Posted in theology

Cut to the chase: Six Reasons why Joyce Meyer is a false teacher

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote a series on discernment in 6 essays. They are below. I called it “Wolf Week” because false teachers are called wolves in scripture. My own version of Shark Week, lol.

Wolf Week Intro: or, We DO know the heart
Wolf Week # 1: My two “starter false teachers”
Wolf Week # 2: Why Wolves?
Wolf Week # 3: Types of false teachers and their different methods
Wolf Week # 4: Has that false teacher REALLY ‘helped’ you?
Wolf Week # 5: Why does God allow false teachers?

A short follow-up series I am publishing contains more essays in short form focusing on influential ‘Bible’ teachers. I have written discernment essays on these teachers previously in years past, but those essays were longer. Nowadays however, people like to read less lengthy material. So I cut to the chase and made shorter essays showing why these folks are false.

Today I look at 6 reasons not to follow Joyce Meyer.


Bullet points on why Joyce Meyer is a false teacher

Joyce Meyer is a very popular female Bible teacher and preacher. She has been on the scene for decades, and shows no signs of slowing down. She has 10 offices around the world and employs 500 people. Her brand of charismatic/name-it claim it religion has deceived many. This is sad, but the Bible says that many will be deceived by false teachers. I pray that anything here will spark a further Berean investigation by the reader and through prayer, come to the other side of discernment in understanding why Meyer should be avoided.

  1. Joyce Meyer preached that Jesus was a sinner, had been born again, stopped being the Son of God, paid for our sins in hell (from 1991 Booklet called The Most Important Decision you Will Ever Make), and was tormented there. Meyer preaches a different Jesus. She is a heretic.
  2. Joyce Meyer preaches to men and mixed gender audiences in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12.
  3. Joyce Meyer operated as an associate pastor in a church in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12.
  4. Joyce Meyer preaches that it is normal and expected to hear directly from God, yet the scriptures claim they are sufficient (2 Timothy 3:14-17), and the Bible canon is closed. (Revelation 22:18-19). Yet she teaches that God speaks individually to people today. Example, in essay “It’s not that complicated” (scroll down!) she wrote -“Do you ever wonder if God speaks to people? You’ll be happy to know the answer is yes. But first let me explain how distractions can hinder His voice” and taught more from her book How to Hear from God or in this video.
  5. Joyce Meyer claims she is not a sinner. This is in violation of 1 John 1:8, which says that such people are deceived and the truth is not in them.
  6. There’s more, but these should suffice to illustrate to the reader that Joyce Meyer’s teaching is not edifying.

Please do not allow a teacher’s longevity lull you into thinking they must be good. Please do not allow a ministry’s global breadth to lull you into thinking he or she is good. In fact the Bible says that popularity is often a mark of falsity. (Luke 6:26). The world wants their ears tickled. In 2 Timothy 4:3 we read

For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,

If you follow Joyce Meyer, please consider these things. Please stay in the pure, undefiled faith, and find some good Bible teachers to follow, beginning with your own pastor and elders at your own church.

Posted in theology

Thoughts on Appalachia v. Ghana (or, Twitter fights)

By Elizabeth Prata

Photo by Arisa Chattasa on Unsplash

The title is a euphemism. I’m not speaking of actual countries.

Another brouhaha erupted on TwittX this week. That is not abnormal, sadly. But no one likes a fight. It makes all of us sad when people act badly in public. Ugly words are said and it’s just disheartening to watch it unfold. I won’t mention the names of the man and the woman involved because I do not want to give the bad actor in this any publicity (and there was only *one* bad actor- the woman. The man involved was fine).

It was started by a woman professing to be a Christian. The woman was the bad actor. She needs strong discipline from her pastor. She says she attends church. Hopefully she is not self-deceived about her status in Jesus.

Her words were mean, harsh, unnecessary, and hurtful. The tweet she replied to was not even aimed at her or about her. She simply intruded and said some awful things.

Have you noticed that a lot of these quarrels are started by women? Women professing to be Christian?

Even though no one likes a fight (and let me be clear, the ‘fight’ was one sided, the man in this behaved biblically), there are some things we can take away that are positive.

First, look at 1 Corinthians 11:19 which says, For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you.

Photo by Maxime Gilbert on Unsplash

Note, “must”. Also note “among you.” Not all who profess Christianity are actually saved. But the tares lurk among us. How people behave when there are divisions, people lined up in a fight, one side supporting one side and the other supporting the other shows us a lot. Is there self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23). Kindness? (Galatians 5:22-23). Is grace being extended? (Ephesians 4:29). Is there gracious speech? (Proverbs 16:13, Ecclesiastes 10:12).

Or is there unwholesome talk coming out of the mouth? (Matthew 12:34). Hardness of heart? (Mark 3:5).

To mature Christians, the bad-acting side might as well hang a sign around their necks because it becomes so evident who is approved and who is not. Ultimately this is helpful.

Source Accidental Shakespeare Company

Secondly, in addition to discovering who is approved and who is not approved (based on biblical standards), during a public fracas we can be encouraged by mature men. A lot of ink is spilled about the lack of maturity in men these days, even mourning over so-called immaturity in Christian men. But it is not so. People gravitate to and remember the bad, and tend to forget the good more quickly. Mature men are all over Christ’s church. It’s encouraging to see self-restraint, humility, and grace in action. Praise our Lord for raising up so many good men.

If we are unfortunately witnesses to a fracas in real life, the words rush by and it’s hard to remember who said or did what. On social media, the adage “the internet is forever” comes in handy. We can see who said what, pray over it, ponder it, compare the words to the biblical standards outlined for us in God’s word. We can make measured and proper decisions about it, whatever those decisions may be.

Older men are to be temperate, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. (Titus 2:2).

At the very least, we can simply scroll on by and not view or absorb that which would make us mournful or upset.

Last, though quarrels may be recorded forever online for anyone to see and comment on, for standards to be judged and decisions made, there is another recording of it. The LORD is recording all our deeds in His book. Some are recorded in the Books plural. Others are recorded in the Book of Life. On Judgment day, the bad actors in a fracas, the quarrelsome women, the foul mouthed harridans, will stand before Him and BOOKS WILL BE OPENED.

And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. (Revelation 20:12).

So observing a quarrel online helps to know who is approved, helps to remind US to behave according to biblical standards, displays true ugliness in all its black nastiness, and reminds us that Jesus sees all and our words and deeds are recorded in the Book of Life. Or the other book.

If online fights upset you, avoid them. I don’t get involved in Facebook Groups focused on doctrine for this reason. Twitter doesn’t bother me as much, becuase I carefully curate who I follow. If a fight pops up, I usually scroll by. If it involves someone I know and love, I watch for the above reasons. I can practice restraint, charity, grace, and self-examination. If I get involved against my better judgment and say something I regret, I can repent. All good things.

While nobody likes a fight, think on how many New Testament books record one. Even Peter and Paul got into it. Paul and John Mark. Jesus and the Pharisees. The quarrelsome Corinthians among each other (1 Cor 1:11). The unruly Corinthians and Paul. Our global church is full of self-deceived unforgiven sinners, forgiven sinners, mature Christians, immature Christians…it’s bound to happen. We are blessed with the word of God to know what to do when situations like a quarrel pops up.

The best we can do is hope and pray for the day when these things will be no more. Someday we will all be at peace. What a day that will be.

Photo by Javardh on Unsplash

PS: After a few days of fighting, the Appalachian bad actor woman deleted her Twitter account. Good.

Posted in theology

Cut to the chase: Five reasons to avoid Jackie Hill Perry

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote a series on discernment in 6 essays. They are below. I called it “Wolf Week” because false teachers are called wolves in scripture. My own version of Shark Week, lol.

Wolf Week Intro: or, We DO know the heart
Wolf Week # 1: My two “starter false teachers”
Wolf Week # 2: Why Wolves?
Wolf Week # 3: Types of false teachers and their different methods
Wolf Week # 4: Has that false teacher REALLY ‘helped’ you?
Wolf Week # 5: Why does God allow false teachers?

A short follow-up series I am publishing contains 4 more essays in short form focusing on 4 influential ‘Bible’ teachers. I have written discernment essays on these four previously in years past, but those essays were longer. Nowadays however, people like to read less lengthy material. So I cut to the chase and made shorter essays showing why these folks are false.

Today I look at 5 reasons not to follow Jackie Hill Perry.

Jackie Hill Perry (JHP) is an author, spoken word artist, poet, and speaker. She was saved, she said, in 2008. Until that point, Jackie had indulged in all manner of sins, including long-term lesbianism.

Issue # 1- Direct Revelation

Jackie’s manner of conversion began with a voice from God. As an aside, many of the false teachers I warn you about claim either as part of their conversion story or part of their foundation of their ministry, a voice from ‘God’.

In Jackie’s case when she was an active lesbian, she said that despite knowing the scripture for ‘the wages of sin is death’, apparently the biblical statement was not enough for her to repent of her perversity. It wasn’t until she heard the Lord speaking directly to her that she believed. Source and Source. And notice the displacement of the core issue. Jackie said she ‘heard’ the Lord say of her girlfriend, “She will be the death of you” and Jackie said, ‘then things clicked.’ Emphasis mine

No. SIN is the death of us. In JHP’s case, her lesbianism. The girlfriend isn’t the problem, choosing sin and indulging in it is the problem.

Issue # 2: Lack of Discernment

After her stated conversion in 2018, Jackie Hill Perry was seen as solid enough (by some) to be invited to appear in the American Gospel film, which combatted word-faith doctrine and prosperity gospel. But in 2022, JHP renounced her participation in AG film, saying she wished she had never been featured in it. She said it was “too tribalistic” whatever THAT means; and reeked of “theological superiority”.

As a side note: true doctrine IS superior to false to half-true doctrine. The Bible commands us to separate from liars, the greedy, false teachers, and so on. Jackie became unwilling to set doctrinal boundaries and separate. See the following-

In 2019, Jackie Hill Perry was invited from the upcoming Answers in Genesis Conference where she had been slated to speak. That is a pretty big deal, because not many other ministries have been consistently faithful and biblical over decades. It spoke volumes.

Then she was disinvited. Her disinvite followed on the heels of a controversy after Perry publicly endorsed Jenn Johnson of Bethel Church, who is a heretic and her organization is a heresy factory. No wonder Answers in Genesis said, ‘no thanks’ to JHP’s participation in their conference. The disinvite from a credible ministry like AiG spoke volumes, yet it did nothing to prompt JHP to reconsider her endorsement of Jenn Johnson, at least publicly. In fact, JHP doubled down. She later defended her endorsement of Jenn Johnson of Bethel by claiming that Word-Faith theology isn’t ‘actual heresy’. These were Jackie’s own words. Jackie’s unwillingness to separate shows her to be a man-pleaser.

Issue # 3: Reverse racism

In 2020 in an episode of her show “With the Perry’s” she said many woke things, including that “all white people” must look within themselves to search out the deceitfulness in their hearts over their inherent racism and reject the notion that, “all white people” have bought into the narrative that all black people are criminals. Source.

Issue # 4: Usurper

JHP preaches. Here she is at Liberty University in April 2024 preaching at the convocation where men are present. Here she is in 2023 preaching at the Passion Conference, where men are present. Other examples abound. You cannot listen in good faith to a ‘Bible’ teacher or preacher who openly and brazenly rebels against the very scriptures they purport to uphold.

Issue # 5: She is a Prideful ‘prophet’

In 2022, Jackie came out as a prophet. See #1 again, direct revelation.She quotes what God has allegedly said, and claims that ‘God’ has allegedly given Jackie information about other people, for whom she then intercedes. God had told her she’d have a boy. She didn’t. She had a girl.

The canon is closed. God is not speaking directly or individually to people today, giving inside information. The ‘voice’ Jackie says she is hearing is not God’s. She is either lying, massively deceived, or mentally incompetent.

I wrote two previous pieces on JHP:

Jackie Hill Perry: Discernment review

Jackie Hill Perry comes out as ‘prophet’

The size of a ministry isn’t an indicator of their standing with God or the credibility of their organization. In fact, the larger and more popular a so-called ministry is the more we should be suspicious of it. In Luke 6:26 we read, ‘Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used to treat the false prophets the same way.

Avoid Jackie Hill Perry. She is false.

Posted in theology

Cut to the chase: Four reasons to avoid Lori Alexander of godlywomanhood

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote a series on discernment in 6 essays. They are below. I called it “Wolf Week” because false teachers are called wolves in scripture. My own version of Shark Week, lol.

Wolf Week Intro: or, We DO know the heart
Wolf Week # 1: My two “starter false teachers”
Wolf Week # 2: Why Wolves?
Wolf Week # 3: Types of false teachers and their different methods
Wolf Week # 4: Has that false teacher REALLY ‘helped’ you?
Wolf Week # 5: Why does God allow false teachers?

A short follow-up series I am publishing contains 4 more essays in short form focusing on 4 influential ‘Bible’ teachers. I have written discernment essays on these four previously in years past, but those essays were longer. In articles like that, I include sources, explain the teacher’s errors thoroughly, and provide examples. All this make the essays longer. Nowadays however, people like to read less lengthy material. So I cut to the chase and made shorter essays showing why these folks are false.

Today I look at 4 reasons not to follow Lori Alexander, half of the duo behind godlywomanhood/ The Transformed Wife.

Continue reading “Cut to the chase: Four reasons to avoid Lori Alexander of godlywomanhood”
Posted in theology

Cut to the chase: Six reasons why you should avoid Beth Moore

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote a series on discernment in 6 essays. They are below. I called it “Wolf Week” because false teachers are called wolves in scripture. My own version of Shark Week, lol.

Wolf Week Intro: or, We DO know the heart
Wolf Week # 1: My two “starter false teachers”
Wolf Week # 2: Why Wolves?
Wolf Week # 3: Types of false teachers and their different methods
Wolf Week # 4: Has that false teacher REALLY ‘helped’ you?
Wolf Week # 5: Why does God allow false teachers?

A short follow-up series I am publishing beginning today contains 4 more essays in short form focusing on 4 influential ‘Bible’ teachers. I have written discernment essays on these four previously in years past, but those essays were longer. In articles like that, I include sources, explain the teacher’s errors thoroughly, and provide examples. All this make the essays longer. Nowadays however, people like to read less lengthy material. So I cut to the chase and made shorter essays showing why these folks are false.

Today I look at 6 reasons not to follow Beth Moore.

Continue reading “Cut to the chase: Six reasons why you should avoid Beth Moore”
Posted in theology

Of Sacrifices and Cemeteries

By Elizabeth Prata

I like visiting cemeteries. I always have. I grew up next to a large one. It was beautiful and even had a beautiful name. Stone columns adorned either side of the entry and a babbling brook ran in front and all along the side. Gentle hills were fun to swoop my bike down and were not hard to pedal up. Huge pine trees looking like Christmas trees allowed a solitude-seeking girl to part the boughs and lay inside the greenery on a bed of pine needles, reading Nancy Drew, at once protected and apart from the world. I liked that cemetery for its quietude, but I was not yet old enough to really ponder the eternality of those residing in it, under the ground.

Continue reading “Of Sacrifices and Cemeteries”
Posted in theology

Sunday Martyr Moment: Davy and Natalie Lloyd, Missionaries to Haiti, Update

By Elizabeth Prata

I write earlier today about two missionaries in Haiti who were beaten, killed and burned by a vicious gangs in Haiti. In the first of two incidents on Thursday, May 23, a roving vicious gang entered the compound, tied up Davy adn Natalie, and also Jude Montis, the mission’s leader. They were beaten, and their belongigns from the Lloyd’s house and around the comploud were loaded onto a truck and stolen. Stafferes untied the thrio after the gang left.

However, a short time later, a second, even more vicious gang overcame the barricades the leaders had erected, and killed the couple. Also killed was Jude Montis. The men’s bodies were burned.

Natalie Baker Lloyd is the daughter of Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker.

On his Facebook page, Rep. Baker announced the news of the young couple’s murder. Davy was 23 years old and Natalie was just 21. The two were married in June 2022. The compound, which hosts a dormitory, bakery, dorms, home, and a church, was built and maintained by the mission, which is Missions in Haiti, founded in 1998 by Davy’s father, David Lloyd II and his wife Alicia.

David LLoyd wrote on the night in question that he had been on the phone with his son Davy when the gang arrived. Mr Lloyd Senior wrote,

Davy, Natalie and the kids were coming out of Youth at the church they were ambushed by a gang of 3 trucks full of guys. Davy was taken to the house tied up and beat. The gang then took our trucks and loaded everything up they wanted and left.

This first gang left. But another one soon arrived.

So they are holed up in there, the gangs has shot all the windows out of the house and continue to shoot. Their lives are in danger. I have been trying all my contacts to get a police armored car there to evacuate them out to safety but can’t get anyone to do. I also am trying to negotiate with the gang so how much $ to stand down and let them leave and get to safety. PLEASE PRAYit’s going to be a long night

Little did Davy’s father know how long. The worry for their children so many thousands of miles away must have been wrenching for the family.

We know from reports that Davy left the phone conversation with his dad to go see what the commotion was by the gate. That was the interruption in the conversation that later ended his life.

Rep. Baker had written that if you see a link to the bodies of Davy, Natalie, and Jude, PLEASE do not view it. An update from the family posted on Rep. Baker’s Facebook page states,

Things are looking very positive for the transport home for Davy and Natalie. There are two very good options for the family to choose from, mostly settled. Prayers for their discernment in their choice, and then for all of the logistics to be worked out smoothly as planned. Rough timeline seems to be about mid to late next week, best case scenario. Dealing with a foreign country presents its unforeseen challenges, but we are all hopeful. Another reminder that there are only 2 officially sanctioned GoFundMe pages out there, one by Jeremie Bridges, and another by Dirk Deaton and Chris Slinkard. Please report any social media posts that are advertising anything but those two.

Jeremie Brodges GoFundMe: Support for Davy and Natalie’s Funeral Expenses

Chris Slinkard GoFundMe: Support for Baker & Lloyd Families

Davy had loved Haiti all his life. He learned Creole as a tot and was eager to return from Bible college and begin serving, which he did in 2022. He ‘knew’ he would serve the Lord there even when he was a young boy. Davy wanted only to marry a woman who would joyfully serve in Haiti with him, and he found that mate in Natalie.

As Natalie’s father, Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker said in a Facebook post. “They went to Heaven together.”

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. James 4:14.

They were there, and then they were not. The Lord took them. The Lord is good.

Source Natalie’s reel on Instagram from their wedding album
Posted in theology

Sunday Martyr Moment: Haitian Missionaries Davy and Natalie Lloyd

By Elizabeth Prata

Updated with more information here

Sundays are a good time to think about those who preceded us in death for the cause of Christ. In this series, all the past essays have presented honor to those who were persecuted unto death from Paul’s time through the first waves of persecutions, ending with persecutions under Marcus Aurelius in 162AD, with one essay leaping forward in time to present honor to the martyr Jan Huss who was killed in 1415.

Today I bring you sad news of a current persecution unto death for the name of Christ. On May 23, 2024, three missionaries, including an American couple, were killed by gang in Haiti

The CNN news reports, linked above, states,

Three missionaries, including a married couple from the US, were killed in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on Thursday evening. Davy and Natalie Lloyd “were attacked by gangs this evening and were both killed,” Natalie Lloyd’s father, Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker, said in a Facebook post. “They went to Heaven together.”

“Please pray for my family we desperately need strength. And please pray for the Lloyd family as well,” Baker said. Mission director Jude Montis, 45, was also killed. All three worked for Missions in Haiti, Inc., which has been operated by Davy Lloyd’s parents for more than two decades, according to the group’s website.

Davy Lloyd, 23, had a “love for Haiti,” his father David Lloyd told CNN. “His first language was Creole. He used to tell us when he was little that someday he was going to be a missionary in Haiti.” He and Natalie Lloyd, 21, were ambushed as they left church in Port-au-Prince on Thursday evening, according to David Lloyd.

This photo provided by Brad Searcy Photography shows Davy and Natalie Lloyd. 
Brad Searcy Photography via AP

The situation in Haiti had become volatile and excessively dangerous. In fact, the airport at Port-Au -Prince had been closed for three months due to gang violence and chaos. When it reopened last week, Davy’s father David Lloyd, who ran the mission from the US, asked if Davy and his wife Natalie wanted to leave. They said no, because there were children they were taking care of. They loved Haiti and the Haitians, and wanted to continue serving them in the name of Jesus, despite the fact that violence had severely escalated, and kidnappings were rampant, especially targeting Missionaries.

Davy was actually on the phone with his father David when the attacks occurred. He and Natalie had been beaten, but survived the first wave of attacks. But the gang returned, and shot Davy and Jude and set their bodies on fire. They also killed Natalie. The US Embassy eventually obtained the bodies of the two Americans and are currently searching for a plane that will return them home.

Though their bodies have not yet found eternal rest, their souls are now safe in the arms of Jesus, with eternal peace and a crown for their gift of life given to Him for His name.

No doubt hearing ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ upon their co-arrival to heaven.

James 1:12 and Revelation 2:10

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has [a]been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12

Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10

Posted in theology

Cut to the Chase: Three (probably four) Reasons to Avoid David Platt

By Elizabeth Prata

Last week I wrote a series on discernment in 6 essays. They are below. I called it “Wolf Week” because false teachers are called wolves in scripture. My own version of Shark Week 🙂

Wolf Week Intro: or, We DO know the heart
Wolf Week # 1: My two “starter false teachers”
Wolf Week # 2: Why Wolves?
Wolf Week # 3: Types of false teachers and their different methods
Wolf Week # 4: Has that false teacher REALLY ‘helped’ you?
Wolf Week # 5: Why does God allow false teachers?

A short follow-up series I am publishing beginning today contains 4 more essays in short form focusing on 4 influential ‘Bible’ teachers. I have written discernment essays on these four previously in years past, but those essays were longer. In articles like that, I include sources, explain the teacher’s errors thoroughly, and provide examples. All this make the essays longer. Nowadays however, people like to read less lengthy material. So I cut to the chase and made shorter essays showing why these folks are false.

Having learned, hopefully, what was presented in the previous Wolf Week essays, these cut to the chase essays hopefully will edify you and give you skills to explore further, if you choose to.

This first one is about David Platt.

Continue reading “Cut to the Chase: Three (probably four) Reasons to Avoid David Platt”
Posted in theology

Wolf Week # 5: Why does God allow false teachers?

By Elizabeth Prata

“Beware of supposing that a teacher of religion is to be trusted, because although he holds some unsound views, he yet ‘teaches a great deal of truth.’ Such a teacher is precisely the man to do you harm: poison is always most dangerous when it is given in small doses and mixed with wholesome food”. JC Ryle

Wolf Week Intro: or, We DO know the heart
Wolf Week # 1: My two “starter false teachers”
Wolf Week # 2: Why Wolves?
Wolf Week # 3: Types of false teachers and their different methods
Wolf Week # 4: Has that false teacher REALLY ‘helped’ you?

I’ve spent the last 5 days discussing from the Bible the fact of false teachers, their methods, their characteristics, and their traits. False teachers are destructive to the individual, to the local church body, and to the faith in general.

and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:30)

So that leaves one last important question. Why does God allow false teachers? Why does He allow them to destroy? Why does He use false teachers to pollute the faith, draw away the unwary, and make shipwrecks of whole churches? (Revelation 2:20[Thyatira], 3:1 [Sardis], 3:16 [Laodicea]). What good can a false teacher possibly do in God’s Economy?

For there also have to be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. (1 Corinthians 11:19).

That’s the reason. False teachers are a magnet for the sinner, the unsaved, the fleshly. If these people are drawn to a false teacher, and especially if they stay with a false teacher after evidence is presented, a schism forms between the redeemed and the person who prefers falsity.

God uses the false teacher as a magnet to show which side people are on. And don’t think we the forgiven sinner, is immune to following a false teacher. We have sin in us and are drawn just as the false professing believer is. In fact, we should be grateful for the false teacher’s existence if we follow one for a time, because we can then repent and ask God to help us. And then praise Him for his help, patience, and forgiveness. False teachers show us our blind spots of sin.

In Matthew 7:15 Jesus had warned the disciples that false teachers are like wolves that wear sheep’s clothing. In Matthew 10:16 Jesus said He was sending them as sheep out to where the wolves were. In Acts 20:20 Paul said he knew that after his departure savage wolves will come. Wolves are quite the theme in the New Testament. Wolfish false teachers cause division. And that is a good thing, noting the verse again,

For there also have to be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. (1 Corinthians 11:19).

He did send us a measuring tool to allow us to determine with evidence some who are professors and who actually possesses the Spirit, and that is the wolf. The wolf is a test.

In the verse above, we see the word factions. The word has been translated in different translations as divisions, differences, and even heresies.  It is from the Greek word haireomai; properly, a choice, i.e. a party or disunion. It means a self-chosen opinion, a personal (decisivechoice. The term stresses the personal aspect of choice. Sources- Strong’s Greek and NASB Lexicon.

If you ever wondered why a person would defend a false teacher even after having been given evidence of their falsity, this is why. They CHOOSE it. It is a strongly decisive choice according to the word use in the original language.

Now we read this verse,

Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person through whom the stumbling block comes! (Matthew 18:7).

The world has various and ingenious ways of tempting the Christian to stumble. One of the most direct ways is through a false teacher. How?

By doing like Jezebel, by teaching doctrine that isn’t biblical. I think you commit the most heinous of all crimes. That’s why the Bible speaks so forcefully against false teachers, because they lead God’s people into the worse kind of sin, and that is a misrepresentation of who God is. And that’s the severest of all, because if your God isn’t right, you can’t settle anything. And so false teachers are the ultimate who are guilty in this regard. John MacArthur, The Danger of Causing a Christian to Sin sermon on Matthew 18:5–9.

The false teacher is used by God as a magnet, a curse, and a crowbar to make a separation between the true believer and the false believer. For his part, the true believer/false believer goes along with it by his choice. It is a test.

CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED

 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2).

So ultimately the answer to the question, Why does God allow false teachers? As John Piper says, “The result is that we learn the exceeding sinfulness of sin by how we more easily embrace false teaching rather than biblical truth.” So the answer is, to test us.

Secondly, everything He does is for His glory, and our good. So while it is a trial for us to endure false teachers, it is for our good and His glory that they should exist. False teachers test our sinfulness, and they display Gods patience. What we do is pray to stay strong in the faith, trust God, and repent early and often. God is good, all the time.