Series on the Modern Lukewarm Evangelical Church – No. 2

The modern evangelical church contains many high profile false teachers who call themselves Christians. These false teachers occupy various roles within the church including pastors, evangelists, teachers, missionaries, writers, and leaders of various para-church organizations. Unfortunately, these false teachers within the evangelical church and its errant offspring that have arisen in recent years are influencing uncountable millions of Christians in evangelical churches across America and around the world. The message of these false teachers is implanted into the hearts and minds of the millions that that listen to them on television, radio, and podcasts; attend conferences at which these false teachers speak; receive regular communications from their organizations’ websites and through the mail; subscribe to their podcasts; give financial support; and promote their false teachings within local congregations. The besetting sin of many evangelical leaders that are faithful to and preach the truth found in the Bible is that they have failed to expose these false teachers and avoid them.

Identifying the source of false teaching

In Paul’s letter to the church at Colosse, he described the source of false teaching as philosophies and deceptions based on the traditions of men and the principles of the world.

Beware lest anyone cheat you (plunder you or take you captive) through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. [Colossians 2:8. NKJV]

Paul warned Christians to be on guard against all philosophies, false religions, and traditions that emphasizes human functioning independently from God and his revelation found in the Bible. The greatest of these false philosophies (and the father of many other false philosophies) is humanism, a philosophy that is described as being secular, worldly, non-spiritual, material, and irreligious. Humanism is a worldview or belief system based on the values, characteristics, and behaviors of unfallen mankind without need of redemption by any supernatural god and especially God as revealed in the Bible. Humanism is only one of many false philosophies.

At the heart of false teaching are all lies and deceptions that stand in opposition to or challenge the truth of God’s Word. The foundations upon which these lies and deceptions are built are philosophies and traditions of men, principles of the world, and false religions. False teachings are mixed with a grain of truth, seasoned with doubt (as Satan said to Eve, “Did God say…?), and contain a large measure of lies (“You shall not surely die”).

False teachers enter and gain influence in the church in two ways

Donald Stamps described two groups of false teachers that enter and gain influence in the church.

Some false teachers/preachers begin their ministry with right motives, devoted to Spiritual truth, moral purity, and genuine faith in Christ. Then through pride (often due to insecurity, a desire for acceptance, or a drive for success) and immoral desires, they gradually lose their love for and commitment to Christ. As they continue on this path, their devotion dies, and they lose their place in God’s kingdom (1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5-6). As a result, they become instruments of Satan, while still disguising themselves as ministers of truth (see 2 Cor 11:15).[1]

Other false teachers/preachers have never been genuine followers of Christ. Satan has planted them within the church from the start of their ministry (Mt 13:24-28, 36-43). He uses their abilities and charismatic or appealing personalities to affect others and to move them further along toward “success.” The devil’s strategy is to place them in positions of influence so they can weaken and hinder the genuine work of Christ. Satan knows that when these dishonest and deceitful leaders are exposed, ever more damage will be done to the message and reputation of the church. But even worse, the name of Christ will be put to open shame.[2]

Scriptures in the New Testament warn about false teachers

• Paul warns the church at Rome

17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. [Romans 16:17-18. NKJV] [emphasis added]

With urgency, Paul warns the church to be alert to those who bring harm to the church by corrupting the original “teaching” of Paul and the other apostles. Two actions must be taken when false teaching is detected. First, they are to note them (the King James Version says “mark” them). This is not a private or quiet matter. The presence of false teachers in the church must be made known to the body. Second, the church is to keep away from them and their ministry.

In Donald Stamps commentary, he states that these verses probably referred to those who were against the law, taught that because salvation is by grace, saving faith does not necessarily require obeying God’s moral laws.[3] Today, we have the same false teachers who now call it the gospel of the divided Christ—Christ the Savior and Christ the Lord. According to this doctrine, a sinner may accept Jesus Christ as Savior without immediately (or ever) surrendering to Him as the Lord of their lives.[4] This doctrine is especially prevalent among the Church Growth movement’s seeker-friendly/seeker-sensitive churches. This false teaching is just as false today as it was 2,000 years ago.

• Paul warns the church at Ephesus

11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose (reprove) them. [Ephesians 5:11. NKJV] [emphasis added]

Again, as he had done with the church at Rome, Paul warned against the unfruitful works of darkness. He told the Ephesians to take the same two actions he admonished the church at Rome to take: have no fellowship with them (avoid) and expose (mark) them.

In this verse Paul is talking about the unfruitful works of darkness and immoral behavior. Unfruitful works of darkness certainly includes false teaching. Donald Stamps states that Christians “…must be prepared to challenge, expose, correct, and speak against wickedness in all forms, while being careful that they are not secretly caught up in some of the same issues.”[5] [emphasis added]

• Paul warns Timothy and the church at Ephesus

3As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge (command) some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 5 Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere (un-hypocritical) faith, 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. [1 Timothy 1:3-7. NKJV]

Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy when Timothy was serving at the church in Ephesus. Several years earlier (estimated to be 3 to 7 years), Paul had written to the church at Ephesus warning them that false teachers would try to deceive them by distorting and changing the true message of Christ. Once again false teachers were again at work in the church at Ephesus. Paul exhorted Timothy to boldly confront the corruption of: (1) both God’s law and the gospel-the message of forgiveness, (2) a personal relationship with God, and (3) eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

• Peter warns Christians of false prophets and false teachers

1But there were also false prophets among the people, even as 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 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. [2 Peter 2:1-3. NKJV]

• Jude warns of false teachers

3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. [Jude 1:3-4. NKJV]

The book of Jude contains only 25 verses. Yet, it is a powerful expression of the great danger of allowing false teachers in the church and the apostasy that flows from their false teachings. With great earnestness, Jude challenged all true followers of Christ with great intensity to rise up and “contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints” (v. 3).

• Jesus warns of false teachers in the last days before the Rapture of the Church

Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. [Matthew 24:11. NKJV]

As the last days draw to a close, false teachers and preachers will be very common. As we saw in the previous article “The Lukewarm Evangelical Church just before the Rapture,” the world has entered that period when all prophecy that must fulfilled, before the Rapture of the church, has been fulfilled. This is the time about which Jesus spoke in Matthew 24:11, and that time is now.

The Great danger of False Teachers in the Church

The combined Scripture verses about false teachers and false teaching reveal two central themes:

• There is great danger posed by the presence of false teachers among the Church of Jesus Christ. This danger is no less than the deception of millions of once faithful followers of Jesus Christ during the last days and their eternal damnation in Hell. Here we mean “church” as being the true, born-again followers of Jesus Christ around the world (the universal Church) and the local church where members of the universal Church assemble and meet together on a regular basis. This danger to the church has been present throughout the Church Age from the day of Pentecost. However, those dangers have increased dramatically as the church approaches the end of the Church Age just before the Rapture (Matthew 5:11).

• When false teachers are found in the church, the church must without hesitation expose them (mark them) and avoid them (have no fellowship with them).

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In Part II we shall examine:

• Why should Christians be so concerned with false teachers and false teaching in our more enlightened modern times?

• What is false teaching?

• Not all who disagree with us on some biblical doctrines and other issues are false teachers.

• Identifying marks of false teachers.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Donald Stamps, “False Teachers,” Fire Bible-Global Study Edition, New International Version, Ed. Donald Stamps,(Springfield, Missouri: Life Publishers International, 2009), pp.
1806-1807.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Stamps, Commentary on Romans 16:17-18, Fire Bible-Global Study Edition, p. 2131.
[4] A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous, (Camp Hill, Pennsylvania: WingSpread Publishers, 1955, 1966), p. 95.
[5] Stamps, Commentary on Ephesians 5:11, Fire Bible-Global Study Edition, p. 2266.

Series on the Modern Lukewarm Evangelical Church – No. 1

The Seven Churches of Revelation – Chapters 2-3 [1]

In the first chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, while in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, John was given a vision and instructed to write what he saw in a book and then send it to seven churches in Asia. One by one, John recorded the revelation of each of their works (good and bad) and the condition of their heart.

The seven Asian churches identified in Revelation were not the only first century Christian churches. However, they were selected by God to give a timeless and cautionary example to His people throughout the centuries to the end of the age. The works of each of the seven Asian churches revealed certain distinctive characteristics that would symbolize each of the seven subsequent periods of church history. Although each period was characterized by the principal traits of its first century counterpart, all of the sins of the Asian churches have been present in all Christian churches to varying degrees throughout the Church Age.

The messages to the Seven Churches of Asia represent seven time periods over the past 2,000 years of history which gives a panoramic view of church history beginning at the day of Pentecost and which will end at the Rapture of the church.

• Ephesus – Lost its first love (AD 30-100). Ephesus was a typical first century church that had many great works and had labored and endured without growing weary. Their sin was that they had left their first love. This period ended with the death of all of the Apostles.

• Smyrna – The persecuted church (AD100-312). They suffered tribulation, poverty, and slander. They were encouraged to not fear the coming suffering, imprisonment, and for some even death because a crown of life awaited the faithful.

• Pergamos – Church of compromise (AD 312-590). It was labeled as the church where Satan dwelled. This church mixed with the world. They were faithful in spirit but filthy in flesh. They communed with persons of corrupt principles and practices which brought guilt and blemish upon the whole body. This period saw the beginnings of the Catholic Church (both Roman and Eastern Orthodox) in the late 4th century and 5th century.

• Thyatira – The corrupt Church (590-1517). Although commended for their charity, service, faith, and patience, evil grew and idolatry was practiced in the church at Thyatira. The church contained unrepentant and wicked seducers who drew God’s servants into fornication and the offering of sacrifices to idols. In the West, the Roman Catholic Church consolidated its power under the papacy beginning with Pope Gregory I which lasted for almost a thousand years.

• Sardis – The dead church (AD 1517-1720). It was representative of the church that is dead or at the point of death even though it still had a minority of godly men and women. The great charge against this church was hypocrisy. It was not what it appeared to be. The ministry was languishing. There was a form of godliness but not the power. This description of the dead church fits both the Roman Catholic Church and the warring factions of Luther and Calvin of the Protestant Reformation period between 1517 and the early 1700s.

• Philadelphia – The faithful church (AD 1720-1870). It was a church of revival and spiritual progress. The church had proved itself faithful and obedient to the Word. As its name implies, it was a church of love and kindness to each other. Because of their excellent spirit, they were an excellent church. They kept the word and did not deny His name. No fault was attributed to the church, only mild reproof for having only a little strength or power. The Philadelphian period began about 1720 with the early stirrings of the First Great Awakening in America and the British Isles.

• Laodicea – The lukewarm church (1870 to the Rapture of the Church). Laodicea was the worst of all of the seven Asian churches. It had nothing to commend it. Its great sin was that it was lukewarm—neither hot nor cold. Its indifference arose from self-conceitedness and self-delusion. It believed itself rich and in need of nothing but in reality was wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Christ reminded them of where true riches may be found, without which severe punishment would follow.[2]

The Laodicean period in Church history

The last of the seven Churches of Revelation was Laodicea, and the sins of the church at Laodicea of the first century are descriptive of the church in the last period of the Church Age (especially the last days of the Laodicean period just before the Rapture of the church which is followed by the seven-year tribulation period). Several Bible scholars and authors (e.g., Tim LaHaye, Hal Lindsey, and Daymond Duck) place the beginning of the Laodicean period at about 1900. However, the author dates the beginning at about 1870 as Christian churches began embracing the social gospel and the humanistic elements of Higher Criticism, Darwinism, and socialism that began spreading throughout the Western world in the early and mid-1800s.

Not all churches in the Laodicean age are lukewarm. Any church or church member will fall into one of three categories: cold, hot, or lukewarm. Cold signifies form without power or without spiritual life. Hot expresses passion or zealousness. Lukewarm means indifference, apathy, or straddling the fence.

The Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church became compromised at their beginnings and corrupt for substantially all of their histories. But what occurred within the Protestant churches—the last stronghold of first century Christianity?

As the Protestant church emerged from the Philadelphian period in the late 1800s, some became cold and dead or near death. The death spiral of the liberal-progressive wings of the Protestant church began with their growing apostasy in the late 1800s. During this time many of the holiness segments of the liberal-progressive churches began to withdraw and establish Holiness denominations dedicated to the biblical fundamentals of the faith as laid down by Jesus and the Apostles. At the same time many existing Protestant denominations and churches remained faithful to the Word of God and did not follow the apostasy of the liberal-progressive churches. Over time the fundamentalists and the remaining Protestant churches who did not succumb to the liberal-progressive wave of the late 1800s generally became known as evangelicals after World War II.

As the Laodicean period progressed into the second half of the twentieth century, major segments of evangelical Christianity began to mirror the lukewarm Laodicean church of the first century (indifferent, subdued, apathetic, unconcerned, and half-hearted). Like the first century Laodicean lukewarm church, they became comfortable, prosperous, and well-satisfied. They prided themselves on their bank accounts, fine buildings, and members of high standing, and being socially recognized and influential. But Jesus’ indictment of “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked” continues to apply to these modern imitators of the first century church at Laodicea.

The modern lukewarm evangelical church at the end of the Laodicean period

We know from Scripture that we are living in the last days, the present and final period of the Church Age, the Laodicean period which culminates with the Rapture of the Church. As the malaise of the lukewarm church spreads, fervency and zeal for Christ are fading in many evangelical churches.

The one-word label that Jesus pinned to the door of the church of Laodicea was lukewarm. The word “lukewarm” is an adjective. We get a picture of the meaning of lukewarm by examining its synonyms: tepid, warm, hand-hot, cool, unenthusiastic, half-hearted, unexcited, indifferent, subdued, apathetic, and uninterested.

However, adjectives are not helpful in determining why these churches became lukewarm. In most languages, adjectives typically serve as a modifier of a noun to denote a quality of the thing named, to indicate its quantity or extent, or to specify a thing as distinct from something else. When we say a church is lukewarm, that term describes its kind or condition but does not explain why or how its lukewarm state came to exist. We know its condition is lukewarm and that it is wretched, poor, miserable, blind, and naked. But describing a church as lukewarm does not tell us the causes of their lukewarm state and how Christians (both individuals and churches) can avoid becoming lukewarm or how they can return from their lukewarm state.

Causes of the lukewarm condition of the evangelical church

The Bible clearly describes the causes of the church’s lukewarm state at the end of the last days. The three main causes are the growing apostasy (falling away of the faithful) of the church, the growing number of false teachers within the church, and the invasion of worldliness within the church. All of these things were prophesied in both the Old and New Testaments.

• The Great Apostasy

When we read about the latter days in the Scripture, the reasons for the Great Apostasy of the end-times church emerges.

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. [2 Timothy 3:4-5. NKJV]

Michael Youssef has said, “The greatest threats to the church have always been internal. The greatest threats have come from those who claim to be Christians, who are leaders in the church, but whose teachings and doctrines are contrary to God’s Word.”[3] These false teachers and those who follow them would not endure sound doctrine and have replaced their first love with human wisdom in their efforts at doing church. As the church becomes apostate, the number of false teachers within the church grows. The more false teachers that arise within the church, the greater the apostasy. There is a symbiotic relationship between apostasy and false teachers.

• False Teachers

In Matthew 24, Jesus described one of the signs of the end of the age, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” [Matthew 24:11. NKJV] Donald Stamps commentary on v. 11 gives insight into what the end-time apostate church will look like.

Many False Prophets will Appear. As the last days draw to a close, false teachers and preachers will be very common. They will gain influence in the church by claiming to have ‘new’ revelations and solutions to serious problems. Yet they will deny the proven teachings of God’s written Word (i.e., the Bible) as the answer to these issues. Much of Christianity will be in a spiritually rebellious and unfaithful condition. Those who are totally committed to living by the truth and standards of God’s word will be in the minority.[4]

The apostle Paul expands on Jesus’ Matthew 24 prophecy that false teachers will abound at the end of the age.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. [1 Timothy 4:1-3. NKJV]

• Worldliness

Because of an accommodation of the spirit of the world in many evangelical churches, Satan and his followers have been allowed to find a home in those churches. These worldly churches appear faithful in spirit but are filthy in the flesh. They commune with persons of corrupt principles and practices and have brought guilt and blemish upon the whole body. Some churches deliberately ignore unrepentant and wicked seducers and idolaters in their midst. Others are clothed in hypocrisy and maintain only a form of godliness but not the power. Lastly, many bear the mark of the Church of Laodicea—lukewarm and indifferent which arises from self-conceit and self-delusion.
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Pastors, teachers, evangelists, and laity—you must recognize the reasons for lukewarmness in your churches: the great apostasy of the church at the end of the age is upon us, the presence of false teachers who have not been exposed and avoided by the leadership of the church, and the infiltration of worldliness into the church. These causes lead churches to become lukewarm, but Jesus gave hope and a remedy to the lukewarm church.

18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. [Revelation 3:18-22. NKJV]

However, Christian leaders and laity alike who choose to follow Christ and be overcomers must know there is a cost for their departure from the lukewarm evangelical church: The further the church drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it.

Larry G. Johnson

Sources:

[1] Portions of the material for this section on the Seven Churches of Revelation were extracted from the author’s book Evangelical Winter – Restoring New Testament Christianity, Chapter 24, “Doing Church’ the Purpose Driven Way,” pp. 171-177.
[2] Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, , ed. Rev. Leslie F. Church, Ph.D., (Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervan Publishing House, 1961), pp. 1970-1974.
[3] Michael Youssef, Saving Christianity? (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale Momentum, 2020), p. 4.
[4] Donald Stamps, Commentary on Matthew 24:11, Fire Bible-Global Study Edition, (Springfield, Missouri: Life Publishers, 2009), p. 1741.