Warning! Full Preterism: A Demonic and Heretical False Doctrine Spreading Like Gangrene

 

The Church of the Apostasy, Part II

The Church of the Apostasy, Part II: Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum Ariel Ministries www.ariel.org   “The new phase [of apostasy] claims to affirm the fundamentals of the faith…” The following is excerpted from The …

Should we love false teachers?

Reblogged from the-end-time.blogspot.com

Posted: 12 Jun 2015 11:51 AM PDT

It's always nice to talk about love and tolerance. We know that God loved the world. He loves His Son. We are told to love each other, that is how they will know us (John 13:35). But sometimes love is not appropriate or warranted. Do I mean this, really? Well, we know we are supposed to hate sin. We know there are six things, no, seven, that the Lord hates. (Proverbs 6:16-19). We hate sin so much we're supposed to kill the old man in us. (Colossians 3:5). We don't endlessly give the Gospel to those who hurl it back, those hurlers are called swine. So when it comes to love, we know we don't 'love' everyone or everything, at least not according to the romantic or secular definition of love. So here is the question: are we supposed to love false teachers?

At The Berean Call, the question is posed:

To the world it might appear that all is well in the Christian realm. Much-beloved speakers hold forth from the pulpits of some of the largest churches in the world. Believers and nonbelievers alike buy their books, avail themselves of their programs, and utilize their methodologies. One might come to the conclusion that Peter must not have been referring to the church in our day regarding false teachers. Tolerance is the word of the day. We hear admonitions on a regular basis to "just get along" with those of opposing faiths. "Love" reigns supreme.

But what is this "love" of which they speak? What about those who identify a false gospel or a false teacher among some of the popular speakers these days? Does this "love" still apply to those who expose the ones who are actually deceivers among the flock?

A dear sister in the faith posed the question to me. To love those who are deluded and cannot understand the Word and care for them and not be critical. I thought about it for a long time, because I love poorly and I'm always appealing to the Lord to teach me love better.

So I began to think hard, should we love false teachers? Are they to be pitied? I decided, no. Though I value the opinions offered and they DO make me think, I don't necessarily always agree. I'd like to offer an alternate view about how far not to go in pursuing love, and to offer a different perspective of what love actually is.

If we read Jeremiah 14:16, there is not even a hapless non-believer who accidentally can't understand God's truth and accidentally follows false prophets because they don't know better. They DO know better. God said He will pour out their evil upon them because they knew better but followed false prophets anyway. 2 Timothy 4:3 also puts the blame on those who choose to follow false teachers because they wanted their ears tickled, so they went out and accumulated for themselves false teachers who told them what they wanted to hear.

But back to the false teachers themselves. I reserve my highest caring in this situation- for Jesus. We do care for the state of our neighbor's souls, and we do care for brethren, but in all this let us not forget caring about Jesus.

I care about His name and what people do in His name. The harshest criticism in the Bible from everyone, (Jesus, Paul, Peter, John the Baptist, John, James, Jude, etc) was aimed at those who pervert God's word. It is not a situation where we say "poor, poor false teachers. Let's understand them and open our hearts to them and care." I do hope they are saved someday, but beyond that they get no caring from me. I am highly CRITICAL of them in righteous indignation. Here is why-

The Bible tells us they do it on purpose. They disguise themselves- that isn't an accident. (2 Cor 1:13). They do it for greed. (1 Timothy 6:5). They do it to put us in bondage again. (Gal 2:4). They do it because they hate Jesus and love themselves. (1 Tim 6:4). They do it because they enjoy lying. (2 Peter 2:1).

These false teachers are already cursed and destined for hell. In the essay "The Pathology of False Teachers" we read,

Unfortunately, their prognosis is not hopeful. Their spiritual condition is terminal. Those who are deprived of the truth are headed for judgment. Hebrews 6:6 solemnly warns of such men that “it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame.” Peter says that they bring “swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1). The severest hell will be reserved for those who, having been exposed to the truth, turned away from it (cf. Hebrews 10:26–31).

The goal of the false teacher is not to create an environment of love, but to feed his ego and fill his pockets.
~John MacArthur
You notice they don't pervert Buddha's words. They don't pervert Allah's words. They don't pervert Shiva's words. They choose to pervert Jesus' swords for gain, for fame, for an audience, and all the other reasons. I am critical of that because I care about Jesus.

The Berean Call again:

Every epistle in the New Testament was written to correct error in the church. Did Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude not understand that to correct those who were in error was in truth a failure to love them? Did they believe that it was none of their business to bring correction to the false teaching? Do we consider them divisive for confronting error and holding fast to the truth? No! They boldly addressed the error and at times even named the offenders.

No, I do not love false teachers. I do not care about false teachers. I care about Jesus. I love His followers. Tim Challies said in his essay 7 Marks of a False Teacher,

False teachers are concerned with your goods, not your good; they want to serve themselves more than save the lost; they are content for Satan to have your soul as long as they can have your stuff.

Jesus called false teachers broods of vipers and hypocrites. (Mt 23:33)
So did John the Baptist in Mt 3:7
Paul said they were cursed. Twice in 2 sentences. (Gal 1:8,9)
Paul said their talk is gangrenous. (2 Tim 2:17)
Jesus called them ravenous wolves (Mt 7:15)
John called them deceivers (2 John 1:7)
Jude calls them ungodly perverters (Jude 1:4)
Peter called them depraved, disobedient, and destined for hell (1 Peter 2:8, 2 Peter 2:1,2)
John called them antichrists (1 John 2:22)
Never mind the harsh language from God in the OT against false prophets.

So. Were they wrong not to "love" the false teachers?

Indeed, we are told repeatedly we are to mark them, avoid them, not listen to them, close the hospitable door on them, put them out, warn them, keep away from them, give them to satan, but nowhere does it say to love them, care for them, or pity them.

Indeed, John advises the elder lady and her children not to even allow false teachers into their house NOR give them a greeting! If we do, God considers that we are participating in their evil deeds. (2 John 1:10). The John MacArthur Commentary on 2 John 1:10 says this-

Irenaeus relates that the church father Polycarp, when asked by the notorious heretic Marcion, "Do you know me?" replied, "I do know you, the firstborn of satan." (Against Heresies, 3.3.4)

John himself once encountered Cerinthus (another notorious heretic) in a public bathhouse in Ephesus. Instead of greeting him, however, John turned and fled, exclaiming to those with him, "Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of truth, is within." (Against Heresies, 3.3.4)

Charein, (greeting) means 'Rejoice' It was a common Christian greeting, conveying the joy believers had in one another's presence. But it is an affirmation of solidarity that is totally inappropriate for false teachers, who have no part in the truth of genuine Christian fellowship.Such emissaries of satan must be exposed and shunned, not affirmed and welcomed.

False teachers like to decry such treatment as harsh, intolerant, or unloving. But love forbids dangerous spiritual deception to gain a foothold among Christians. John's pastoral admonition is perfectly consistent with Jesus' denunciation of false teachers as ravenous wolves, thieves and robbers, whose only purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. The church cannot aid or abet such spiritual outlaws by doing anything that would acknowledge them as Christians. The one who does so, even by doing something as seemingly innocuous as greeting them, participates in their evil deeds by helping them to further their deception.

I reserve all my criticism, judgment, and righteous indignation for the false teachers, and all my love for Jesus the Man-God, His people, and His revealed word. During the few times I've had opportunity to engage directly with a few of the false teachers I've written about, I hope I was lovingly showing them the error of their ways. THAT also is love, though the world doesn't call it love. Love is to admonish and correct so hopefully they do not persist in their tragic path, or worse, taking others with them.

Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14)

Source

Here are two resources on the subject:

How to Treat False Teachers

The Danger Facing the Church
Love also comes out of sincere faith, not the hypocritical faith manifested by false teachers. Faith that has no pretense creates love. A false teacher has a dirty heart because it's never been cleansed by the true gospel of faith in Christ. A false teacher has a guilty conscience because his impure heart triggers it. But his conscience may have reached the point where it's so scarred that it's lost its sensitivity. And a false teacher has hypocritical faith. He's a phony--he wears a mask. That kind of life will never produce the love of God. The goal of the false teacher is not to create an environment of love, but to feed his ego and fill his pockets.

A Final Warning: Beware of False Teachers

Lesson 107: A Final Warning: Beware of False Teachers! (Romans 16:17-20)
Years ago, a seminary professor told his class at the beginning of the semester that they would work together on one major project during that semester. They would move systematically through the New Testament to categorize every area of truth and determine how many times each area is addressed. Their goal was to find what one thing is emphasized more than any other in the New Testament. When they completed the project, they were amazed to see that warning against false doctrine is emphasized more than any other thing, even more than love, unity, and experience (Renald Showers, in “Israel My Glory,” [April/May, 1995], pp. 24-25). I have not verified their conclusion, but they’re probably right. ...

J. C. Ryle was a champion for the truth in the Church of England during the 19th century. I’d recommend that you read him. In Warnings to the Churches ([Banner of Truth], p. 110), he wrote about how difficult yet necessary controversy in the church is. Then he added, “But there is one thing which is even worse than controversy, and that is false doctrine tolerated, allowed, and permitted without protest or molestation.” After acknowledging that many would view what he writes as exceedingly distasteful, he states (p. 111), “Three things there are which men never ought to trifle with—a little poison, a little false doctrine, and a little sin.”

Why Discernment is important, and what lack of discernment does to the body

Reblogged from Elizabeth Prata: the-end-time.blogspot.com

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Why is sound doctrine important? At the World View Weekend conference in Branson MO, Mike Gendron explained why. A former Catholic for 30 years, Mr Gendron became saved. He left a career as a rocket scientist (really) and evangelizes widely. He is specifically ministers in bringing the Gospel to Catholics. A graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary, he writes at Proclaiming The Gospel. He said at the conference,

"Why there is so little discernment in the church? Preachers preach what the people want instead of what they need. They don't want sound doctrine, so pastors give feel good messages that tickle their ears build up their self-esteem. So without sound doctrine many in the church today don't really think it matters what you call a Christian as long as you label it Christianity...they want to feel good, not made good by the preaching of God's word. ... So what's at stake if we abandon sound doctrine? The glory and honor of our great Lord. The purity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Ultimately, the eternal destiny of those who are not hearing the truth from pulpits today. ... Without discernment we will not know if we are believing and proclaiming the true gospel or a compromised distortion."

Mr Gendron's words echo what John MacArthur said, that lack of discernment is a number one problem today. In his sermon, Deliverance: From Sin to Righteousness, Part 2, we read,

"Today, as we've been saying, evangelical church and leaders are saying anyone who says he's a Christian is a Christian. Anybody who says they believe in Jesus is a Christian...liberal, Protestants, charismatic, Roman Catholic, orthodox, sort of free-floating unattached people who believe in Jesus. Anybody who claims to be a Christian can be tested by truth and virtue. This is critical. Real deliverance produces a changed life."

Remember not everyone who says they are a Christian IS a Christian. The proof is the fruit produced from a Holy Spirit empowered changed life. In order to even see fruit (or lack of fruit) we need to be discerning.

"If there's any problem that outstrips all other problems in the church, it is this problem of a lack of discernment, the lack of spiritual discrimination because then everybody is vulnerable. And imagine living in a time when not only is the church undiscerning, but sees discernment as a threat to its life and unity. It's just amazing. Widespread ignorance, shallow understanding of Scripture, superficiality interpreting the Bible, faulty reasoning, bad decisions just bring horrendous agony to the church. How foolish can we be? I mean, the Bible is so consistent in telling us beware of ear-tickling teachers, beware of departing from the faith, beware of heresies, doctrines of demons, destructive myths, perverse teachings, commandments of men, speculations, controversial issues, old wives fables, deceitful spirits, worldly tales, false knowledge, science falsely so-called, empty philosophy, traditions of men, worldly wisdom, adulterations of the Scripture and on and on and on and on." "The Responsibilities of the Church"

"As a result, evangelical Christianity, listen to this, is fighting for its very life. I'll say that again, evangelical Christianity, in my view, is fighting for its very life. And our time cries out for people with discernment." "A Call for Discernment, Part 1"

You can see it nowadays, can't you. Christianity is under assault from every direction, every day. The Lord said that His church will not fail, so we can thank Him for stalwart believers. But the assaults to the faith are real and very potent.

AW Tozer wrote, "The healthy soul, like the healthy blood system, has its proper proportion of white and red blood cells. The red corpuscles are like faith: they carry the life giving oxygen to every part of the body. The white cells are like discernment: they pounce upon dead and toxic matter and carry it out to the drain. Thus the two kinds of cells working together keep the tissues in good condition. In the healthy heart there must be provision for keeping dead and poisonous matter out of the life stream."

It's a vivid and apt metaphor, isn't it? I can really picture how faith and discernment works in the body. I'd like to add one more medical metaphor to the situation, Paul's use of the word gangrene in 2 Timothy.

"But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some." (2 Timothy 2:16-18)

Paul's use of gangrene is good here. In his time, the smallest cut could render a person dead in days. Even in the twentieth century, blood poisoning was an extreme issue. The Earl of Carnarvon died that way. George Herbert (Earl of Carnarvon) family was of the family that owns Highclere Castle, the setting for the well-known British production of the television show Downton Abbey. The 5th Earl of Carnarvon was the chief financial backer on many of Howard Carter's Egyptian excavations, and sponsored the excavation that discovered King Tut's tomb. While in Egypt on expedition on March 25, 1923, the Earl Carnarvon/George Herbert got a mosquito bite. He nicked it with his razor when shaving, and the bite became infected. He died on April 5th. It only took ten days for blood poisoning to kill a healthy man.

Gangrene was a worse killer in Paul's day. It's important to realize that the white blood cells (the discerning among the body) must leap on the toxic cell. The toxic cell is not there to unite with you, praise Jesus with you, or do good works with you. The toxic cell is there to kill you.

What does gangrene do to a body? Staying with the medical analogy for a moment, put into your mind the Tozer analogy of the white and red blood cells and the blood flowing in your veins. Blood actually flows in your body as it metaphorically flows in the body of Christ.

The medical definition states, "Gangrene is the death of tissue in part of the body." We know the global born-again church is a body. Jesus uses the metaphor of us being the body and He being the head. (Colossians 1:18). Gangrene is literally the death of some of the living tissue by not allowing the blood to pass through. No blood means death to living tissue.

Gangrene spreads fast. Where the dead tissue exists, it must be cut out, or it will contaminate the adjoining tissue and kill it too. So in continuing the metaphor, if the infectious doctrine is not cut out  immediately, it will spread like a toxic wildfire and consume the flesh of all who come into contact with it and deny the blood. The corrupted flesh must be excised, either by a medical procedure called a debridement, or an amputation.

Jesus said in Matthew 18:8, "And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire."

The word is the answer. The word is always the answer! In order to proclaim it, one must read it and study it. Paul was speaking to Timothy as pastor, and we are all not pastors, but we are all evangelists. We must be ready in season and out of season to know our doctrine. The absence of sound doctrine means you could make a shipwreck of your faith. (1 Timothy 1:20).

When you're at sea and in a storm, what's the first thing they do for you? Throw out a life ring.

Wikipedia Commons

Source

If you hang on to sound doctrine, you will not be shipwrecked, you will be reeled back in. Knowing your sound doctrine means also that you will be discerning. If you think of it this way- reading your bible and studying sound doctrine is the most loving thing you can do not just for yourself, but for your brother. If you see a fellow sister or brother wandering off to myths and turning away, don't you want to have the right tools to throw out to them?

Source

If your doctrine is weak, this is your tool-

And that's just not helpful at all.

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11)

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2 comments:

AnonymousJune 19, 2013 at 3:34 PM

I agree whole heartedly with this post. I do wonder though, if you believe in once saved always saved, which you do, then whatis the "danger" in turning or falling away with false teaching/doctorine? I mean....they are saved always according to that doctorine.......?

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Elizabeth PrataJune 19, 2013 at 3:45 PM
Good question! Thanks for giving me a chance to answer.

The danger is because our salvation is not about us. If we drift away, we are not glorifying the Lord.I f we are following a false teacher or promoting a false doctrine, it blasphemes the Holy Spirit.
We would not be effective for the Lord.
We accumulate weaker brethren to the doctrine who we would cause to stumble false doctrines allow satan to come in and plant tares.
We'd be failing to follow the commands of the Lord to be vigilant, test the spirits, and stay strong.
By our acceptance of it, we give voice to satan's lies and so on.
I want to honor Jesus to the utmost. Pure doctrine does that. False doctrine doesn't