I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. However, Life.Church is much more likely to weaken, stunt, or even destroy a Christians walk with Christ by replacing it with a selfish, shallow, and even unbiblical substitute. This is a basic culmination of everything discussed about sermons up to this point. Carl Lentz, pastor of Hillsong East Coast, was let go in November 2020 for moral failures, including an adulterous affair, and now stands accused of sexual abuse. The first reason why elders must rebuke false teachers is because they divide healthy churches. Yes, the New Testament speaks of false teachers whose doctrine denies core elements of the apostolic gospel. The rest of the time is spent getting people emotionally invested in entertaining or heartwarming stories, motivating them with clever ideas or saying, and doing anything other than actually discussing what Gods word teaches. 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. But there are also instances when false teaching is equated with behavior, practice, or a way of life. Although a single church doesnt always line up with every part of their denomination, its worth pointing out that ECC takes a clear stance on integrating racial reconciliation into the church (read about ECC and Racial Righteousness). For a person in the audience, thats heartbreaking. Life.Church is committing God to something He hasnt committed Himself to. They are divisive 2. They frequently have new visitors, their online platform is active, their community is bustling, and many people claim to ask Christ to save them every week. They were (and are) a different kind of false teacher: heretics of the heart. In the best scenario, a Christian will attend Life.Church and remain spiritually immature forever. False teachers never say, "hey, I am a false teacher." Jesus calls them wolves in sheep's clothing. This of course contradicts their last sentence that says hell is a real place, but by not capitalizing it they arent committing to a biblical definition of Hell. Everything else is about their lives. There were no cars or airplanes, and no printing presses, websites, or Facebook pages. In fact, its the one area in the Bible where God tells you to test Him. From Life.Churchs website:Tithing is a biblical principle. 1. That's what Craig Groeschel experienced and offers his hearers. As they should. Craig Groeschel - Exposing His False Teachings Craig is the Founder and Lead Pastor of Life.Church with 32 Life.Church campuses, but started his ministry in the United Methodist Church according to Wikipedia. 8, 15). There is hope. Another way to see it is that their falseness comes out in sin against themselves, against others, or against God. To unlock this article for your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below. Theyre using Gods name and saying Hes promised something that He hasnt. As Jesus says, False christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. We begin by acknowledging not just the possibility of false teaching, but the certainty of it. (Acts 20:28-30). A sincere but misguided teacher may not be a "false" teacher. If we had any doubts at this point, Peter joins the refrain to add another voice: There will be false teachers among you (2 Peter 2:1). False teachers from "among the people [en t la] . However, the Bible warns us that false teachers hide in the church like weeds among wheat. God is good and can grow His people in any circumstance. Yes, this is talking about false prophets. Set your standards high. Consider, for example, evangelical pastor-teachers like George Whitefield, who not only enslaved Black peoplemany of whom were Christian sisters and brothersbut also fought to secure the institution of slavery in the state of Georgia. Life.Church, likewise, makes promises for God that He hasnt made. To spot a counterfeit, study the real thing. It comes as no surprise that God warns us many times in Scripture to be aware of false teaching. I dont know if Groeschel frequently deals with sexual purity issues with his own congregation or if he just speaks to the culture around him, but he frequently calls people to embrace a biblical understanding of sexual purity and marital faithfulness. My frustration is not just for the people and communities harmed by these leaders but also for the way these pastors lives contradicted and undermined the gospel they preached. Basically, the conflict between biblical truth and false teaching is a battle over what "source" (authority) is to be trusted. 1:3). Groeschels heart is for his people. He runs a successful leadership podcast, a resource on their website is an ebook called Measuring What Matters which is essentially a how to grow your online business for churches, and in an interview he said they measure success by the number of people participating in various aspects of the church (new visitors, engaging in serving at church, participating in small groups, etc). Not only does Groeschel frame his Christian worldview around secular thinking, but he leads his whole church in doing the same. Watching a sermon online or chatting on a website may give a sense of community, but not being part of a local body makes the bolded sections of text nearly impossible. His warning may sound clear and simple at first, but as we all know, trees dont bear fruit overnight. They are legalistic 4. Eternal Security By John Calvin. secretly bring in destructive heresies" (2 Pet. Likewise, they describe separation from God as hell, meaning that hell is simply a way to describe the experience. False teaching can come from apostates and deviant teachers within the church. Another danger is that anything is justified when the numbers support it. Freedom from this is in framing our responses to these things in a way that is positive, empowering, and productive. Posted By Marsha West on September 5, 2016 in Discernment, False Teacher Alert, Women and the Church 13. But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand. (Mark 13:2223; see also Matthew 24:24). When you click Take the Challenge, you can read this under the terms: 7. Even someone who isnt a Christian can sit under the teachings of Groeschel and his guests for years and walk away feeling motivated and empowered to change their lives. Image: They will be known by their fruit not the fruit of ministry quantity and numbers, but quality and endurance and ultimately the quality of their own lives. (Hebrews 10:24-25). I dont discount Gods sovereignty in saving His people no matter how bad we may fumble things. Sermons are complex, intricate, and complicated pieces of art. False teachers will be known by their ungodly influence . They even did a 3-part FAQ series where Groeschel gave answers to several biblical topics including: And in many of his answers, I found myself in agreement. They were blaspheming the name of God. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. While I have many concerns for the ministry, and even Groeschel himself, I havent doubted that Groeschel does love those who are hurting and desires for them to live out his understanding of a successful Christian life. They are not just false in their teaching, but also in their living. Lisa associates and partners with many false teachers including Joyce Meyer, Beth Moore, Christine Caine, Kris Valloton (Senior Associate Leader of Bethel Church/co-founder of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry), Bethel Music, Bethel "Church", Joel and Victoria Osteen, T.D. And heres the thing by all measurements, Life.Church is wildly successful. (2 Timothy 2:15), All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (1 Timothy 2:11-12). An off-center idea may be way out but not necessarily heresy. Indeed, if the church is going to do the work of discerning true teachers from falseand I think we shouldthen were called to do so in a way faithful to the examples of Christ and his apostles. . This clip made the rounds on social media, but I first encountered it naturally while listening to what I assume was just another sermon. I dont say this to be dramatic, but I literally had to pause and rewind to make sure I really heard a pastor say what I thought he did. His life and ministry make clear that what we teach others includes both whats in our heads and what we do with our bodies. Here is a video where Groeschel takes a firmer stance on Hell. This verse is featured on Life.Churchs 3 Month Tithe Challenge web page. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. They contain what Christians were handed onwhat the word tradition meansand also what the church has concluded is essential to preserve and pass down. What they think matters most, and Gods word must bend to fit that belief. Consider, for example, the Epistle of Jude (and its parallel in 2 Peter 2). She is the author of Quivering Families and a forthcoming book on the season of Christmas (InterVarsity Press). If you visit their YouTube channel and sort their videos by most popular, their most-watched video is titled Your Porn Battle Plan. The sermon is exactly what youd expect it to be, and its encouraging to see that a church is willing to speak bluntly to a major problem. Life.Church must shrug their shoulders, say I guess God was a liar this time, and refund the investment of someone who trusted God for three months and saw that He isnt everything they were promised. ,and Exposing Charismatic False Teacher, Jack Hayford Posted by Marsha West May 1, 2021 In Opinion Charismaticism, Church, Ecumenism, False Doctrine, False Gospel, False Teacher, Mysticism, New Apostolic Reformation, Pentecostalism, Purpose Drivenism, Roman Catholicism, Foster Richard, Warren Rick Bookmark permalink What may begin as mere whispers in a private room will soon enough be proclaimed from the housetops (Luke 12:3). 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