Identifying False Teachers

Sermon Transcript

Among us. Will you pray with me, our father in heaven, we give you all the glory, honor and praise for who you are. And, Lord, what a privilege it is to gather with your saints to give you praise, to give you glory, to give you honor, to celebrate you and you alone, because you and you alone are worthy of our praise. And Lord, we are so encouraged by your living and active word, because we as a people believe that every time your word is faithfully and accurately proclaimed that you are speaking. So our prayer this morning is speak, Lord, for we are ready to hear.

And so now for all of you who have gathered, who desire to hear the word of the Lord, who will believe everything that Jesus tells you, and who will, by faith, put into practice what he shows you, will you agree with me very loudly this morning by saying the word amen? If you know what you're looking for, it's a lot easier to find. If you know what you're looking for, it's a lot easier to find. There are so many things that happen through us throughout the day that we don't even observe. We don't even take time to see.

And it's not until we start looking for certain things that we actually see them. As you drive home today, on your way home, you're probably going to go the same way that you've always gone many times before. And as you go, you'll go the same way and you won't notice things. But if I told you, see how many silver hondas you can count on your way home, and you're looking for silver hondas, I promise you, you'll see plethora of silver hondas. Because whatever you're looking for is a lot easier to find.

And the same is true spiritually. Whatever you're looking for is easier to find. And today I want to talk to you about spotting and identifying false teachers. Because if you can find and spot a false teacher, it's going to be easier for you to continue to grow in your relationship with Christ. And for most christians, they're not even aware that there's false teachers out there.

They're not aware how they can discover them or find them. And so they're at the peril of what can happen in their life when they are unaware. As we've been in this series called stay the course, we've said it's really important for you to know what real saving faith looks like and how to be assured of that and how to communicate that, and what biblically rooted faith looks like. And one of the reasons for that is because there are false teachers that are gonna lead people astray. And much like getting a false directions and how frustrating that can be.

Nothing is worse than getting eternal false instructions from somebody who doesn't stand before the God of the universe and doesn't speak on his behalf. And so today I wanted to talk to you about false teachers and how it is that you can identify false teachers. Now, for some of you, you'll say, I already know this. Well, good for you, because this will be helpful to you because you'll have friends and family. They don't know how to do this, and this will be helpful to you, their journey.

But I'm telling you, we live in a day and age where they're on the rise. And if you don't know how to spot them and you don't know the dangers of them, you won't know why you need to avoid them. And so to do that today we're going to look in the book of two, Peter, chapter two. We're going to do the first three verses. The first three verses.

I had planned on teaching a lot more, but I had nine points the first round through. And I've condense that into five today for these first three verses because I think it's so important that if you're a believer in Christ, you get this and that you own this and that you know this for you, for your children, for your grandchildren, for your friends, for your neighbors. As to how to identify a false teacher, so hear the word of the Lord from these three verses, and then we'll unpack this together by giving you five truths about false teachers. Notice what he says. He says, but false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.

Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them, the way of truth will be maligned, and in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. Their judgment from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep. And in those short three verses, the Holy Spirit, through the apostle Peter, writes to us about how to identify false prophets, how to identify false teachers, who they are, what they look like, and why it's so important that we, who are trying to stay the course and do the very things Jesus is calling us to do, knows how to identify. So I'm gonna give you five today. We'll spend most time on the first two.

And the first is this, that false teachers exist and are deceptive you need to know that false teachers exist and that they are deceptive. Notice what he says after he finishes telling them about the word and the prophecies that were made and the holy scriptures, he said. But false prophets also arose among the people talking about those who lived in the Old Testament. Just as there will also be false teachers among you. There have always been and there will always be false teachers.

There has always been a desire to speak on behalf of God. When God did not say what God says, go all the way back to the garden and you have a serpent, you have Satan taking the form of a serpent. And what does he say? Did God really say that the word of God has been maligned from the beginning? And then there were all sorts of old Testament prophets that were speaking on behalf of God.

But many in their generation were false prophets and false teachers. Notice what God says about them. I'll pick three passages in the Old Testament. And by the way, you're going to want to just write these down because I think I have so many scriptures to support what I'm going to say today, that you're not going to be able to write all this stuff down. But in Deuteronomy, chapter 13, here's what God says about those that are nothing truthful.

He says, if a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, let us go after other gods whom you have not known, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, you shall follow the Lord your God and fear him, and you shall keep his commandments, listen to his voice, serve him and cling to him. But that prophet or dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you. Side note.

False teachers and false prophets are not good guys that aren't getting the truth out. They are evil. You need to know that. And here's what he says. If you see he's talking to Old Testament saints, if you see someone that has a dream or a vision and they seemingly tell you this is what's going to happen, and it seemingly comes true.

And in telling you what that is, leads you away from who I am and from my word. Do not listen to them. The Lord says, I'm giving this to you to test you, to see if you really believe in me or you're just looking for signs and wonders. My word is true. Hang on to my word.

Anyone that tells you to forsake the lordship of Jesus Christ or any part of his word is a false teacher and has always been a false teacher. Amen. And that's been going on since the Pentateuch. That's been going on since the beginning time when God created the world, and we see it show up in the prophets. Jeremiah and Ezekiel are two of my favorite because they're two of the books that, as I was reading through years ago, and I still read through them, but years ago, helped define the ministry.

I believe that God had called me to. But in Jeremiah, chapter 25, listen to what he says and his day. As he's prophesying, God speaks to Jeremiah and says, I've heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in my name, saying, I had a dream. I had a dream. Do you know the people in Jeremiah's day were talking just like that?

I had a dream. God spoke to me. I had a dream. God spoke to me. I have room in my theology to know that God ministers to me in ways that sometimes, you know, it's like a special thing.

If I'm driving down the road, I hear them, but I don't say, God spoke to me. God's already spoken to me. It's this book right here. And anything that doesn't align with this book right here, God did not speak. Do we understand each other?

So God can prompt us. God can tell us. There's nowhere in the Bible that said, jeff, move your family to Denver. Jeff, you should marry Kim Gill. I mean, it doesn't say that there were promptings that I had to hear through the word of God and take decisions, but there was nothing I've ever heard quote from God that wasn't written in his book.

And here's what you need to know. God's talking about those who are talking about, I had a dream. I had a dream. God says, how long? Is there anything in the hearers of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make my people forget my name by their dreams, which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot my name because of Baal.

He says, these people, when they talk about their dreams, here's what they're getting you to think about. They're getting you to think about them and their dream, not about the God of the universe. When you have people that are proclaiming, quote, on behalf of God, but you're more excited about the person proclaiming than you are about the God they're proclaiming about, don't take notice because God's taken notice. God wants prophets and preachers and teachers to be declaring him, not themselves and definitely not their experience, because their experience and their vision and their dreams don't count for anything. He says.

The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has my word speak my word. In truth, what does straw have in common with grain is not my word. Like a fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer which shatters the rock, therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declared the Lord, who steal my words from each other. If you want to go somewhere where you're going to hear God, go somewhere where this book is proclaimed and it's obeyed and it's heard, and I want to hear what God says, listen to that. If you listen to a person that only talks about themselves and their experience, and you're wowed by, by them, stop.

And God's like, I'm sick and tired. And if you listen. Cause I've been a Christian for about 35 years. If you listen long enough, all they are is the same regurgitated stories that someone over there shared and someone over there shared and someone over there shared. And they're the same regurgitated stories from people that don't love God.

Nothing wrong with illustrating a story. Nothing wrong with telling stories. That's not what I'm saying. It's when your whole message is just about your own experience, about you and what you can do and what God can do through you. Stop and ask yourself, are they talking about God's word?

And what's God saying? Or am I supposed to think about what this person is saying? Make sense? He goes on to say, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare that. The Lord declares, when I didn't say it, behold, I'm against those who have prophesied false dreams, declares the Lord, and related them and led my people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting.

Yet I did not send them or command them, nor did they furnish this people in the slightest benefit, declares the Lord. He said, I didn't send them. I didn't tell them to go preach. All they're doing is talking about their own experiences, their own dreams. They're not proclaiming my word.

And I'm taking notice because I'm looking for those who are called of me to preach my word because I want my people to know me. So if you're listening to someone and you find man, they're a good writer, they're a good speaker. They can be a good writer, they can be a good speaker. But if you're wowed by the individual and you're not wowed by the God they're talking about, take notice because God wants to be heard. Or how about in Ezekiel, chapter 34, verses one to seven?

Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesied and say to those shepherds, thus says the Lord God, woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves. Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. Those who are sickly, you have not strengthened, and the disease you haven't healed.

The broken you have not bound up, and the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the loss. But with force and with severity, you have dominated them. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field who were scattered. My flock wandered through all the mountains, on every hill. My flock was scattered all over the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.

Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. What's he saying? True shepherds of God care for the people they're talking to. Care for their needs. When they go through times of illness, they care and they pray for them.

When they go through difficulties and they go through challenges or trying to surround them and help them grow because they care about the people. False teachers don't care about who they're talking to. All they care about is what they're saying. And all they care about is how you're responding to them. They don't care about you.

They don't love you because they don't love God. They love themselves. And what the position will bring if they tell stories in front of people to get people to like them. Right? And you notice these because they exist in our culture.

And these people that teach are very, very careful to teach the things that are attractive to you. That's how they teach, because they want you to come back and they want you to like them. But God said his word is like a fire which shatters the rock. It's like a hammer that shatters the rock. When you're listening to a true man of God preach the word, there should be times where you hear the word and you think, I didn't want to hear that.

I would have never wanted to hear that. I don't like that. I heard that, but I needed to hear that. It's the word of God. Amen.

The problem with false teachers, as Peter is telling us in two Peter is. He says there will be false teachers among you, too, just like there was in the Old Testament. It seems that all the New Testament writers are more scared about who's sneaking into the church and preaching and proclaiming on behalf of God than they are what happens in the culture. And I can tell you I'm way more concerned about that, too. What's happening in the culture will never stop a move of God.

Did you hear what I said? What's happening in the culture will never stop a move of God. Public service announcement register and vote at the end of the day on November 5, regardless of what happens. That won't stop what God wants to get done. Do you understand?

What stops what God wants to get done is when those sneak in and secretly pretend to be shepherds, when they're just wolves in sheep's clothing. That's a bigger problem. It was for the first century church. It was for all the apostles that were writing at that time, and it is for us today. We should be way more concerned about who's proclaiming in the church than we are about anything else that's going on in the world.

And as christians, we're not. We're way too concerned about out there, and we're not nearly concerned about what's going on here. There's always been charlatans from the beginning. And here's what he says. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies.

Secretly introduced means they're deceptive. False teachers are seductive. They're slick. They're sly. They're unreliable, they're misleading.

They're pretenders. They tend to champion the culture and invite God to bless it rather than asking them to repent of it. They can be compelling. They can be biblical. If you showed up in a church where there's a false teacher, and the false teacher was dressed with horns on his head, holding a pitchfork, all in black, and said, I worship Satan, you'd run.

That's not who the enemy uses. He masquerades through those people as an angel of light. He makes them very attractive. They will carry a Bible. They will say biblical things.

They will say the things that you want to hear from the Bible. They will use the Bible to back up what they say, but they are not centered on the word of God completely. And we will talk about how you can recognize them, because it is important. In two Timothy. As Paul is finishing up his final letter to Timothy, he tells them, in two Timothy four, I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and kingdom.

So, in light of the fact that Jesus is coming back, in light of the fact he's going to judge the world, in light of the fact he's going to judge all creation, those alive and those who have died, in light of the fact he's going to judge you. Here's what he says. Preach the word. Proclaim Christ when be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhortanization.

How should you do it? With great patience and instruction. Why? For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine or sound teaching, but wanting to have their ears tickled. They will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn away their ears from the truth and turn aside the mists.

But you be sober in all things. Endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. He said, the time is coming when those are going to turn away from the truth, and they're going to find themselves teachers that will tell them whatever their itchy ears want to hear. They celebrate and choose culture, and they champion teachers that celebrate the culture. And then they follow those people to their own destruction.

It's the blind leading the blind. And here's what I would say a couple things about false teachers. False teachers are God's grace to the wicked, to give them someone to listen to who hate God until their final day of destruction. False teachers are God's judgment on sinners who reject the truth. When people say, I don't want what's in this book, I don't want what's in the word, I don't want to hear that.

I want to hear what I want to hear. Here's who I think God is. Here's what I think gender should look like. Here's what I want marriage to be. Here's what I want money to be.

Here's the way I want to feel when I leave church, and I'm gonna go find me a man or a woman that will teach me that kind of stuff. And I'll make that my home. That, my friends, is God's grace. To non believers who hate God and reject the truth. The truth is for those who say, I don't care whether I like it or not.

I wanna be under the authority of the word of God, from a man of God. That's under the authority of the word of God who teaches the word of God, because I know that feeds my soul and keeps me on the straight and narrow all the way to heaven. That's what I want. Amen.

And I can tell you this as your pastor, I care very little about what the culture thinks they want their God to look like. I care very much about who God says he is. And my job in this generation, as long as God gives me life, and as long as I'm your pastor, is to proclaim the whole counsel of God, to give you every opportunity to worship the God of this book right here, unapologetically. Amen.

I was meeting with a couple at brave this week. Really encouraged me a lot. They're telling me about some non believing friends they're inviting to church who they've been working with and telling them, we want you to come and all this, but you need to know something before you get there. Our pastor preaches the Bible, and there's a possibility you're going to hear some things you don't like, but it's from God and you need to hear it. I'm telling you, that just did my soul so well.

I loved it.

That's what we should be doing. That's what every single church should be doing. Preach the word.

Because when you don't preach the word, then what you do is you inoculate people to a false gospel and their false ideas about a false God that doesn't really exist, that they think is true, is who they're serving and who they're worshiping and who they're giving to. And then when you actually preach the whole counsel of God, they reject the Bible because of the false God that they actually believed in, because of the false teachers that's been teaching them the false truths about God. Friends. False teachers are evil friends. I grew up in the United Methodist denomination and fled it.

And right now, the United Methodist denomination, if you're a clergy person in the United Methodist Church and you go to the general conference, you introduce yourself by giving your pronouns, Lord have mercy.

But that's all done in light of, well, this is what the culture believes, and we got to love the culture, and this is how I believe, and you got to love me. So we're going to change everything about the word of God to accommodate us. Friends, that is wrong and is more than wrong. It's evil. And those people are hellbound, and everybody that they're taking to hell with them is evil.

It's wrong.

By the way, I'm just getting warmed up. I haven't even got.

I haven't really got passionate yet, you know? In one Timothy 416, when Paul was talking to Timothy, he said, pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching. Persevere in these things, for as you do, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. He says, pay attention to two things. Pay attention to yourself.

That you're growing in Christ, that you're under the authority of Christ, that you're continuing to mature in Christ, that you value the things of Christ, that you're under the word of Christ. And pay attention to what's coming out of your mouth and what you're teaching. That you're teaching the full counsel of the word of God. Pay attention to both. If you do, you'll ensure salvation for both yourself.

Cause you're growing in Christ and for those that are listening, the very thing you're doing. Cause you're living for Christ and speaking on behalf of Christ. And it's a blessing to the body of Christ when that happens. But can I tell you the opposite's true? The opposite's true when you don't pay attention to yourself and you don't care how you live and you can live immoral, and you don't care what's coming out of your mouth, and it's not true.

Not only do you go to hell, but you take everybody who's listening to you with you. It's God's judgment on a group of people that say, we want nothing to do with you. And God turns you over to that judgment, saying, all right, then follow those false teachers. Go, go, go listen to them. You don't want me.

You don't want the full counsel of me. You don't want who I am. You want who you are. You want your best life. You want your stuff.

You want your things? Then go listen to people who are going to tell you what you want, but they're on their way to hell and you're going to follow them there. If you don't repent and believe. That's what a false teacher does, they're evil. Most insidious group of people in our entire culture are false teachers, bar none.

Read the newspaper. You look through heinous crimes, you get news reports. You see all these ugly things. In God's perspective, false teachers are the top of that list. That's why teachers are judged more harshly.

That's why he says, you might want to consider whether you're really called to do this, because those who do this will be judged more harshly. Why? Because my people are at stake. See, I not only have to hold myself accountable to what I teach, but I have to hold myself accountable to every single person that's listening to my teaching. Do you know how terrifying that is?

Some people will say to me sometimes, Pastor Jeff, you're so bold. You're not afraid to say anything. I'm like, I am afraid to say things. There's things I don't like to say. But can I just tell you how terrified I am of God, that I have to answer for everything I'm saying and everything I don't say?

Way more terrified.

False teachers exist. They're deceptive. Now, how do we spot them? Let's get into that. Let me give you a second point.

False teachers are divisive and they're deadly. They're divisive and they're deadly. Notice this. They secretly introduced destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. We talked about how they're secretly introduced.

They're slick. They're good. You listen to them like, man, that sounds good. I like that. It makes me feel good when I hear it.

They secretly. What do they introduce? They introduce destructive heresies. Heresies means division. In this case, it's false teaching that leads to division.

It takes you away from the Lord and even denying the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Jesus Christ died for the world. The world is his and everything in it to do whatever he wants with whoever he wants to do it. He's purchased that for himself. Being bought does not mean that these false teachers are christians who fell away.

It means they never were believers in the first place. They never came to Christ. They never wanted Christ. While they had every opportunity, they still lived in their sin. So here's the question.

The question is, how do we spot these people? Like, how can we know who they are and where do we find them? I mean, how do I tune my ears into seeing them? Because the Bible is clear. In Matthew, chapter seven, not everyone who says to me, lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven on that day.

There will be many who preach in America. There will be many that have preached in every generation. There will be many that did great things for the Lord, that he will say these words to depart from me. You worker of iniquity. I never knew you.

But, Lord, did we not speak? Did we not do? Yeah, but we didn't have a relationship. And you never spoke on my behalf. You made it all about you.

And for them and their followers, they will go off to an eternal destruction. Right, so how do you spot these people? I came up with ten as just a foundation under point number two, and I think you need to hear that. We'll get through the last three points quick, but I think you need to know this. This is why I paused here, because I want to ask what they say about these ten things.

Listen to what these ten are and see if the teachers you're listening to teach these. Number one, what do they say about Christ? What do they say about Jesus Christ? Jesus asked his disciples that question, who do you say that I am? And they started pandering like, well, some say you're John the Baptist, others say Elijah.

Still others, some are the prophets. Yeah, but who do you say that I am? The most important question you can answer is who do you say Jesus is? Who is he? Is he Christ in you the hope of glory?

Is he God's eternal son from all eternity that put on flesh that came to this world? So he was fully divine and fully human. He's still fully divine. He's still fully human. There's one mediator between God and man.

The man, Jesus Christ. Is he the second person of the Trinity? Do you believe in the virgin birth? Because you have to, despite popular opinion that says you don't need to believe all these extra doctrines. If Jesus wasn't born of a virgin, then he was born in sin.

If he's born in sin, he's not God. If he's not God and he dies on the cross, it means nothing. He had to be born of a virgin. He's God in flesh. Amen.

And if you're saying, well, I think the person I listened to believes that. They never really talk about it, then they don't believe it. I was reading a book some 20 years ago from a false teacher that was basically saying, do you really need to believe in the virgin birth? And I'm internally screaming, of course you do. And he was writing, no, you don't.

He goes, now I do, but you don't have to. And I threw the book across the room and about 25 minutes later I picked it up and I'm like, what other garbage is this man peddling? Had videos going out to everybody. People were telling me how great he was. Even when I interviewed one time for a pastoral position, the person told me on the phone, this woman that was doing the interview said, we want you to be like this guy.

And I said, goodbye, friends. If they're not teaching the lordship of Christ, you don't want any part of them. Denying the lordship of Jesus is denying Christ. You don't become a Christian and make him Lord friends, whether you want to or not. He already is Lord.

It's the lordship of Jesus Christ. They even deny that, well, we talk about him as savior. We just don't talk about him as Lord because that's a little bit offensive. But then you don't believe in the Jesus of the Bible. Just to say you believe in Jesus doesn't mean anything.

In Central America, there's a lot of people named Jesus I do not believe in.

No comprende. Jesus. Right? But it's Jesus. So when I talk about Jesus, I'm talking about that one.

I remember one time I had several people, I had Jehovah witnesses come to my door, and I sat there at the door with my Bible. I said, well, let me get my Bible. And I got my Bible. And there was a young guy there, and he lasted about ten questions with me. And then they went to the older guy, and he lasted about another three with me.

And then they said, well, you know your Bible pretty well. I'm like, yeah, yeah, I do. I really love Jesus. And they left, and then there was a powwow of like six to eight of them outside my house in my neighborhood, and they never, ever came back. I was blackballed from the Jehovah witnesses.

And then there was a time, you know, shortly after some Mormons kind of pedaled up in their white, you know, shirts and black ties and pedaled into my house. And I was on the driveway with my little kids at the time. They were about four and two, and they introduced themselves. They were about all of 18 years old. I'm like, well, what's your name?

He goes, I'm Elder Johnson. I'm like, okay, no first name. No, I'm Elder Johnson. What's your name? He goes, Elder Thompson or something like this.

They went to introduce themselves to my kids. I'm like, I'll tell you who that is. That's Elder Schwarzentrab. That's Elder Schwarzentrab. I'm Elder Schwarzentrab.

They said, do you want to know the way to eternal life? I'm like, I know it. Let me ask you a question. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is eternal and he's always existed? They said, no.

I said, get off my property.

I said, because you don't know the way of the eternal life. Because if Jesus is not eternal, then he's not God. And if he's not God, he can't save. And if he can't save, don't pedal that to me or anybody else in my neighborhood. Leave my neighborhood.

And they went pedaling away as fast as they got there. Right? And some people are saying, oh, that's unloving, because you could have evangelized. I did evangelize them. I told him that Jesus Christ is God, and they don't want that.

That is evangelizing. He's Lord, whether you like it or not. Amen. So what does your pastor say about Christ? I unapologetically, I'm not ashamed of the gospel.

Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen. How about number two? What do they say about the word? We can spend the next 20 weeks on this.

I'll try to be fast. Isaiah 48, verse eight says, the grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our Lord stands forever. I read two Timothy four two, preach the word. I mean, all throughout this. This entire book is true.

If you're ashamed of any part of it, you're ashamed of the God that wrote it. It's all true. I'm not asking you, does your pastor carry the Bible? I'm not asking you, does he reference the Bible? Do you know how easy it would be, having spent 35 years studying this book, for me to say, I want to preach on this today and reference five verses right now off the top of my head and do that, I could prepare that 30 minutes message in five minutes.

But to plow through and say, this is what God's trying to say, and these are the thoughts that he wants to get out. And these are the people that I'm called to preach to. And they need to know all this stuff for the goodness of their own soul so they can live for God to the full and share Christ to the full. And I care about that. That's painstaking and time taking, and it's different than just giving you my ideas about who God is.

Does your pastor preach the word or just reference it? Does he read it and close it? Does he talk about stories in the Bible, or does he teach you about the stories in the Bible? Just because you hold a Bible does not mean you believe it. But number three, what do they say about the gospel?

What do they say about the gospel I told you last week, one corinthians 15, three, four. For Christ died according to the scriptures, and he was buried and he was raised according to the scriptures. This was first importance. Do they teach that they teach the gospel according to the scriptures about Christ's death, burial and resurrection. Do they believe that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the father except through him?

Do they believe in a heaven and a hell? Do they believe that majority of people are going to hell? Do they believe in the substitutionary atonement which substitutionary atonement which states that Christ died on the cross and took all the wrath of God for all your sin, and that's the only way your sin can be forgiveness, that when Jesus said, it is finished, it was paid in full. He didn't need to go to hell and fight the devil. He already beat him by dying on the cross.

He rose from the dead three days later. He's the only one that's ever overcome death. He ascended into heaven, and he's coming back fully bodily and physically to take all those who are his, who are eagerly waiting for his appearing. Do they teach that?

Do they teach salvation by grace alone, through faith alone and Christ alone? Or do they kind of weave in that? If you kind of love Jesus and if you want a better life, and you know, if you do this, God's gonna bless you. And listen, I believe God prospers us. I believe God is so good.

I believe he's good all the time. And even when I get bad news, like I got bad news this last week, I believe God's good. It doesn't change. But I don't teach you that. If you trust Jesus, your life's gonna be great.

I'll teach you this. If you trust Jesus, you're gonna get more tribulation. And that anyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And I promise you this, your health's gonna fail at some point in time, and no matter how many potions, creams, elliptical machines that you work out on, you're still gonna die. And that true.

And the older I get, the more I realize it takes courage to get old. You know what I'm saying? I'm not telling you how to add God to your life to bless your sin. I'm telling you why you need to repent and trust God. Because you're dead and died dying, and you need Christ as your lord and savior.

Amen. It's different.

What do they say about the gospel. Just because you invite people to trust Christ at the end of a service doesn't mean you believe the Christ that you're talking about. What do they say about sin?

Romans 323 says, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 623 says, the wages of sin is death. Do you tell people about their sin? I mean, when you listen to someone, do you believe that you're really blind? Do you really believe that you're dead?

Do you really believe that you're dependent upon Jesus? Or do you think you're a pretty good person? I mean, when you hear a pastor preach, are they preaching like, yeah, 99% of people are pretty good. Or do they preach the authority of God's word which says there is no one good? No, not one.

You're blind, you're sick of, you're dead, and you're helpless. That's biblical truth, and you need God to depend upon him to give you the life that you need. It's not that you're a good person. And if you apply biblical principles, you can live a better life here. What does it prosper a man to gain the world and yet forfeit his soul?

What do people teach about sin? A lot of churches, people don't teach anything about sin. They're like, oh, everybody knows they sin. They may know that they've sinned, but they don't understand the consequences of being a sinner. That if you die in your sin, apart from repentance and faith in Christ, you will go to an eternal hell.

Your sin will drag you there and there is no coming back and there is no hope for you. And forever and ever and ever, you will grit your teeth in anger saying, why didn't I trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? That's real. It's sobering, but it's real. And if it is real, how come more pastors don't preach it?

If you really believed that sinners go to hell in droves and a majority of them are going to hell, pastor, why don't you preach that? Well, I just want people to come back next week. Then you don't love them. You don't teach sin, you don't love your people. What does the Bible, what do they say about repentance?

What does it say about repentance? Oh, repentance, that's for believers. That's if, you know, once you're ready to really go deep in the faith. No, it's not. Not according to the Bible.

Second Corinthians, chapter seven and verse ten, says it like this. For sorrow that is in accordance with the will of God produces a repentance. When you're sorrowful by your sin because God brought it, it produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation. Repentance leads to salvation according to the word of God. But the sorrow that the world produces produces death.

Repent. Don't change yourself. Don't go work on yourself. Don't try to get things right. Don't repent.

That means turn from your sin. Got an anger issue? Repent. Got an immorality issue? Repent.

You're living with your boyfriend and girlfriend. Repent. Get away from it. Turn from it. Run away from it.

Repent means change of mind. But if your mind has been changed, it will change your behavior. And where there is no repentance, there is no genuine faith. Find me the verse. I've been waiting for it my whole life.

Find me the verse that says you can live in your sin and be comfortable in your sin and be a believer. Where did Jesus teach that? Show me where. Show me where. Any old Testament prophet said, live in your sin and be completely assured of your salvation.

It's not there. It's not there. Turn to Christ now. Repent. Now.

Say, pastor, you're just doing that fire and brimstone. I think I'm in good company. Do you know why the first message John the Baptist ever preached in Matthew three was, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus Christ, first message he ever preached, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The apostle Peter, first message you ever preached, repent.

Be baptized. You'll receive the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul in acts 20 says, I now command all men everywhere to repent. Well, we don't like to teach repentance because that, like, offends people. And they, you know, they don't like.

I teach it because God's calling you to. And if you're uncomfortable with that, that's okay. If you need to get up and leave, get up and leave, that's okay, too. But at the end of the day, I'm not going to shy back from what God says. God wants you to repent of your sin.

And now we're through about five.

You see why this is so important? Now listen, listen. We're going to get through these, but you need to know this. What do they say about grace? For it's by grace.

We've been saved through faith. It's not your own doing. It's a gift of God. So no one should boast grace is God's unmerited favor. Yes, it is.

But grace is not a license so that you can continue to sin and get more grace. Titus 211, and following says, it's what trains us to say no to ungodliness and to live self controlled, upright lives in this age. The same grace that saves you is the same grace that grows you. And if there's no evidence of growing in Christ, then there is no assurance of your salvation. Wait, wait, wait.

What do you mean? The parable of the soils? Bad soil produces nothing. Whether it's in the weeds, the rocks, or it's hard. Good soil produces 30, 60, or 100 fold.

If you abide in Christ, you'll produce fruit, more fruit and much fruit. It is so natural. If you're truly born again and received the grace of God, you'll continue to grow in the grace of God. But if you're not growing in the grace of God and you still seek grace as a license to sin and say, well, everybody sins, God's forgiven me. You should tremble in terror that you don't know the God of the Bible.

I find the more I grow in Christ, the more he gives me grace to show me deeper depravity in my own heart that needs to change, and he's never stopped. What do people say about obedience? Is obedience optional, or is it normative for a Christian? According to Jesus in John 1423 and 24 says, if you love me, you'll keep my word, and if you don't love me, you won't keep my word. It doesn't mean if you keep the word, it means you love God.

It means if you really love God, you'll want to do what his word says. And if you don't love God, you won't want to do what his word says. That's the spiritual litmus test. That's why James said the same thing, the half brother of Jesus. Faith without works is what you say.

You have faith, I'll show you my faith by what I do. It's so normative. If you really believe in Jesus, he's going to work himself out in you. Do people teach that? What do they say about Christ's return?

Do they even talk about it? I'm not talking about the methodology that he's coming back. I'm not asking if they're post millennial, amillennial, pre millennial. I'm not asking what tribulational view. I'm not talking about that.

I'm like, do they believe that Jesus Christ is coming back fully bodily and physically in glory to judge the living and the dead, because he is. In Mark, chapter 14, when Jesus was before the high priest, he says, are you really the son of God? And Jesus quotes Daniel and says, I am, and you shall see the son of man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. And at that point, he tore his robe. Jesus said in revelation 22 20, behold, I'm coming quickly.

I'm coming soon. What was Jesus saying? I'm coming back. Your pastors preach that. That when he does, you better be ready, because there's not going to be time to get ready, and that until he gets here, you should be living as if he arrives, so that when he arrives, you're doing the very thing he wants you to do, and you don't need to change.

Did they teach that? What do they say about his glory? What do they say about the glory of Christ? I mean, Ephesians 320 says, now, to him who is able to do far more than we can ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus and all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Who gets the glory when the guy preaches? Is it God or is it them? Who do they want to put on display? Are they trying to lift up Jesus, who said he'd draw all people to himself? Or are they trying to lift up themselves?

Who's getting the glory? Jesus doesn't want his glory touched. And finally, what do they say about the culture? What do people talk about with the culture? Here's what I say about the culture.

I say what Jesus says about the culture. He says, if the world hates you, know that it hated me first, before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, I chose you out of the world because of this. The world hates you.

If you have a pastor that's pandering to the culture, flee. There's things the culture believes that the Bible doesn't. If your job is say, well, the culture believes that you can be lesbian, bisexual, gay. So we got to change what we do here to make those people feel welcome. Leave.

No, no, no. We need to be so rooted in the word and lifting up Jesus Christ so high that when people come in here, they recognize these people are different than anybody I'm hanging out with out there. You don't change the church to fit the culture. You elevate Jesus. So the culture sees the church is nothing like it.

That's how you draw people to Jesus.

Jesus was nothing like his culture. The apostles are nothing like his culture. And friends, brave church is nothing like the culture. We don't want to be like the culture. We want to be like the kingdom.

We want to be like Jesus. Amen. Now hear me on this, Pastor Jeff. How many do we need to, I mean, pastor, I used to go to, they believe seven out of ten. What do you say to that?

I'd say rat poisoning is 95% nutritious. That's what I say to that. I mean, these are just so you know, these are like fundamental, foundational, like basic 101 Christianity stuff like this is not deep stuff. Like, if you can't believe this, you're not a believer. Like that's how foundational it is.

So you listen to somebody for 40 minutes or 50 at brave, you listen to somebody that long preach and they don't mention any one of these things. They're not preaching that word. And friends, listen. I don't think it's wrong for non believers to be welcomed. If you're here, we want you to be loved.

We want you to be welcomed. I don't think there's anything wrong with having good coffee. And while you don't believe me here in Englewood, I don't think there's anything wrong with comfortable seats.

However, that's not what we're lifting up here. We're lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you're lost, you can be saved. And if you're saved, you can grow. And if you grow, you can look forward to the day where you're going to be glorified.

And that's what we're about here. Amen. We're about the glory of Christ.

And I think those first two points are the big part, because, man, I'm telling you, I'm listening to evangelical pastors that are inviting gay couples into their church to teach christian parents how to handle their transitioning kids. And I want to vomit because it's evil. It's not wrong. It's evil. Or pastors that stand there and don't give the gospel, it's evil.

You are the blind leading the blind. If you're not proclaiming this book, this is the book that will judge you. This is the book that's authoritative. There is no other authority. When Jesus got done preaching, the scribes and pharisees said they were amazed because he taught his one with authority.

I have no authority. No other pastor has authority. The only authority we're given is the authority found in this book, period. End of story. Amen.

So if you're listening to someone reading, someone watching, someone, families in, someone they're not, at least ten out of ten on this, tell them to get out now because they're being led astray. All right. Amen. I'm feeling good. All right.

I'll get through these three points really, really fast, I promise you. Let me give you a third one. False teachers are immoral and they malign the truth. They're immoral and they align the truth. Notice verse two.

Many will follow their sensuality. That's immorality. And because of them, the way of the truth will be maligned. That word literally means blasphemed. They're immoral and blasphemers.

Under their so called authority in the movement, they have a license for sin. Every single cult that's ever been created, sexual immorality runs rampant, rampant. I'm not talking about genuine people who love God, who have fallen and repented. I'm talking about when you create a movement where there's so much sexual immorality in there and you're helping hide it under the guise of your authority. Some do it under the guise of legalism, where they pick certain three things that you got to keep, but then nothing else gets done.

And it's filled with pride, judgment, anger, rage, et cetera that nobody talks about. Sexual immorality flourishes in cultures like that. It's a habitual practice. I mean, just to give you an example. I mean, this is recent.

I heard the story. I watched it. There's a pastor in a church in our country, I think, I want to say three to five campuses, something like that, similar to ours, and had an affair with another woman. Okay, tragic. But here's what's even more tragic.

His wife saw through all of his garbage. She left him, which she should have. She left him. And he was on the platform because he's still the pastor. They did a town hall meeting for their church, and somebody asked, are you going to now marry that girl you had an affair with who was in the process of getting a divorce from her husband that he caused by sleeping with her?

And he said this. He goes, no, not right now, because she's still married. And until she's not married, that would be immoral.

And I thought, wait, what? Friends. That's what I'm talking about. It's not that far off. It's everywhere.

It's rampant everywhere. If you see that, run from that, get away from that. It's not of the Lord. It's not of the Lord. The Lord can restore the genuinely repentant.

But these people are not genuinely repentant. They're blasphemers. They don't speak on behalf of God. They tell their own stories, their own creativity, their own lies. They're very attractive.

They get people to think, oh, that person's so good. That person's so good. I need them. You do not need a person. You need Jesus.

And by God's grace, have a faithful servant teach you about the faithfulness of Jesus. Brave church is not dependent upon me. Brave church is dependent upon Jesus. When I'm finished here, my prayer is that whoever succeeds me will stand here with the same authority, different gifting, different everything, and proclaim the same truth from the scriptures. I'm proclaiming.

Amen. That's what we want. False teachers are immoral. They malign the truth. Let me give you a fourth one.

False teachers are greedy and they exploit you. They're greedy and they exploit you. And in their greed, they will exploit you with false words. They exploit you by taking advantage of you. They tell you things that you want to hear so that you get on board with them.

I've heard pastors preach that. God told me to tell you that I need an $88 million plane. No, he didn't. If you want to donate one to the church, we'll take it. But I'm just saying there's no way he said that.

No way. I mean, I don't like Dia any more than the next guy, but I'm willing to do that to get on a plane and go somewhere to teach people about Jesus. Do you understand what I'm saying? And they profit for themselves. They're all about themselves.

They exploit you with their words. They take advantage of you. They do what Paul says when they peddle the gospel, they do it for profit. They're not doing it because they love the Lord Jesus Christ. In one Corinthians, chapter two.

I'm sorry. Second Corinthians, chapter two, verse 17. Paul says, for we are not like the many peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God. We speak in Christ in the sight of God. He's like, I'm not coming to you to get your money.

There's nothing wrong with paying a pastor, especially in our day and age. I couldn't live if I wasn't getting paid. I need a different job. There's nothing wrong with that. But I'm talking about people that are in the pulpit for the sole purpose of getting your money.

Greed and immorality go together with false teachers all the time. You'll see them like twins. They're all over the place. Paul's model for preaching was simply this. I'm gonna preach the whole authority of God.

But in Philippians one, he said, but sure, it's true that some preach Christ out of selfish ambition or vain rivalry, but what do I care if Christ is being preached? I rejoice. I'm not teaching you about this so that you can start your own podcast and be one of the 30 million people in the world that have a podcast pointing out every false teacher. I'm teaching you this so that you know, for your own soul and the soul of those around you, how to follow a true prophet of God. Somebody's gonna open up the word and teach the whole counsel of God, somebody that's not embarrassed to say, hey, this is what the word said, and this is what you said, and the word's right, and you were wrong, and they said, you're right.

The word is always right, and I'm never right. The word is right, and I'm doing my best to preach the word. You understand what I'm saying? And if you hear new doctrines like, I've never. I mean, 2000 years of the church, I've never heard that before.

That's so refreshing. If you've never heard it in 2000 years, it's because it's not there. That's all it means. Do you understand what I'm saying? If you're attracted, can God perform miracles?

Yes. Can God heal people? Yes. Is that what you're attracted to, or are you attracted to God if he doesn't do any of that? That's what I'm talking about.

They're greedy. They'll exploit you instead of caring for you. And I'll give you this final one. False teachers are dangerous, and they earn God's judgment. They're dangerous, and they earn God's judgment.

He says they exploit you with their false words. Their judgment, from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep. Their judgment and destruction is imminent. Not idle means it's present. It's ready.

Not sleeping means God's wide awake. He's watching all this. And can I tell you, I mean, two verses come to mind when I'm teaching this. It's Hebrews 1219, that our God is a consuming fire.

Every preacher should understand who they're speaking on behalf of when they stand before a group of people. Our God is a consuming fire. In Hebrews 1031, it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. I believe with my whole heart that there's not just like one little hell where everybody goes. I think there's different levels of it.

I think the same in terms of rewards when it comes to heaven. And I think the hottest places in hell are prepared for the evil people that teach counter to what the word of God teaches. And I think it's terrible and awful that so many people will say things like this. But he's so nice, so sweet. Love their family.

Love all. Of course you do. That's who Satan chooses to use.

Find yourself a church and find yourself a preacher that is unapologetic about the full counsel of God. Not only when they speak it on a weekend, but how they're living it in their life. Get around somebody that's terrified of the living God that loves you enough to tell you about the fullness of God so that you can have him. Well, Pastor Jeff, if you're going to act like that, there's a lot of people that will never come to brave. That's fine.

That's their choice. They're welcome. And if you come, regardless of where you come, you will be welcomed, you'll be loved, you'll be prayed for, and you'll be admonished by the word of God to repent and believe that Jesus is the Christ. Because we love you so much, we'll tell you that. But I'm not trying to build a crowd that hates God.

And I'm not trying to build a crowd to follow me. Friends, I'm a sinner. There's nothing spectacular about me. I don't want you to follow me only to the extent you see me following Christ. Do you understand what I'm saying?

That's why we need to know this and we need to be able to spot them so that when we're watching them and we're hearing them and we're listening to them, that we can see them for who they truly are. Wolves in sheep's clothing that are leading people to hell. And it should bother you the same way it bothers me, because I'm telling you right now, it bothers our God. Good news is this. He's going to ride every wrong.

If you're here today and you've never placed your faith and trust in Jesus, I encourage you to do that, to turn from your sin and to turn to Christ. And if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that his grace and peace would be multiplied in you. Would you stand with me today as we close our Father in heaven, we give you all the glory and all the honor and all the praise for who you are. And, Lord, we ask in this moment, as we sing our hearts out to you, that you would be blessed by the way in which we stand on the truth and love your word and are dependent upon you and are filled with your grace so that we can love you more and show a dying world what genuine believers in Christ look like. Lord, we love you and bless you and praise you for who you are and for all you do.

Get all the glory and honor from us, and it's in Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. And amen. Can we give God some praise this morning for.