Inside is another article relating to the thinking of various false teachers. We have numerous warnings in the
New Testament against them (Matt. 7:15-20), yet very few ever seem to take them seriously—or the damage they are
doing in overthrowing the faith of some (2 Tim. 2:16-18). Paul calls those who teach another gospel accursed (Gal.
1:8-9). These and other passages are sufficient to make the point, but sometimes God provides an object lesson for
us. For example, on another issue, we know that God desires true worshipers to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John
4:23-24). In the Old Testament, He provided an example of the way He detests those who act without proper authority.
When Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire, fire came out from the Lord and devoured them (Lev. 10:1-2).
Similarly, God showed His attitude toward two false prophets in the Old Testament. For years, men had been
saying that Babylon would not come and take Israel captive. God told Jeremiah to tell one of them (Hananiah) that,
because he made the “people trust in a lie” and because he had taught “rebellion against the Lord,” he would die later
that year. He did die that same year (Jer. 28:15-17). God also charged Jeremiah to rebuke Shemaiah because God
had not sent him, and he caused the people “to trust in a lie.” His descendants after him would be cut off from Israel
and never observe the good that God did to Israel after the captivity (Jer. 29:31-32).
These false prophets emboldened Israel to continue in their sins and to avoid repentance, which is the reason
their messages were so devastating. They contradicted Jeremiah, who had spoken in the name of the Lord and told
them the truth. People cannot be saved by a lie. For the safety of God’s people, the mouths of false teachers must be
stopped (Titus 1:10-11). This is not accomplished by physical force; God is well able to rid the earth of anyone He desires
to remove. It is a spiritual stopping—-through the use of argumentation and reasoning—through the art of persuasion.
It is in the best interest of false teachers that the church succeeds in showing them to be in error. If they are
encouraged, the Day of Judgment will just be so much the worse for them. The blood of all those they have caused to
be lost will be upon them. The more successful they are, the more ruinous their future. They need to be brought out of
their darkness and back into the light, if it is at all possible. For their sake’s and for ours, let us continue to stand for the
truth.