False Fruits

Titus 1:10-16 “For there are a lot of rebels out there, full of loose, confusing, and deceiving talk. Those who were brought up religious and ought to know better are the worst. They've got to be shut up. They're disrupting entire families with their teaching, and all for the sake of a fast buck. One of their own prophets said it best: “The Cretans are liars from the womb, barking dogs, lazy bellies.”
He certainly spoke the truth. Get on them right away. Stop that diseased talk of Jewish make-believe and made-up rules so they can recover a robust faith. Everything is clean to the clean-minded; nothing is clean to dirty-minded unbelievers. They leave their dirty fingerprints on every thought and act. They say they know God, but their actions speak louder than their words. They're real creeps, disobedient good-for-nothings (MSG).”

Until the day that Jesus returns to rule on earth for a thousand years, there will always be false teachers. Titus mentioned it; Paul mentioned them, Jesus, Jude, John and Peter also talked about false teachers. Allow me clarify, a false teacher is not just a “teacher,” it means anyone who teaches others such as a pastor, prophets, an elder, a bishop, a deacon or any other Christian who is in a ministry of preaching, leadership, service or teaching.

When a Christian "discerns" truth from a lie, it is not "judging" another Christian. It's called "discernment." It's nothing personal as long as you don't judge their character or motives. When we study the truth and weigh it against what teachers preach and teach, the question we ask is, "Does this line up with what the bible teaches?" That is called discernment, not judging.

Do not be ignorant brothers and sisters, there were false brethren in the days of Peter and Paul and there will false brethren in our days as well. Be aware of them, they look like sheep but inside they are wolves.

If you or anyone you know is “doing church” or preaching for the sole purpose of monetary gain, teaching new doctrines that people want to hear, they are wrong and in error. If they are in a ministry for the sole purpose of pastoral service, teaching directly from the bible on topics that may seem uncomfortable, then the appropriate compensation is due them. The question is, how can you tell the difference between the one of pure heart and motives versus the one who is in it for the money? Jesus said that you can tell a false teacher by their fruits. What is the “fruit” of a false teacher?

Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

In 2 Peter Chapter 2, Peter lists a few things to help us identify a false teacher:

1. They will turn against Christ who bought them with His blood (v. 1).
2. They bring fast death on themselves (v. 1).
3. Many people will follow their wrong ways (v. 2).
4. Because of what they do, people will speak bad things against the way of truth (v. 2).
5. They will tell lies and false stories so they can use you to get things for themselves (v. 3).
6. They want to please themselves and are not afraid when they laugh and say bad things about the powers in heaven (v. 10). 
7. They speak bad words against that which they do not understand (v. 12).
8. Their eyes are full of sex sins (v. 14).
9. They get weak people to go along with them (v. 14).
10. Their hearts always want something (v. 14).
11. They have followed the way of Balaam, who was the son of Beor. He loved the money he got for his sin (v.15).
12. They speak big-sounding words which show they are proud (v.18).
13. They get men who are trying to keep away from sinful men to give in to the sinful desires of the flesh (v.18).

Why did Jesus warn us about false teachers? I believe it was because he knew that true believers can only come from hearing correct doctrine. This gospel truth and proper doctrine is explained and taught in the bible, God's Word. When a person who believes hears the truth, he or she recognizes it and begins to believe and trusts in God’s Word. When you know the truth well, it’s easy to recognize the counterfeit. False teaching cannot produce true believers. Yes, there may be believers in a false church but the believers are false as well. Remember what Jesus said, “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.” There may be some true believers in the false church but they only became true believers by searching elsewhere to see what the bible actually teaches.

How can false teachers fool so many people? Look at 1 Corinthians 2:14 “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. ” I believe the reason that false teachers fool so many people is because they are completely convinced that they’ve interpreted God’s Word correctly. Thus, with the lack of the Holy Spirit within, they have interpreted God’s Word completely wrong and they don’t even realize it.

Hebrews 13:9 - “So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas.”