Sabbath: Dealing With False Teachers
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 12th of September 2026
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study
2 Corinthians 10:1-17; Jeremiah 9:24; 2 Corinthians 11:1-15,22-28; 2 Corinthians 12:20-21; 2 Corinthians 13:5.
Memory Text:
“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4, ESV).
As if Paul didn’t have enough problems already, another one arose that he had to deal with as well: false teachers in the church. These people were opposed to him and to his work and ministry. Worse, these false teachers had seduced members of Corinth as well. Paul refers to his fight against this problem as a spiritual war.
Would that be an exaggeration? Not at all. Paul knew that, ultimately, those people were opposing not him but Christ Himself. He was not the narcissistic type of leader concerned about maintaining his reputation as a means of legitimizing his power and authority over his subordinates. He knew that the message he was commissioned to preach was a matter of life or death, with eternal consequences. And he knew that he had been sent to do it by God Himself: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God” (1 Corinthians 1:1).
When it comes to false teachings, the church is supposed to act with love but firmness, based on the authority of Scripture. The gospel message must be conserved, unspoiled and pure, in order to give souls the hope of eternity.
Being a teacher in Seventh-day Adventist institutions for most of my working life, I have often heard accusations about false teachers. The fact that I am an academic is enough for some people to dismiss me as a false teacher. Many of the accusations I hear are at their core “I don’t like you because …” Paul’s argument with false teachers is a little different to that, and it is worth reading 2 Cor 10 and 11 in their entirety to get the picture of what he Is saying.
We have the rest of the week to explore that theme, but I will include a quote that should probably make a good precursor to our discussions:
Here is a short video 100 seconds long to give your minds peace and rest as you enjoy your Sabbath. Morning!
Hi Maurice Ashton..
What is the location of this 100 second video?
Blessings
Reneanne Anderson
The word “Morning” in my comment above links to the video. I will repeat it here:
Morning
Just click on the link and the video will appear on your screen.
Breath taking scenery, amplified by the lens of an artistic eye. Thanks so much for sharing. Did you stay up all night? About what time of the morning were these taken?
No, I didn’t stay up all night. We camped there in a free camping area on our travels. That is what we saw at about 6:30am.
Jesus gave a sharp warning against false teachers and falsehood (Matthew 7:15). He identified the father of liars and lies as Satan (John 8:44). Satan started selling his merchandise (lies) soon after creation. Adam and Eve were his first successful customers. Satan is a very shrewd salesman. Lies sell like hot cakes. Lies have no expiry date. Satan, being the Chief Liar, has perfected the art of falsehood over the ages. That is why Jesus warned us to be aware of false teachers and prophets. They are very smart in their trade. They are like a chameleon that changes its colour to suit every surrounding. Lies are found everywhere, including in the church of God. Jesus did not mince His words when He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”( Matthew 7:21).
Satan was the first false teacher. He questioned what God said. He contradicted what God said. He offered an alternative promise. He led Adam and Eve into disobedience. The danger with falsehood is that it comes in a very subtle way. It is no wonder Jesus described false teachers/prophets as wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). They appear harmless from the outside, but inside, they are dangerous. Jesus recommended to us the strongest antidote against falsehood.
“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” (John 17:17, NLT)
profound
Hi people..
Paul received extra time in Rome to show the positive and negative results of his teaching which stands as his memorial.
I illustrated the concessions that Philosophy had made in regard to its vanity via a negative thinkpiece in new philosophy issue 52, 2026. Posted on it is written Sabbath school video lesson. Today it’s the positive part of the thinkpiece I’m posting.
The reason for the post? Let is reason together in 2027.
It is easy to fall into the delusion that the few things thus distinctly remembered and visualised are precisely those which were most important in our life, and on that account were saved by memory while all the rest has been permanently blotted out. That is indeed how our memory serves and fools us; for at some period of a man’s life…at all events of some lives…in some rare state of mind, it is all at once revealed to him as by a miracle that nothing is ever blotted out.
W.h.hudson, new philosopher, issue 52, 2026.
Reneanne Anderson
I cannot follow your reasoning. Can you make anything wrote simpler? Thanks
False teachings can be subtle and, at times, difficult to detect because they often creep in quietly rather than announcing that they are false teachings openly. From the very beginning, Satan demonstrated this strategy in the Garden of Eden by twisting God’s words. While God had clearly warned Adam and Eve that disobedience would lead to death, the serpent deceptively challenged God’s instruction and promised, “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:1–5). The primary intention of false teaching is therefore to distort or distract from what God wants His people to know and believe. In the Corinthian church, false teachings and conflicting ideas left many believers confused and divided, particularly because the church was still young and had not yet become firmly grounded in biblical doctrine. Paul warned them that “there must be also heresies among you” (1 Corinthians 11:19, KJV), while also cautioning that believers could easily be led away from their sincere and pure devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3–4). False teaching can quietly disturb the church, weaken its unity, create confusion, and ultimately lead believers away from the truth of the Gospel.Thus the need to openely caution and warn the church whenever false teachings are detected.
मुझे आप लोग का सुझाव और उत्तर बहुत ही अच्छा लगता है और फायदेमंद भी है और मैं आप लोग से बहुत कुछ सीख रहा हूं।
“I really like your suggestions and answers, and they are also beneficial; I am learning a lot from you guys.” (Google translate)
(We don’t usually translate but because you are new and this is your first submission, I took the liberty of using Google translate this time. Blessings! TH)
Hi people
Onevoice 2027…the reason for the season?
From Ellen g to thee…
The time has come when a large portion of those who once rejoiced and shouted aloud for joy in view of the immediate coming of the lord, are on the ground of the churches and the world who once derided them for believing that Jesus was coming……..
The whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice saying… blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Early writings…hope of the church chapter.review and herald.
Reneanne Anderson
False teachers speak smooth, subtle, seductive things. Think, “you won’t surely die,” “you will be like God…” Our only safeguard in these days is to be like the Bereans, and test everything by the scriptures. Don’t take the teacher or preacher’s word for it. Verify it! There are many “silver tongued devils” gone out into the world. Satan knows the Bible better than we do, and he twists it as he did with Jesus. Our only safeguard is to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
If only Eve would have fact checked the serpent, we wouldn’t be in this messed up situation.
P.S. I absolutely loved the video, Maurice. Would have been perfect if bird songs were playing in the background. I found myself humming hymn #44 Morning Has Broken. 😉😊
Thank you Bro Maurice for the video, it gave me time to meditate on God’s Amazing Wonders, which we mostly do not appreciate enough.
This weeks lesson is so important for our church today.
1 Peter 5:8-10
For most of us, there seems to be a struggle between being bold and truthful and being gentle. Humanly speaking, these go against each other. But with God, who set the ultimate example, our aim should be to know that words fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11)
We need to remind ourselves to be gentle and humble in heart. A good starting place is finding out our motive in wanting to rectify a situation. Is God sending me or using me for that situation? Am I relying on Him to fill my mouth with the right words? Is my heart fitted with the right attitude? Am I addressing the person or the problem? What am I praying to achieve at the end – a wounded soul or saved soul…or at the very least a soul who now has all the information to make an informed decision and a decisive choice.
I pray God as we yield ourselves to God and Him alone that He would cause us to realign our motives for His glory
Thank God for this. Quite timely and fitting.
Preaching something different than what the Bible says might be dangerous. Anyone who does this for self-serving purposes runs a dangerous risk. But God gives anyone the freedom to think. May we place all our own philosophies under God’s Word and mind.
Also us we are false teaching because we teach in different ways according to out beliefs we are fighting on how we can observe sabbath but we know the truth, we are fighting the lesson of country living others says there is no country living.so when we r doing these we represent the false teaching.