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The Bible Admonishes Us to
Expose
Error
and
Those walking in error
v It Is Right to Practice
Biblical Judgment
v It Is Right to Expose False
Teachers
v The Bible Admonishes Us to
Expose Error
Many today believe that it is wrong to expose
error and to name names. Liberals have always seemed to
believe this, but in recent times it has been widely espoused by evangelicals and charismatics. Now
we are seeing the same fatal error being declared by those
who profess to be Bible believing fundamentalists. Those who
are faithful in exposing error according to the Bible are
now being widely denounced, and are accused of being
unloving and unkind. In this tract we intend to present the
teaching of the Bible on this vital subject.
It Is Right
to Practice Biblical Judgment
One of the most misused verses in the Bible
is, "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matt. 7:1). Every Scripture verse should be read in its context, if we
are to properly understand the true meaning. In vs.
2-5 of this same chapter it is evident that v. 1 is referring to hypocritical
judgment. A brother who has a beam in his own eye should not be judging the
brother who may have a mote in his eye. The lesson is
plain; you cannot judge another for his sin if you are guilty of the same sin.
Those who cling to ' 'Judge not, that ye
be not judged,'' to condemn those who expose error should
read the entire chapter. Jesus said, "Beware
of false prophets, which come to you in
sheep's clothing... “(v.15).
How can we know false
prophets unless we judge them by the Word of God? If we know the false prophets, how can we fail
to warn the sheep of these "ravening wolves?" All through the
Bible we find proof that they should be identified
and exposed.
"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so
every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil
fruit" (vs. 16,17).
Did the Lord mean that we could not judge the
tree (person), by the fruit of their life and doctrine? Certainly not, for you cannot know without
judging. All judgment should be on the basis
of Bible teaching, not according to whims or prejudices.
"Judge not according to the
appearance, but judge righteous
judgment" (John 7:24). Here our Lord commands that we are to "judge
righteous judgment," which is judgment based
upon the Word of God. If judgment is made upon any other basis, other than the
Word of God, it is a violation of Matt. 7:1. Webster's
Dictionary says that a judge is "one who declares the
law." The faithful Christian must discern
or judge on the basis of God's inspired law, the Bible.
A fornicator is described in I Cor. 5:1-13.
Paul "judged" (v.3) the man even though he was
absent, and he told the Church at Corinth that they were to "judge"
(v.12) those that were within. The Greek word for "judge"
is the same here as in Matt. 7:1. Paul did not violate "judge not,
that ye be not judged,'' in judging the man, nor in instructing the Church to judge also. All of this judgment was according to the Word of God.
A person who is able to discern between good
and evil, has at least one of the major marks of
spiritual maturity. "But strong meat belongeth
to them that are of full age, even those
who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil'' (Heb. 5:14).
W.E. Vine says of the meaning of discern, "a distinguishing, a clear
discrimination, discerning, judging; is
translated 'discerning' in I Cor. 12:10 of discerning spirits, judging
by evidence whether they are evil or of
God." Strong also agrees that it
means to judge.
Those who are unwilling or incapable of
discerning or judging between good and evil are in
this manner revealing either their disobedience or their
immaturity.
It Is Right to Expose False Teachers
False teachers are free to spread their
poisonous doctrines today because there is a conspiracy
of silence among many Bible believers. Wolves in sheep's
clothing are thus enabled to ravage the flock, thereby destroying
many.
John the Baptist called the Pharisees and
Sadducees (the religious leaders of his day) "a generation of
vipers" (snakes) (Matt. 3:7).
Today, he would be accused of being unloving, unkind,
and unchristian.
Jesus said to the religious Pharisees, "O
generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak
good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh"
(Matt. 12:34). Too
many evangelicals and some fundamentalists, this would be
unacceptable language today, but it is biblical language
and it came from the mouth of the Son of God.
Standing face to face with these false teachers, Jesus Christ the Son of God, called them "hypocrites,"
"blind guides, " "blind, " "whited sepulchres, " "serpents, " and
I "ye generation of vipers" (Matt.
23:23-34). Yet, we are told today that we are to fellowship with
men whose doctrines are just as unscriptural as those of
the Pharisees. Some who say they are Bible believing
Christians insist on working with Roman Catholics and other
assorted heretics. Yet, according to many, we are not supposed
to rebuke
them for their compromise.
Near the beginning of His ministry, "Jesus
went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple
those that sold oxen and sheep and
doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of
the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured
out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; : And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise" I (John 2:13-16). Our Saviour is presented today as one who was meek, lowly, kind, and loving, even to false teachers, but this is
entirely false. When dealing with false teachers and
prophets, His words were sharp and His actions plain. Near the
end of His public ministry, Christ found it necessary
to cleanse the temple once again. The exposure of false doctrines and practices is a never ending
job. At that time He said, ' 7s it
not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? But ye have made
it a den of thieves" (Mark 11:17). Is it any different today?
The thieves come into the house of God, and
rob God's people of the Bible and
peddle their perverted Bibles instead. At the same time this den of thieves rob the people
off the doctrine of separation and the doctrine of
sanctification. Then you can hardly tell God's people from the
people of the world. In all honesty, should not these
thieves (false teachers) be exposed?
In our day these false teachers have come into the churches with their books, literature, movies,
psychology, and seminars, and have
turned the Father's house into a den of
thieves. It is time that men of God stand up and expose their errors for all to see.
The Bible Admonishes Us to Expose Error
We are to TRY them.
‘‘Beloved, believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be
of God; because many false
prophets are gone out into the world" (I John 4:1).
Al doctrine and
teachers are to be tried according to the Wore of
God. "To the law and to the testimony: ifthev
speak not according to this word, it is because
there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:20). Every message, messenger, and methoc
is^to be judged according to the Word of God. The church at Ephesus was commended because they had "tried them
which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars" (Rev. 2:2). The church at Pergamos was rebuked because
they tolerated those that held ' 'the doctrine of Balaam, " and "the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes,
which thing I hate" (Rev. 2:14,15). It is never right to tolerate false teachers, but they are to be tried by the Word of God, and exposed. Of course those who want to disobey the Word of God will seek by every means to avoid this teaching.
We are to
MARK them and AVOID them.
"Now 1
beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye
have learned; and avoid them" (Rom. 16:17).
Those whose conduct and teaching contradicts the Word of God are to be marked and to be avoided. This requires discernment and judgment in the light of the Bible. The ecumenicalists,
new evangelicals, and compromising fundamentalists will
resist any effort to obey this Scripture. They cannot be
marked and avoided, unless they are judged according to
the Word of God.
We are to
REBUKE them.
"Wherefore
rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in
the faith" (Titus 1:13).
This was written to Titus, because there
were those going from house to house and subverting
whole houses with false doctrine (v. 10-16). Oral Roberts,
Robert Schuller, Jimmy Swaggart, Pat Robertson, and others are
subverting whole houses with their false doctrine
today. Are we to sit silently by, while they do this, without
rebuking and admonishing people to avoid their teaching? No,
the faithful servant of the Lord is to be "Holding
fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound
doctrine both to exhort and to convince the
gainsayers" (Titus 1:9).
We are to
have NO FELLOWSHIP with them.
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them" (Eph. 5:11).
Reprove means to censure, condemn, find fault, rebuke, and to
refute. How can we obey this Scripture unless we try them by the Word of God?
We are to WITHDRAW from them.
"Now we command you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves
from every brother that
walketh disorderly and not after the tradition which ye received of us" (II Thess. 3:6)
We are to withdraw from those
whose doctrine and conduct does not conform to the
Word of God. The context clearly shows that obedience to
sound doctrine is what Paul has in mind, for he
says, "if any man obey not our word by this
epistle, note that man and have no company with him, that he may
be ashamed. Yet, count him not as an enemy,
but admonish him as a brother" (II Thess. 3:14-15). Paul admonished Timothy to "withdraw thyself" from those who ' 'consent not to wholesome words... and to the
doctrine which is according to godliness" (I Tim. 6:3-5).
We are to
TURN AWAY from them.
Concerning the last
days, he says that some will have
"a form of godliness, but
denying the power thereof: from such turn away"
For such people are ' 'never able to come to the knowledge of the truth '' (II Tim. 3:5,7).
How can we turn away from them if we do not
identify them, and this requires that their message be compared to the Word of God. It is the
business of the true preacher to: "Preach the
word; be instant in season, out of
season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (II Tim. 4:2). This is usually an
unpopular and thankless task but it is the duty of the
God-called man.
We are NOT
to RECEIVE them into our house.
"If there come
any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive
him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds'' (II John 10, 11).
There is no doubt about who John is speaking about, it is "Whosoever transgresseth,
and abideth not
in the doctrine of Christ... “(v.9). by
radio, TV, and literature, false prophets are brought into the homes of many Christians today. Brethren, this ought not to
be!
We are to
REJECT HERETICS.
"A man
that is an here tick
after the first and second admonition reject'' (Titus 3:10).
We should reject those who deny redemption
by the blood of Christ. There are many who deny this
or some other doctrine of the Word of God. If they
will not respond to being admonished, then they are
to be rejected.
We are to look out for those who
preach another gospel.
Paul warned about those who preached "another
Jesus...another spirit...or another gospel" (Cor. 11:4). How can we know them unless we judge their Jesus, their spirit, and their gospel by the Word of God? Paul called such preachers "false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ" (II Cor. 11:13). He explains in v. 14-15 that
these preachers are the ministers of Satan. The God-called
man must be just as faithful today in exposing the
ministers of Satan.
Paul warned the Galatians about those who "pervert
the gospel of Christ.'' He also said, ' 'If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." (See Gal. 1:6-9). Multitudes today
are, preaching a perverted gospel. Those who teach salvation by baptism,
or by works, are teaching a perverted gospel; those who preach a salvation that
you can lose, are preaching
a perverted gospel. The charismatics, Catholics, many evangelicals, and many fundamentalists (?) are preaching
a perverted gospel. Yet, we are supposed to cooperate
with them in evangelism and Christian work, according to
many today. If we fail to expose these false prophets, then we have betrayed Christ and His gospel.
We are to
SEPARATE from them.
"Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch no the unclean thing;
and I will receive you'' (II Cor. 6:17).
This makes it plain. God's people are to
come out of apostasy and religious error. How can
any Bible believer remain in the National Council or
World Council of Churches? How can they remain in the
Southern Baptist Convention, or any of the other
apostate organizations? How can they remain among
compromising evangelicals and wishy-washy fundamentalists?
It Is Right to Name Names
Many mistakenly believe that it is wrong to
expose error and to name the guilty teachers; but they
are wrong according to the Bible.
Paul named
Peter publicly.
Peter was guilty of unscriptural practice.
"But
when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him
to the face, because he was to be blamed ... But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou,
being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles,
and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do
the Jews?" (Gal. 2:11-14).
The whole issue revolved around
salvation by the law or by grace. When the integrity and purity of the gospel is at stake, then we have no choice when it comes to the matter of exposing error
and naming names.
Paul named
Demas for loving the world.
“For Demos hath forsaken me, having loved this present world" (II Tim. 4:10).
Those who forsake the cause of Christ for
worldly living and pleasures should be named and
exposed.
Paul named Hymenaeus and Alexander.
Paul told Timothy
to
“war
a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience;
which some have put away concerning faith have
made shipwreck:
Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander;
whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme" (I Tim.
1:18-20).
God's true servants should war a good warfare, and name
those who have departed from the faith that was once delivered to the saints.
Paul is not here discussing the faith of salvation but the faith as a system of doctrine. These men had made shipwreck of it and Paul exposed them and called their names.
Paul named Hymenaeus and Philetus.
He told
Timothy to "study" that he might be
able to "rightly" divide
"The word of truth. But shun
profane and vain babblings: for they will
increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth as canker:
of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already;
and overthrow the faith of some'' (II Tim. 2:15-18).
False
doctrine overthrows the faith of some, so those who are
proclaiming it must be exposed.
Paul named Alexander the coppersmith.
"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil:
the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also;
for he hath greatly
withstood our words" (2 Tim. 4:14-15).
It is
clear that this is not a personality problem, but a doctrinal problem. Alexander had withstood the words and doctrine of Paul. He was an enemy to the truth. Godly pastors face the same problem every day. They stand and proclaim the truth, and
then their members go home and hear this truth disputed by radio and TV preachers. Often times these false prophets are sending their publications into the
homes of members of true churches.
Then the man of God is supposed to
keep his mouth shut, according to many. Only a coward will be silent when the truth of the Bible is
under attack.
John named Diotrephes.
"I wrote unto the church; but
Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence
among them, receiveth us not" (III John 9).
He related how this man had prated against him ' 'with malicious words " (v. 10). He further
said, ' 'Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God" (v.ll). It is not wrong to name those whose doctrine and practice is
contrary to the Word of God.
In fact, the whole Bible abounds in examples
of false prophets being named and exposed. All this
modern day talk about love, used as an excuse for not
exposing error, is not really biblical love but is really sloppy agape.
Moses called
the name of Balaam.
(See Num. 22-25). Peter exposed ' 'the way of Balaam... who loved the
wages of unrighteousness" (II Pet. 2:15). Balaam was a prophet that was in the work for money,
just like some of the TV false prophets today. They beg for
money and live like kings, while multitudes of innocent
people send them their hard earned money. They are always
building colleges, hospitals, TV network satellites,
and amusement parks that have a water slide for Jesus. And
then we are suppose to keep
our mouth shut about these religious charlatans. How can we be silent and be true to God?
Jude exposed "the error of Balaam"
(Jude 11). John exposed "the
doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to
cast a stumblingbiock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication" (Rev. 2:14). This gets right to the heart of the
matter, concerning the doctrine of separation. Balaam
never did curse Israel even though he wanted the wages that
he was offered to do so. The men of Israel committed "whoredom with the
daughters ofMoab...
and bowed down to their gods'' (Num.
25:1,2).
Why did they do this? Because Balaam taught Balac how to break down the barrier of separation
between the Moabites and the
Israelites. We know this to be so because it is plainly stated in Rev. 2:14 and Num. 31:16. This sin
resulted in 24,000 men of Israel dying under the judgment of God.
False teachers are breaking down the barrier
of separation between God's people and false
religion. There is too little preaching and teaching on the doctrine of separation. Balaam breached the doctrine of personal
separation by causing the men of
Israel to commit fornication with the Moabite women. He breached the doctrine of ecclesiastical separation by causing the men of Israel to bow
down to Baal. This brought
a curse upon Israel. Until we get back to teaching the truth about personal and ecclesiastical separation, we can expect the continued widespread
havoc that we have today.
It seems to be
believed by many that some people are too high and
mighty to be named or exposed. Men in high places,
pastors of large churches, and those with great radio or TV audiences, are supposedly above criticism.
Whatever they may do or say, no
matter how contrary to the Bible it may
be, is supposedly all right. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Nathan
identified the man.
There was a man in
a very high place who was
a secret adulterer. Surely this man who held the highest office in the land could not be rebuked by a lowly unpopular prophet. Nathan went right
into the presence of David,
revealed the sin in a parable form, and then told the enraged David, "Thou
art the man" (II Sam. 12:7).
Hanani named King Jehoshaphat.
In many ways Jehoshaphat was a good king, but he mistakenly forgot to practice religious separation. He caused his son
to marry wicked king Ahab's daughter.
(See II Chron. 18: 1; 21: 1-6). He
made an alliance with Ahab and went to the battle of Ramoth-gilead with him (n Chron. 18). Hanani
"said to King Jehoshaphat, Shouldest
thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? ' ' (II Chron. 19:2).
We have a question
for those who insist on working with charismatic’s, Catholics, and members of the National Council
of Churches,
"Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord?"
Yes, it is right
to expose error and to name those who are in error. It is right to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3). It was once delivered and it has never been recalled for
revision. We had better beware
of "false teachers... who privily shall bring in damnable heresies" (II Pet. 2:1). Faithful messengers will warn the sheep of these
heretics, and identify them
by name. It is not enough to broadly hint of their identity, for the young lambs will not understand
and will be destroyed by the
wolves.
Therismos Kairos Mission