South Africa is constantly rocked by scandals. One popular scandal is people being employed because of fake qualifications. In September, a former executive at the Passenger Rail Agency (PRASA) was jailed for 15 years for fraud. He misrepresented his qualifications. PRASA ordered trains that didn’t fit SA rail specifications and billions of rands were wasted. Fake qualifications have severe consequences.
How much more devastating are fake leaders of God’s people and false teachers of God’s Word?
In Luke 1:37-54, Jesus spoke harshly to those who fancied themselves leaders of God’s people, but were in fact fake leaders, leading people to hell.
The challenge of false teachers persists today and is so much greater because of social media and the easy online access to the often self-proclaimed leaders of God’s people.
How do we identify false teachers and fake leaders?
While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. (Luke 11v37)
The Pharisees, like the teachers of the law, were part of the Religious Establishment and seen as the teachers of Israel.
The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. (Luke 11v38)
The Pharisees practiced the ceremonial washing of hands. Before meals they would wash their hands in a very specific way not to remove dirt, but to remove ceremonial contamination that made one unclean or impure before God.
The Old Testament law did not prescribe these washings, but the Religious Establishment had come up with a number of extra rules, laws and guidelines to help people to obey God’s Law.
The Pharisee notices that Jesus did not wash his hands. Jesus knew what he was thinking and offered some strong rebukes.
So, how do we spot false teachers?
1. They focus on externals, not the internal
And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. (Luke 11v39)
Imagine just washing the outside of your mugs, pots and plates, but never the inside? The outside is clean and shiny, but the inside is dirty, moldy and smelly.
Jesus said that’s what the Pharisees were like, including many false teachers today.
On the outside they are very respectable, wearing tailored suits and the latest designer clothes; but when you dig deeper and get to know them, there is greed and wickedness.
The church has a very sleek website, but the leaders are unconverted. The leaders’ lives are characterized, not by godliness, but by greed. They love money and use people. The entire church may be living below the bread line, but they are driving a new Mercedes Benz.
Jesus said that the number one, umbrella characteristic of false teachers is that they are hypocrites. They say one thing, but live another.
You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. (Luke 11v40-41)
God is concerned for both the inside and the outside. God has created us in the totality of our personhood. God cares about externals and internals. What you belief and how you live are both important.
Jesus says in v41 to pay attention to your inner life too. It’s no good just being clean on the outside; be clean on the inside as well.
Are there teachers you know that look very polished on Sunday, but live in sin on Monday? On the Sunday they preach, but on Monday they commit adultery.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has recently resigned because it has come to light that he has covered up the massive sexual abuse of children. He knew the abuser, knew of the abuse, and did nothing about it. On the outside he looked very pristine with his Archbishop’s attire, but on the inside he was siding with evil.
According to Jesus, he is a fool.
2. They major on the minors
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. (Luke 11v42)
The “tithe” was giving 10% of one’s harvest, resources and income to support God’s work. It was and is a good guideline.
Can you picture the Pharisees counting out their mint leaves and weighing the herbs so that they could give exactly, precisely 10%? They were meticulous in their payment of the tithe; but they failed to care for widows with no food.
…These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (Luke 11v42)
God is concerned about all things, big and small.
Do you know leaders who have loads of petty rules, but fail to show basic Christian love and care?
They are meticulous about the correct procedures, policies and camera angles; but never visit a sick church member in hospital.
False teachers are pedantic about the small things and overlooked the big things.
3. They are concerned for popularity and appearance
Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. (Luke 11v43)
The Pharisees had elaborate greeting procedure and liked to have special chairs in the synagogue. They had a constant desire for attention and loved the focus to be on them.
Does this sound familiar?
If your church’s signboard has a picture of your pastor, I think you should be worried! If your church or ministry’s name contains your pastor’s name, you should be worried! If your pastor has a special chair, drinks only special water, eats only special food in the pastor’s special coffee lounge, and wears special clothes, you should be worried!
Although pastors are called to shepherd the flock of God, they remain sheep as they do so.
Many pastors, reverends and ministers, think they are a step above the flock and on a higher level closer to God. Not so. We are all Christians, saved by grace, serving Jesus with our different gifts and abilities. We are all on the same level. No one is on higher or lower as God’s people.
4. They are spiritually harmful
False teachers claim to be conveyors of wisdom and insight, but they are spiritually harmful to those who listen to them.
“Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.” (Luke 11v44)
In Old Testament times, there were various ways that one could become ceremonially defiled – which meant you were unfit to meet with God at the temple. All those ways of ceremonial contamination were object lessons of how easily sin contaminates us and make us unfit for God.
Then came the Lord Jesus, who died for our sins, so we can be fit for God.
However, according to OT law, coming in contact with a grave made a person ceremonially unclean (cf. Numbers 19:16).
False teachers are like this. They are not neutral; they cause spiritual harm. Rather than help, they hurt. Rather than clearing up spiritual confusion, they cause more spiritual confusion.
The gospel message is rather simple: Jesus died for our sin so we can be friends with God. But so many “Christian” teachers today talk about everything besides the gospel. They talk about anointing’s, mantles, breakthroughs, spiritual dimensions, operating in the Spirit-realm, the deeper things of God, and so many other things – that I get confused – and I’m a full-time minister! By their teaching and example of life, their followers are actually worse off than when they started.
We are saved by believing the simple gospel and we live as Christians by continuing to believe the simple gospel. But there are hundreds of “Christian” teachers causing spiritual harm by their fake teaching and bad example.
5. They load people with extra burdens
One of the lawyers (similar to the Pharisees) answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. (Luke 11:45-46)
The Religious establishment had a entire body of teaching that supplemented the Old Testament law – the Mishnah. It was a list of man-made rules and laws that – if you kept them – made sure you kept God’s law.
However, these laws were elevated to the same importance of God’s laws and the Religious Establishment required obedience.
Does your church perhaps require obedience to a whole lot of man-made regulations and traditions? You have to do this; you can’t do that; you need permission for this; you need special approval for that? In the end, the church controls your life and may be bordering on becoming a cult. Often the leaders themselves are somehow immune to the regulations.
The Bible says don’t go beyond what is written. In the Bible, God gives us a lot of freedom and if something is prohibited let’s make sure it is prohibited in God’s Word.
6. They prevent people from hearing God’s Word
Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs.” (Luke 11v47-48)
The religious leaders may have built tombs or museums for the OT prophets, but they didn’t listen to the message of the prophets. In fact, they were rejecting Jesus to whom the OT prophets pointed.
Jesus said that that generation would be held doubly accountable because God’s great King was there – in person – and they rejected him.
False teachers today also may pay lip service to the Bible, but they reject its message. They may even have a Bible on their pulpit and quote a few Bible verses from time to time. But they reject the Bible’s central message: that Jesus came as King, died to save us from our sins, rose to rule, and will one-day return to judge.
They speak about everything, except this one, central truth. They talk about healing, deliverance, anointing, tolerance, unity, acceptance, and walking in love; but not about how sin separates us from God and that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins.
Their hearers do not hear the Word of God, nor the momentous news about Jesus.
Good churches are committed to preaching from the Bible each week. Not the pastor’s thoughts about the Bible, but rather God’s message from the Bible. The point of the Bible passage should be the point of the sermon.
Why should we give a hoot about the pastor’s insights, opinions and views? We want to and need to hear God’ Word in the Bible.
Do you belong to a church that explains the Bible and points people to Jesus? That’s what’s most important. Not the church coffee, parking, soft seats, motivational factor, trendy music or vibe.
7. They hinder people from entering heaven
As a result of all the above, they massive, tragic consequence is that they hinder people from entering heaven.
Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” (Luke 11v52)
The “key of knowledge” is access to God, the gospel.
False teachers are going astray and they leading people along with them. They may have designer clothes, but no gospel. They may have smoke machines, but no doctrine of sin. They may have Apostles, Prophets, Generals, Moderators and Archbishops; but no Jesus. They may have smooth tongues that the world loves to listen to, but they have no true theology.
Woe to them, says Jesus, they will experience the judgement of God.
False teachers may talk “Jesus”, use Christianeze and sound very spiritual, but in reality, they hate the biblical Jesus.
As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. (Luke 11:53-54)
The Gospel of grace that pardons our sin was and is a threat.
Ordering wrong size trains is one thing, but obscuring the gospel is another.
Woe to them.