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!