People hear the voices of false teachers every day. David Mathis, executive director of Desiring God, says it can get tricky trying to discern which messages are true and which ones are false.
"If you watch any television, listen to any radio or podcasts, keep up on the news, or interact at depth with just about anyone in modern society, you are being exposed to some form of false teaching. If you cannot identify any voices you hear as false, it's not because you aren't being exposed, but because you're falling for it in some way," he writes on the group's website.
Mathis says it's important to acknowledge that false teachers will arise. One way to identify them is to look closely into their everyday lives, because their falseness will manifest in their way of life.
"Beneath their doctrinal error, however subtle and deceptive, we will find ethical compromises in tow. And those don't usually come out overnight; they take time. But they will come," Mathis says.
There are some false teachers who are very good at hiding their private lives from the public, and Mathis says only time will tell whether their errors will manifest themselves.
At the same time, Mathis says the allure of money, sex and power are great among false prophets. "What false teachers throughout history have shared in common is not the specific nature of their doctrinal error, but the inevitability of moral compromise in one of these three general areas," he says.
Mathis says their falseness will come out in sin against themselves, against others, and against God. Because of their greed, they will fleece their flock for material gain. Because of their lust, they will make compromises on sex. And because of their pride, they will despise the one true authority — God Himself.
So the best way for people to weed out these false teachers is to adhere to the Word of God. "The greatest defense against false teaching is a local church community that knows, enjoys, and lives the word of God — and holds its leaders accountable. Little, if anything, can be done to hold teachers accountable who are far away, but much should be realistic and actionable in the life of the local church," he says.
