10 Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, 11 knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned. Titus 3:10-11 (LSB)
True Biblical discernment is crucial for the spiritual health of the Body of Christ because there has and always will be a plague of false teaching and teachers upon it until our Lord’s return. If you have ever flown on public transportation and had to go through the entire TSA screening process then you know how unpleasant that is. Also, and I am sure many of you probably already know this, the TSA has never caught or stopped one terrorist from boarding a plane. The TSA relies on “technology” based systems and force 100% of passengers who have not been prescreened into that funnel of stripping down, full body scans and “pat down” searches. Many are furious about it. I read a study that compared the TSA’s system with that used by Israel at their airports, which is, instead of relying on “technology” based systems, passengers are interviewed by experts trained in what specifically to look for. They know their enemy and they know how to flush him or her out via their own interview process. Notice that since they have gone to this system that they have had no breakdown in their security. My point is that they know their enemy. They know their enemy’s tactics. They know their enemy’s goal. They do not waste time and resources with those who are no threat.
In the Truth War that is upon us in the Church, we have many enemies trying to come in “unawares.” They try to infiltrate, appearing as “Orthodox” but their teaching is deceitful, degrading, and damnable (2 Peter 2:1). Those of us who have been gifted by God with spiritual discernment are, therefore, also given the job of flushing these people out. Part of this job is knowing who our enemies really are. Are they apostates or are they simply holding to some heresy that doesn’t fall into the range of “deceitful, degrading, or damnable?”
Before we go any further let’s make one thing perfectly clear. There is a difference between apostasy and heresy. Apostasy is seen most clearly in “cults.” It is a departure from Christian truth in general. Those in these cults profess to be Christian, but they are actually in denial of true Orthodox Christianity. This denial of Biblical truth might consist of all Christian truth or just a single truth such as the deity of Christ or justification by faith. These denials of truth results in the destruction of all biblical truth. Therefore, an apostate is not a Christian. Arius was an apostate. He was a 4th Century parish priest in Alexandria who taught that Jesus was a created being, and, therefore, was not coequal with God. The “cult” that came from his teachings was called Arianism and has existed in various forms ever since.
The English word “heresy” is a transliterated word from the Greek word αἵρεσις or hairesis. In Classical Greek, it means, “seizure, taking, acquisition, choice, desire for something, and purposeful decision.” Later it came to denote “the teaching or the school of a particular philosopher with which a person identifies himself by his choice.” The Septuagint in Leviticus 22:18, 21 translates the Hebrew נְדָבָה nedâbâh (“freewill offering”). So what does this tell us? This is our context and if we look at the New Testament usage of αἵρεσις we see that it follows this very same meaning. Heresy is a choice, a deliberate decision to “seize” upon a particular teaching that is not orthodox. Two New Testament examples are below.
17 But the high priest rose up and those with him (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. Acts 5:17 (LSB)
17 Ἀναστὰς δὲ ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς καὶ πάντες οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ, ἡ οὖσα αἵρεσις τῶν Σαδδουκαίων, ἐπλήσθησαν ζήλου Acts 5:17 (NA28)
5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.” Acts 15:5 (LSB)
5 Ἐξανέστησαν δέ τινες τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς αἱρέσεως τῶν Φαρισαίων πεπιστευκότες λέγοντες ὅτι δεῖ περιτέμνειν αὐτοὺς παραγγέλλειν τε τηρεῖν τὸν νόμον Μωϋσέως. Acts 15:5 (NA28)
In Acts 15:5 we have αἱρέσεως (haireseōs), which is the Genitive, singular form of αἵρεσις (hairesis). All that means is that it is modifying the head noun which is Φαρισαίων (Pharisaiōn) making sure that we understand that the “sect” is indeed that “of the Pharisees.” In the first example the Sadducees were a Jewish faction that denied the doctrine of the resurrection. What about the Pharisees? Paul’s example was referring to the Judaizers, who taught salvation by works, such as adding circumcision as a requirement.
As I stated above, we must know our enemies. We must not waste time on apostates outside of the Church when we are focusing on those who are infiltrating the Church with false teaching hoping to ensnare people into heresies. Here is 2 Peter 2:1.
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as 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 Peter 2:1 (LSB)
Notice that these false teachers are deceitful. They secretly bring in their teachings by smuggling them in. These teachings are degrading in that they deny the Lord and His Work in one way or another and so doing degrade and blaspheme Him. This could also take the form of an attack on the veracity of God’s Word. Lastly, false teaching is destructive or damnable. It not only destroys right doctrine and the lives of its victims, but it also destroys the propagators themselves.
On the other hand, heresy, as it is used today, is somewhat broader and can be committed by a true Christian without him or her becoming an apostate. This occurs when, while holding to the foundational doctrines of Scripture, one deviates on a particular doctrine. One example of this would be the use of images. The early church did not use them whatsoever because God forbids it. However, they slowly came into use through emblems such as the dove, fish, anchor, vine, and lamb. Gradually this increased through paintings, sculptures, and jewelry that depicted biblical events, items, saints, martyrs, and even Christ Himself.
This next statement may get me some hate mail, but such practices are actually heresy. They violate a very specific command of God to make no images (Exodus 20:3-5; cf Matthew 22:36-38).
Here are a few more. There is the heretical teaching that God demands poverty from Christians, as well as the other extreme, “prosperity teaching,” that God returns our “investment” and makes us rich. The “seeker-sensitive” movement that appeals to people’s “felt needs” to lure them into the church is heresy; the NT nowhere teaches this. The spirit of “tolerance” in the church today is heretical, because God commands that we discern truth from error and strongly condemn false teaching in no uncertain terms.
Lastly, a heretical teaching of the Gospel is “another gospel” not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who teach that men are not fully dead in their sins from birth and so are able to “decide for Christ” by their own “Free Will” are heretics. Why? This denies what the Word of God clearly teaches. What does this say about their “converts?”
Soli Deo Gloria!
Mike Ratliff
Reposted from August 2016
“One of the most common label applied to Tony Evans by online discernment ministries is Pelagian. Pelagianism is the belief that Adam’s sin did not affect future generations of humanity, a rejection of the doctrine of Original Sin/Guilt. By the textbook definition of Pelagianism, Tony Evans is not Pelagian. He has a similar but distinct heretical view we will call Dispy-Pelagianism.”
This is for real. The man has no shame. No sense of decency. Rom 16:17-18 certainly applies to “pastor” Driscoll.
“Assuming that the Public Health™ authorities at the NIH or the FDA or the CDC actually concern themselves with health, the natural question arises: why are they seemingly doing nothing about this rapidly worsening problem? Why the radio silence?”
“At this point in the argument, York decides to throw his theological truck into a four-wheel drive and vault headlong into the ditch of eisegesis, giving his own opinion on the matter without any regard for what the scripture definitively and directly says about the issue….”
“It is essential that we understand and accept the fact that God, in His sovereignty and wisdom, has determined what is best for us. His ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than our own (
(Hannah Bleau – Breitbart) Nearly half of Americans believe it is at least somewhat likely that coronavirus vaccines have caused a “significant number of unexplained deaths,” and over a quarter said they know someone whose death may have been caused by side effects of the vaccines, a Rasmussen Reports survey released Monday found.
“They also received an astonishing variety of requests from officials asking for individuals they didn’t like to be banned…the office for Democrat and House Intel Committee chief Adam Schiff asks Twitter to ban journalist Paul Sperry.”
“Sanders, Warren, and Sharpton are dangerous people who have no respect for private property, self-reliance, or accomplishment. They are dividers, exploiting personal jealousy and peddling a distorted picture of America – a country that provides more opportunity than any other.”
“An extraordinary moment in American history. A speaker of the House asks the chairman of the joint chiefs if the nuclear codes are safe because she fears the president is crazy and liable to make a deadly decision to stay in power.”
“Why would we publish a mostly negative review of a popular book that other discriminating reviewers have praised—a book that is likely to introduce new readers to the Puritans? Because at the end of the day, the book’s problems outweigh its benefits. The imbalanced view of Christ’s human character would be trouble enough. But Ortlund’s view of the divine character is the deal breaker—God as internally conflicted, moved by complex passions. Again, that idea is a dangerous and significant departure from classic theism.”
“There is one group of people that they consistently refuse to unite with: those who actually believe the scriptures, hold to sound doctrine, and contend for the faith. It seems that, in the eyes of these pro-unity evangelicals, such people are simply too divisive and unlovable. They are viewed as being stubbornly committed to their beliefs, unwilling to compromise or bend to the whims of the culture.”
“To sway the American people to accept lockdowns, professors with prestigious titles and affiliations denied scientific data about risks, effective mitigation and biological protection. They spouted politicized opinion as if it were objective truth and demonized views counter to their preferred narrative.”
“Abolitionists, or those who staunchly oppose abortion, are firm in the belief that the person responsible for the crime of rape or incest should be held accountable, not the innocent child who is conceived as a result. They view the child as a human being, made in the image of God, who does not deserve to be punished with death for the actions of their father.”
“Netflix and Hulu also canceled “woke shows” and defended comedians that have been attacked by progressives.”
“Continue to pray for MacArthur, for his continued and enduring health.”
“The left is suffocating us with their crazed beliefs and values. If we don’t do it, they’ll call us names and destroy our reputations.”
“These findings may explain why highly vaccinated countries are seeing repeated waves of COVID that have not settled into a seasonal pattern like other coronaviruses. They certainly cannot be ignored, given what is known about IgG4 antibodies, the potential link to autoimmune disorders, and their effects on the immune system.”
“The case involving Kim Davis may be a vehicle to overturn Obergefell. This case is working its way back to the Supreme Court where one of the arguments will be that Obergefell was wrongly decided. Justices Thomas and Alito have already invited future challenges to the 2015 Obergefell marriage case since the decision was never constitutional.”
“This entire event is one big red flag on every level possible, and now Ruslan is right in there along with this, joining with these hucksters and money grubbers for a truly wretched event. We are not asserting that he agrees with all of this- maybe he does and maybe he doesn’t- but the lack of discernment involved to find himself among them is truly breathtaking, and shows how unqualified he really is.”