False Teachers

by Steve Llewellyn

Before I wrote this, false leaders and the False Church had already been on my mind for awhile. But it was after finding myself in a church service where we were urged to pray for America that I was inspired to write. The real issue I’m addressing is the False Church and false leaders; the topic of America set me off because it seems the Church today tends to the surface while walking over more serious concerns.

 “You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or who slaps you in the face. To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!” [2 Corinthians 11:19-21.]

You say you want to pray for America. You say you want to change things in America, that you want America to turn to God.

You know that the nation is filled with unrighteousness and sin, and you want the people to forsake their sin, repent, and turn to God.

But what would happen if they did? Where would they go then? Where do people go when they’ve turned from the way of the world?

They go to the Church. That’s where they think God’s people are to be found; that’s where they think they’re supposed to go. When they do turn to the Church, they are in need of food, guidance, support, and the fellowship of the Body.

But that’s not all that they find. No, the “Church” in America is rife with feuds, lies, adultery, spiritual prostitution, legalism, and it suffers from a deficiency of real faith. The Church in America (and beyond), largely follows the teachings of men while avoiding the commands of the Lord and the instruction of the Bible, and it justifies itself while doing so.  

In reality, there are two Churches- one is the Body of Christ, made up of those who steadfastly seek after him, heed his discipline, and obey his commands. These are the ones who love him. The other is the False Church, made up of those who claim to be his servants and children, but who do not hold to his teachings and who do not meet the Biblical requirements that define true disciples of Christ. These are social Christians, practicing what amounts to a cultural religion, the specifics of which may be selected according to one’s own preferences.

And what propagates this “False Church?” And who stirs up the struggle between the two churches? False teachers and false prophets.

“Oh, do those really exist?” You bet.

“You mean people like David Koresh, right? And maybe the Mormons?” No, I mean people like your pastor. And the authors of popular books. And people on Christian TV and radio. And people in bands!

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:1, 2

Jesus said to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. [Luke 12:1] Who were the Pharisees? They were the religious leaders of the day! They were the most respected men around. But they were utter hypocrites. And why should we be such blind fools as to think this isn’t happening today? Have positions of power, leadership, and respect somehow become unattractive to well-mannered scoundrels in these latter days? Do you honestly think that a seminary degree is any harder to get than a degree in dentistry? School is school; if you pay the money and take the time, they give you the piece of paper. And no piece of paper, not even any degree of good intentions, in fact nothing can substitute for the specific gifts of the Spirit which God allots to those He chooses to be leaders among His people.

“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of God into a license for immorality and deny Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” [Jude v. 3, 4.]

Now wait a minute; how could they slip in secretly if they deny Jesus Christ? Like this: They come with words that sound right. “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” [Is. 29:13] These men (and women) can slip in with religious words, but they are deceivers. For words alone are not enough; the heart must be properly involved, too.

How will we know them, then? “By their fruit you will recognize them,” Jesus said. [Matthew 7:16.] Later, talking to the Pharisees, he said, “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.” [Matthew 12:33-35.]

So we must listen carefully; the words which are intended to deceive can reveal the heart of the speaker. This is where discernment comes in. Will we accept people on the merit of religious speech, or will we check to see if their words are true?

“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.” [Acts 17:11.] This admonishment goes both ways- whether the person is speaking the truth, or whether they are preaching deceit, the hearers have a responsibility to confirm that it agrees with the Scriptures.

But too often this does not happen. Many people in the “Church” will take in a well-polished message, never investigate it, and thus be deceived.

And there is more amiss in the two churches which look like they should be one…

“A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and a servant to be like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!” [Mt. 10:24,25.]

Jesus was indeed accused of being empowered by demons. By whom? By the religious leaders first, and also by others. Does it not make sense that this is going to happen today, too?

Who draws the fire of the false teachers, preachers, pastors, and leaders? Anyone who begins to live like Jesus Christ, and most especially those who begin to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s followers have authority to do what false leaders cannot. Even where outward manifestations of power might be counterfeited, the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of Truth, which cannot be counterfeited. The truth is the light that shines upon the teachings of the deceitful, and exposes them for what they really are.

Put simply, the Enemy and the false teachers hate this. They will do anything and everything they can to stop it.

‘Woe to the obstinate children,’ declares the LORD, ‘to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin;’” [Is. 30:1.]

“These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the LORD’s instruction. They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!’” [Is. 30:9-11.]

Where are the true prophets of God in the Church today? Few and far between. When they are found, it is usually under a great deal of suspicion, and commonly with labels such as “flaky” or “crazy,” as well as “dangerous,” “deceived,” “deceitful,”  and “demon-possessed.”

And why wouldn’t the Enemy and the false leaders want them to be regarded as such? Isaiah 29:10 refers to prophets as “eyes.” If the Church can be convinced to close its eyes, the light God shines through the prophets will remain unseen.

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.” [1 Cor. 12:27, 28.]

Those who have vied for their positions in the human way, but who do not have the gift, are of course going to want to get rid of the people who do have the gift.

Notice also where the prophets are in the list- second only behind apostles. There is nothing here that puts them under pastors and teachers. Yet notice the elevated position pastors and teachers enjoy in the modern church. See the place so many of them relegate other gifts to, especially prophecy. A false teacher has absolutely no interest in ceding any of his authority over to a prophet!

Something we should realize: The people of the True Church, including a great number of sincere pastors, preachers, and teachers, need to consider before God their attitudes toward prophets and those with other gifts. If the Enemy can cause jealousy, suspicion, and division in this area, he will, to the great harm of the Body.

The Enemy and the false leaders do not want us to follow the Spirit of God. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” [2 Cor. 3: 17] Empty religious observance, in whatever outward form it may take, is a handcuff and chain to keep people under control. Note that over and over, the so-called “Church” (the false Church) intends to dictate what the individual’s life should look like, and that far beyond a point of morality.

The False Church uses Jesus as bait to get people in, but then won’t let them near. It’s like a man who introduces a woman to her true love, the one she’s going to marry, but then wedges himself between the two of them, and won’t leave. When the time for the honeymoon comes around, he tries to get in bed with her first. No husband would stand for that! And no woman be happy with it either.

The True Church is the Bride of Christ, and each member has the right to intimacy with him. The False Church gets in the way and says, “The only way to Christ and the Father is through me.” But we know that we come to Christ by believing in him and submitting to his Lordship;  this is also how we become part of his Bride. There is no need for an extra step. Even in the functioning of the Body, each member has direct connection to the Head. Each has the Holy Spirit, and each is to be led by God.

The false Church and it’s leaders aren’t interested in people being led by God, because then they have no power. (After all, that would relegate them to just being another functional part of the body. You know, like servants, instead of somebody important.) Even sincere pastors and leaders (and parents, too) should heed this; all too often the feeling of responsibility for their portion of the flock leaves leaders feeling it necessary to keep people from falling away, and they do this by trying to keep people from falling out of line. Some seem to have a great deal of trouble trusting the Lord to take care of each person on an individual basis!

What God said to Israel in Ezekiel 34 is also for the Church today. In verses 1-10, the warning is addressed to the leaders:

“The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choicest animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched to look for them.

“ ‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered  and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

The warning in verses 17-24 is true for the rest of the Church:

“ ‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between the rams and the goats. Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?

“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you drive them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.’ “

We should heed these rebukes. The Church, even the sincere and true Church, is a far cry from what the Lord has described for us in the Bible. We will never become who and what He has called us to be as long as we remain diluted by the False Church and as long as we listen to false teachers and leaders.

“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, ‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”’ [1 Peter 4:17,18.]

We must put God first. We must each love HIM with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul, and all our strength. We must always seek God’s approval and not the approval of people. We must be led by the Holy Spirit. We must also examine what we are taught by looking into the Scriptures. We must pray without ceasing.

And to return to the topic of praying for America- if you want to see God change America, pray for the Church in America. Pray that God will bring spiritual purity and maturity to the church in America, whatever the cost.

Let me also say this before I close: in Ezekiel 34:11-16, after rebuking the leaders, God declares that He will become the people’s shepherd, and tells how He will care for them. In verses 25-31, after rebuking the rest of the people, he describes the peace, the bounty, and the freedom He will bring to them. It is God’s intent to bless His people. His rebuke is given to clear away that which stands in the way of His blessing.

May we heed His rebuke. May the Lord remove the false shepherds from their positions. May He remove falsehood from the Church. May He judge us and discipline us now, so that we will be found spotless at the day of his return.  

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