This is an issue I've addressed repeatedly for years now and am growing quite weary with it and it is this: it is becoming impossible for "solid men" to outrightly reject an entire man, ministry, book, organization, movement, or church any more.
They won't have it. They won't dare to do it. They see no need for it.
2John 9-11 doesn't exist in most Bibles it seems. Or at least, its not applicable to those who seem to have some things "right", especially those who are in "their" circle (academics, theology, whatever); you know, those who "otherwise" "seem solid".
It appears on the surface to be "balanced" or "measured" or "reasonable" or "logical" by finding and "appreciating" the "good" of a teacher who is unfaithful to the Scriptures, instead of "rashly" or "unreasonably" rejecting him or her.
Typically the complaint against my challenge is "well who's perfect" or "who has perfect doctrine"?
Scripture does. And Scripture always will. Scripture is knowable through the Holy Spirit's work in us. Truth is knowable. And God expects us to know His Word. That's why growth is part of the true Christian's life:
2Pe 3:17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
We can't afford to accept and think we benefit from
a dead tree with dead fruit even if it looks green. Foliage is NOT fruit. To be
"right" on some things is nothing new: Satan is right on many things, after all.
Mormonism is right on many things. But its the error that makes what is "right"
to be in fact entirely wrong. This has been my biggest concern for years now. We are to
reject an entire man, ministry, book, church, school, author, speaker if they
deviate from the Truth in regard to the nature of God (including the Holy
Spirit), the Gospel, soteriology, and/or are in association with heretices (2John 9-11)etc. We are not talking about a brand new baby Christian in these instances
(remember when everyone was excusing Driscoll's potty mouth (and increasingly his association with false teachers and doctrine) by saying he's just
"immature"? I was pleading that such is not the case with Driscoll at all! By his position he claims
maturity. Finally at least John MacArthur said the exact same thing: it isn't about a maturity
issue--its a sin issue!
Is there truth in error? Can we find good fruit from a bad tree? Just as Brown finds good and truth in the Charismatic movement and its leaders, Butler seems to also find good and truth in Brown!
Jas 3:11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. 13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.
Mat 7:15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
2Pe 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
Who lets in the wolves who are dressed as sheep? How do they secretly sneak in among you? Is it not by leadership itself? The very "learned" ones who are supposed to be guarding the flock, protecting them and feeding them?
Act 20:28 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 "Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.
Are we therefore, to accept a leader/expert who welcomes, promotes, or defends false prophets? Are we to say that a man who has prophecies about Jesus correct, but yet defends an utterly blasphemous movement and many of its leaders(the very ones who are indeed bringing in all manner of doctrinal error and immorality) can be of spiritual benefit to those who seek the pure milk of the Word? What's the point in being alert then? Or is it that prophecy is merely an academic endeavor--so that whether the source of knowledge is a believer or pagan, doesn't really matter?
The words of Bob Morey continue to ring in my
ears:
Quote:
The
main problem is that many religious leaders today say one thing and teach
another. If you ask Gregory Boyd or the other “Open View of God” heretics if
they believe in the “omniscience” of God, they will say, “Yes.” Dumb Christians
are satisfied at this point and go their merry way deceived and hoodwinked. But
if you force them to define the term “omniscience,” they end up denying that God
knows all things! They claim that God does not and cannot know the
future.
Just
because someone says, “I believe in sola scriptura,” does not mean he really
believes in it. If he elsewhere says that the Bible is not the final authority
in faith and practice, he has denied in substance what he supposedly affirmed as
a slogan. Heretics have always done this. What they affirm with the right hand
is what they deny with the left hand. It does not matter what doctrine is at
stake.
In
the early 1980s, those who denied the inerrancy of Scripture did not begin by
openly denying it.
They redefined it until
the term “inerrancy” meant errors!
Those
who deny the bodily resurrection of Christ often pretend to believe in it by
tricky words and
double talk. Believe
me; I have heard some slick theologians in my
day!
Apostasy
in Scripture is of two kinds: doctrinal and moral.
A
heretic can be a good person who is very moral. Yet, he can also be an
anti-Christ. The monk Pelagius was according to all a good man, morally
speaking. Thus when I point out some teacher as a heretic, evanjellyfish usually
respond, “But he is sooo nice! He is a good man. How dare you attack
him!”
They
assume that heretics are always mean and vile. A nice heretic who says that
right phrases and theological clichés cannot be a heretic in their mind.The
problem with heretics who are “nice” is that we tend to let them get away with
the most outrageous teaching because they seem to be so nice.
End quote.
What does Scripture say about men who promote false teachers and teaching? It says to reject them as men who are guilty of wicked deeds:
Psa 26:4 I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor
will I go with pretenders.
1Co 5:11 But now I am writing to you NOT TO ASSOCIATE with anyone who bears the name
of brother if
he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler,
drunkard, or
swindler--not even to eat with such a one.
Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for
because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do
not be partakers with them;8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you
are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and
truth),10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of
darkness, but instead even expose them;12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the
things which are done by them in secret.
2Co 11:4 For if
one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive
a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you
have not accepted, you bear this
beautifully.
Rom 16:17 Now I urge you,
brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary
to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. 18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord
Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech
they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.
2Co 6:14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers;
for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has
light with darkness?15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or
what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
We are called to separation; yes first and second degree separation according to Scripture.
2Jn 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.
1Jn 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth.
1Th 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
We are never called to sift through the garbage looking for the pure milk of the Word. We are not told to sift through the darkness to find the light. We are never called to sift through the error to find the Truth. Rather, we are commanded to examine everything, hold tightly to that which is biblically good, and shun EVERY FORM of evil. This verse is not saying look for the good among the evil, but rather the opposite: there is nothing good in evil therefore we are to reject it in all its forms entirely.
What form does evil take? Many, of course. But the most dangerous of all is the subtle kind. The kind Satan seduced Eve with. He did not outrightly attack God and His Word; rather he used truth AND lies and Eve went looking for the truth among that which would only bring death.
Evil (including error) is seductive. Its form can be that of "truth", of "light"; after all the Father of lies presents himself or his minions, as "angels of light", does he not? The most effective and powerful form of evil is the kind that masks its lies with a bit of truth. Gullible souls gobble it up and even defend it. In the end, however, it leads to ungodliness, away from the faith, and away from Christ (Col. 2-3, James 3).
Its time to start rejecting entirely a man who promotes blasphemers, heretics, false teachers, and false teaching, even if he himself doesn't outrightly teach them himself. Why? Because in his justifying such error, he is promoting it, as 2John 11 clearly states. It means that something is GROSSLY, DOCTRINALLY, and SPIRITUALLY wrong with such a man...a "learned" man. It means that what he SAYS elsewhere is contradicted by his other words and clear actions.
A person can have an academic knowledge of the Bible and apologetics or prophecy, and yet be lost. The fruit that continues to be borne is what gives lie to the reality of that "expert's" true spiritual condition. In other words, where their true loyalty is eventually becomes evident and THAT tells us where they truly are, despite being right on some doctrine or historical or prophetic fact. If they are friends with or defending or promoting an entire movement or leader(s) that are blasphemous and are at war with Christ, then its not merely a matter of a lack of discernment (which by the way, they should have if they are so learned, yes?), then they too are to be shunned because they have now become an enemy of not only us but of Christ and His Gospel. Truly, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit cannot be considered a matter of opinion, a secondary issue, something to "agree to disagree" on! Jesus never agreed to disagree with any of the religious leaders. Ever.
Such men and women are an impediment to the Cross of Christ and should have no accolades or praise from those who seek to be loyal to Christ alone.
In closing, I'd like to leave you with Spurgeon's sharp but insightful words from almost 150 years ago:
Quote:We are grateful to the editor of Word and Work for speaking out so plainly. He says:—
"In The Sword and the Trowel for the present month Mr. Spurgeon gives no uncertain sound concerning departures from the faith. His exposure of the dishonesty which, under the cover of orthodoxy, assails the very foundations of faith is opportune in the interests of truth. No doubt, like a faithful prophet in like evil times, he will be called a 'troubler of Israel,' and already we have noticed he has been spoken of as a pessimist; but any such attempts to lessen the weight of his testimony are only certain to make it more effective. When a strong sense of duty prompts public speech it will be no easy task to silence it.
"The preachers of false doctrine dislike nothing more than the premature detection of their doings. Only give them time enough to prepare men's minds for the reception of their 'new views,' and they are confident of success. They have had too much time already, and any who refuse to speak out now must be held to be 'partakers of their evil deeds.' As Mr. Spurgeon says, 'A little plain-speaking would do a world of good just now. These gentlemen desire to be let alone. They want no noise raised. Of course thieves hate watch-dogs, and love darkness. It is time that somebody should spring his rattle, and call attention to the way in which God is being robbed of his glory and man of his hope.'
End quote.
"In The Sword and the Trowel for the present month Mr. Spurgeon gives no uncertain sound concerning departures from the faith. His exposure of the dishonesty which, under the cover of orthodoxy, assails the very foundations of faith is opportune in the interests of truth. No doubt, like a faithful prophet in like evil times, he will be called a 'troubler of Israel,' and already we have noticed he has been spoken of as a pessimist; but any such attempts to lessen the weight of his testimony are only certain to make it more effective. When a strong sense of duty prompts public speech it will be no easy task to silence it."The preachers of false doctrine dislike nothing more than the premature detection of their doings. Only give them time enough to prepare men's minds for the reception of their 'new views,' and they are confident of success. They have had too much time already, and any who refuse to speak out now must be held to be 'partakers of their evil deeds.' As Mr. Spurgeon says, 'A little plain-speaking would do a world of good just now. These gentlemen desire to be let alone. They want no noise raised. Of course thieves hate watch-dogs, and love darkness. It is time that somebody should spring his rattle, and call attention to the way in which God is being robbed of his glory and man of his hope.'
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