We Christians are warned several times in the Bible about false teachers
who
sneak in and try to destroy us. There are those on Usenet like OBVES and
several others who teach false doctrine. Ron Ritchie's sermon below
delves
into that very subject. I hope you'll take the time to read it and give
the
message Mr. Ritchie offers some thought.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
About Those False Teachers
by Ron R. Ritchie
Recently I have had the same experience that many of you have had -
running
into people with different religious persuasions. Sometimes you and I are
left in awe of their knowledge of their beliefs. Sometimes we are
challenged
by what they share with us, and we would like to take them on in a verbal
exchange, hoping against hope that we will not lose our temper. We have
all
faced this in one form or another, either in our hearts or openly.
Perhaps they meet you at an air****t and say, "Excuse me, what is your
profession?", You say, "Oh, I'm a teacher," or "I'm an engineer," or "I'm
a
doctor." They say, "Oh, great! Just the type of people we want to talk
to!"
You think to yourself, "Gosh, I really like these people. They know
quality
when they see it!" They come at you in such a way that your defenses are
down immediately. Then they hand you this beautiful book, free! And all
they
want you to do (because you are one of those people who will appreciate
what
is in the book) is read it. The book is very expensive, very elaborate,
very
well-written, and you are in a dilemma: What to do? Or perhaps you meet
similar people on a street corner and they talk to you about their concept
of reality, their definition of the supreme being. Or they come to your
door, or send tracts through the mail. You are constantly harassed,
constantly challenged on a day-to-day basis about your beliefs in Jesus
Christ.
I would like you to know that the problem is not new, that Moses was under
the same pressure. In Deuteronomy 13, it is recorded that he told his
people,
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, and gives you a sign
or a wonder, and the sign or wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke
to
you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let
us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that
dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you
love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul.
This is a very clear message, very black and white. Moses was faced with
this problem of false teachers. Every true prophet who ever spoke was
faced
with false teachers. Jesus was confronted with the Pharisees, Paul with
the
Judaizers, John with the Gnostics. Everyone who has ever taught the Word
has
been faced with false teachers. Anyone who loves Jesus Christ is faced
with
the problem of how to tell the true from the false. John and all the other
apostles constantly tell us what is the difference. In 2 John, that small
letter tucked near the end of your Bible, probably written right after
lunch
one day to a woman he loved, John shares with us some insights about those
false prophets. He is going to give us two keys to look for in their
teaching.
Greetings, 2 John 1-3
The elder to the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and
not
only 1, but also all who know the truth, for the sake of the truth which
abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace will be
with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father,
in truth and love.
John calls himself "the elder." In the Old Testament and the New, the word
"elder" denotes those men who were given by God to the nation and tribes
of
Israel, and to the churches, as spiritual leaders. This particular elder
is
the John who first followed Jesus by the Sea of Galilee. This is the John
whom, along with his brother James, Jesus nicknamed "sons of thunder," i.
e., "noisy ones". This is the same John, however, who was in the upper
room
at the last supper, the one whom Jesus loved. Isn't it encouraging that
when
Jesus Christ enters our life, he can start to change us and can weed out
the
linings even we ourselves do not enjoy? This is the John who started to
grow, in this love relation****p with Jesus, Christ.
This same disciple now sits down, in A.D. 85 or 90, to write a letter to a
faithful woman who was seeking to do those things that are pleasing to the
Lord. She was having some problems, and the elder shared with her some
insights about reality. This is some 60 years after the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. John is in the city of Ephesus involved in a ministry to
people, and this particular afternoon is involved in the problems of a
"chosen" woman. He calls her "chosen," I think, simply because of the fact
that we are all chosen in Christ. He is writing to her as "the elder"--not
as one appointed a spiritual leader in a local church, but as one who is
75
or 80 years old; not as "John the elder", but as "the elder John". We read
the Gospels and see the young John, and we think him forever the youth.
But
this is "the aged one," the elder John who is faithfully ministering, the
white-haired granddaddy. As an apostle, he had the right to speak to
anyone,
anywhere, on spiritual matters So he writes to this chosen lady and her
children.
It appears that she is a widow that is just conjecture, but it seems
likely--and he is delighted that she and her children are walking in
truth.
He says, "I love you in truth." Love and truth are the two pillars of his
ministry to her. We are not sure how John learned about her problem, but
it
is obvious that some false teachers had come into her life, and perhaps
into
her home, and started to teach. Suddenly she began to recognize that there
was something strange about them.
We have all had that experience. We hear someone; we like their
personality,
like the way they dress; they use "God-words"; they have a Bible; the
music
they use is great. But when they leave town, we think, "What was that all
about? Something is missing. I feel hollow, empty." I took my family to
the
circus this past week. It was the first time I had ever been to the
circus.
It really is a three-ring circus, isn't it? Everything is moving, and it
is
exciting and delightful. While we were sitting there, my young son said,
"Dad, can I have some cotton candy?" I supposed that is what fathers do at
circuses, so I bought him some cotton candy. Then the intermission came,
the
bright lights went off, everything was cleared out of the ring, the
audience
was milling around, and it was back to the dull life for about fifteen
minutes. My son turned to me and said, "Daddy, I don't want you to buy me
any more cotton candy." I asked him why, and he said, "Because you no
sooner
put it to your mouth, and it isn't!"
That is what has happened to this lady. The false teachers have come, she
has tasted of them, and they "aren't"! They have no substance in their
life
or message.
So she turns to the apostle for help. "Tell me what to do. How do I treat
these people? How do I work with them?" I sense that she is angry, that
she
feels she has been "conned". She had opened her home, given hospitality,
but
they had left behind them so much confusion. She is saying, "John, help
me.
I thought I was doing what the Lord wanted me to do, but it's not working.
There are tares among the wheat. What am I to do?"
John approaches the matter gently. He is going to answer her question, but
first he wants to share with her some basic principles. He says, "You are
one whom I love in truth." That is, in the Greek, "I have an agape love
for
you." This is that love which is self-sacrificing, which is willing to
love
its enemies, the love which holds another in high esteem. It is the love
which can be produced only by Jesus Christ in our lives. There is no other
way.
And, notice, John loves her in truth. Truth is reality, the way things
really are, not the way you hope they will be. Jesus Christ said, "I am
the
way, the truth, and the life." Someone has said, "Without Jesus Christ
being
the way, there is no going; without Jesus Christ being the truth, there is
no knowing; and without Jesus Christ being the life, there is no living."
Jesus said, "Do you want to know about reality? Do you want to know how to
live? Do you want guidelines for your love? Listen to the truth."
We have a struggle with this, because we want either to love too much, or
to
tell too much truth. We have problems attaining the balance. We want to
love
everybody. We do not want to offend anybody. We hear this all the time:
"We
let anybody in this group. It doesn't matter about your religious
convictions. We're all going up the same mountain toward God. We'll all
meet
at the top. We love you - come." And we hear from the other kind of group:
"No way! We're going
to tell you the truth before we start up the mountain, and you're not
moving
before we give you the truth! And after we give you the truth, we're
thoroughly
convinced you won't have the dedication to go up that mountain."
John says, "...whom I love in truth." As Paul puts it in Ephesians,
"trusting in love" is the balance. Love is seeing people as real people
whom
God loves. Truth is waiting for an op****tunity to set them free into the
ways of Jesus Christ. It is waiting for the right op****tunity--waiting
because you love them so much--but not diverting yourself from telling the
truth. John says, "I love you in the truth. I want to share some
principles
with you, and then I want to tell you the truth. I want to share some of
God's heart with you, and then share how to work this out." So we find
that
truth gives the guidelines for love.
I love what Jesus said in John 17:26, in his prayer to the Father, when he
asked concerning his disciples, "... that the love wherewith Thou didst
love
Me may be in them, and I in them." What a beautiful prayer! "May the same
love, Father, that you have for me, be in my disciples, and may I be in
them, so that they will be able to be free and to be truthful, to walk in
truth."
John says, "I love you in truth; and not only I, but also all who know the
truth, for the sake of the truth which abides in us and will be with us
forever." This truth which comes from God makes itself at home in our
lives
forever. I always appreciate Dave Roper's love for C. S. Lewis. I never
seem
to finish anything of Lewis' that I start, so I keep waiting for Dave to
quote him, so that I will have something to quote to you! He told me that
Lewis wrote that when we get to heaven, our first words will be, "But, of
course!" This truth, John says, will abide forever. The truth we are
involved in is everlasting truth. It comes from the everlasting One who
said, "I am the truth."
"Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from
Jesus
Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." There are three
qualities
of life which are going to come to us from God the Father and from God the
Son, who are one. (He is leading this woman very gently, in this
beautifully
designed letter, very casually introducing the necessary truth.) They are:
grace--unmerited favor, that agape love which is expressed to us; it sets
us
free from our guilt, brings us into a relation****p with the living God --
and mercy--which heals the suffering because of sin; it is the compassion
of
God's heart--and peace -- which binds us together with the Father and the
Son; it is the peace which stops the war, that restlessness we had is
over.
Time, the weekly news magazine, is featuring a new section in which they
will keep you up-to-date on what people in the United States are worrying
about. Jesus says, "Come to me and there will be peace - no worry, no
anxiety--you won'thave to read Time to know what's happening. I'll tell
you
what's happening. Read the Word, then read Time; not the other way around.
Review of the basics,4-6
In the next section John simply (I say "simply" because it is so simple
that
it is difficult.) takes her back to the very basic principles of Jesus
Christ:
I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth [not that
some were and some were not, but that the ones he encountered were], just
as
we have received commandment to do from the Father. And now I ask you,
lady,
not as writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had
from
the beginning, that we love one another. [Do you want to know what love
is?
Here is the definition.] And this is love, that we walk according to His
commandments. [Whose commandments? The Lord's. What was his commandment?
"Love one another, as I have loved you."] This is the commandment, just as
you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
John is saying, "This is what I heard when I was with our Lord, and what I
have passed on to you. It has always been the same." Moses wrote it from
the
Father,
in Deuteronomy 6:5: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your might." And Leviticus 19:18 adds,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus said the same thing. And
just before he left this earth, he said, "The world will know that you are
my disciples because you will win every argument, since you know the
truth!"
Isn't that right? No! He said, "By this all men will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another." That is how the world will
know. And that love is balanced in truth.
Beware, 7-1 1
Now John handles the two questions she must have asked: I ) How do I
discern
whether teachers are true or false? and 2) Once I find out they are false,
how do I relate to them? What is my responsibility?
For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not
acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and
the antichrist. Watch yourselves, that you may not lose what we have
accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Any one who goes too
far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the
one
who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If any one
comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into
your
house, and do not give him a greeting, for the one who gives him a
greeting
participates in his evil deeds.
A deceiver is an imposter, one who trys to lead you astray. Apparently, in
the context of this letter, there was a group of teachers who had been in
the church and then had walked away, had gone into the world system and
devised another gospel, made up their own system of thought, and taught
something that was not from God's heart. There were no suitable inns or
motels in those days, and so it was common, when apparently Christian
teachers came to town, for someone to open their home to them and allow
them
to teach in a home Bible class or a home church. They would teach and then
go away, and others would come. This was their style of life. Peter and
John
did this, Paul and Barnabas, Timothy and Silas, all these men taught in
this
way. Lucian, a first-century Greek writer, made an interesting comment on
some of these itinerant teachers. He was not a Christian, but he observed
that if a person wanted to live off the fat of the land he could work up a
pseudo-Christian performance which would enable him to get into these
Christian communities and live in luxury at their expense. Even this pagan
writer saw how his fellow countrymen were abusing the hospitality of
Christians. For these Christians were seeking to obey God, and hospitality
means loving strangers. They were doing this, but with some of these
strangers, strange things were happening that were creating hassles and
confusion.
There is a writing from the early second-century called "The Teaching of
the
Twelve Apostles" ("Didache"). I want to read to you three little items out
of much that they wrote in order to help fellow Christians live within
their
society:
Let every apostle that comes be received in the Lord. If he should stay
one
day and, if need be, the next day, that is fine. But if he stays three
days,
he is a
false prophet.
Now be careful. If your father-in-law is staying with you, don't read this
to him! But these people who arrived saying they were teachers of the
Word,
but kept staying on and on, were basically stealing from the Christian
community.
If the messenger goes forth, and takes nothing but bread, that is fine.
But
if he asks for money, that is a false prophet.
And another,
If he intends to settle among you and be a craftsman, let him work and
eat.
But if he has no trade, provide that he should not live idle among you,
being a Christian. But if he will not do this, he is a Christ-monger: of
such men beware.
So already they were having this problem in the first century. But John is
not so much concerned with these external problems as he is with the
internal. He is very concerned that this woman be able to spot a false
teacher quickly - by what he says, without having to wait to see how he
lives. There are two dead giveaways. The first: "... those who do not
acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh." That is, those teachers
who say, "Christ is a 'spirit'; he never really walked among us. But we
like
his ethics, we like his ideals, we like his teachings - only he never
walked
among us."
In the context of this letter, again, John faced a group called the
"Gnostics" who held a form of teaching called Gnosticism. This was a
doctrine of certain early pseudo-Christian sects that valued inquery into
spiritual knowledge above faith. They thought salvation was attainable
only
by those few whose knowledge enabled them to transcend matter. Part of
their
teaching was that all matter was evil. Well, all matter includes bodies.
And
if Jesus Christ came in the flesh, since his body was evil he therefore
could not be of God, they said. So when John wrote in his Gospel, "The
word
became flesh and dwelt among us," they said, "Never! A pure God would
never
take on an evil body." They attacked the incarnation directly. They sought
to eliminate it.
But when you eliminate the incarnation, you are left with nothing, really,
except vain imaginings as to how you can get to God - and each one is a
little different. If you do not accept the incarnation, the fact that
Jesus
Christ came and lived among us, died for our sins. and rose again if these
things are not true - then, as Paul says, we are of all people most to be
pitied. But because Christ did come in the flesh, because he did "tent"
among us, walked among us and felt our pain, understood where we are;
because he was constantly depending on the Father, and left us an example
of
how to live; and because he was willing to go to the cross and die, to
shed
blood so that you and I could live forever; therefore we have a merciful
High Priest who understands our prayers, understands our agony,
understands
our hopes and dreams, and who lives with us and in us, expressing his life
through us. And if he was not raised from the dead, then there is no one
to
defeat the works of the devil. We are left to fight the spiritual battle
on
our own. If he did not come in the flesh, then immediately we have to
eliminate not only all of the New Testament, but all of the prophetic
statements in the Old Testament, which would leave many, many gaps in the
whole record of Scripture.
"He came in the flesh and dwelt among us," says John. "Don't let anybody
tell you anything else, because anyone who does is a deceiver, an imposter
who leads others astray. And he is the antichrist. That is, when the
antichrist comes, he will say exactly what such false teachers say, for
they
are of the same mind and spirit."
Then John gives her a warning: "Watch yourselves, that you might not lose
what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward." That
is,
"Watch out! You started well. Don't let someone come and take away--not
your
salvation, but your reward." You see, the race is between you and
yourself.
It is between the flesh and the spirit. It is God's idea that he wants to
bless us with rewards. His loving heart wants to give us a crown of
righteousness, to give us rule and authority and responsibility. It is his
idea, not ours. As the God who created us, he has the right to gift us, to
bless us, and to reward us. Don't fight it. Sometimes I share with people
that they are going to have rewards, and they say, "I don't want any."
That
is a strange attitude. I understand their humble intention, but the point
is, God has said he wants to do it. So I'm going to let him do it--in the
right frame of reference. And I am going to praise his name for eternity
that, though I know who I am in the flesh, I also know who I am in the
Spirit: I'm his son. I thank the Father that he set up such things as
rewards. He is really more gracious than I can comprehend. So John says,
"Watch yourselves, be careful. Don't lose any reward."
Let's look at verse 9: "Any one who goes too far and does not abide in the
teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching,
he has both the Father and the Son." These false teachers would take the
Scriptures and go beyond, adding extra views. The Gnostics certainly did
that. Such men do not abide in the teaching of Christ. They do not make
themselves.. at home in the Word. That is what "abide" means - "make
yourself at home", i.e., be so familiar with the Word that when a false
teacher comes to town, you don't have a problem with his teaching. You see
right through it. I love what Hebrews 5:14 says: "But solid food is for
the
mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good
and evil."
When the whole world says, "Good," having read the Word you can say,
"Evil."
When the whole world says, "Evil," having read the Word you can say,
"Good."
Or at times you can agree with what the world says: "You see it as evil;
the
Word sees it as evil." It is abiding in the Word that will set you free
from
the false teacher. "The one who does not abide in the teaching of Christ,
does not have God; the one who abides (makes himself at home) in the
teaching, he has both the Father and the Son." John is saying, "You can't
have the Father without the Son, and you can't have the Son without having
the Father. You cannot make up your own system of thought. The truth has
already been revealed."
I love Ray Stedman's book, taken from the Hebrews series of pastoral
messages. It has the most fascinating title: "What More Can God Say?" What
a
title! Because Hebrews 1:3 says, "He [Jesus] is... the exact
representation
of his [God's] nature." If you have God the Father, you also have the Son;
if you have the Son, you have the Father. You can't separate them. I hear
people say, "I really like the God of the New Testament, Jesus loving,
kind,
gentle. But that God of the Old Testament scares me to death!" The news is
out that they are the same! You can't divide them. Love people who say
such
things; someone has deceived them.
Then just this in closing: "If any one comes to you and does not bring
this
teaching [of the incarnation], do not receive him into your house [... as
a
teacher. You may receive him into your house as a friend or neighbor. What
is the context here? John has just spent six verses sharing with us how to
walk in love and truth. But sometimes we tend to get frightened when
teachers don't agree with us, so we slam doors], and do not give him a
greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil
deeds." The word translated "greeting" does not mean merely saying,
"Hello"
("I'm sorry, I can't say hello to you. Goodby!") It is not that. It means
greetings like "Godspeed! I wish you (God's best. May God be with you. God
bless you." Don't give them that kind of greeting. But don't say, "May the
devil take your soul!" either. Because in the context, we are talking
about
love. We are to see their worth as people, see that they have been
deceived,
look for an op****tunity to give them the truth in love.
Yet it is im****tant to realize that "... the one who gives him a greeting
participates in his evil deeds," i.e., becomes his partner, becomes linked
with the antichrist. Do you see that? This is one who gives a greeting as
we
have defined it, not one who opens his home. I do not know how to work all
this out, and I know you have many questions. I have to do the same thing
you must do. I have to go before the Lord every time one of these
op****tunities arises. I have to ask the Lord to stop me from being
argumentative, to enable me to give truth with love, not just truth.
About a month ago some teachers came by, knocked on the door, and handed
me
a pamphlet. I said, "Thank you very much." They asked if they could come
in
and talk to me about it. I said, "Well, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ and
I
just don't appreciate your teachings." One of them said, "Really? What is
wrong?" I flashed back to something I had heard twenty years ago in a
class
on cults. I said, "You don't deal correctly with the Greek in the first
chapter of John." I couldn't remember exactly what it was they were
supposed to have messed up - I just knew it was a great argument which
would
frighten these two little ladies right off my ****ch! But they merely said,
"Oh, okay. Could we come back again?"
They were the gracious ones.
And what happened? They sent back two teachers of the Greek New Testament!
God quietly took me over his knee and spanked me. He showed me I was
arrogant, that I didn't express love, that I had ridiculed them and put
them
down. Then the Lord reminded me that his ministry is so true that I don't
have to put
anybody down. I don't have to apologize to anyone. I can love them, share
my
life with them, and ask him to give me an op****tunity to share the truth
with them, so they will no longer be deceived." It was a hard lesson. It
is
not worth winning the argument, and losing the person for eternity. Do you
see where we all are? We are to love our enemies, care for them, reach
out,
and hope that God will give us an op****tunity to tell them the truth_
because we were patient enough, with God's patience, to get through the
difficulties of the introductions.
In Closing, 12-13
John closes with these words:
Having many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and
ink, but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that your joy may
be
made full. The children of your chosen sister greet you. Our heavenly
Father, we praise your name for who you are. Father, we desire to submit
to
your love and your truth. We pray, Lord, that you would teach us what we
need to know in order not to be deceived. And as we think through the
price
you paid to love your enemies, may we be willing to love those who
confront
us. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Copyright© 1996 Discovery Publi****ng, a ministry of Peninsula Bible
Church.
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