Judas Sheep

Sheep are cautiously stupid creatures.  They spend most of their life running away from possible dangers and following others.  In fact, because of their constant skittishness it can be a difficult task to herd them at all, particularly at the slaughterhouse.  However, clever butchers have devised an ingeniously deceptive way to lead the sheep to the deaths without forcing them.

Butchers at the slaughterhouse use a trained goat, dubbed the Judas goat, leads the others to the ramp and gets the herd in motion.  At the apex moment, the Judas goat turns to a gate that closes after it enters, while the herd is forced to continue on to their deaths.

It is interesting that throughout Scripture, believers are referred to as sheep.  This is not an accident.  Believers, by nature, are capable of both jumpy skittishness and thoughtless following.  Unfortunately, these very traits, though purposeful when coupled with wisdom and critical belief, can be the very things that lead some astray.

Consider the many people who would sneak into the flock and, like the Judas sheep, intend on leading the drove to destruction and death.  Every New Testament author warns against such falsity, indicating that wolves dressed as sheep will be present and will try to lead believers astray.  The important thing, for every believer, is to keep their eyes open and critical so that we will not be led astray by counterfeit sheep.

For Judas sheep are everywhere, hoping to trick as many unsuspecting sheep as they can and lead them to their ultimate deaths.  Let us then be aware and active in our vision so as to be protected from such deceit!

True Truth and False Teaching

There is an increasing notion, spreading pervasively throughout the world today, that an individual has the right and ability to decide truth for him or herself.  This concept has spread with such imperialistic force over the last half-century that not only is it subsumed within the culture, but it has foisted itself upon every element of society.  The common assertion, perhaps slightly oversimplified, states that every person is free to decide truth and to dictate reality as he or she sees fit.  Truth has been so irreverently reduced to a preference that truth has been removed of any actual content beyond its contextual usefulness.  In essence, this ideal would claim that truth is relative to the individual and can be anything, even if it opposes another's truth.

While the historical underpinning for this concept of multiple truths is postmodernism, the effect has been to make truth an individual, relativistic ordeal.  Absolute truth is considered impossible because everyone has their own version of truth.  The result of such a claim is two-fold.  First of all, any and every human being is made into a truth master, capable of creating and determining any truth and worldview that they could desire.  The second effect is that truth critiques and appraisals have been made wholly obsolete because, ultimately, all truths are esteemed as equally valid.  Such a claim does much to explain the torrent of relativism and immorality throughout the world today.

To be certain, it is wholeheartedly against Scripture and the teachings of Jesus to say that truth is relative.  Jesus spoke quite directly that He alone is the truth (John 14:6; 1 John 5:20).  And Scripture is particularly unified that truth is absolute and revealed.  The logic behind such an assertion stems from the source of truth: God.  Because God is the supreme source of Truth, in order for humanity to have access to truth, it must be revealed by God Himself.  The reality, then, is that truth is absolute because it is based on an absolute source.

Naturally, this flies in the face of the contemporary understanding of truth being a relative, individualistic endeavor.  For starters, this puts the person who would claim a certain truth under the authority of Scripture to weigh their particular truth assertion(s).  Additionally, and more importantly, a methodology must be put in place to assess the various and differing truth claims.  Luckily, Scripture is not silent in this regard.  For this, the New Testament authors and Jesus Himself, speak a good deal about truth and falsity, particularly in reference to false teachers and false prophets.

Jesus warns explicitly against false teachers (Matt. 7:15; 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22).  Paul addresses falsity (2 Cor 11:13; Eph. 4:25; 2 Thess. 2:9; 1 Tim. 6:20).  James, Peter, and John also warn against false teachers and teaching (James 3:14; 2 Pet. 2:1; 1 John 4:1).  Needless to say, for such a united warning against falsity, it indicates that this was and is a serious problem in the world and in the Church.

To say that one thing is false is to define it as not true.  This means that what is false is inherently untrue.  Although this may seem like obvious semantic play, the essence of such an assertion should not be overlooked.  Think of the profound logic that the postmodern-world would neglect or dismiss: if something is true it is not false, and if something is false it is not true.  The world at large would view such logic as absolute, indefensible, and archaic.  Unfortunately, the idea that any conceivable idea can be true if someone believes it sincerely enough is an absolute statement that is not founded within its own system of thought.

The issue comes down to truth appraisal.  What rubric is to be employed when weighing various truth claims?  How do we assess truth as being true?  In the end, two simple assertions must be put forth. The first is the authority of Scripture.  Scripture, being the very written Word of God, is the authority that founds or trumps any and all truth claims.  This carries with it the necessity of Jesus, in very nature God, being the beginning and end for all truth assessment.  If any particular truth claim does not jibe with Christ Jesus or with Scripture then, plainly, it cannot be true.  Unfortunately, Christians have all-too-quickly accommodated to these divisive, individualistic, and relative definitions of truth.  Instead we need to consider the words of Paul in his letter to the Colossians:

"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (Col. 2:8)."

The truth-ness of truth is in how it relies on Christ for its foundation, and how defensible it is from the standpoint of Scripture.  Let us then hold tightly to the Truth, which is God!

Doctrine of False Teaching

The idea of false teachers is as true today as it was in the first-century Church.  Many of the epistles deal specifically with warnings and indictments of false teachers and their teaching, especially 2 Peter & Jude.  The whole concept of false teaching is based on two ideals: (1) that there is a true teaching, and (2) that motives matter.

The first ideal is obvious, and is concerned with the particular content of teaching.  Christianity upholds clear and definite teachings that are true, absolute, objective, and unchangeable.  Among these are certain theological doctrines which should not only be upheld and taught, but defended against potential heresy, such as: the nature and character of God, the Trinity, the Gospel, the resurrection, the supremacy of brotherly love, et al.  

Thus, the beginning point for judging false teaching is then based on whether the teaching is inline with accepted orthodoxy and biblically defensible theology.  If a teacher is teaching anything that is contrary to the Bible, opposed to the person and work of Christ, or that goes against the prompting of the Spirit, then that teacher is a false teacher and should be corrected urged to repent of falsity.  Additionally, those who would choose to listen to false teachers who teach false things should be warned at the errors thereof.  Essentially, we need to protect the flock of Christ from being led astray from falsity.

The second sense by which false teachers are indicted is in regards to motivation.  Ideally, sound teachers shall be motivated by godliness and devotion to the Lord.  Teachers will always be held accountable, understanding that they are stewards of the gifts that God has given them to administer theology to the fellowship of believers.  In reality, every teacher is to acknowledge the sobering and humbling responsibility of teaching.

In contrast, a false teacher's motivations will not be the pursuit of godliness or devotion but will be self-serving.  Greed, vanity, pride, power are the marks of self-serving false teachers.  THe teaching of a false teacher will reflect their motivations.  Thus, one way to determine whether a teacher is false is to look at the heart of their teaching, which is always accessible if the corpus of their work is examined.  It is the motivations of false teachers that will determine their worth, and more profoundly, how they will be weighed by the Lord.  This should challenge those who are teachers or who desire to teach to search their hearts for the motivations, always striving to teach with the best motivations.

Ultimately, teachers will be held accountable both for the content of their teaching and their hearts motivation to teach.  Moreover, everyone is under teachers.  We each have a certain amount of responsibility in this to examine every teaching with a critical eye for the purpose of growth.  This should not give free-reign to critique or slander teaching or teachers, just that we should be aware and involved students who are keen to protect the flock against heresy and falsity.  Let us then keep alert to  prevent false teaching and protect the Church from false teachers!