They havent been properly trained in understanding and teaching the context of a passage to protect themselves from making Gods word say whatever they want. The same struggles and deceptions that plagued the early church continue to plague modern-day believers. One of the most damaging things in Christianity is easy believism. Its an approach to the gospel that tells people that if they just pray a prayer, theyll be saved. The teaching in a false church will, if you believe it, lead you to eternal death. But today just about every false teacher has a Twitter account. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ. These pastor-teachers confessed Christ with their mouths but denied him with their bodies. If someone fails to provide for the needs of his household, he has denied the faith (1 Tim 5:8). What happens when someone tithes for three months and their earthly circumstances are worse than they were at the beginning and their faith is weaker? In his head, he might have what many consider to be the right doctrinal content. Jesus and his apostles are very clear that false teachers will arise. At worst, Life.Church actually agrees with the false teachings coming from their guests. God Isn't A Trinity. The false prophets claiming God said this! were taking Gods name in vain. They were blaspheming the name of God. To share this article with your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. John Calvin speaks of a "certain charitable judgment whereby we recognize as members of the church those who, by confession of faith, by example of life, and by . 1. But you know what? 3 FALSE TEACHINGS in CHURCHES you should AVOID DLM Christian Lifestyle 760K subscribers Subscribe 54K Share 1.7M views 2 years ago In this video, I warn you against 3 false teachings in. whether Christians should take communion at home, video where Groeschel takes a firmer stance, other than him recently spitting on his hand and rubbing it on someones face during a sermon, The church focuses heavily on creating an online presence, They are the creators of the YouVersion Bible app that many people use for reading and daily devotions, Despite having multiple sites, there is only a single message that is live-streamed from one church to the rest, Craig Groeschel is the lead pastor, but they frequently have other speakers preach the weekly sermon, Listening to over 20 sermons, mostly from Groeschel, Reading and watching all the resources on their website aimed at people who are either new or want to take the next steps, Reading a handful of discussions about Life.Church and Groeschel, both praising and critiquing, Exploring their denominations website to get a bigger picture of the things I may not have seen, Birth control (including calling out those who refuse to have children for faithless and selfish reasons), The pastors words/opinions fall under the authority of the Bible, The Bible falls under the authority of the pastors words/opinions, Let go of negative things and repent of sin (self-doubt, anger, negative thoughts, or whatever the sermon was about), Pray this prayer and ask Jesus to forgive you and save you from your sins, Blends atheistic psychology with Bible verses, Ignores Gods clear teaching on the requirements of a pastor, Seems ashamed of the reality of Gods wrath over sin, Leads thousands into false conversion for the sake of numbers, Chooses not to rightly handle the word of God and mocks those who strive to do so. "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." ~Colossians 2:8. Do you long to break free from the spiral of destructive thinking? Watching a sermon online or chatting on a website may give a sense of community, but not being part of a local body makes the bolded sections of text nearly impossible. How, then, does the church discern true teachers from false ones in a world like ours, where its easier than ever to spread false teaching? And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. While Life.Church may not have such obviously false beliefs that we can make a blanket statement of No Christian should go there, there are several things worth considering beyond the surface level evaluations we hastily make. In particular, 2 Peter 2 is remarkable in how it fleshes out Jesuss warning about the fruit of false teaching. That seems harsh, but thats the reality of what Life.Church offers. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. While preaching through Luke 5, Furtick . Yes, this is talking about false prophets. However, this is completely contrary to both understanding Old Testament context as well as what God reveals: Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Practically speaking, there are several steps to guarding your kids from false teaching: Identify the false teaching and messages through lots of open conversations. Often, this is also a sign that the speaker doesnt actually know how to read and understand the Bible. That being said, here are four tips that Christians can use in cultivating discernment against false teaching. Conclusion: Is Life.Church safe for Christians? Everything else is about their lives. Its using His name in any way that is disrespectful, false, or misleading. Jakes, Paula White, and Hillsong. The apostle Peter also warned Christians that false teachers would arise (2 Peter 2:1). For starters, well have to consider more than the content of their sermons, conference talks, or books and look also to the shape and pattern of their lives. And so it is with ethical compromise. False teachers will be known by their ungodly influence . They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. An off-center idea may be way out but not necessarily heresy. False Teachers Will Arise "If you cannot identify any voices you hear as false, it's not because you aren't being exposed, but because you're falling for it in some way." We begin by acknowledging not just the possibility of false teaching, but the certainty of it. (Romans 6:23), Some may have noticed this in the previous point, but it needs to be directly pointed out. So, we should not be caught off guard that false teachers have arisen throughout church history and likely have multiplied in our day. (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Heres a basic example of how people are told to repent of their sin and trust in Christ for salvation (if the video doesnt automatically begin there, its at the 29:40 mark): The number of hands raised or comments written in the chat give Life.Church a sense that so many new Christians are being redeemed by Christ. Let Gods truth become your battle plan to win the war in your mind! Like I said, its a really strange statement. There are many pastors who are simply ignorant of exegetical preaching. Its time to change your mind so God can change your life. #6 Hyper-grace. They are not interested in teaching the truth. In this post, we'll examine a few of the false assumptions held by many in the visible church. Watching a sermon allows us to enjoy one aspect of church, but it also denies us the ability to fully take part in a community like God has called us to. They talk about eternity apart from God in the same way someone may talk about living through war or working at a horrible job. Overall, Life.Church seems to desire their people to walk together. We begin by acknowledging not just the possibility of false teaching, but the certainty of it. The challenge is simple, and I will again quote their website: If youre not tithing already, a great way to start is with the Three-Month Tithe Challenge. Those who take this more compartmentalized approach often assume that right doctrine will inevitably lead to right practice. Ill be discussing the various aspects of Life.Church under three broad categories: Green Flags: Those things I believe the church does wellYellow Flags: Things that are problematic, but dont reject sound biblical teaching or compromise the gospelRed Flags: Reasons Christians should avoid or outright reject Life.Church and their teachings. It also shows us what the church leaders believe about God and our purpose in life. Teaching through experiences, not the Bible. However, this comes at the expense of people truly being part of the body of Christ. Psychology is based on the interpretations and understandings of people whose worldview is anti-God. The Holy Spirit helps us be the best version of ourselves. No matter how small a minority the church becomes, and no matter how fragile we feel, the very one who is both the subject of true teaching and the model of true living is also our life-and-soul-preserver. This is often a tactic used in the Prosperity Gospel. Thats simply not the case. God is good and can grow His people in any circumstance. Yet Life.Church is more than just a fluffy, come-as-you-are church with motivational sermons. That is, to stay firmly rooted in the passage and draw the lesson from the biblical text itself rather than starting with an opinion and finding whatever verses might support it. Theres nothing biblical about the entire sermon, even though he abuses Hebrews 11:1 and 2 Corinthians 10:5. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:10 NIV. So it is very important that you know how to recognize a false church. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. People are empowered to be who God wants them to be. Either way, a pastor who promotes wolves is not fit to be a pastor. Based on the context of the motivational sermons and the gospel presentation, Christ came to save us from negativity and offers us freedom to be happy. Jesus warned about false prophets from among the people who outwardly come in "sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matt. The ultimate goal of this is simply to get people to say yes and pray a prayer. Consider, for example, the Epistle of Jude (and its parallel in 2 Peter 2). (Exodus 20:7). First, look at their motivation. Lots of people are teachers who are simply misguided and unhelpful in many ways, but might not come under the ban of being called a false teacher. Any believer who "correctly handles the word of truth" ( 2 Timothy 2:15) and who makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine. Life.Church frequently fails to live up to both of these, and as a result, faces problems in many other ways. A false teacher leads into the emptiness of self-righteousness and death, but a true teacher leads to the fullness of Christ and life. The early creeds summarize both the gospel and core Christian doctrine. Also, they are grumblers and malcontents; they indulge their own lusts; they are bombastic in speech, flattering people to their own advantage (v. 16). However, the way music is approached feeds into the bigger issue of this church being a means of entertainment. When people are told to change out of self-interest, then they believe the Christian life is about self-empowerment and, ultimately, feeding their greed. In 1 Corinthians 3:2, Paul chastises the church for still being spiritually immature and weak in their thinking and understanding. False teaching was as much an issue in the early church as it is today. I quote this verse to point out one thing: God does not tolerate people using His name for their own ends. On the one hand, it seems so obvious. Notice the quoted text. Its no surprise that Jesus told the apostles before his ascension to make disciples of all nations by baptizing them in the Triune Name and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Matt. The comments would often be along the lines of The sermons may be shallow, but the gospel presentation is clear. And as I listened to my first few sermons, I likewise found myself impressed with how clearly they give the gospel. 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