THE FALSE TEACHER
The Spirit of God spoke clearly and warned the brethren through means of the written word that the time was coming when men would depart from the faith (I Timothy 4:1). Timothy would be doing his work as an evangelist if he continued to warn the brethren about this departure from the faith (verse 6). John warned that there were many false prophets who had gone out into the world (I John 4:1). The churchs defense against these kinds of men was by trying the spirits. Paul warned the elders from Ephesus that from among them would arise those whose intent was to draw away disciples from the Lord (Acts 20:30).
The motivation behind such men would lead men away from the Lord is worthy of our consideration. Paul stated that the ones who were busy causing divisions contrary to the doctrine of Christ did so because "they serve their own bellies" (Romans 16:17,18). Such men were to be marked. The doctrines that they used to cause division could certainly be dealt with, by means of truth. Paul, however, takes it a step further by saying such men should be marked, that is, by name. This way the church would be aware of those who were secretly trying to lead men away from the Lord.
Jesus prophesied that before the fall of Jerusalem, some Christians would allow their love for Him, to grow or wax cold (Matthew 24:12). The dying of their love for Jesus would be accompanied by the rise of iniquity (lawlessness) in their hearts. Those then who learned to love the world more than they did Jesus would move away from Him who loved them and died for them. Such a movement by any Christian is sad beyond words to express. The false teacher as he moved from the Lord would try to get others to follow him. This is what made him so dangerous in the first century. Those who would draw away disciples after them and not the Lord cease to be interested the cause of Christ or the church that He purchased with His own blood.
Here is a brother, for example, in the first century, who believed that he should only eat herbs and not meat. If he held such a view to the point of it being a matter of conscience then, under no circumstances, should he eat meat. As long as he held it as a personal matter of conscience then the church would not need to be disturbed. If, on the other hand, he gets busy and tries to win others to his way of thinking he becomes a danger to the cause of Christ. This man who believed in eating herbs is the weak brother (Romans 14:2). Every Christian, through a study of God's Word, is to be fully convinced in his own mind about what is the right course, herbs or meats (Romans 14:5).
As one studies through Romans 14, the preservation of individual faith and the church of our Lord was uppermost in the mind of Paul who wrote by inspiration. The false teacher does not care about his fellow Christian nor does he care about the church of Christ. He is interested in getting individuals to agree with him so that he can draw them away from the Lord. It is in this effort to convince others where the true colors of the false teacher become evident. A man may say that he loves the church and yet everywhere he goes the church gets torn up by him. His fruits reveal what he is (Matthew 7:16). I have known of men who could preach excellent sermons on the eldership and yet they themselves have a record that they cannot work under any eldership.
Before we label one as being a false teacher, let us be careful and make a distinction to clear up false ideas. If an individual has a peculiar understanding about marriage, divorce and remarriage is he a false teacher? He is if he is busy trying to pull others into his way of thinking through sermons, letters, emails, tracts and or phone calls. If, on the other hand, there is not an effort to draw away disciples nor win people to his cause, then we should grant him time to study and become persuaded in his own mind as to the truth. There were, in the first century, false brethren who went about trying to destroy the peace of the church (Galatians 2:4,5). Such men should experience the wrath of the church when the church refuses to give them any access at all to teaching the brethren (Titus 3:10).
Let us all use caution to be slow about the process of calling someone a false teacher. Just because he does not agree with us does not make him a false teacher. If his efforts prove that he does not love the Lord or the church, then faithful brethren should deal with him accordingly.