It’s early in the morning, still dark, and I’m sitting at my kitchen table unable to sleep. Just outside my window and clinging to the corner of that window is a spider’s web. He has provided entertainment for several nights now. The light from the inside by the table draws unsuspecting bugs to the window pane. The spider takes advantage of the light to deceive them into his larder. The spider isn’t effective without being close to the light.
Jesus, Paul, Peter, and other New Testament and Old Testament writers warned about false teachers who do exactly the same thing the spider does. They feed off of unsuspecting people who seek the light of understanding. It is their particular specialty to entrap such people at vulnerable moments with lies and half-truths. Often the false teacher isn’t even aware of his deceiving traits. He may well believe what he teaches, but at the end of the day, many fall prey to the false teacher’s words. Others hone their art and are fully aware of what they are doing. These are wolves in sheep’s clothing. We cannot be too careful.
One trait characterizes all false teachers–the undermining of the words of God. Like Satan who said in the garden of Eden, “Did God really say….?” so the false teacher casts doubt on the words of truth.
We all must seek to understand the Scripture and often our interpretation may be found to be lacking, but there is a difference between honest discovery of a passage’s true meaning, and the undermining of Scripture the false teacher engages in.
If you are in a church where false teaching is taking place, do not hesitate to leave before your faith is ruined and the beauty of Christ is clouded beyond recognition. Find a church where the Bible is taught as the inerrant word of God.
Editor’s Note: This originally published at Christian Communicators Worldwide.