I recently watched a video online from a pastor warning his congregation about false teachers. It was sent to me by a Christian friend who wanted me to understand why our church was questioning whether to continue singing songs produced by Hillsong and Bethel in our services. In the video, the pastor called out several famous teachers and preachers who he believed were teaching false doctrine, and for many of them he was able to prove it. Several of the people he claimed were false may be spiritual leaders and pastors that you follow. Many are household names and have hundreds of thousands of believers buying their books and listening to their podcasts. I appreciate the boldness of this pastor who preached an unpopular message in an effort to warn his flock about the dangers of false teaching. Jesus did the same. It says in Matthew, chapter 16, verse 6:
“‘Be careful,’ Jesus said to them. ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”
After Jesus chastised his disciples for not understanding his meaning, they eventually got the hint as it says in verse 12:
“Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
There are hundreds of preachers, teachers and spiritual leaders who have gained quite the following. Some of them are teaching the scriptures accurately, but there are others who have strayed away from the truth. There are some who are subverting the scriptures, teaching what is false either on purpose or in ignorance. The preacher that I watched on YouTube warned his congregation about such people. Jesus warned his disciples concerning the spiritual leaders of his time. And now, I hope that you can consider yourself warned as well. The Pharisees and Sadducees were heralded as spiritual rockstars in Jesus’ day, people who were believed to have known what was right and true. Even still, Jesus warned his disciples about their teaching because even though they were clergy, they were teaching falsehoods. So I would challenge you also, to test what you hear. Make sure that what is being taught in your church lines up with scripture, because in the end, none of us wants to be deceived.
—-
When it comes to spiritual matters, Jesus, as well as Paul, teaches us to test what we hear. We are warned against false preachers and false teachings. They were present in Jesus’ time and they are present today. So I challenge you to test what you hear from your pastors. Test what you read in Christian books. Test the validity of the Christian songs you listen to. And test the truth of the Christian podcasts you hear, including this one. Many believers are being led astray. Don’t be one of them. Become intimately familiar with the Bible so that you can identify what is counterfeit when you see it because you’ll know the truth so well. We are living in a time where you can find Christian materials anywhere and any time with the click of a button. I encourage you to only accept what is biblically true. Because there is no other way to protect yourself from being led astray.
Links:
Free “Lord of My Life” Books: https://www.ktfproductions.com/books
Merchandise: https://teespring.com/stores/lord-of-my-life
Web Page: https://www.ktfproductions.com/loml-home
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ktfproductions/
Subscribe to the KTF Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2n9Lprk
Contact Us:
Email: writecmv@hotmail.com