Same Heresies, Different Masks

Since the time Christ established His church, false teachers have been trying to compete for the allegiance of anyone who would give them an ear to hear their heretical beliefs. As Matthew 7:15 says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” In fact, even in the Old Testament God warned us of false prophets who claimed to speak for Him but were liars and deceivers. As the prophet Jeremiah recorded, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD (Jeremiah 23:16).’” The danger of false teaching is a major issue we as Christians must recognize and be ready to identify and rebuke. There is a reason why 26 of the 27 New Testament books in the Bible warn about false teachers.

Just as John the Beloved warned about the pre-gnostic false teachers (1 John) and Paul warned about the Judaizers (Galatians) and “Super-Apostles” (2 Corinthians), we need to identify and warn of false teachers in our day. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by surveying throughout church history for past false teachings, as most new heresies are simply old heresies just dressed up differently with a new mask.

Let us start by looking at Gnosticism, which was a major heresy in the 1st and 2nd Centuries. Gnosticism teaches that the material world is evil and wicked. It teaches that the physical world was created by a lesser and flawed deity. Furthermore, this heresy teaches that salvation can only come through secret knowledge, which is gnosis. So, faith in Christ alone cannot save in this heretical system. Many modern-day spiritual movements practice these same things. We see this in the New Age and in secular psychology. Even apostate churches like Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and Roman Catholicism practice a secret knowledge that only their church can provide, since they too deny that Christ alone can save.

Next, we see in the 4th century the heresy of Arianism. This heretical belief system made the false claim that Jesus Christ was a created being rather than being co-eternal and fully divine with God the Father. This heresy denied that Jesus was truly 100% man and 100% God and denied the biblical belief of the Trinity. Unfortunately, modern cults like Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) also deny Jesus’s divinity. The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jesus was created by Jehovah as the archangel Michael. Mormons believe that Jesus is a spirit child of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. They believe Jesus was first made, then progressed, and then eventually became exalted to godhood.

In the 5th century, Pelagianism came about, which denied original sin and falsely asserted that human beings have total free will. Pelagianism taught that moral power could achieve salvation through good works without needing divine grace. As Tim Challies says in his article The False Teachers: Pelagius, “Perhaps the closest modern-day successor to Pelagius was Charles Finney. Like Pelagius, he denied original sin saying, ‘Moral depravity is sin itself, and not the cause of sin.’ He believed the whole notion of a sinful nature is ‘anti-scriptural and nonsensical dogma’ and taught that we are all born in a state of moral neutrality, able to choose between good and evil—to choose between being good or being sinful (https://www.challies.com/false-teachers/the-false-teachers-pelagius/).” Many hyper-charismatic and prosperity gospel teachers look to Charles Finney as a role model for their own heretical churches. They, like all the other past and present false teachings mentioned, need to be marked and avoided. As 2 Timothy 4:3–4 warns us, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Adding and Subtracting from Scripture

As we have looked back at church history, we notice the striking similarities in the heresies of yesterday and the heresies of today. Identifying those heresies is one matter. Another important point is to understand why these false teachings come about in the first place. The root problem with all these heresies is a low view of Scripture. God’s commands are questioned. God’s decrees are added to or removed to fit one’s desire. This is the same problem Adam and Eve encountered in the garden when Satan asked, “Did God actually say?” in Genesis 3:1. In fact, let us look at two more heresies from church history. Montanism, a charismatic movement from the 2nd century, claimed ongoing, superior prophetic revelations and new spiritual authority existed that rivaled the biblical teachings we received from Jesus and His apostles. This false teaching adds to Scripture.

Another 2nd century heresy was led by Marcion of Sinope, who rejected the entire Old Testament and accepted only a very limited set of New Testament texts. Kevin DeYoung, in his article titled Marcion and Getting Unhitched from the Old Testament, says, “Marcion was one of the most successful heretics in the early church. He was opposed by everyone who was anyone. For nearly a century after his death, he was the arch-heretic, opposed by Polycarp (who called him the firstborn of Satan), Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and Origen. He was one of the few heretics that the Greek and Latin Christians united in condemning…Marcion’s theological errors (and there were many) came from one main root: he refused to believe that the God of the Old Testament was the same as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Marcion simply could not believe in a God full of wrath and justice. So, he threw away the Old Testament and took for his Bible a truncated version of Luke’s Gospel and selectively edited versions of Paul’s epistles. When all the cutting and pasting was finished, Marcion had the Christianity he wanted: a God of goodness and nothing else (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/marcion-getting-unhitched-old-testament/).” This false teaching subtracts from Scripture.

However, we know that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).” We can’t pick and choose which parts we like or do not like. Deuteronomy 4:2 says, “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.” This is the core flaw with all false teachings of the past, present, and future (for until Christ returns at His second coming, there will always be false teachers).

The Right Hermeneutic is Vital

As faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we must hold to doctrines that align with the Word of God. We must take our current beliefs and put them to the fire of Scripture and only hold to what remains. When Jesus debated with the religious elite in His day, He rebuked them for their adherence to man-made traditions, for those beliefs truly conflicted with God’s commands (Mark 7). We must use wisdom and discernment to test every teaching we are exposed to, new or old. As the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved said, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already (1 John 4:1–3).”

Look at church history to study the heresies of the past. Read about how the faithful followers of Christ stood up to the doctrines of demons. Learn to be able to identify the teachings that conflict with God’s truth and test every teaching you are exposed to by the only measuring rod that is truly inherent and infallible…the Scriptures!

To God be all the glory!