Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

One man finds heresy everywhere, having come to see so much false teaching in the church that once he did not see. Another man, thinking himself more loving and better than those discerning Christians, would never call a man a heretic, false teacher, false prophet, wolf, blasphemer, or any other such offensive name. He’s far too charitable for that. It is not acceptable to him that any man should say such things, but more than that, he thinks all the better of himself that he is not like those men. He gives. He serves. He is not like those who have been humbled by the truth and care deeply for the souls being deceived.

Some such men, having been brought out of falsehood, have not yet learned the difference between error and heresy, for to them it all seems alike. Yet he has been humbled by the truth and is eager to learn and share it with others. Perhaps it would be best and wisest that he were quiet for a time as he learned, before he became so quick and zealous to expose error in his understanding and call everything heresy.

The other man has no concern for truth. Thinking himself so loving, he affirms those who believe falsehood and goes off puffed up in how loving he is and how unlike those discerning Christians he is. He is quick to contrast himself with them even publicly, and this to the praise of many of his deceived friends whom he cares not to warn of their danger.

Yet it is true that not everything is heresy, and it is also true that we should not refrain from using the word when it is necessary and appropriate to do so.

When men who once believed falsehood begin to see how much falsehood there really is, and how many are deceived and being deceived, they may feel the need to expose it all and label everything heresy.

But just like many other words that lose their meaning when we wrongly use them, we must recognize the importance and power of using this word correctly. We render it powerless and ineffective when we label everything heresy. And we also render it powerless when we fail to call what is heresy by its name.

There are errors, aberrant teachings, blasphemous doctrines, heresies, and otherwise. A brother may have error, but a heretic is not a brother.

A professing believer who, for example, makes the grievous error of using the four-leaf clover to explain the Trinity, while affirming the Trinity, is not necessarily a heretic. If, when shown his error, he repents of it and never uses such an analogy again, he has demonstrated that this error was not a settled rejection of the truth of the Trinity. But a man who has heard the truth, rejects the Trinity, and embraces an explanation that leads him into Modalism has embraced heretical doctrine. If, having been shown the truth, he continues to reject it and affirm the heretical teaching, he gives evidence of a settled departure from the truth. This we would call heresy.

A man who believes paedobaptism and another who believes credobaptism are not, by these beliefs, to be called heretics. One is clearly in error. But neither of these beliefs makes a man a heretic.

Dear saint, search the Scriptures and let them search us. Many have and will come out of false teaching. It is painful, the loss that comes with that. It’s hard realizing that those you once trusted didn’t teach sound doctrine and, when confronted with serious errors and perhaps even heresy, found fault in those bringing these concerns. It’s harder still to realize how you sinned against God in your false beliefs, false practices, perhaps even false teachings, false prophecies, or blasphemies. Some of these things may have been grievous errors committed while you were yet a brother, from which God has since brought you to repentance. But perhaps there were also things you once believed and taught that amounted to heresy, revealing that you were then unregenerate and that God, in His mercy, has saved you.

Many will leave and never return, showing themselves not to have been truly regenerate. Others will leave these false churches, false teachers, and false doctrines in pursuit of the truth. The more they see in God’s Word and learn to study their Bible correctly, the more it may stir them to expose falsehood.

Many sitting under false teaching do not trust their own ability to reason from Scripture and put a lot of trust in whatever they are told they should believe and experience. They are often very open to what they can feel and experience as evidence of their beliefs. They are often fearful of being exposed for their inability to reason from the text. They don’t know how to defend their beliefs biblically and when they are shown their beliefs as false they cannot go to Scripture and defend them. Whether they are right or wrong they cannot defend from the text. They may have their proof texts but when they are shown that those verses do not say what they claim they are fearful and rely on experience and authority of those who’ve taught them.

God has not left His children in such a pitiable state. He has given us His Word and He is faithful to give us the understanding. Yet many resist it. They will not hear it. They are fearful of that which shows their errors and fearful because they can’t reason from the text. So they run from that which may well be leading them into the truth and away from error and fly to that which feels safe though it may well be of great harm to their own soul. They know not. And this not the fault of God. They will not hear.

But one must be careful. It is not a matter only of learning what is true but of that truth transforming the heart and mind. Prove not only what is true, that our beliefs may be reformed, but that our hearts and minds may be transformed by the truth.

It is hard, when coming out of false teaching, to realize how many are teaching lies in God’s name. But we must be careful that, while obeying Scripture in exposing falsehood, we use language, to the best of our ability, in such a way that we do not so desensitize men to the offense of the language that it is rendered powerless.

While many who teach falsehood fear correction and exposure and take every effort to protect themselves from it, their own impotent preaching is often evident to any man who has learned how to rightly study his Bible and has come out from among them and sat among the faithful. Yet to many, the false teacher’s words speak right to their deceived hearts. He scratches their itch. And they love it.

Not everything he says is heretical. Not everything he teaches is error. Many teach nothing more than motivational messages with Scripture sprinkled in. It is hard to nail down their falsehood by showing their abuse of the text because they teach so little of it. Their native tongue is to speak truth mixed with just enough error and language that sounds biblical to make it difficult to expose them as dangerous. It is sometimes hard to say, “That man is a wolf,” and then produce the hard evidence. But when a man hears sound doctrine he needs no more evidence. The truly regenerate man cannot remain. He will leave even as he is called all kinds of names and all manner of fear tactics are used to try to keep him from leaving or keep him from exposing their falsehood. Yet, he must go where God’s Word is righty taught.

Many wolves are so obvious that it is a wonder the world can see them for what they are while their loyal followers cannot. They are greatly deceived.

Those who’ve departed from serious errors and found the beauty of the truth rightly taught may feel compelled to set out upon a crusade to expose every wolf, every false teacher, every heretic, and may become hardened in the pursuit. Yet many who expose error and false teachers are on no such crusade. They simply love the truth and care for those who are deceived. Their main focus is not some deluded expectation of tearing it all down.

Only a fool sets out on such a crusade. Scripture makes very clear that false prophets and false teachers, as well as those who follow them, will increase and be many. Yet the truth may be opposed, but it shall not be hindered, and Christ’s church may be assailed, but she shall not be overcome by them. They may increase unto their final destruction, but the bride, though she may not be as many, will persevere by the grace of God. She shall make it to her Groom.

Dear saint, go on in truth, both in its positive proclamation and its negative exposure. Proclaim what is true and expose what is false. Do so for the glory of God alone. We need no other reason but that He has commanded us as such.