Tag: false teachers

The End of the World (Matthew 24:1-14)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The Final Sign

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (New International Version)

I am a suspicious person when it comes to end-time gurus. I find most of them to be false teachers, trying to scare people into their own little group, like a bunch of nuts in a fruitcake.

Yet, Jesus is an end-time preacher, giving an answer to those who asked him about the future and how things will literally shake up and shake out at the end of the world. So, because I trust him when he lays out what will happen, I believe there is a time coming when there shall be a judgment of the living and the dead.

Christ’s disciples had heard Jesus pronounce doom on the Jerusalem temple, and wanted to know about when this was going to happen, along with the signs leading to it. Jesus then went on to tell them about a much bigger picture than what the disciples were asking for; Jesus described not only the end of the temple, but also the end of the world as we know it.

I often find myself warning people about buying into those who constantly and confidently talk of the end, as if they have the inside track on it. Jesus did the same; so I’ll take my cues from him. Notice the warnings he offered his disciples concerning signs of the end time:

Don’t let anybody fool you

Watch out for deceivers. False teachers are those who claim to be Christians and have insider information from all their great study. Stay clear of them. Their sense of superiority, because of their supposed knowledge, will trick many people. Don’t be fooled by them.

Don’t be afraid

Anyone who pays any sort of attention to the news – whether local, national, or international – is likely to be concerned about the state of our world. We may even become terrified. But Jesus wants us to avoid being fearful all the time. And that will only happen if we listen as much or more to him than we do people who whip up a frenzy and get us all upset – much like talk radio hosts do to their audiences; or hack preachers do to spiritually vulnerable Christians.

We can be wise and discerning without being fearmongers and constantly worried. In times of crisis and disaster, Christians really ought to be the calmest people on the planet.

Armies may surround me,
    but I won’t be afraid;
war may break out,
    but I will trust you. (Psalm 27:3, CEV)

Wars, rumors of wars, coups, famines, and earthquakes happen. All these, and more, are signs – just like a woman with labor pains, about to give birth. When we look ahead, we may feel apprehensive, upset, and afraid with pain. But our fear will eventually give way to joy. Before things get better, things will get a lot worse. Disaster and destruction will lead to the renewal of all things.

The world will hate you

Because there is fear and deception, the Church will become an oppressed victim. The world hates those who truly follow Christ. All that has been simmering underground will break out in persecution against believers.

So, it ought not surprise any Christian or any Church when there is intolerance and disdain against them. Anyone following Jesus should expect the same treatment he received in his last days on earth.

Many “Christians” will turn against each other and hate each other. They will drop out and refuse association with Christ or his Church. The outside pressure will become intense enough to force a crumbling of the Church on the inside. Parishioners will tear each other to pieces.

Unfortunately, the world’s hate leads to the church’s apostasy – a turning away from faith. And this situation is a ripe situation for false teachers to rise and have their way. People will glory in their shame.

The ones who stick it out will be saved

The true believer holds onto faith, despite the intense pressure of hatred. This isn’t salvation by works; it’s salvation by a faith that is authentic, genuine, and the real deal. This faith remains as a testimony to all that love still exists and will never be extinguished.

And then the end will come.

There shall always be the good news in the middle of all the terribly bad news. Divine sovereignty will always be above the world’s hate and disorder.

Therefore, let the believer be the herald of good news and give themselves to the mission of faith, grace, hope, and love in Christ. No matter where or when you locate the time of great tribulation, it is always open season on gospel proclamation.

God will make something out of nothing. Trouble, hardship, oppression, persecution, and death are the signs of the end. Now is the time for faith and patience. Now is the opportunity to love with the light that penetrates the darkness of hate.

Eternal God, you are the light of the minds that know you, the joy of the hearts that love you, and the strength of the wills that serve you. Grant us to know you that we may truly love you; to love you so that we may truly serve you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Be Real, Not Fake (Titus 1:5-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Exploring Church Ministry Blog, Year ALeave a comment

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 

An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 

Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This saying is true.

Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. (New International Version)

Everything in life needs some decency and order – including the church. The bulk of the Apostle Paul’s letter to Titus gives needed instructions about structuring the life of the church, along with some warnings about those who would attempt to disrupt that good order.

One of the most important aspects of church life and organization is to appoint competent persons with good character and sound doctrine to oversee and serve the congregation. The leaders of the church are to be mature, unselfish, concerned for the common good of all the parishioners, and able to handle Holy Scripture by strengthening the faithful and rebuking the faithless.

It takes solidly worthy leaders to counter people who are opposed to doing and believing things that are inconsistent with apostolic teaching. Paul had neither the tolerance nor the patience for rebellious folk who sought to deceive the faithful. So, he told Titus to silence, rebuke, and put a stop to such persons.

Orthodox icon of St. Titus the Apostle, the first Bishop of Crete

The rebellious persons, however, were not so easy to spot for many in the church – which is why Paul instructed Titus to deal with false teachers forcefully. They were not the real article, but came across as genuine.

Sometimes, you cannot tell a fake by the external appearance. In Christianity, and within the church, a person might give a good outward performance, but actually not be the real deal because they are full of bitterness and death on the inside with a heart far from God.

A sobering reality for devoted believers in God is that the church and Christianity can have people who are religious on the outside but not really Christ followers on the inside. Claiming to know God isn’t the same as actually knowing the Lord. It’s like putting perfume in a vase – it might smell like flowers but the flowers aren’t really there.  

The Apostle was pointed about how to handle those of the “circumcision group” because they were legalists who put heavy spiritual loads on people and were unwilling to help them carry those burdens. Paul, following the example of the Lord Jesus, was always laboring and challenging people into a genuine, real righteousness from the heart that would submit to God’s kingdom. 

And, much like Jesus before him, Paul kept having the Judaizers in the church undermining him, talking behind his back, and stirring up resentment against him. 

The rebellious people of the circumcision group were not helping believers know God better through active service, but only tried to talk a good line. Paul pointed them out to Titus because such persons were not strengthening the faith of others and enabling them to live a sound spiritual life.

The Judaizers did not practice what they preached – and even what they taught was neither gentle, nor had any grace. People need one another in the church to truly live for God; but if there are double standards, then heavy loads aren’t getting carried because some individuals think they are above helping, or think too little of themselves and believe God could not use them. 

In both cases the person declares, “Someone should do something!” Someone should give, someone should pray, someone should visit, someone should tell that person about Christ, someone should help. To which Paul (and Jesus) would say that someone is you.

We may believe we are genuine and think we are being helpful when we really are not. Whenever we plaster on fake smiles, only obey and serve when others are looking, and/or pretend like everything is just peachy keen when we are dying inside, then we are in the same category as the Judaizers. We have become in need of putting aside how we look to others and ask the God of grace to have mercy on us. 

It’s possible to be so obsessed about the right thing to say that we never say what is really on the inside because we think it isn’t spiritual enough and we fear looking bad. We then put up a spiritual façade, live into a false self, thereby and eventually becoming a false teacher.

The rebellious in the church are those who seek power, status, authority, and prestige. Respect and honor from others is everything to them, so they want the positions of prominence and insist on being recognized for whatever they say or do in the church.

But facades will not work for Christianity. The church is about integrity, mission, worship, and service – and not about acting with the spectator in mind, and seeking to elicit praise and respect from others. For such persons, it does not matter what’s on the inside as long as the outside looks good. 

Instead of being a liar (one whose outward actions and inner dispositions don’t match) and an evil brute (not acting with anyone else’s needs in mind or at heart) and a lazy glutton (always receiving but never giving) instead be a servant of others with a good character, a basic understanding of Holy Scripture, and a heart to know and love God. 

If there is a job that no one wants to do, I’ll do that job.

If there’s a lonely person, I’ll be with them.

If there’s a parking space up close, I’ll park in the back of the lot.

If there’s a need is someone’s life, I’ll meet that need.

If there’s a hardship someone has to endure, I’ll help carry that hardship.

If there’s a sacrifice to be made, I’ll make that sacrifice. Amen.

Develop a Virtuous Ethic (Matthew 7:15-20)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (New Living Translation)

God has always been concerned for ethical virtue. And Jesus was always careful to take that ethic and help others identify it and apply it.

Virtuous ethics was well-known in the ancient world, especially thanks to the Greeks and Aristotle – who espoused that a person’s character is the determinative factor in discerning the extent to which that person is a good person.

For Aristotle, ethics includes moral virtues such as courage, temperance, compassion, generosity, honesty, and justice. The person in whom these moral virtues are to be found as steadfast dispositions can be relied on to exhibit a good character, and therefore, is able to make morally correct actions in moral decision-making situations.

For Jesus, religious legalism was a clear outward sign of the lack of inward moral virtue. Bad religion was a result of bad character. Therefore, everyone ought to beware of the religious leaders who exhibited stifling religious legalism.

Nothing can choke the heart and soul out of a person’s true spirituality, and hinder the development of virtue, like the legalist who teaches a precise extra-biblical list of do’s and don’ts.

For many folks, it seems easier to live by the list than to pursue the harder road of developing the character qualities needed for a solid and virtuous religious ethic. Christian discipleship involves growing into spiritual maturity and allowing a seasoned character to shape how we make decisions. 

To do so, we must patiently and consistently follow in the way of Jesus, which is the way of grace and of life.

Today’s Gospel lesson is Christ’s conclusion to his Sermon on the Mount. It is a sermon that sets forth the values of God’s kingdom and devalues the core of legalistic thought. 

I define legalism as a compulsion to spell out, in great detail, how everyone is to live a godly life; purposely going beyond the stated commands of Holy Scripture so that all persons can know exactly what they are supposed to do in any situation.

The problem with this approach to the Christian life is that godliness is merely an outward expression of our ability to hold to the list. It really has nothing to do with cultivating a virtuous ethic of life.

“Do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Everything they do is done for people to see.”

Jesus on the legalist (Matthew 23:3-5, NIV)

The legalistic way of life and religion feeds human pride and boasting; it goes against the inner heart values of humility and meekness in Christ’s Beatitudes. The teaching of Jesus ends up getting lost in trying to do everything right or perfect.

Jesus, through the Sermon on the Mount, led the crowd to a point of decision, letting them know they are at a crossroads. There are two alternatives: Choose the way of life as expressed in Christ’s teaching, or else choose the way of destruction through the legalistic list. In order to press the crowd toward the necessity of choosing wisely, Jesus used metaphors to make his point.

False teaching in the form of legalism is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Be wary of people who seem pious and sincere, yet who do not quite pass the smell test. After all, Satan himself, the Apostle Paul once said, masquerades as an angel of light, appearing righteous, yet, is intent on deceiving many. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

So, how do we recognize a wolf who spiritually and emotionally devours people, and has no intention of helping but harming? Look at the fruit of the tree. 

Jesus is the good tree. Christ advocates for a searching of the heart. This leads to the result of righteous fruit. The bad tree is also seen by its fruit. Anyone who fails to live the Beatitudes of Jesus will be seen by the rotten fruit of boasting and pride.

False teachers tend to believe they are above others. After all, they are experts at keeping the list of do’s and don’ts! Yet, a false disciple will always be shown by their profound lack of grace, gentleness, and genuine humility. They inevitably advocate for holding to their brand of religion and keeping the unscriptural list. The absence of true righteousness and justice in their lives eventually results in their being cut down and thrown into the fire.

For Jesus, there is no riding the fence between the two alternatives presented – and it is a matter for him of life and death. The way of Jesus leads to life, good fruit, entrance into the kingdom of heaven, and stability. The other alternative ends in destruction, bad fruit and fire, exclusion from the kingdom, and being ruined.

The sobering reality of Christ’s teaching is that many people can be deceived with a devil’s bargain: “Take the nice handy legalistic list and you will become godly. Here are twelve principles to change your life. Follow these rules, pray this prayer, give your money to this, and all will be well.” It is, however, a highway to the grave.

The false teacher proclaims himself a “fruit inspector” and then goes on to judge everyone by his own contrived legalistic list. So then, there is a need to repent of religious lists, political agendas, and teachings which ignore and demean Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

One of the telltale signs of holding to a conjured list is when we are not honest with one another about our struggles. The bald fact of list-living is that we cannot fulfill it. So, when we know we are not measuring up to the list, the temptation is to keep up appearances as if we are doing just fine. 

List-living eschews showing any weakness or imperfection:

  • I cannot admit my sin to anyone because the list pronounces me a failure if I do. 
  • I cannot enter a deep and prolonged grief over my loss because the list says I need to stay strong. 
  • I cannot profess my doubts about God because the list says if I doubt, I am not a real Christian.

My response and recommendation to legalistic list-living is this: To hell with the list! 

Instead, give praise to Jesus Christ who has given us the way of grace! For it is grace which transforms hearts, turns lives around, and provides genuine joy and satisfaction. If grace is not the answer, we are not asking the right question. The tree of life has an abundant supply of gracious fruit.

The greatest anti-legalistic prayer we can pray is the tried and true ancient prayer of the Church: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”

Matthew 16:5-12 – Beware of Bad Teaching

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment

Later, after they crossed to the other side of the lake, the disciples discovered they had forgotten to bring any bread. “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “You have so little faith! Why are you arguing with each other about having no bread? Don’t you understand even yet? Don’t you remember the 5,000 I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of leftovers you picked up? Or the 4,000 I fed with seven loaves, and the large baskets of leftovers you picked up? Why can’t you understand that I’m not talking about bread? So again, I say, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”

Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (New Living Translation)

I tend to think in metaphors, which is probably one reason I like the teaching of Jesus so much. While on this earth, he used a range of metaphors from common everyday life to communicate his point. Seems as though the disciples were more concrete thinkers.

Yeast was a common symbol for evil, which is why the Jews ate unleavened bread. Jesus was trying to get the point across to his disciples that, like yeast, even just a little bit of unhealthy teaching can have far-reaching effects. Partaking of bad teaching works through the whole batch of dough and ruins the spiritual life.

We might think that after seeing Jesus heal the sick, raise a paralyzed man, cure the blind, restore the demon-possessed, walk on water, and feed the masses with only a few loaves of bread that his disciples would be clamoring with praise and responding with a big “Wow! Look at what Jesus did!  Tell us what to do next!”  Instead, they stood around mumbling about how to interpret the great feeding of the four thousand.

The math lesson Jesus explained to the disciples about the basketfuls of food that they had gathered was that the less the disciples had and the bigger their problem, the more Jesus did. 

Jesus Math adds up to grace.  And grace means that who we are, or are not, and what we have, or do not have, is immaterial; what matters is that we have Jesus. We give him what little we have, along with ourselves, and let him do the work.

We must avoid the trap and the temptation of thinking, “If only I had ___; If only I were ___.”  This is unsound doctrine because it denigrates the image of God within us and the good gifts God has already given to us, as if we ourselves are not enough. Yet, even if we have next to nothing, with few abilities, when offering it to Jesus, he turns it into a miraculous bounty of blessing for the world.

Seeing ourselves, our relationships, our stuff, and our world through the person and work of Jesus Christ is our task.  It does not take great powers of interpretation to see that the times are evil and bad information gets disseminated and spread.  What is more difficult for us is discerning that there is a great opportunity for mission and service amid this decaying world. 

We will miss that wonderful opportunity if we partake of bad teaching.

It is imperative that we feed upon sound teaching and be very discerning about who we listen to and what they are really saying to us. Words which are heavy with judgment and light on grace are to be suspect because such teaching is antithetical to the gospel.

Instruction which sets apart and demonizes groups of people or characterizes certain individuals as monstrous or animalistic is completely out of step with the way of Jesus Christ.

We are to be on our guard against any teaching which places an unrealistic and dispassionate heavy load of guilt and shame upon people. We must be vigilant to not accept teaching that plays upon people’s fear and twists reality, making groundless and unsubstantiated claims without evidence. In short, the Holy Scriptures are not to be used as a club to beat people into submission toward our way of thinking and acting.

The spiritual abuse and objectification of others by using the Bible is a terrible condition which unfortunately exists in today’s world. The sad reality is that there are people who engage in harassing others by using God’s Holy Word.

People have been created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore deserve to be treated with respect and civility, regardless of their creed, color, or condition.

So, let me be clear and deliberate about the use and abuse of God’s revelation to us:

I do not condone any use of the Bible which seeks to intimidate, bully, impede, or affect any person’s ability: to work effectively at their jobs, to worship joyfully at their church, or to live without fear of being blacklisted or redlined to the periphery of society.

I do not condone any use of the Bible which intends to control either by threat or by use of physical force any person, their family, and/or their property through inducing fear.

I do not condone any use of the Bible which justifies touching any person without their consent, or coerces, or physically forces another person to engage in a sexual act against their will.

I reject any use of the Bible which encourages any sort of hate crime, act of violence, or hate speech against any person regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, class, or religion.

I reject any use of the Bible by any clergy and/or church leadership which demeans and marginalizes women in their basic humanity, role, function, or leadership.

I reject any use of the Bible by any church member and/or attender which demeans and discounts the worldwide Christian community.

I uphold any use of the Bible which seeks to communicate its theology and message gently, carefully, graciously, and lovingly for the spiritual edification and healing of all people.

I uphold any use of the Bible which intends to cultivate one’s own soul and develop a teachable spirit.

I uphold any use of the Bible which looks for truth, wisdom, beauty, and humility.

I champion use of the Bible for both personal and corporate encouragement.

I champion use of the Bible for critical inquiry, scrutiny, and learning.

I champion use of the Bible for all people, regardless of age, including genuine seekers and spiritual misfits, as well as the hurt, abused, lonely, lost, confused, and concerned.