Sunday 31 August 2014

Common excuses for false teachers

To begin with analogy, have you ever come across someone who says a particular comic book movie is good simply because they have something from the original source material yet the story of the actual film as well as the characters and screenplay are sub par or just simply unwatchable?

Having a particular comic book character in a film isn't what makes the film good in and of itself, its what you can do with the character, the same with a concept from that said franchise and Just sticking a character in franchise doesn't make it good, you have to build a story around that character.

Why the analogy? Well there are common excuses made by many individuals to justify the false teachers that they follow and try to make out that they are true men and women of God. We are not talking about a doctrine that is a non essential such as diet, hobbies or something neutral (Something that is not moral in and of itself but simply there), we are talking about major doctrines that are of life and death, namely Christology, the Resurrection, the Gospel, Salvation, Atonement etc.

Here are some excuses which I hope to address.

Let the wheat and tares grow together
This has nothing to do with examination of false teachers at all. Let's read:
"24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
" 

While the context tells that we are not to resort to jumping to rash conclusions regarding a man's own salvation, this doesn't mean that we cannot judge the individual scripturally and this point ties in with two later points.

JUDGE NOT!! Lest you be Judged!! 

and

TOUCH NOT God's anointed!!
These two commonly abused texts I have already addressed in this article here, along with a third text: http://answering-judaism.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/judge-not-touch-not.html

OH BUT THEY ARE SO KIND AND LOVING!!
So is your average Jehovah's Witness and Mormon down the street and others in other religions are nice. AS Keith Thompson noted in a video he did on William Lane Craig and Michael Brown "Popularity and Apparent Kindness are not the tests of truth" See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UFUDEFuMU0 (Link is defunct, go here instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB0L65jLhWM, however, the video no longer contains the criticism of William Lane Craig.)


BUT THEY LOVE JESUS AS WE DO!!
Do they? The Muslims and others claim to have this love for Jesus, But they don't have the true Jesus in the first place, they love a Jesus that has been fabricated from the vain imaginations of men. Paul warns against those who bring another Gospel in Galatians 1 and he warns against someone preaching a false Jesus in 2 Corinthians 11
"Galatians 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
"

"2 Corinthians 11:1 I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough."


BUT THEY ARE SO HOLY!!
They may live good lives, but what about their doctrine? Even if the person has a quality life and a supposed repentance, We are not automatically assume they are from the Lord, because repentance is not the only criteria of truth and neither is a holy life the only criteria. Doctrine encompasses what you teach and how you live.


Conclusion
To some up, Stop making excuses for false teachers, for Jesus does NOT expect that from us.

Answering Judaism.

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