On September 26, 2021, Pastor Eric continued his two-part series on counterfeit prophets and teachers who spread false gospels.

Those who teach false doctrine deceive and cheat people out of the truth. Scripture warns that in the last days erroneous teachings will abound, so Christians are advised to learn to discern the truth, so not to help spread a false gospel to the world. Many people today are offended by the Bible because they are at war with God. They are wanting to satisfy their sinful desires; thus, whole movements are changing Scripture in order to appeal to a fallen world. Believers are cautioned to stay away from false prophets and false teachers.

Billy Graham once said,

Our society strives to avoid any possibility of offending anyone – except God.

What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? 

A disciple of Christ is someone who recognizes Jesus for who He is and follows His teaching.

John 6 tells us that Jesus’ followers believed He was the prophet they were expecting. They followed Jesus in amazement, praising Him, yet after witnessing His many miracles, they stopped following Him because they found His teachings difficult.

Read Matthew 28:19

In this verse, Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all nations; in short, to be His disciples. A disciple of Jesus Christ wants to learn about Him – His life, His ministry and His teachings.

How do we recognize false believers?

In essence, a false believer is the exact opposite of a disciple of Christ. This person falsely claims to follow Jesus. He or she professes to believe in Him, but does not recognize Christ as who He really is and refuses to follow His teaching.

Read 2 Timothy 4:3

It is becoming increasingly clear that Paul’s prophetic warning about false prophets arising is coming to pass. Countless feel-good gospels have replaced the Word of God. Those who follow Christ can defeat sin by learning to walk in the Spirit. That is different from those who modify God’s Word to fit their whims and desires.

How do we recognize false prophets and false teachers?

• They will try to isolate you (2 Peter 2:1) – (See Part 1)
• They lie (Jeremiah 14:14) (See Part 1)
• They follow their impulses rather than the Word of God. (2 Peter 2:2) (See Part 1)
• They go with the flow (Jude 1:4) (See Part 1)
• They want your money (2 Peter 2:3, 4-10) (See Part 1)
• They indulge in lust (2 Peter 2:18) (See Part 1)
• They despise authority (Romans 13:1)
• They are presumptuous. (2 Peter 2:10)
• They speak great swelling words of emptiness. (2 Peter 2:18)

Counterfeit teachers dislike authority. They do as they please and they are accountable to no one. They are self-centered and boast about themselves. For these reasons, they are unteachable. According to the Bible, we are to submit to authority, as long as we are not given orders that are contrary to God’s Word.

Read Luke 2:51

In this verse, we see that Jesus Christ was also submissive to his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph. In other words, the Son of God obeyed his mere human parents. If Jesus did this, we should also do the same. No matter how rich, important, intelligent or educated we are, we are always required to submit to authority.

Use this list with caution. This is not a definitive list, but merely a guide to help us distinguish genuine teachers from counterfeit ones.

Watch the sermon here.