Post by Cindy on Mar 22, 2017 11:01:34 GMT -5
We've all heard the terms, false teacher, and heretic before, but often don't know if there's a difference between them or just how someone really becomes one and/or the other. First it's important to understand that just because a teacher or pastor says or teaches something that's in error, it does not necessarily make them a false teacher. A false teacher is someone who knowingly teaches something that is error and refuses to repent of it. They can refuse to repent because they prefer what they teach to what others say, or because they really believe they're correct and the others aren't. When I say they knowingly teach it, I mean that they have been confronted about what they're teaching, (in a biblical manner - not hatefully or publicly) and they have refused to repent or even consider what they've been told. If at some later date that teacher does repent, and they have no other false teachings, then they would no longer be a false teacher.
Let me give an example that might be helpful. I know of one very good biblical teacher who taught a doctrine called "soul sleep" for several years. He didn't understand how anything else could be true. He was mistaken, but he was not a false teacher. He was confronted biblically about his teaching, and he did consider what they told him. However, it took time for him to be convicted by the truth by the Holy Spirit. Eventually, when the Holy Spirit did convict him of the truth, he repented of his error, and publicly retracted all he had taught about that subject before and stated the truth. You see, this man was a godly man who loved the Lord and wanted nothing more than to teach His Truth. He wasn't interested in popularity or anything else. He simply had made a mistake about something that wasn't a core doctrine of the faith and therefore wasn't essential to our salvation. By the way, the reason he recanted what he had taught previously was because his teachings were public. If someone hasn't taught publicly, then there is no reason for them to state their repentance publicly.
So what's the difference between a false teacher and a heretic? 2 Peter 2:1 tells us that it's something that denies the teaching of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul tells them that it's something that also divides the Church. So a heresy is something that goes against what Christ taught, especially about Himself, causing division in the Church. This brings us to another term that's often misunderstood and used the same way heresy is used: apostasy. Let me quote an article by Tim Challies about this:
David Samuel, makes a distinction between two terms that many people mistakenly use synonymously – apostasy and heresy. Apostasy he defines as a rejection of truth that a person once believed. Hence I would be apostate if I were to suddenly reject the doctrine of the Trinity, a doctrine I now hold dearly. Heresy, one the other hand, is the addition of foreign doctrines. Thus I would be heretical if I added the worship of some foreign deity to my beliefs.
www.challies.com/church/apostasy-and-heresy
Let's just make some simple definitions of these terms:
False teachings — deny or distort some aspect of established doctrine.
Heresy — false doctrine, or teaching that denies one of the foundational beliefs of the church, such as the Lordship or deity of Jesus.
Apostasy — a rejection of truth that a person once believed.
It can get confusing because as you can see, a teacher can be a false teacher, and a heretic and even be an apostate all at the same time; BUT just because they are a false teacher, doesn't automatically make them a heretic or an apostate. So we really do need to understand what these terms mean and how to apply them properly, especially since someone who is mistaken about something they're teaching, is not necessarily even a false teacher.
Here's a great article about apostasy if you're interested:
www.gotquestions.org/apostasy.html
Another great article is, Bad Doctrine vs. Heresy: An Exercise in Theological Triage
thecripplegate.com/bad-doctrine-vs-heresy-an-exercise-in-theological-triage/
Let me give an example that might be helpful. I know of one very good biblical teacher who taught a doctrine called "soul sleep" for several years. He didn't understand how anything else could be true. He was mistaken, but he was not a false teacher. He was confronted biblically about his teaching, and he did consider what they told him. However, it took time for him to be convicted by the truth by the Holy Spirit. Eventually, when the Holy Spirit did convict him of the truth, he repented of his error, and publicly retracted all he had taught about that subject before and stated the truth. You see, this man was a godly man who loved the Lord and wanted nothing more than to teach His Truth. He wasn't interested in popularity or anything else. He simply had made a mistake about something that wasn't a core doctrine of the faith and therefore wasn't essential to our salvation. By the way, the reason he recanted what he had taught previously was because his teachings were public. If someone hasn't taught publicly, then there is no reason for them to state their repentance publicly.
So what's the difference between a false teacher and a heretic? 2 Peter 2:1 tells us that it's something that denies the teaching of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul tells them that it's something that also divides the Church. So a heresy is something that goes against what Christ taught, especially about Himself, causing division in the Church. This brings us to another term that's often misunderstood and used the same way heresy is used: apostasy. Let me quote an article by Tim Challies about this:
David Samuel, makes a distinction between two terms that many people mistakenly use synonymously – apostasy and heresy. Apostasy he defines as a rejection of truth that a person once believed. Hence I would be apostate if I were to suddenly reject the doctrine of the Trinity, a doctrine I now hold dearly. Heresy, one the other hand, is the addition of foreign doctrines. Thus I would be heretical if I added the worship of some foreign deity to my beliefs.
www.challies.com/church/apostasy-and-heresy
Let's just make some simple definitions of these terms:
False teachings — deny or distort some aspect of established doctrine.
Heresy — false doctrine, or teaching that denies one of the foundational beliefs of the church, such as the Lordship or deity of Jesus.
Apostasy — a rejection of truth that a person once believed.
It can get confusing because as you can see, a teacher can be a false teacher, and a heretic and even be an apostate all at the same time; BUT just because they are a false teacher, doesn't automatically make them a heretic or an apostate. So we really do need to understand what these terms mean and how to apply them properly, especially since someone who is mistaken about something they're teaching, is not necessarily even a false teacher.
Here's a great article about apostasy if you're interested:
www.gotquestions.org/apostasy.html
Another great article is, Bad Doctrine vs. Heresy: An Exercise in Theological Triage
thecripplegate.com/bad-doctrine-vs-heresy-an-exercise-in-theological-triage/
!!
