Addressing False Doctrines - By Kingdom Keys

Sometimes, it is important to mark certain people who cause divisions contrary to the gospel.  Rom 16:17  Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.  The Amplified version says to “be on your guard” and “avoid them”.  I believe that it is appropriate on some occasions to specifically name names when a teaching is so blatantly wrong that it is damnable.  That’s why I don’t hesitate to state bluntly that Carlton Pearson is a false teacher that should be avoided.  I believe it is accurate to call him a heretic.

    Other times, I am more hesitant to call names, and other times, we address false teaching while refusing to name names.  Let me explain this as best as I can.  Sometimes, we will mention the name of someone teaching some things that are clearly false, but stop short of calling him a “false teacher”.  That’s a bit paradoxical, though, because an argument could be made that a person who teaches false doctrine is a false teacher.  However, sometimes, a preacher is just off in some areas, and right for the most part.  And, sometimes, he just doesn’t go far enough in his teaching, making it a false teaching that would be okay if he included the whole truth.  An example of this is when Joel Osteen exhorts people to be the best you that you can be, but fails to explain that that must be after repentance.

    Another is Rick Warren.  I don’t consider either Joel Osteen or Rick Warren to be a heretic.  “Heretic” is a strong word used to describe one who has become factious and schismatic, deviating from the truth and repugnant to the established faith.  It’s a word that is sometimes used carelessly and maliciously by preachers who don’t like what someone is teaching.  It’s not uncommon for a minister that hates the teaching of faith, healing, or prosperity to label those who teach those things as heretics.  That is clearly wrong and “over the line” to throw out that label without good reason.

    Jesus warned us strongly against speaking contemptuously and insultingly to a brother.  (See Matthew 5:22)  I could get into more specific details about the areas of “false” teaching that are proclaimed by Joel Osteen and Rick Warren, but that is not the main point of this blog.  My point here is to say that I wouldn’t call them heretics.  Some people would call them heretics.  But, some people would call me a heretic.  We have to be very careful in marking people. 

    With all that in mind, it is definitely not inappropriate to address false doctrines without mentioning specific names of the ones teaching them.  But, that presents a problem I will address in the next blog.