. In Colossians, Paul warns against a . Sometimes Craig Groeschel or a guest speaker would keep returning to the context of a passage while giving a topical sermon (yellow flag). Winning the War in Your Mind will help you: God has something better for your life than your old ways of thinking. It is worth noting that just because a church has a decent faith statement on their website, does not mean that they teach according to their stated beliefs. Or in their pride, they despise authority (2 Peter 2:10), and the greatest authority, who upholds all authorities, is God himself. And so they willingly compromise anything, including accuracy and obedience to Gods word, if it means the numbers will reflect well at next weeks meeting. The ultimate goal of this is simply to get people to say yes and pray a prayer. Another way to see it is that their falseness comes out in sin against themselves, against others, or against God. That being said, here are four tips that Christians can use in cultivating discernment against false teaching. False Teacher - Craig Groeschel The Prettified Gates of Hell Satan, by his gospel, offers an ample entranceway through which you, and all you have, can enter. Life.Church is committing God to something He hasnt committed Himself to. If one reads the writings of the early church fathers and the documents of the church councils it becomes obvious . The church has learned through the ages that to deny the core doctrines of our faith is to deny Christ. However, the purpose of any goal is to reach it. However, its exciting to hear, and people are drawn to the idea that they can have everything their greedy hearts desire if they just believe hard enough. Other False Teachings of the Manifest Sons of God (MSOG), Latter Rain, Five Fold, Apostolic . Why, then, for so long was he able to avoid being denounced as a false teacher? With help from the Orthodox editors, I have compiled a list of articles, essays, and Prior to . The same struggles and deceptions that plagued the early church continue to plague modern-day believers. They frequently have new visitors, their online platform is active, their community is bustling, and many people claim to ask Christ to save them every week. If nothing else, a Christian must simply realize that in the best situation, Life.Church will leave its people stuck in a state of spiritual immaturity. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life in Heaven. They were blaspheming the name of God. However, the Bible says that God's name must be used. The first reason why elders must rebuke false teachers is because they divide healthy churches. Jesus says it twice so that we wont miss it: You will recognize them by their fruits. The greatest defense against false teaching is a local church community that knows, enjoys, and lives the word of God and holds its leaders accountable. Ill be discussing the various aspects of Life.Church under three broad categories: Green Flags: Those things I believe the church does wellYellow Flags: Things that are problematic, but dont reject sound biblical teaching or compromise the gospelRed Flags: Reasons Christians should avoid or outright reject Life.Church and their teachings. They came quickly and early in the life of the church. Most false teachers live and die by their stories. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. In particular, 2 Peter 2 is remarkable in how it fleshes out Jesuss warning about the fruit of false teaching. Jesus is not only the greatest and truest teacher who ever lived, but he also is the great rescuer, who has redeemed us from sin and will keep those who are truly his from soul-destroying error. But what exactly does this faith entail? For the past several years, weve watched over and over as famous pastor-teachers go through very public falls from enormous heights. ( Romans 10:13, 14) Some religious leaders say that when something terrible happens, it is God's will. Is it Gods will that we serve Him with our money? Use condemnation sparingly. However, shying away from a stance on Hell for sake of approachability or gaining favor is problematic on its own. If we had any doubts at this point, Peter joins the refrain to add another voice: There will be false teachers among you (2 Peter 2:1). Listen to people who are truly God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated, Spirit-dependent, who bear the marks in their lives of authenticity. We see this most clearly, perhaps, in the history of racism and American evangelicals. The best way to guard yourself against falsehood and false teachers is to know the truth. Image: But how exactly do we use the label false teacher for those who deny Christ and lead people astray with their lives? The first false teaching that you will commonly hear in mainstream Christianity would be the teaching, "faith alone.". I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. This report published on April 19 wrongly states that Stanley's church is Southern Baptist. Life.Church must shrug their shoulders, say I guess God was a liar this time, and refund the investment of someone who trusted God for three months and saw that He isnt everything they were promised. 8 As the head, Jesus is the one who governs, controls, and provides for His body. Many churches, whether innocently or manipulatively, tell people that God demands 10% of their income. The beloved drink is both an attraction and a generational divide. For from within arise the false teachers, the peddlers of error who masquerade as teachers of truth. When one accepts false teaching, God's unfailing, infinite wisdom is rejected and the natural, finite wisdom of fallible humans is embraced. Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:10 NIV. When you click Take the Challenge, you can read this under the terms: 7. And theyre so confident that God will keep His promise that they offer a 100% money-back guarantee. Groeschel is famous for integrating secular psychology into his teaching. There is hope. Other things worth knowing for this discussion include: The goal of this article isnt to pick on a random church, but instead to create a resource for those in my area who are becoming interested in attending Life.Church locally. At least partly due to this history, some evangelicals have embraced false or oversimplified assumptions about the connection between the two. I quote this verse to point out one thing: God does not tolerate people using His name for their own ends. This is made evident in books of the Bible such as Acts, Colossians, and 2 Timothy, to name a few. Poor leaders proclaim Christ in word but deny him with their lives. More numbers equal more disciple-making. But being a jerk also makes you a false teacher. At worst, Life.Church actually agrees with the false teachings coming from their guests. Its no surprise that Jesus told the apostles before his ascension to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the Triune Name and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Matt. They are legalistic 4. Life.Church frequently fails to live up to both of these, and as a result, faces problems in many other ways. It is Bavaria's largest city and the third largest city in Germany (after Berlin and Hamburg). It doesnt matter what it takes to get someone there, whether its a sermon that preys on someones fear of Hell or a fluffy sermon that makes people want a therapist named Jesus. One of the most damaging things in Christianity is easy believism. Its an approach to the gospel that tells people that if they just pray a prayer, theyll be saved. But as I listened to more sermons, I realize that those gaps I mentally filled in werent accidental slips, but intentional omissions.Heres the basic layout of a Life.Church gospel presentation: That sounds good because we know that none of these things are absolutely incorrect. Thats because messing up only matters when the emphasis is on ourselves and how it affects our lives. There are many pastors who are simply ignorant of exegetical preaching. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. False Gospel 2: The Gospel of Social Justice. I dont know if Groeschel frequently deals with sexual purity issues with his own congregation or if he just speaks to the culture around him, but he frequently calls people to embrace a biblical understanding of sexual purity and marital faithfulness. The personality on the screen cant shepherd a flock three states away, the local pastors dont fulfill a primary function of teaching, and the church that isnt the pastors primary location becomes more like a franchise than a local church. There were no cars or airplanes, and no printing presses, websites, or Facebook pages. This is a basic culmination of everything discussed about sermons up to this point. There are many critiques we can bring against any multi-site church. First, look at their motivation. Eventually, however, the fruit (or lack thereof) will be manifest. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. If removing wrath from the gospel presentation resonates better with the audience, then thats what must be done. As I researched Life.Church, I was surprised to see solid Christians giving their (sometimes begrudging) support. We begin by acknowledging not just the possibility of false teaching, but the certainty of it. Trying to affix Bible verses to these conclusions feels good, but in the end it still makes us inwardly focused. They talk about eternity apart from God in the same way someone may talk about living through war or working at a horrible job. To that end, anyone who regularly listens to Life.Church and comes away feeling like they heard a deep or challenging message is almost guaranteed to be either spiritually immature or not saved at all. If you watch a sermon on their website, theres a built-in chat feature with hosts who strike up conversations and even seem to recognize frequent attenders. Life.Church doesnt present any barriers for its listeners. The only reason this isnt a red flag is that the stories (usually) drive people to understand biblical truth. At the end of the three-month period, if I am not convinced of Gods faithfulness to bless my life as a result of my obedience to His Word, then I will be entitled to request a refund of the full amount of contributions made during that three-month period. When we say it was hell, we mean that it was a miserable experience. #6 Hyper-grace. We arent called to just grow personally, but to grow together. He denies the full humanity of women in both word and deed, advocates for profane views of gender and sex, rages with unrepentant pride, engages in habitual self-promotion, and manipulates and abuses others. They were (and are) a different kind of false teacher: heretics of the heart. 1: Faith alone. One of the mysteries of the Christian faith can be found in Jesus' warning that the way to life is "narrow" and that "few" would actually find it. But when we focus on God and the reality of how He views our sin, we understand why He hates it and why we need Christ. The Holy Spirit helps us be the best version of ourselves. If God desires that only men are in the role of pastor, then Life.Church is functioning and teaching in rebellion to God. They promise it. We dont teach that feel-good, soft message. They are divisive 2. However, Groeschel clearly understands it. For example, 1 Corinthians deals with teachers who denied the bodily resurrection of Jesus. We are seeing the enormous consequences of this kind of heresy every day, but we dont always name it as such. False Prophets in the Church Today. Our leaders need to be held accountable, and not held in such high esteem that we give them a pass on the normal Christian life. Teachers sent of God are to be followed, as with the example given by the apostle Paul, who said by the Spirit, "Become followers of me, even as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). (Romans 5:1). David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. On its own, this can come down to preference more than concern. So many Christians, including Groeschel, try to make the interpretations of a secular worldview find harmony with Gods truth, but in the end they weaken both psychology and the Bible. Let Gods truth become your battle plan to win the war in your mind! We preach the unadulterated word of God. The rest of the time is spent getting people emotionally invested in entertaining or heartwarming stories, motivating them with clever ideas or saying, and doing anything other than actually discussing what Gods word teaches. But he is teaching with his whole personwords and deedsnot just explicitly named doctrines. Whether or not we try to put a Christian wrapper on it, this worldview says that our greatest problem is that we dont love ourselves enough, and we need salvation from our bad thoughts. However, the Bible warns us that false teachers hide in the church like weeds among wheat. instruct and monitor students in the use of learning materials and equipment. The Doctrine Of Annihilation. Weve all tried to think our way out of bad habits and unhealthy thought patterns, only to find ourselves stuck with an out-of-control mind and off-track daily life. We should not be surprised to find false teaching in the church today. Heres the clip (it goes from 9:30-10:10): While the whole rant is odd, I still cant believe this part was said (and celebrated): My church is right. False teachers take on many forms, custom-crafted to times, cultures, and contexts. The example of Mark Driscollwhose story is now being revisited in depth through The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcastis illustrative of my point. Get the best from CT editors, delivered straight to your inbox! We want to do things to be happy, or change because were miserable. Jude continues: For certain intruders have stolen in among you, people who long ago were designated for this condemnation as ungodly, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (v. 4). As someone who wants Gods people to grow in spiritual maturity, I cannot recommend Life.Church under any circumstance. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Like I said, its a really strange statement. Do not look for perfection assign and grade class work, homework, tests and assignments. (2 Corinthians 9:7). . Munich, by far the largest city in southern Germany, lies about 30 miles (50 km) north of the edge of the Alps and along the Isar River, which flows through the middle of the city. And orthodoxy is only meaningful and substantive when it takes on flesh in faithful practice. She sits under Furtick's abominable teaching. Within that goal, they recognize that our holy God has likewise called us to holiness. For a pastor who leads Gods people, its completely unacceptable. Rick Warren - False Teacher. However, this discussion is important because Life.Church isnt just a local church, but a church continually creating a global outreach. Drawing upon Scripture and the latest findings of brain science, Groeschel lays out practical strategies that will free you from the grip of harmful, destructive thinking and enable you to live the life of joy and peace that God intends you to live. 1. And we must continue to do so, not in a mouthing-the-words way but in a conviction-of-the-heart-and-mind way. My frustration is not just for the people and communities harmed by these leaders but also for the way these pastors lives contradicted and undermined the gospel they preached. We mess up when we dial the wrong number, misspell a word, or mistake tablespoons and teaspoons when adding salt to a recipe. God often brings good things from bad situations, but the good result doesnt mean the bad situation shouldnt be avoided by others. In 1 Corinthians 3:2, Paul chastises the church for still being spiritually immature and weak in their thinking and understanding. It comes as no surprise that God warns us many times in Scripture to be aware of false teaching. It occurred to me that I was filling in certain blanks with my own understanding, possibly because a pastor who gives the gospel in every sermon may not fully emphasize something due to innocent oversight on their part. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. In fact, its the one area in the Bible where God tells you to test Him. They are worldly. Without an accurate gospel presentation, or even personal discipleship, its impossible for these thousands of new Christians to truly know if they understand what theyre being asked to do. March 15, 2022 Linda Wright Bible Study & Worship, The Relationship. False teaching exalts human wisdom and avoids or diminishes divine wisdom. The challenge is simple, and I will again quote their website: If youre not tithing already, a great way to start is with the Three-Month Tithe Challenge. Posted By Marsha West on September 5, 2016 in Discernment, False Teacher Alert, Women and the Church 13. Seven times in the book of Hebrews, the author captures the heart of Christianity in a simple, wonderful command: draw near. Speakers will regularly call for the online chat to type things in the comments, whether its something fun or proclaiming their new decision to be a Christian. [emphasis mine]. ]. Historically, Groeschel has also supported false teachers like Steven Furtick and Joel Osteen. They tell people to test His faithfulness, set Him up to be a liar, and thus blaspheme His name. There are many warnings in the Bible that tell us to . Keep a list in your home to refer to. And despite the good things that Life.Church may do, there are many more problems that overshadow that good. Emily. The teaching in a false church will, if you believe it, lead you to eternal death. 1:6; Col. 2:20; 1 Tim. This isnt inherently wrong if its handled well, but it does present some problems. What happens when someone tithes for three months and their earthly circumstances are worse than they were at the beginning and their faith is weaker? They are not interested in teaching the truth. God storing up wrath because we mess up makes Him sound like Hes making mountains out of molehills. He just doesnt care, nor does he want his people to value handling Gods word carefully. False teachings today! David Mathis is executive editor for desiringGod.org and pastor at. Groeschels heart is for his people. 1:3). (See the red flags for the gospel presentation from the perspective of someone who doesnt understand sin or Christs atonement). And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. False religion has "exchanged the truth of God for the lie.". Though the details of the stories vary, all were men who had the right doctrinal content in their books and sermons. Emily Hunter McGowin is an assistant professor of theology at Wheaton College. YouVersion, the Bible app created and supported by Life.Church, also features various devotionals by false teachers such as Kenneth Copeland. False teachers from "among the people [en t la] . However, growing in spiritual maturity isnt something we should gamble on, nor ignore for the sake of entertainment. As they should. Or, very simply, Follow me (Luke 5:27; John 1:43). This sounds good until we realize that if God hasnt promised this, they open God up to be a liar (which they acknowledge in their terms). However, I cant end this section without being clear about one thing: Life.Church does talk about Gods wrath when the sermon topic demands it (such as Groeschels specific discussions about Hell). But in this scenario, Jesus is our means to an end. However, this is completely contrary to both understanding Old Testament context as well as what God reveals: Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Conversions credited to women evangelists sharing the good news one-on-one in conversations. Some were small, others grandiose, but all were false and misleading. However, if we were to boil sermons down to their bare essence, we could lump them into two groups: In other words, how necessary is the Bible to any given sermon? A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Here are seven of them you will find carrying out their deceptive, destructive work in the church today. But this is not the only way to deny Christ. Were on a mission to change that. But today just about every false teacher has a Twitter account. Heaven is capitalized (meaning its a proper name), but hell is lowercase (meaning its not an actual location). Paul's epistles and early church history prove that. To unlock this article for your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. Again and again, Peters descriptions relate to greed, sensuality, and pride or money, sex, and power. The few benefits they may offer are nothing compared to the serious issues faced by the church and its leadership. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. However, the idea of mandatory tithing is deeply entrenched in Christian tradition. And those dont usually come out overnight; they take time. Within that goal, they recognize that our holy God has likewise called us to holiness. This was an alarming reality I noticed as I listened to sermon after sermon. Then I said: Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place. And the Lord said to me: The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. When the power of a message rests in the personality, charisma, and cleverness of the speaker instead of the power of Christ and the Bible, then people arent changing because of truth. I would not be who I am today if it wasn't for godly leaders in the church. False teachers will be known by their ungodly influence . For my whole life, I have loved God's church. (Exodus 20:7). When people are told to change out of self-interest, then they believe the Christian life is about self-empowerment and, ultimately, feeding their greed. My hope is that the church might get better at assessing corrupt practices that qualify a leader as a false teacher, even if that person espouses all the recognizable elements of Christian orthodoxy. For most of church history, it took extraordinary energy and effort to influence the masses. I agree that for the three-month period, my household will contribute to God, through Life.Church, a tithe equal to 10% of our income. So Groeschel is essentially saying that his words, especially as he teaches his church, dont need to fall under what is established in Gods word. That seems harsh, but thats the reality of what Life.Church offers. He claims God gave him a vision to start the church. A low view of the authority of the Bible means that what it says about the severity of sin doesnt matter if it doesnt fit their model on being approachable, motivational, and uplifting. And a life characterized by ongoing, unrepentant, anti-Christian practiceespecially among leadersresults in denying Christ and the power of the gospel. But that is a lie. False teaching no. However, while some churches can have a strong sense of community, they can become so insulated that outsiders feel intimidated. Fresh Life Church has a standard faith statement that is biblical and not particularly useful for this assessment. His post was liked over 18,000 times and had more than 2,500 shares. Verses 1 and 3 mention the generalities destructive heresies and false words which indeed relate to teaching but then, nothing further in this chapter focuses on their teaching. [emphasis mine]. Steven Furtick is the pastor of Elevation Church in North Carolina. If false teaching, then, is not only about what our leaders say and write, but also how they live, how is the church to recognize and expose false teaching today? During the gospel presentation, sin is regularly explained as messing up., Describing sin in this way is like telling someone to be afraid of a spaghetti noodle. This is nothing new to Life.Church. Real Christians never miss a church service.". This is often given under the banner of irrational generosity, which is the idea of giving beyond what makes sound financial sense (and is beyond the 10% tithe that God allegedly demands). Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (see also Luke 6:4344). The Who We Are section of their website gives a good summary. Yes, this is talking about false prophets. And I suspect that replacing absolute surrender to Gods word in favor of a business mentality is where Life.Church finds many of these red flags Ive discussed. To Keep Gen Z in the Pews, One Singapore Church Lets Them Run the Service, Complete access to articles on ChristianityToday.com, Over 120 years of magazine archives plus full access to all of CTs online archives. Illustration by Mallory Rentsch / Source Images: Sindre Strm / Pexels. When sermons appeal to peoples emotions, rather than appealing to Gods word, theyre equipped to be led by emotion. If you visit their YouTube channel and sort their videos by most popular, their most-watched video is titled Your Porn Battle Plan. The sermon is exactly what youd expect it to be, and its encouraging to see that a church is willing to speak bluntly to a major problem. "If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. The church has blessed me with opportunities to worship, learn, serve and make lifelong friends. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Help kids learn the truths (including Bible references) that refute each false message and write them on your list. Social media has taught us that online communities may be active, but theyre often hollow. I can't remember all of my missionary lies. The sermons may bring out a simple spiritual truth, but the delivery is often so light and motivational that any relevance to God can be easily dismissed. The answer, based solely on the gospel presentations Ive heard, is I have no idea. And if someone were to attend Life.Church with no background in Christianity, they would likewise have no idea. They defile the flesh, reject authority, and participate in deeds of ungodliness (vv. God calls us to give the first 10% of our income back to Him. Life.Church may not promote this misunderstanding on purpose, but tithing is a major part of their church and it begins with a false foundation. So, we should not be caught off guard that false teachers have arisen throughout church history and likely have multiplied in our day. Heres a basic example of how people are told to repent of their sin and trust in Christ for salvation (if the video doesnt automatically begin there, its at the 29:40 mark): The number of hands raised or comments written in the chat give Life.Church a sense that so many new Christians are being redeemed by Christ. 1) Rick Warren's Purpose Driven movement offers a Broad Way Christianity. In his head, he might have what many consider to be the right doctrinal content. And heres the thing by all measurements, Life.Church is wildly successful. My Experiences with False Teachers. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5). Jesus warned about false prophets from among the people who outwardly come in "sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matt. The reason this is a huge issue right now is that many churches have temporarily begun moving many of their regular "in person" activities to livestream, YouTube, Zoom, Skype, etc., due to COVID restrictions that prevent members from gathering together easily. In several instances, I saw a host in the online chat type out a prayer after someone requested prayer for something like healing. Lots of people are teachers who are simply misguided and unhelpful in many ways, but might not come under the ban of being called a false teacher. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? They were at the starting gate. He runs a successful leadership podcast, a resource on their website is an ebook called Measuring What Matters which is essentially a how to grow your online business for churches, and in an interview he said they measure success by the number of people participating in various aspects of the church (new visitors, engaging in serving at church, participating in small groups, etc). Holy God has something better for your life than your old ways of.... The certainty of it again, Peters descriptions relate to greed, sensuality, participate! Life.Church offers frequently fails to live up to this history, it took extraordinary energy and to... Is Bavaria & # x27 ; t for godly leaders in the of! Of their income frequently fails to live up to be happy, or against God fact, its completely.! Authority over a man ; rather life church false teaching she is to reach it but dont! An approach to the serious issues faced by the church like weeds among wheat in books the. 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