Y ou pay attention to what is affirmed. You pay attention to what is denied. You pay attention to what is left unsaid. Note 1 John 4:3: "He that does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not o f God.” He doesn’t deny it, he just doesn’t confess it. It’s not a question o f what He said, nor a ques tion o f what he denied. It’s a question of silence. Having pointed this out, let us consider general characteristics of false teaching. Bear in mind always 1 John 4:1-3. Remem ber also that all of these characteristics probably are not true o f any one false teaching; that some of them may not be true o f any one false prophet. One or more of them may be . . . but the real Biblical test is 1 John 4:1-3. This is to show you some things that are characteristic. If these things are true of a prophet then you had better examine his teaching in the light o f 1 John 4:1-3. These are warning signs that we’re laying down now. A Private Revelation The first one is this: They begin with a private revelation. Nobody else was around, or one or two were around. All of a sudden the prophet appears on the scene with a new reve lation from God. He found it all by himself. It’s a direct revelation from God, it’s quite apart from what’s gone before. Often it will imply a completely new interpretation of what the church has been believing for years and insist that the church has been wrong. "Now I have it, that is it.” Consider a singular fact that was true of the Christian faith at its beginnings. Remember Paul’s words when he was giving his witness and defense before King Agrippa, he said, "I am persuaded, O King, that you know all about the things I’m talking about because,” said Paul, "this thing was not done in a corner.’’ Christianity did not begin in a corner. It did not begin as a' secret. Jesus Christ was the most public person who ever lived. He did nht know what it meant to have a private life. Nearly everything He taught His disciples was public property. They were at the mercy o f all of the people— multitudes—multiplied thousands, many o f . whom were against Jesus Christ and His disciples. The people would have been openly challenged if something wrong had been said because these multitudes knew the facts in the case. The Christian faith had its birth in public view. It was not done in a corner. T ake, for example, the 120 in the upper room. The Holy Spirit came upon them and they all witnessed to the same message. Five thousand were saved; they all witnessed to the same message. It wasn’t one man getting another in a huddle off somewhere in some se cluded spot for a rendezvous and then indoctrinating him in some deep dark mystery and some revolutionary experience and then going out and bringing in another, etc. That wasn’t Christianity at the beginning— and it isn’t Christianity today. That is not the way God works. It did not begin in a corner. And Paul makes it very clear in Ephesians that when God reveals Himself in the world today, He does it, says Paul, "by the church” (Eph. 3:10). A New Doctrine Now the second characteristic is new doctrine. And often this new doctrine results in a new book. And this book takes its place beside the Bible and the two books become inseparable and the new book becomes the qualified in- CONT1NUED 17
come; and even now already it is in the world (1 John 4:1-3). A word about antichrists. I’d like to quote Dr. James Stewart of Scotland. He says, "the really sinister thing about antichrist is not, as might be sup posed, his radical difference from Christ but pre cisely a diabolical resemblance to Christ. He is so like Christ that he can successfully masquerade as Christ, as the word antichrist itself suggests, and claim to stand in Christ’s place deceiving the very elect.” Now listen to what Paul says: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, trans forming themselves into the apostles o f Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers o f righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:- 13-15). Jesus said false prophets will arise and show great signs and great wonders so as to lead astray if possible even the elect (Matt. 24:24). If you’re a Christian you have no right to read anything or listen to anything any more than you have a right to eat anything or drink anything. You are bound under God to see to it that you listen to and read the truth. There are many different things that are distinctive about false teachings, which claim to be Christian. We can test any teaching to see whether these things are true of it. Not all false teachings will bear all o f these signs but one or more o f these characteristics will be true of all false teach ing. It is important also to remember that if a person is really concerned about the truth, the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth, will give insight and discernment when necessary. Three Ways a Teaching Can Be Wrong There are three ways in which teaching can be wrong. 1) It can be wrong in what it affirms. 2) It can be wrong in what it denies. 3) It can be wrong in what it omits (and of course, that’s the most subtle). Prophets may be false in their affirmation or in their denial or in their omission, they may be wrong in any one of them— in all of them— or in any combination o f them. For example: A prophet may he right in what he affirms, wrong in what he denies and what he omits. He may be right in what he denies, wrong in what he affirms, what he omits. He might he right in what he affirms, in what he denies and wrong in what he omits. He might be right in what he omits and wrong in what he denies and what he affirms — But the omissions are the most subtle. Often one who reads the teaching o f a false prophet, when he has read the whole thing through, will be able to say, "There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this.” Now that’s quite possible. What he read is right as far as it goes but it doesn’t go far enough. It stops short. It isn’t just enough to see what a prophet says. One must see what he leaves unsaid, what he denies. To illustrate: one may emphasize the ethics of Jesus, as in the Sermon on the Mount, to the complete exclusion o f the death and resurrection o f Jesus Christ. Now there’s nothing wrong with the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus taught it and meant us to keep it (Matt. 7:24-27). But it is what is left out by the false teacher that is damnable. A soul can be eternally damned while devoutly struggling to follow the ethics of some teacher.
JUNE, 1955
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs