After waiting in line at a local store, it was finally my turn to pay. The clerk took my money, held the bill up to the light and then disappeared to confer with her manager. When she returned, she explained that the store had recently received several counterfeit bills. Then she looked at me and added, “You don’t look like a counterfeiter.” She was right; I wasn’t passing funny money. But, I wondered what would make me look like a counterfeiter—shifty eyes, sweaty palms, ink-stained fingers?
During Paul’s day, some spiritual con men were spreading a “counterfeit faith” (2 Timothy 3:8). Paul described these guys in detail so that his protégé, Timothy, could tell the true teachers from the phonies.
These faux Christian leaders were weaseling their way into the homes of vulnerable people. In some cases, they targeted women burdened with sin and “controlled by various desires” (2 Timothy 3:6). The false teachers preyed on people who were least able to defend themselves—the kind of people who were “forever following new teachings, but . . . never able to understand the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7).
With followers who lacked spiritual discernment, the bad guys were free to “oppose the truth” at will (2 Timothy 3:8). In fact, Paul compared them to the ancient sorcerers, Jannes and Jambres, the magicians who tried to duplicate Moses’ miracles (Exodus 7:11). And, just like that devilish duo, Paul promised that someday everyone would recognize the false teachers as fools (2 Timothy 3:9).
Until that day, we have to look out for spiritual swindlers who infiltrate our homes through television, books, and the Web. The best defense against them is to know the truth. We need to mimic the Bereans, who “searched the Scriptures day after day” (Acts 17:11), refusing to accept the false teaching of a counterfeit faith.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Kings 19:1-21
More:
Read 2 Peter 2:12-19 to learn why following false teachers can’t provide the way to freedom from sin. Read Jude 10-16 for a description of false teachers.
Next:
How can you guard your life against counterfeit teachings? What would you say to someone who is following a false teacher?
GChoo on April 20, 2011 at 5:18 am
Jennifer, thank you for today’s devotion. Yes, we need to be reminded about false teachings.
We definitely have many wolves in sheep skins in our midst, in churches around the world. It is so sick to hear of real life stories of how trusting and vulnerable girls have been tricked into prostitution and slavery by people who claimed to be servants of God. It really sickened and saddened me when an interpreter friend of mine told me about the above happenings in her course of work. Unfortunately there are others that is so close to us. I can only pray that God will rescue them and heal their hurt and pain through their terrifying ordeal. Also, to send His servants to these places to shine His Light into these dark places.
We have to bring God’s Light to shine into darkness and not wait and pray for it to come to church. I know there are many christian organisations are doing it, and i thank God for inspiring them. For us who may not be able to do it, please pray for those who are out there and those who are contemplating but unsure. May God’s Light shines in every corner of the darkness in this world. Amen.
jennifer benson schuldt on April 20, 2011 at 3:17 pm
GChoo,
What you wrote about people who claim to be God’s servants in order to trick women into human trafficking made me think of this description of false leaders: “With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption” (2 Peter r2:18-19).
vrhorne on April 20, 2011 at 8:45 am
I so enjoy Our Daily Journey with God and this article is such a good read. So many pretenders out here in this world that it does not matter how educated we are in the Word, we must stay prayed up because we all are vulnerable to falling victim! I pray to God for wisdom and discernment, so I will not fall victim again to these wolves out here trying to destroy me and my family. I will continue to pray to God for protection for my family, friends, fellow christians, the loss, and my self! God bless you all ;-)!
jennifer benson schuldt on April 20, 2011 at 7:08 pm
Thank you vhorne,
We are all vulnerable, as you pointed out. One way that we can increase our discernment is to take a look at the “fruit” of a person in Christian service. Matthew 7:15 says “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.” A favorite pastor of mine once said, “Truth and time go hand in hand”. In other words, the truth about a person will be revealed over time, as we watch his or her actions, and listen to his or her words (Luke 6:45).
daisymarygoldr on April 20, 2011 at 1:07 pm
You are right, Jennifer; a counterfeiter is not that blatant. One can easily recognize cults from outside. But false teachers from within our own group (Acts 20:30) are very subtle. Many erroneous doctrines are human philosophies, ideas, thinking and personal opinions which have been intermingled with true Bible doctrine. These are introduced by self-loving leaders who pretend to be passionate about people but in reality—lust for fame, power, money and popularity.
J.C. Ryle observes: “What more common than to hear it said of some false teacher in this day: ‘He is so good, so devoted, so kind, so zealous, so laborious, so humble, so self-denying, so charitable, so earnest, so fervent, so clever, so evidently sincere, there can be no danger and no harm in hearing him. Besides he preaches so much real Gospel: no one can preach a better sermon than he does sometimes! I never can and never will believe he is unsound.’
“Who does not hear continually such talk as this? What discerning eye can fail to see that many Churchmen expect unsound teachers to be open vendors of poison, and cannot realize that they often appear as ‘angels of light,’ and are far too wise to be always saying all they think, and showing their whole hand and mind. But so it is. Never was it so needful to remember the words, ‘The serpent beguiled Eve by his subtility.’”
To avoid getting swindled, we must hold every teaching up to the light of God’s Word. When we are thoroughly grounded in the truth, God’s Spirit helps us discern the counterfeit. As spiritual sniffer dogs we can readily sense and detect the faintest whiffs of false doctrine—no matter how cleverly it is hidden. Paul charged Timothy to stop any teaching that is different, and oppose these wrong concepts.
False teaching should be exposed to warn people who are following false teachers. Those who are not spiritually discerned will see us as nuisance and will tell us to stop shouting. But whoever has the same Spirit of God will listen and agree with us. As others have said in their comments, we need to pray—and ask God to help us discern between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Thanks for alerting us about counterfeit faith!
jennifer benson schuldt on April 23, 2011 at 5:55 am
daisymarygoldr,
Yes, to avoid getting spiritually swindled, we’ve got to hold every teaching up to the light of Gos’d word–as you said. His word is “a lamp to my feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). Somewhere, I heard that law enforcement agents who are trained to spot counterfeit money spend hours and hours learning about the features of the real currency. When they have a grasp on the real thing, they are able to spot the fakes. It’s like that with us and false teachers. We have to read the Bible, memorize it, and know what it says in order to see false teachers for who they truly are. (Hebrews 4:12).
mike wittmer on April 21, 2011 at 8:52 am
This is a timely warning, Jennifer. Thanks! We need to remember that false teachers are bound to say many good and inspiring things–that’s how they attract so many followers–but it’s often what they leave out of their message that is the most dangerous.
jennifer benson schuldt on April 23, 2011 at 6:10 am
Mike,
Right. We can’t treat the Bible like a theological smorgasbord–picking and choosing only the “tastiest” ideas. We should be wary of people who exclusively preach “feel good” messages. The Bible tells us that “a time is coming when people… will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths” (2Timothy 4:3-4).