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Question: “How can I recognize a false teacher \/ false prophet?”<\/strong><\/p>\n Answer:\u00a0Jesus warned us that \u201cfalse Christs and false prophets\u201d will come and will attempt to deceive even God\u2019s elect (Matthew 24:23-27<\/a>; see also\u00a02 Peter 3:3<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jude 17-18<\/a>). The best way to guard yourself against falsehood and false teachers is to know the truth. To spot a counterfeit, study the real thing. Any believer who \u201ccorrectly handles the word of truth\u201d (2 Timothy 2:15<\/a>) and who makes a careful study of the Bible can identify false doctrine. For example, a believer who has read the activities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in\u00a0Matthew 3:16-17<\/a>\u00a0will immediately question any doctrine that denies the Trinity. Therefore, step one is to study the Bible and judge all teaching by what the Scripture says.<\/p>\n Jesus said \u201ca tree is recognized by its fruit\u201d (Matthew 12:33<\/a>). When looking for \u201cfruit,\u201d here are three specific tests to apply to any teacher to determine the accuracy of his or her teaching:<\/p>\n 1) What does this teacher say about Jesus? In\u00a0Matthew 16:15-16<\/a>, Jesus asks, \u201cWho do you say I am?\u201d Peter answers, \u201cYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God,\u201d and for this answer Peter is called \u201cblessed.\u201d In\u00a02 John 9<\/a>, we read, \u201cAnyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.\u201d In other words, Jesus Christ and His work of redemption is of utmost importance; beware of anyone who denies that Jesus is equal with God, who downplays Jesus\u2019 sacrificial death, or who rejects Jesus\u2019 humanity.\u00a0First John 2:22<\/a>\u00a0says, \u201cWho is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist\u2014he denies the Father and the Son.\u201d<\/p>\n 2) Does this teacher preach the gospel? The gospel is defined as the good news concerning Jesus\u2019 death, burial, and resurrection, according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4<\/a>). As nice as they sound, the statements \u201cGod loves you,\u201d \u201cGod wants us to feed the hungry,\u201d and \u201cGod wants you to be wealthy\u201d are not the complete message of the gospel. As Paul warns in\u00a0Galatians 1:7<\/a>, \u201cEvidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.\u201d No one, not even a great preacher, has the right to change the message that God gave us. \u201cIf anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!\u201d (Galatians 1:9<\/a>).<\/p>\n 3) Does this teacher exhibit character qualities that glorify the Lord? Speaking of false teachers,\u00a0Jude 11<\/a>\u00a0says, \u201cThey have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam\u2019s error; they have been destroyed in Korah\u2019s rebellion.\u201d In other words, a false teacher can be known by his pride (Cain\u2019s rejection of God\u2019s plan), greed (Balaam\u2019s prophesying for money), and rebellion (Korah\u2019s promotion of himself over Moses). Jesus said to beware of such people and that we would know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20<\/a>).<\/p>\n For further study, review those books of the Bible that were written specifically to combat false teaching within the church: Galatians, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, and Jude. It is often difficult to spot a false teacher\/false prophet. Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14<\/a>), and his ministers masquerade as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:15<\/a>). Only by being thoroughly familiar with the truth will we be able to recognize a counterfeit.<\/p>\n