The following teaching by pastor Baucham explains the Christian duty of identifying, exposing and fleeing from false teachers. He used a lot of scripture to make those points. He also explained why so many people are deceived by false teachers.
This post clarifies what the Bible says about dealing with false teachers; it also identifies the typical weakness of Christians who become deceived by them. So, by knowing what pastor Baucham says from the Bible about these things, your Christian life could be more biblical.
This blog identifies many false teachers and talks about their ministries; it also provides the teachings of numerous biblical preachers to help readers develop discernment. This post will undoubtedly aid in developing discernment by specifically clarifying aspects of each type of teacher.
Signs of False Prophets in The Church by Voddie Baucham
The 23-minute video of this post is from the following YouTube site:
The following link is for the video page of Reformed Chanel, he has 16 videos that are all similar to the one in this post.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0_kZln9jvivLKvwdoJrBEA/videos
*Scriptures used in Baucham’s sermon: Matthew 7:15-20; 24:11; 2 Peter 2:1-2; John 10: 3-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 10-17; 1 John 4: 1-3; Jude 3-4
SERMON HIGHLIGHTS [bracketed statements and emboldening are mine]:
*In Matthew 7: 15-20, Jesus identifies that there actually are false prophets: Mat 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Mat 7:16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Mat 7:17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. Mat 7:18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Mat 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Mat 7:20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
*The following verses were also cited by pastor Baucham: Mat 24:11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. Luk 6:26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. Act 13:6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 2Pe 2:1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
*False prophets are not always easy to identify because they disguise themselves as believers, followers of Christ
*False Prophets will learn to use narrow road language, to emulate hard-way living, to masquerade as small crowd people, tricking you into thinking they are on the road of life
*Biblical and theological illiteracy makes it difficult to identify false prophets; that is, if you do not know the word and the doctrines in the word, you will not be able to identify false prophets
*False prophets prey on people who are biblically illiterate
*Some false prophets are more difficult to identify than others [recent posts about false teachers in the SBC, in my opinion, are harder to identify than the false teachings of Osteen or Hinn]
*God gave the church elders to protect the body and doctrine
*What qualifies as bad fruit in a false teacher?
*Their teachings and their manner of living
*First sign of a false teacher, they speak things as though they were from God but that cannot be found in the Bible [many speak about fresh revelations they have received; that is, they add to scripture even though the Bible warns against that]
*The second sign of a false teacher can be seen in the following verses: he will NOT endure persecution, as his followers will find his words pleasant to hear…because he is not speaking the truth of God
*The words Paul spoke to Timothy could be stated, You’ve seen evidences of my narrow-way, hard-road, few-friends life; these testify to you that I am walking in God’s way, because all who life a godly life in Christ Jesus WILL be persecuted…as for you, continue in what you have learned from home and from me…the truth of God
* 2Ti 3:1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2Ti 3:2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, [see your Bible for verses3-9]
* 2Ti 3:10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 2Ti 3:11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 2Ti 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 2Ti 3:13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2Ti 3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 2Ti 3:15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 2Ti 3:17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
*If we are trying to identify the fruit of a teacher’s life, we need to know what Jesus said the kingdom lifestyle is like, the beatitudes; the 6 antitheses, “You have heard that it was said of them of old” then He said, “But I say “to give a fuller meaning of the law; and chapter 6, true prayer, fasting and giving
*[That is, knowing the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ will enable you to identify those things in a teacher via careful observation. To learn more about the beatitudes, in this blog, see Categories, Beatitude Life for narrative posts on the beatitudes; and True Kingdom citizen, for video posts]
*We must be willing to test the spirits and to make judgments or the above is not beneficial
*To do so is to apply scripture
*1Jn 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1Jn 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 1Jn 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
*Act 17:10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Act 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
*We must always be willing and able to identify, expose and flee from false prophets as Paul said in Ephesians 5
*Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Eph 5:7 Therefore do not become partners with them…
* Eph 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them Eph 5:12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
Eph 5:13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, Eph 5:12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. Eph 5:13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible…
*Our culture says it is nasty, judgmental, not Christian to do such things
*The Bible says, expose the deeds of darkness, rebuke those that contradict sound teaching
*Jude – Jud 1:3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints… [read the chapter[
*Jude called believers to ‘agonize greatly’ in waring against false teachers and to hold firmly to the truth – out of a love for truth, not love of warfare
Baucham’s 23-minute video was divided in half because it would not otherwise upload; video was cut exactly in half, and will pick up in that place in part B.
Part A:
Part B:
Dr. Voddie T. Baucham, Jr.
Voddie Baucham is a husband, father, grandfather, former pastor, church planter, author, and professor. He currently serves as Dean of the School of Divinity at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia.
Voddie is known for his ability to demonstrate the Bible’s relevance to everyday life without compromising the centrality of Christ and the gospel. Those who hear him preach find themselves both challenged and encouraged.
Whether teaching on classical apologetic issues like the validity and historicity of the Bible, or the resurrection of Christ; or teaching on biblical manhood/womanhood, marriage and family, or the Social Justice Movement, he helps ordinary people understand the significance of thinking and living biblically in every area of life.
It is impossible to understand Voddie’s approach to the Bible without first understanding the path he has walked. Raised in a non-Christian, single-parent home, Voddie did not hear the gospel until he was in college. His journey to faith was a very unusual and intellectual one. Consequently, he understands what it means to be a skeptic, and knows what it’s like to try to figure out the Christian life without relying on the traditions of men. As a result, he speaks to ‘outsiders’ in ways few Bible teachers can.
Dr. Baucham holds degrees from Houston Baptist University (BA in Christianity/BA in Sociology), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (D.Min.) with additional post-graduate study at the University of Oxford, England (Regent’s Park College).
Away from the pulpit and the classroom, Voddie is also a voice actor, lending his voice to films like George Washington Carver: An Uncommon Way, and the 2017 national theatrical release, Genesis: Paradise Lost. He is also an accomplished Martial Artist. He took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2012 as an avenue of self-defense training, personal fitness, and outreach. However, he began competing and found both a passion and a talent. He has won numerous tournaments and titles, including winning the 2014 Pan American Championship in his division.
Voddie and his wife, Bridget have been married since 1989. They have nine children and three grandchildren. The Bauchams are committed home educators.
ACU seeks to transform Africa through a biblical worldview based education to the glory of God. Operating under a group of Reformed Baptist Churches in Zambia, ACU is committed to glorifying God, our sovereign Creator, displaying His grace through love in serving the church and larger community by equipping students to wholeheartedly serve God through developing the spiritual, physical and intellectual gifts that He has given to them.
Dr. Baucham’s published works include:
Bio from: https://www.voddiebaucham.org/about/?msclkid=84715f02d04a11ecabb1dade62155cb0