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Lately, I've noticed there is a push among some denominations and
people calling themselves "Christian" pastors who are saying that Jesus
was not the Son of God but just so highly evolved that He was pure
love. That His words in the Bible aren't always right because they
reject the notion of Jesus say that He is "the way, the truth, the
life." They believe that you can come to the Father in ways other than
Jesus. This is, of course, completely against the full teachings of
Jesus but that doesn't stop them.
What's hard in dealing with these people is that their deceptive
doctrine resonates with a society where so many are raised to not have
to deal with consequences to their actions. People who can essentially
do whatever they want to do and if they get into any kind of trouble
there's a government program or some other organization that can help
bail them out. That's why things like abortion or pornography run
rampant in America.
Jesus said in John 7:17-18 (ESV) "If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but the one who seeks the glory of him who
sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood." This is very
strong warning about false teachers and also how subtle these teachers
will be when they appear. That subtlety will come in when these
teachers focus on God and "Jesus' teachings" but do not focus on Jesus
as Lord. It's a very very subtle difference but that denial on the
part of those teachers speaks that these people are not seeking to do
God's will but rather their own. They just make up doctrine as they go
along to meet whatever ends they want politically or socially or
professionally.
In 2 Peter 2:1 (ESV) it reads "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers
among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even
denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift
destruction." This is the most direct verse in the Bible regarding the
false teachers who want to profess that they follow "Jesus' teachings"
but deny the divinity of Christ himself. They'll try to split
hairs...the old Bill Clinton method of debate where you try to define
what "is" is...and they'll try to belittle and attack those who
disagree with them with personal insult and slander. (That's another
good way to see if someone is little more than a glory seeker. If they
try to smear those who oppose them and call their teaching false then
you know they're only out for their own glory and don't want anyone
stopping their personal agenda.)
So when you're looking at someone who is out telling everyone that
they're a "Christian" pastor and that they're going to be starting
churches and ministries and that they know the real teachings of Jesus
and that all the major Christian denominations are wrong at their core
in that Jesus was not the Son of God realize you're looking at a false
teacher. If someone wants to say that all religions are justified in
their own paths to God then you're looking at a false teacher. You're
looking at someone who wants to likely justify what they want to do
through a warped version of what Jesus actually said and taught because
they deny Jesus' own words in John 14:6 (ESV): "I am the way, the truth
and the life. No one comes to the father except through me."
Now, realize these people are going to get a lot of "love" from the
world because these people are more in line with the world's way of
thinking than God's way of thinking. Anything that takes the truth of
Christ and distorts it to the point that it can pull people away from
His truth is something that is much to the delight of the world. So
these false teachers are going to get a lot of blind, sycophanic
devotion from people who hate Christ and therefore His followers and
will do anything to try and stop them from bringing the truth to people
and part of that truth is sometimes false teachers will come and deny
the divinity of Christ.
What to do when you find a false teacher? Well, there's numerous
things you can do. You can choose just to walk away from them and not
associate with them. You can challenge them on their beliefs and ask
them to back up what they're saying but you also need to be prepared
that this person likely will instead of defending their distorted
belief system attack you personally. You can also present the truth of
Jesus next to this person and point out the flaws in their "doctrine"
without actually speaking to them directly. In all cases, you can pray
for this person to truly meet Jesus and not just the figment of their
imagination that they call Jesus.
I know that can sound harsh but Jesus' words haven't changed. As
much as some people want to remove the passages of the Bible where
Jesus said he's the only way to the Father they are still in there.
However, false teachers are going to do their best to try and get that
removed over the next years and Christians need to stop being silent,
stop being passive and stop allowing these people go to by without any
challenge to their deceptions. I'm not saying you should protest or
lead marches or yell & scream...I'm saying that you should stand up
for the truth of Christ and not be ashamed to say "no, you're wrong.
All religions do not lead someone to God."