’sdenial of hell directlycontradictsJesus’ownwordsaswe can learnfrom Matthew 10:28, “Donot
be afraidof those who kill the body butcannot kill the soul.Rather, be afraidof the One who can
destroy both soul andbody inhell.” Againwe can read where Jesussaidin Matthew25:46, “Thenthey
will go away to eternal punishment,butthe righteousto eternal life.” Whenone isattemptingto
change or make othersdisbelieveclearlystatedwordsfromthe bible, amountstoafalse doctrine.
Anotherwidelyusedfalse doctrine isthe ideathatthere are “manypaths to God.”This philosophyhas
become popularrecentlyunderthe guise of tolerance. Thisfalse doctrine claimsthat, since God islove,
He will acceptanyreligiouseffortaslongas the practitionerissincere.Suchrelativismfliesinthe face of
the entire Bible andeffectivelyeliminatesanyneedforthe Sonof God totake onfleshsufferandbe
crucifiedforus.We can readin John3:16–18, “ForGodso loved the worldthat he gave hisone and
onlySon, that whoever believesin him shall notperish but have eternal life. 17
ForGod didnot send his
Son intothe world to condemnthe world,but to save the world throughhim. 18
Whoeverbelievesin
himis not condemned,but whoever does not believe standscondemnedalready becausethey have
not believedin the name of God’sone andonlySon.” Whatevertolerance thattheymay claim,such
relativismwhichis the doctrine thatknowledge,truth,andmoralityexistinrelationtoculture,society,
or historical context,andare notabsolute,contradictsJesus’directwordsthatHe isthe onlyway to God
as statedin John 14:6, “Jesusanswered, “I amthe way andthe truth andthe life.No one comesto the
Father except through me.”
Some False Doctrine
A. Anyteachingthatredefinesthe person of Jesus Christ. Doctrine that denies the deity of Christ, such
as the virginbirth,Hissinlessnature,Hisactual death, or His physical resurrection is false doctrine. Ant
group’serrantteachingby readilyidentifies it as a sect or cult that may claim to be Christian is actually
teachingfalse doctrine.Evenmanymainlinedenominationshave begunthe rapidslide into apostasy by
declaring that they no longer hold to a literal interpretation of Scripture or the deity of Christ. We can
learn that a denial of biblical Christology is “anti-Christ. Therefore we are advised as stated in 1 John

2. 4:1–3, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
because manyfalse prophetshave gone out intothe world. 2
Thisis how you canrecognize the Spirit of
God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3
but every
spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you
have heard is comingandeven now is already in the world.” Jesus described false teachers within the
church as “wolves in sheep’s clothing” as we can read from Matthew 7:15,“Watch out for false
prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
B. Any Teaching that adds human religious works to Christ’s finished work on the cross as necessary
ingredientsfor salvation. This teaching may pay lip service to salvation by faith alone but insists that a
religiousritual (suchaswaterbaptism) issalvific (having the intent or power to save or redeem). Some
groups even legislate hairstyles, clothing options, and food consumption. We can read from Romans
11:6, “And ifby grace, then it cannot be basedon works; if it were, grace wouldno longer be grace.” It
warnsagainstattemptsto mix grace withworks. Furthermore we canalsolearnfrom Ephesians2where
it saysthat we are savedbythe grace of God, through faith, and nothing we do can add to or take away
fromit. “Forit is by grace you have been saved,throughfaith—andthisisnot from yourselves, it is the
gift of God— 9
not by works, so that no one can boast.”(Ephesians 2:8–9).
C. Any teachingthatpresentsgrace as a license tosin.Sometimes istermedas “easy-believism.”This
false doctrine impliesthatall one mustdo forright standingwithGodisto believe the factsaboutJesus,
pray a prayerat some point,andthenresume control of one’slife withthe assurance of heavenatthe
end.Paul dealtwiththisthinkingin Romans6.Jesuswarnedthose whoadoptthisdoctrine thattheydid
not knowHimat all as we can learnfrom Matthew 7:21–23, “Noteveryone who saysto me, ‘Lord,
Lord,’ will enter the kingdomofheaven, but onlythe one who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. 22
Manywill say to me on that day,‘Lord, Lord, didwe not prophesyin your nameand in your
name drive out demonsandin your name perform manymiracles?’ 23
Then I will tell them plainly,‘I
never knew you.Away from me, you evildoers!’ Wecan learn that those whoare “inChrist”become
“newcreatures.”“Therefore,if anyoneis in Christ,the new creation has come: The old hasgone, the
new is here!(2 Corinthians5:17).That transformation,inresponse toabeliever’sfaithinChrist,changes
the outwardbehaviorof that person.Because toknow andlove Christisto obeyHim as Jesusquestions:
“Whydoyou call me, ‘Lord,Lord,’ and donot do what I say?(Luke6:46).
Therefore asChristianswe have tobe mindful and beware of false Doctrine asitcan leadusastray. We
can learnfromGalatians1:6–9, “I amastonishedthat you are so quicklydesertingthe one who called
you to livein the grace of Christ andare turningto a differentgospel— 7
whichis reallyno gospel at
all.Evidentlysome people are throwingyou into confusionandare tryingto pervert the gospel of
Christ.8
But even ifwe or an angel from heaven shouldpreacha gospel other thanthe one we
preached to you, let them be under God’scurse! 9
As we have alreadysaid,so now I say again:If
anybodyis preachingto youa gospel other than whatyou accepted, let them be underGod’scurse!