Why Do So MANY People Follow False Teachers?- Part Two

“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. THEY MAKE YOU WORTHLESS. THEY SPEAK A VISION OF THEIR OWN HEART, not from the mouth of the Lord”- Jeremiah 23:16.

It isn’t long before the false teachers betray themselves with their real motive for preaching, that being the mammon gospel (riches). Todd Bentley has installed ATM machines at his revival, the Faith Movement demands that you go to the phone to mail in whatever pledges they are pushing that day with experts such as Paula White, Mike Murdock, or Steve Munsey. Yet the Bible says that we are not to give out of necessity , which in the Greek means, BY COMPULSION (2 Corinthians 9:7). If you really want to know who’s prospering take a gander at some of their homes. If the 100 fold return worked so well why don’t they send you $100,000 for would that not gain THEM back a hundred fold return? They’d never have to ask for money again. “Men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself”- 1 Timothy 6:5. Withdraw yourself, not your money to give to them.

“Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation (Jim Bakker) and a snare (Jimmy Swaggert), and into MANY foolish and harmful lusts (Doyle Davidson), which drown men in destruction and perdition”- 1 Timothy 6:9. Those that find themselves in this dire straight have no one but themselves to blame for the word of God says- “They have pierced THEMSELVES through with MANY sorrows”- 1 Timothy 6:10.

“Brethren, let not MANY of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment”- James 3:1. False teachers, such as Doyle Davidson, taught his flock that God gave him another man’s wife by taking one verse from Jeremiah 8 while ignoring the context of the rest of the chapter. And MANY in his flock continue to follow that false teaching to this day. Yet the adultery that Davidson committed with the object of his lust, while still married to another, yeilded only this- “Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding. HE WHO DOES SO DESTROYS HIS OWN SOUL”- Proverbs 6:32. Since he has destroyed his own soul what possible benefit can he be to his flock by his teachings? Maybe he can help them to destroy their own souls too? “The punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired”- Ezekiel 14:10.

Then there are the false teachers like Robert H Schuller who believes that only 3.4% of the Bible is positive according to his Possiblilty Thinker’s Bible. Yet Jeremiah was told by God to “Not diminish a word”- Jeremiah 26:2. By his own definition Schuller diminishes 96.6% of the Bible as not being positive enough for him. In like fashion is Joel Osteen, who carries a Bible but rarely any biblical message. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires (Schuller), because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers (Osteen), and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables (TBN Prosperity Gospel)”- 2 Timothy 4:3-4.

“There were also false prophets among the people even as there WILL be false teachers AMONG YOU, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies. And MANY will follow their destructive ways, by whom the way of truth will be blashphemed. By covetousness they WILL exploit you with deceptive words”- 2 Peter 2:1-3. TBN loves to make merchandise out of you as does the Elijah List. Paul said, “When I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ WITHOUT CHARGE, that I may not ABUSE MY AUTHORITY IN THE GOSPEL”- 1 Corinthians 9:18. When the prosperity gospel preachers seek money by compulsion from you they are abusing their authority in the gospel, yet so MANY could care less about that very thing?

“Well they do signs and wonders so they have to be from God!”

Really? “Let no one deceive you by any means. For that day will not come unless the falling away comes first. The coming (not the arrival) of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and will all unrighteous DECEPTION among those who perish (the broad and wide way that leads to destruction) because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. For this reason God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie”- 2 Thessalonians 2:3,9-11. Are you part of this strong delusion movement?

I would counsel you all to become biblical Bereans (Acts 17:11) and not fall prey to every knew thing (Acts 17:21). “Beloved, do not believe evey spirit, BUT TEST THE SPIRITS, whether they are of God because MANY false prophets have gone out into the world”- 1 John 4:1. Are the teachers putting forth biblical doctrine or one of their own making? “Woe to the foolish prophets, WHO FOLLOW THEIR OWN SPIRIT, and have seen nothing”- Ezekiel 13:3.