Paul talks about “wholesome words” (1 Tim. 6:3 NKJV) or “healthy teaching” which leads to godliness. He also talks about “doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). False teaching is unhealthy teaching, which leads to ungodliness and ultimately death. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 16:25). A heretic is one who teaches what is false, or applies what is true in such a way that it divides God’s people. What makes a heresy more dangerous than simply an anti-Christian philosophy, is that it is propagated within the Church of God by a supposed disciple of Christ.

How do we recognize heresy when we see it and what is the proper scriptural response to those who propagate it?

Heresy Begins
Heresies and heretics have been around a long time. Whenever and wherever God has spoken, the enemy is there to cast doubt and contradict. In the garden, God said, “You shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). But the serpent said, “You shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). After the flood, when Noah and his family began with a sacrifice acknowledging the Living God, it was not long before his descendants “changed the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Rom. 1:25).

In the early Church, when the truth was revealed to the apostles and prophets, false apostles and prophets arose to deny “that Jesus Christ has come in flesh” (1 Jn. 4:2) and to bring “another gospel” (Gal. 1:8). We are warned that in the last days, “there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction” (2 Pet. 2:1).

Doctrines of demons abound. In His wisdom, God allowed heresies in the early Church, to instruct us how do deal with them. Just as we inoculate our children by putting a small amount of the disease into their bodies, so God allowed false teachings and sects to arise in apostolic days, so that the body might develop, as it were, antibodies to ward off infection.

What Is Heresy?
In his Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vine defines “heresy” as “a self-willed opinion, which is substituted for submission to the power of truth, and leads to division and the formation of sects.” Note that heresy is not just false teaching of a fundamental nature, as is popularly thought. It is an opinion, perhaps even a correct opinion, pressed in such a way as to cause divisions among the people of God.

One who promotes false teaching concerning the person and work of Christ, or touching the foundations of the faith, is a heretic, leading to the formation of a cult. One who presses his opinion on matters not touching the fundamentals of the faith, in such a way that he causes divisions among God’s people, is also a heretic, leading to the formation of a sect.

Peter deals with the cultist when he discusses “destructive heresies” (2 Pet. 2:1). John does likewise, when he discusses those who do not bring the doctrine of Christ (2 Jn. 10). Paul deals with sectarian problems in 1 Corinthians 1:12-13, admonishing those who divisively say, “‘I am of Paul,’ or ... ‘Apollos,’ or ... ‘Cephas,’ or ... ‘Christ.’”

The heretic of a cult is not a Christian. The heretic of a sect may be one. But both are products of the flesh (Gal. 5:20). Scripture gives guidance in dealing with both those who deny the faith and those who divide the saints.

Heretics of Cults
Peter tells us that false teachers will use “deceptive words” (2 Pet. 2:3) or literally “molded or plastic words” to allure those who are unstable and those who “twist” (2 Pet. 3:16) the Scripture to their own destruction. People who twist the Word of God, because they do not wish to obey it, can be easily fooled. There are five manipulations that false teachers use to get Scriptures to seemingly say what they want them to say.

1. Adding To Scripture: If they cannot find what they are looking for in the Bible, they invent some other book or document that will support their teaching. This is a favorite method of cults, such as the Mormons who supposedly translated the Book of Mormon with special golden glasses. Adding the “apocrypha” to the Old Testament is another example. In the New Testament the sect of the Pharisees, the ritualists of that day, added traditions to the Scripture and thus opposed Christ. God’s Word is very clear on this matter: “You shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Dt. 12:32).

2. Subtracting From Scripture: If a Bible passage contradicts what they want to believe, heretics simply delete it. A favorite modernist trick is to question the authority of God’s Word and annul its influence in our lives. Jesus said that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible (Jn. 7:19). They say it was written by an assortment of unknown authors. Jesus said that Daniel was a prophet (Mt. 24:15). They say that his prophesies were written after the fact and, therefore, not by Daniel. They pretend to know more about Bible times than Jesus or the apostles. In the New Testament, the sect of the Saduccees, the rationalists of that day, subtracted from Scripture by denying the authority of the Old Testament except for the five books of Moses. They were materialists who denied the spiritual world and the resurrection, and thus opposed Christ.

3. Redefining Terms: If heretics claim to believe the Bible but do not like what it says, they redefine or “remold” the meaning of terms to suit their own theory (2 Pet. 2:3). Jesus and the apostles are very clear that all Scripture is inspired by God or “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16 NIV) and written by holy men of God moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). Heretics claim, however, that inspiration does not really mean inspiration as historically understood, but means only inspiration in the sense in which any musician or poet is inspired. They will state that salvation does not mean forgiveness of sins or that references to Jesus as the Son of God do not mean that He is God in the flesh. They will use anything to confuse or create doubt about the historical beliefs of Christianity.

4. Removing Verses From Context: If heretics claim to believe the Bible but do not like what it says, they pull verses from their immediate context and skew their meaning to support their reasoning. An example of this: John 1:1 clearly says that “the Word was God.” False teachers say it means that “the Word was a god,” making Jesus a created being. Yet John 1:3 states that anything that was made, was made by Jesus, thus removing Him from the realm of created things. They twist the Bible to say that “there is no God.” The Bible says those who believe them are “fools” (Ps. 14:1).

5. False Signs: Heretics usually accompany any of the above manipulations with some sort of supernatural sign (2 Th. 2:9) or supposed gift that authenticates the false teacher as the mouthpiece of God, effectively substituting the commandments of men for the Word of God (Mt. 15:9). Gifts of healing are popular signs today. We do believe that God heals in answer to prayers. We do not believe that many of the so-called gifts of healing correspond with the gift of healing as presented in the New Testament.

Personality Cult
Heresies usually center on some charismatic leader who controls the group and is not accountable to other leaders. Beware of those who speak more of themselves than they do of Christ. After hearing them speak, do you come away admiring them or worshiping Christ? They may speak of God or Jehovah, but do they serve the Lord Jesus Christ? (Rom. 16:18). Their message diminishes His person or His work. And those who do not honor the Son, do not honor the Father who sent Him (Jn. 5:23).

Contrast their teaching with that of the disciples. John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30). Paul said “that in all things He may have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18). Paul wrote of those “not holding fast to the Head” (Col. 2:19), Peter of those “denying the Lord who bought them” (2 Pet. 2:1), and John of those who “do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” and who “love to have the preeminence” (1 Jn. 4:3; 3 Jn. 9). Beware of those who must always have things their way.

Motives
Heresy is popular because it provides a rationalization that allows one ultimately to live as he pleases (Jer. 6:14; 14:14), and still be called a Christian. To one who does not love God’s truth above all, his theology is determined by his own morality. Paul links sound teaching with godliness. Heresy will never produce godliness, which can only come through Christ.

Heretics are often motivated by money (Jer. 6:13; Mic. 3:11). Beware of those who always ask for money. Paul worked night and day presenting the gospel at no cost (2 Cor. 11:9). False teachers exploit you (2 Pet. 2:3). Beware of those who say that the gospel is free, then ask you to pay for it.

Heretics are also often motivated by sexual impurity (2 Pet. 2:14). Lack of accountability leads to free reign for the lusts of the flesh in all areas. Beware of those whose teaching leads to a breakdown of modesty and self-control.

Heretics Of Sects
Teachers, otherwise godly, have often caused many of the divisions in the Church by pressing their opinions too far. For example, a study of Church history reveals how divisions/sects were created over the subject of baptism. Believers have divided over the meaning of baptism (infant, household or believer’s baptism), its procedure (sprinkling or immersion), the formula (“in the name of Jesus” or “in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit,” etc.). Insisting on conformity in details and method, their motivation is often one of control, covetousness, and preeminence among the saints. Are these teachers accountable to anyone? Some Christian organizations have prospered through the labor of a true teacher or evangelist only to suffer shipwreck because of his lack of accountability to anyone. Their success became a snare.

Is the biblical response to burn them at the stake? This is what the Roman Catholic Church did in the Middle Ages. Although effective in removing the offender (but not the message), it reflects the same spirit as that of the “sons of thunder,” James and John, who asked the Lord if they should call down fire from heaven, like Elijah, when the Samaritans refused to receive Christ’s ministry. The Lord said to them what He would say to all who contemplate such measures: “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of” (Lk. 9:54-55).

Scripture makes clear that our response must be proportional to the offense. For the heretic of a cult, there must be no compromise. We are to have no fellowship with those who propagate falsehood (Eph. 5:11), even to the point of not greeting them nor receiving them into our homes (2 Jn. 10). The foundation truths cannot be trifled with. We must give no one even the slightest reason to think that we agree with or support false teaching. For the heretic of a sect, Scripture indicates that we must admonish them (Ti. 3:10). Present to them the truth of God’s word once, even twice. If they continue in their course of division, then we must eventually reject their fellowship (Rom. 16:17).

Conclusion
Right teaching presents things as they really are – from God’s perspective. Heresy seeks to distort scriptural reality by exalting man and lowering Christ. Heresy provides the rational framework which allows a man to live as he pleases and still pretend to be a Christian. The first prerequisite for knowing the truth, however, is having the desire to do God’s will. “If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority” (Jn. 7:17). May God help us to have honest hearts before Him, with a desire to obey His Word as He has revealed it to us.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mike Stello is a civil engineer specializing in foundation and dam design. He and his wife, Kate, have six children. Mike teaches in their local church in New Freedom, Pennsylvania.