False Teachers

False Teachers (Titus 1:10-16)

1. False teachers rebel against God’s authority.

Titus 1:10(NASB), “For there are many rebellious people, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision.”

• Rebellious – “insubordinate, unruly”

• Empty talkers – “no true substance”

• Deceivers – “more religious but less godly”

Matthew 24:11, “… many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people.”

2. False teachers wreck God’s family.

Titus 1:11 (NASB), “… they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true… 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”

Matthew 7:15-16, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” 16 You will know them by their fruits.”

3. False teachers must be severely reprimanded.

Titus 1:13 (NASB), “For this reason reprimand them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.”

• “must be silenced” (v.11)

Thomas Aquinas, “A lie is sinful not only because it harms one’s neighbor, but because it disorders the soul.”

5 Kinds of Heretics:

1. Error – exchange true doctrine for false teaching.
2. Emphasis – take minor things and make them major.
3. Ego – edge God out of the spotlight.
4. Envy – use sacred things for personal benefit/profit.
5. Esoteric – claim to reveal secret knowledge from God.

2 Peter 2:1, “… there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their indecent behavior, and… the way of the truth will be maligned.”

SUMMARY: “What we should take away from this is that some divisions are bad and some are actually good. Divisions due to the unresolved presence of error in the church are bad, while divisions resulting from the removal of that error are good. Our goal, then, shouldn’t be to prevent division, but rather, to divide rightly.” - Natasha Crain, When Culture Hates You

CONCLUSION: The only way to combat MANY false teachers is with MANY and MORE true and godly teachers:

1 Timothy 1:5, “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith.”

Something to think about…

Your spiritual growth is largely in the hands of true and godly teachers.

1. Teachers who teach sound doctrine.
2. Teachers who set a godly example.
3. Teachers who test for truth and refute contradictions.
4. Teachers who are accountable to their spiritual leaders.

With teachers like this, we will make true and godly disciples!