Part 8 of 8 qualities of the heart that resists error
Church membership is like an umbrella in a downpour.
This is the concluding article in a series examining eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
8. Church membership
Jesus says you are a sheep who needs the protection of shepherds (see John 10:1–15 and John 21:15–17). If enfolded in the flock, you benefit from the spiritual covering of your church (see 1 Corinthians 5) and from human shepherds who watch over your soul (see Hebrews 13:17).
Membership is a matter of the heart, not a formality. A member’s attitude is, “I belong; I am involved; I am submitted; I contribute.” It is the opposite of independence, anonymity, and consumerism. The church keeps you safe when you engage in meetings, build relationships, and submit to shepherds. Your attitude toward the church determines how well it can protect you.
The church protects because it is the body of Jesus Christ. He is its head, the one who ultimately cares for the members of his body through his body.
Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep, the chief Shepherd over the under-shepherds (see 1 Peter 5:1–2; John 21:15–17). It is he who ultimately keeps you from falling prey to wolves.
Jesus is the truth. It is he who ultimately enables you to pass the test of error by giving a love and ear for truth.
Jesus is the Word. It is he who gives the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and promises, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Luke 21:33).
And so it is Jesus Christ who faithfully helps you pass the test from false teaching and prove true to him. As you do your part to navigate through a world of errors, you can rest assured you are safe in the arms of Jesus.
Part 7 of 8 qualities of the heart that resists error
Ultimately God is the one responsible to lead truth-seekers into what is real, and he is trustworthy.
This series examines eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
7. Trusting God for truth
We must have faith in God’s ability to keep us. The one who doubts can become fearful and susceptible to manipulation by strong personalities. Paul talked about the instability of those who are “children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Eph. 4:14).
James warned that “the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind…. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (Jam. 1:6, 8).
Therefore, though vigilant, we must not fear deception. Instead we must trust in Jesus’ promises to keep us, not in our ability to keep ourselves, as we fulfill our responsibility to pursue truth diligently.
God has promised
The Lord’s promises to keep his children bear repeating because they are the foundation of trust. “[God] is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 1:24).
“Our Lord Jesus Christ…will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:7–9).
“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:27–29).
Therefore we can rest assured that God will lead as we sincerely seek the truth, and as we pray Psalm 25:4–5:
“Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”
Part 6 of 8 Qualities of the Heart That Resists Error
This series examines eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
6. Vigilance
Jesus taught his disciples to watch out for error. They must not be naïve about the dangers of false teachers. On one occasion Jesus warned of an especially dangerous group:
“Jesus said to them, ‘Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’…Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Mat. 16:6, 12, italics added)
So we avoid deception by vigilance. This warning shows we should be vigilant not only regarding individuals but also groups that have a pervasive culture of error (see Jesus’ detailed evaluation of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23).
Such groups are deceptive because they are humanly impressive. Leaven creates air bubbles in dough, making it swell. The Lord’s analogy suggests the false teachers were pretentious. Although impressive, they and their teaching were nothing but air.
Leaven is plentiful in our culture today. We need vigilance not only concerning the religious world but also concerning all we encounter in the evening news, at the movies, on iTunes and YouTube. Beware the leaven in the New York Times. Beware the leaven in bestselling books and songs. The same goes for sermons, Christian books, and music. As you read, watch, and listen, evaluate whether the content agrees with God’s revealed truth. Do not be a naïve sponge.
Fruit
Jesus says false religious teachers can superficially be difficult to recognize because they wear the sheep’s clothing of religion, not secularism and unbelief. Nonetheless Jesus has complete confidence that one principle will safely guide us:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15–20)
In the mind of Jesus, discernment is a black-and-white matter; look at their fruit. But to what kind of fruit is he referring? First, Jesus must mean the fruit of the teachers’ words. (Proverbs 18:20 speaks of “the fruit of a man’s mouth.”) Does their teaching line up with Scripture and the orthodox teaching of the church? Moreover, are their words in all situations, both in teaching and conversation, marked by godliness and the fruit of the Spirit? (See Matthew 12:34; Galatians 5:22–23.)
Second, Jesus must mean the fruit of their deeds. Bad deeds do not always show up immediately, but when they do they tell much. (See 1 John 3:6–10; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; 5:24–25; James 3:13–18.)
Third, Jesus cannot mean the fruit of success because the Bible and church history show that genuine, godly ministries sometimes have little to show for their work while false ministries can attract great followings. So the fruit of words and deeds tells all.
Suspicion
Vigilance is essential, then, but we must balance it with trust. Watchful people can take vigilance to an extreme that harms themselves and others. They can become suspicious toward everyone. That is unloving and off-putting, for relationships are built on trust. (See 1 Corinthians 13:7. First Timothy 6:4 speaks of “evil suspicions.”)
Suspicious, paranoid people cannot trust any church or pastor and cannot learn from others. They develop an independent spirit and may isolate themselves. They are wise in their own eyes. This too is spiritually dangerous, for we need others to speak into our lives and correct blind spots. Proverbs 26:12 says, “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12).
God created us for community and trustful relationships. So we need a wise combination of vigilance and trust.
Part 5 of 8 Qualities of the Heart That Resists Error
This series examines eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
5. The love of truth
Sinful choices can give a foothold to the devil (see Ephesians 4:26–27). If we are liars, we give a foothold to the father of lies (see John 8:37–59). If we want to deceive ourselves and others, we can unwittingly welcome deceiving spirits (1 Kings 22:1–38). Lies are dangerous things that lead to more than we bargain for.
In the end times, for example, the people who will be susceptible to the outrageous deceptions of the Antichrist will be those who have previously refused to love the truth, in particular the truth of the gospel, when they had opportunity. Second Thessalonians 2:9–12 says:
“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (italics added)
This is a troubling text. It shows that those who do not love truth are responsible for the consequences. They are tested and judged through falsehood. In perfect justice God judges those who choose not to believe the truth by letting those who live by lies die by lies. Truth matters; believing God’s truth is a moral obligation; preferring lies is evil. That is why Revelation 21:8 includes liars in bad company in a bad place: “As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (italics added). Lies are more evil than most people realize.
Conversely, the love of truth gives us the ability to recognize truth. Fiction writer J.R.R. Tolkien illustrates this in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. One leader of Rohan says of his people, “The Men of the Mark do not lie, and therefore they are not easily deceived.” Those who love truth enough to be honest even when it hurts, who are unwilling to lie for gain, who are vigilant about the truthfulness of their words, heighten their ability to recognize truth or falsehood in others’ words. An honest person has a nose for truth.
The love of truth gives courage to those who have come to the Lord after being in a Christian group beset with serious doctrinal mistakes, or in a cult. When they see the light, instead of staying in their group because they want to remain with friends and family, they are committed to God’s truth even when it means leaving everything they have known behind. They follow truth at all costs.
Part 4 of 8 Qualities of the Heart That Resists Error
To find ultimate truth, you need humility.
If we want to know the truth about the big questions of life, we must pay attention to the state of our soul, not just our worldview. This series examines eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching. To begin the series see the first quality, Devotion to the True God. If you are up to speed, read on for part 4.
4. Humility
The true, saving gospel both exalts and humbles believers. It exalts by revealing that God created us in his image with dignity and purpose, that he loved us enough to give his beloved Son to die on the cross for us, that we will reign with Jesus Christ in the coming age over a recreated earth-paradise. The gospel says we are headed for nothing short of eternal glory, shining like the sun in our Father’s kingdom.
But the gospel also humbles completely. You cannot be saved without first believing humbling things. According to the gospel, before you come to faith in Christ Jesus you are an evil being deserving nothing from God but eternal condemnation. You cannot justify yourself before God on the basis of your good deeds, niceness, and religious involvement. You cannot save yourself. On your own you cannot even decide to seek the Lord; he must draw you to himself and convict of sin. You cannot believe in Jesus or repent of sin unless God gives the ability. From beginning to end you are completely dependent on him for salvation. (See Romans 3:9–28.)
On these points, false teaching often leaves the tracks. False teaching twists the gospel to appeal to our proud desire to justify ourselves, to earn God’s acceptance. When advertisements tell consumers they deserve a luxury item, sales improve. In pride we want to deserve what we have; we resist grace. But Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” No one will be able to boast before God. No man will be able to credit himself for his salvation. It takes humility to accept the truth of the gospel.
Vast Bible knowledge alone will not keep you in the truth if your heart is wrong. Religious leaders of Jesus’ day knew much about Scripture, but they rejected him. Proud people misread and misuse God’s Word. They make it a tool in the pursuit of proud purposes. Therefore it is unsafe to follow a proud Bible teacher or be a proud Bible student.
We find safety and truth only in humility, for God “leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way” (Psa. 25:9). With humility, the greater our Bible knowledge the more we give glory to God and depend entirely on him for understanding.
Keen instincts for truth come from broad familiarity with Scripture
If we want to know the truth about the big questions of life, we must pay attention to the state of our soul, not just our worldview. This is part three of eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.(If you missed a previous article in the series, see part one and part two.)
3. Familiarity with Scripture
Last night I was in a prayer meeting for which someone arrived late. I did not open my eyes to see who it was, but in a moment I knew. When he walked by, I smelled the after-shave he often uses, and when he began to pray, I of course recognized his voice.
We gain a similar discernment when we saturate ourselves with Scripture. As we prayerfully read the Bible day after day, we become familiar with the sound and feel of truth. We come to know intuitively in our spirit the One who is truth.
Jesus compared this experience to that of sheep with their shepherd. He said, “The sheep hear [their shepherd’s] voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” (John 10:3–5).
The more you read the whole Bible, the sharper will be your instinctive sense of what is true and false in the world. Falsehood will sound off-key, even if you are not immediately sure why it is false.
To know truth we must pay a price. Instead of spending discretionary time on myriad things of little lasting value, we need to read, study, memorize, and meditate on God’s Word.
Part Two, of Eight Qualities of the Heart That Resists Error
If lights are out in the heart, then lights are out in the mind.
If we want to know the truth about the big questions of life, we must pay attention to the state of our soul, not just our worldview. Last week we began an examination of eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching. The first quality is Devotion to the True God. The second quality is purity of heart.
2. Purity of heart
Discerning truth and error can seem like the domain of rational thinking alone, but the mind usually follows the heart. Desire steers belief. Evil desires and feelings lead into darkness, and darkness makes reason unreliable. Therefore to recognize error, guard the purity of your heart.
A pure heart depends especially on the illumination of love. John wrote, “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:9–11).
John wrote these important words about love in a letter (1 John) devoted to the subject of distinguishing truth from error. This confirms again the connection between mind and heart. If lights are out in the heart, then lights are out in the mind. If our hearts are full of lingering bitterness, hatred, anger, and unforgiveness, we will have a hard time knowing the truth. We will be in darkness.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
Guard your mind by regularly examining your heart, confessing sin, forgiving others, loving even your enemies, and sincerely repenting.
Next week, we come to the third quality of your soul that makes you immune to error.
Theme: Eight Qualities of the Heart That Resists Error
God is true and reliable, but we are not. What can make us susceptible to error is the state of our soul. Exhibit A is the Pharisees. Today we begin an examination of eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
1. Devotion to the True God
The first and most important quality of the heart immune to false teaching is sincere love for God as he reveals himself to be in the Bible, not who you think he should be. The last half of that sentence is crucial. Most people want God to conform to the values they or their cultures espouse. If God reveals himself in the Bible to be different than they want, many people ignore or reject those disagreeable parts of Scripture to maintain their false beliefs. False ideas of God make us susceptible to false teaching.
The list of God’s qualities that people in Western cultures reject is growing longer. Westerners increasingly balk at the Bible’s clear teaching about God’s holiness, hatred of sin, wrath and judgment, sovereignty, authority to determine how we express our sexuality and order our marriages and families, and his choice to save lost souls exclusively through belief in his Son Jesus Christ, whom he loves. For many people, these truths are deal-breakers. They reject the God revealed in the Bible and gladly fall into the arms of the false teachers, whether they be religious leaders, journalists, scientists, Hollywood celebrities, self-help authors, or motivational speakers. They may believe in a God, but he is not the God revealed in the Bible.
The unbiblical God is a lie. That God is a false God, a deception. That God is an idol, just as surely as if it were a statue of Baal. Those who choose to believe in a false God will not be saved by the true God. It is not enough to believe in a God; we must believe in the true God as he reveals himself to be in Jesus Christ and in the Bible, which Jesus affirmed as God’s eternal words.
We must love God as he is. If we do not, we must realize our hearts are twisted by sin and this corrupt world. We are the ones who have it wrong, not God. He is absolutely righteous and perfect, and so he will not change. We are the ones who must change. God deserves adoration not just in spite of the qualities that trouble us, but because of these qualities. His holiness is as adorable as his love. His justice is as adorable as his mercy. His wrath is as adorable as his tolerance. His consuming fire as his compassion. His law as his grace.
And so, first, to have a heart immune to false teaching, you must heed Moses when he warned about the test brought on by false prophets. “You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him” (Deu. 13:3–4). Such devotion keeps you in the truth.
Next week we look at the second soul quality that makes us immune to false teaching.
Truth is too important for us to neglect any of the guides God has provided.
For several months now, we have been digging into the idea that God leads us into essential truths about himself and salvation through four guides. They are (1) the Scriptures, (2) the Holy Spirit, (3) the church, and (4) prayer. If we follow these four guides with patience, faith, and wisdom, we can be assured of finding the truth—even if we are a new Christian! Through these four guides God will certainly lead us into the truth that assures us of eternal life.
Harmony
Just as a car needs all four wheels, you need all four guides working in harmony. Do not neglect or ignore any of them. Remember the Pharisees, who were radically religious yet profoundly wrong. Jesus corrected them: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39–40, ESV) They examined one of the four guides closely, yet they still went astray.
The Sadducees made the opposite error, failing to give adequate attention to Scripture. Jesus corrected them as well: “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mark 12:24, ESV)
So if we rely exclusively on one of these guides in contradiction with the others, or if we neglect, ignore, or reject one of the guides, we can stray into error.
Examples
For example, although objective Scripture is free of error, we might err when we interpret and apply it. False teachers usually appeal to the same Bible as orthodox Christians, but they misinterpret it. This is why we need the wider, historic church and the fruits of its two-thousand year history of interpreting the Bible together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Over that period the church has thoroughly wrestled through disagreements about the key doctrines necessary for salvation, corrected the errors of particular eras, groups, leaders, and locales, and long ago reached general consensus on the essentials.
Similarly, with regard to the Holy Spirit leading us into all truth through the Scriptures, we may have subjective thoughts and feelings that are not from the Holy Spirit. They may come from personal convictions shaped by our upbringing, for example. This is why we need the objective correction that comes from both Scripture and historic church doctrine.
For instance, some people have grown up in heretical religions such as the Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses that do not believe Jesus Christ is the eternal, uncreated, divine Son of God. As a result, their consciences may affirm that what they learned in “church” and from parents is true, even though objective Scripture and the wider, historic church emphatically deny this false teaching. A Mormon might think that his Mormon-shaped conscience is the Holy Spirit leading him.
God is faithful to lead us out of an unhealthy religious group if we commit ourselves to follow the truth even if it contradicts our traditions. Psalm 25:5 gives an essential Scriptural prayer that God will surely answer: “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation.” The Holy Spirit will answer that prayer over time by illumining Scripture as we read. If we are in an unsound group, over time we will see how the Bible contradicts their teaching in significant ways. The Holy Spirit will disturb our conscience over what we hear. We can trust God to lead us into truth and a church marked by sound teaching.
Through prayerful agreement between the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and the true church, God reliably guides everyone who is committed to the truth at all costs and seeks it with prayer, trust, and persistence.
Next week
God is reliable, but we are not. What can make us susceptible to error is the state of our soul. Exhibit A is the Pharisees. So next week we begin an examination of eight soul qualities that make us immune to false teaching.
Do you think you can think on your own? Think again.
In the previous posts we have seen five reasons why prayer is important for learning truth about God, his Scriptures, and all the great questions of life. Here is the sixth and final surprising reason to pray for understanding.
6. Our ability to think rationally comes from God.
Apart from God’s aiding you moment-by-moment to have a rational mind, you would have no more ability to think with spiritual reason than a cow chewing its cud.
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon shows that. He was the mightiest man on earth until God judged him for his pride. “Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.” (Daniel 4:33)
But after a time, God had mercy on him and restored his rational ability. “At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation” (Daniel 4:34).
Our ability to understand even the most basic things, such as 2+2=4, comes from God!
“What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).
And specifically, Scripture tells us that understanding comes from God:
“For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6).
Prayer is key
And when does God promise to give understanding?
Proverbs 2:1–6 says, “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
God gives understanding to those who ask for it.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God” (James 1:5).
Again and again, the psalmist prayed for understanding:
“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law…. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart…. Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments…. I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!… Let my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word!” (Psalm 119:18, 34, 73, 125, 169)
In order to know truth about the things of God, you can make those prayers your prayers. Prayer is an essential guide into truth.
