Friday: Further Thought – Dealing With False Teachers
Daily Lesson for Friday 18th of September 2026
Further Thought:
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“The Lord is guarding his people against a repetition of the errors and mistakes of the past. There have always abounded false teachers who, advocating erroneous doctrines and unholy practices, and working upon false principles in a most specious, covered, deceptive manner, have endeavored to deceive, if possible, the very elect.”—Ellen G. White, in The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, January 7, 1904.
“The Lord designs that our opinions shall be put to the test, that we may see the necessity of closely examining the living oracles to see whether or not we are in the faith. Many who claim to believe the truth have settled down at their ease, saying, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.’ ”—Ellen G. White, Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 36.
“Men entertain errors, when the truth is clearly marked out; and if they would but bring their doctrines to the word of God, and not read the word of God in the light of their doctrines, to prove their ideas right, they would not walk in darkness and blindness, or cherish error. Many give the words of Scripture a meaning that suits their own opinions, and they mislead themselves and deceive others by their misinterpretations of God’s word. As we take up the study of God’s word, we should do so with humble hearts. All selfishness, all love of originality, should be laid aside. Long-cherished opinions must not be regarded as infallible.”—Ellen G. White, Counsels to Writers and Editors, Pages 36, 37.
Discussion Questions
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I want to return to the idea I developed in my comment yesterday (Thursday), because I think when we hear about false teachers we start thinking about false doctrine. Paul does not actually define false doctrine in this epistle. (Note, he is much more explicit in Galatians). His main concern is about personalities and the disunity caused by personality following. This created a lot of spiritual noise that deflected from the main theme of the Gospel. In yesterday’s scripture he wrote:
I studied for a PhD in computer science. A lot of that study involved thinking up and testing algorithms. Just to be clear most of this study occurred at home, with a teenage family in residence. Some members of my family are very vocal. Research requires a lot of concentration. I would be working through a test run of an algorithm that would require multiple steps and procedures to ensure the concept was working, and in the midst of this a loud conversation would take place within earshot, completely destroying my concentration. Distracting noise is the last thing you want when you are trying to solve problems. (and that is why much of my developmental work for my PhD was done between 1 am and 4 am)
Paul knew that the noise of interaction between powerful personalities over points of doctrine, distracts from the Gospel. Listen to this:
… and I think of all the effort and noise that has gone into proving and disproving points of doctrine and prophecy over the years and I have to ask myself if we have lost the focus. We try and impress with our clear understanding of prophecy, or doctrine but have we lost the connection with the central relationship in Christianity? When Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”, I think he was talking about our church community.
The church is as much or more, about getting on with one another in the love of Jesus as it is about having pure doctrine,
“By this shall all men know …”
Here is some Sabbath viewing for you: The Flinders Ranges It is a littl different to my usual slideshows in that it is mainly scenic (OK there are some birds and animals). The photographs were taken in 2013. There is no sound, so I suggest you turn on some music you enjoy and watch a bit of Australian scenery.
Part of the problem with identifying falsehood is the relationship between falsehood and truth.
Firstly, it is important to make a distinction between facts and Truth. While it is true that I am typing on my computer this morning, it is a fact but not the Truth. The Truth relates specifically to the one who called Himself “Truth”.
“Truth” is embodied in a real person who walked and talked with us in a form and manner we could relate to. This fact alone represents a significant condescension on the part of the Creator, but was necessary to enable us (creation) to relate to Him (Creator). Indeed, the gap between the finite and the infinite was in part breached by the incarnate Christ and is a significant reason why the incarnation took place.
While the incarnation presented the embodiment of Truth in a relatable and simple form, unsurprisingly Truth is incredibly profound, deep beyond measure, and infinite. No surprises here. After all, we are talking about characteristics of the infinite God.
In many ways, Jesus is an ambassador of the Creator’s government and a demonstration of what the principles or ideas His government looks like in lived reality. His life revealed how those principles and ideas enable intelligent creation to live in harmony with each other and the Creator.
When we deal with Truth and identify heresy, we usually do so within the dimension of principles or ideas. As you’d expect, this is where we the friction exists.
Truth (that is the “Truth Ideas”) consist of two poles or aspects that are both necessary for Truth to maintain integrity. Scripture is full of these concepts – the main ones being: Faith and Works, Law and Grace, Mercy and Justice. Both “poles” are necessary to maintain the balance of the truth being presented and sometimes appear to be in tension which can result in an overemphasis on either pole of truth. It is this overemphasis that most often produces heresy.
When dealing with those we believe to be in error, we need to be careful because they may be emphasising an important pole of truth.
It is important to identify heresy. Identifying it is less of a problem than dealing with it.
Recognising how Truth fits together and the balance that exists in Christ who was the embodiment of the WHOLE of truth helps us to identify possible imbalance in ourselves while being gracious to those who we perceive to be focusing on a different pole of truth.
I know this is a little deep, but I felt it important to post as it has been helpful in my understanding of truth while helping me deal with those who I believe emphasise things differently.
I am indebted to A. Leroy Moore (poles of truth), and Herbert E. Douglass (ellipse of truth) who developed these principles more fully. They are both worth reading – especially, A. Leroy Moore who I considered a good friend.
In an age and time when the Gospel has been watered down and mixed with ideologies and false teachings, Paul’s example reminds the church to stay focused on the foundational truth that transforms lives. Paul’s calling affirms that mission is and must be God’s initiative as opposed to mere church programs but a response to God’s sovereign call on His people to be witnesses “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). One striking aspect of Paul’s missionary strategy was his intentional focus on unreached people groups and regions where Christ had not yet been named (Romans 15:20). Paul’s missionary journeys were not aimless travels but carefully organized, Spirit-guided missions. His commitment to the truth also meant confronting false teachings that threatened the purity of the Gospel. As Paul warned, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). The church must therefore remain vigilant, guarding the truth while faithfully proclaiming Christ.
At the heart of Paul’s ministry was a relentless focus on the core message of the Gospel: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He famously declared, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul preached a message of grace through faith, emphasizing that salvation is a gift from God, not a result of human works. This unwavering commitment to a Christ-centered message is a crucial model for the church of our day, especially in an age when false teachers distort the Gospel and lead people away from the truth. Paul’s success was not born of his own strength, eloquence, or intellect alone. He operated in complete dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit, whose reliance was a vital lesson for the contemporary church. Therefore, we must be careful not to reduce mission to mere human programs and strategies. They must be saturated with prayer and a deep dependence on the Holy Spirit to convict hearts, open doors, and bring about true transformation. As Paul reminds us, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). The church must proclaim the truth of the Gospel with courage, humility, and unwavering dependence on God.
The secret to a victorious life is to be grounded in Christ.
As one who grew up in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. One realizes that the Church ( at least the Church in the Caribbean) has changed over the years. To be honest, I have changed over the years. And these changes, to my mind, is inextricably linked to my perception of Truth.
I remember the Sabbath School Quarterlies of that era. Unmistakably at the end of a day’s lesson; one would usually get a quotation from the “Testimonies” or some other book written by Ellen White.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not against Ellen White. However for those of us who grew up in the church so much has changed. And sadly so much in some areas still remain the same.
Our right to think. Our right to understand why. Especially for some of us who were not educated in our early years in the Adventist school system. Where we mingled with persons of different Christian Denominations and some of Non-Christian faiths. For us the questions were literally unending.
As a young person I can recall speaking to our Pastors about so many things and fairly often leaving, not fully satisfied.
The point is this: at this stage of my life , especially having grown up in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. There is “One Truth” that holds supremacy; “One Truth” that matters most; and it is this :
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ” The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17 NIV.
Maybe I learned it the hard way; that perhaps is the reason it resonates so deeply with me. Maybe that is why it matters most.
Thursday: Appeal to the unrepentant – E G White:
God has sent messages from His Word to the souls who are living careless lives, and who are unashamed of their wrong course of action…Isaiah 40:27, 28.
God is constantly appealing to the human heart, bidding it recognize His love and mercy, and accept His righteousness in the place of the principles of evil. Thus He has pleaded with mankind in all ages. In Noah’s day Christ spoke to men through a human agency and preached to those who were in bondage to sin. He came to Israel enshrouded in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. He it was who educated that vast multitude in their wilderness wandering….
There are many who do not weigh these things sufficiently. The instruction given to Israel should be understood today by every soul living. Man may claim great intelligence, but he needs more than human intelligence in order to grasp the revelations of the gospel.—Letter 106, September 26, 1909, “To Our Churches in Oakland and Berkeley.”From This Day With God – Page 278
“Men entertain errors, when the truth is clearly marked out; and if they would but bring their doctrines to the word of God, and not read the word of God in the light of their doctrines, to prove their ideas right, they would not walk in darkness and blindness, or cherish error. Many give the words of Scripture a meaning that suits their own opinions, and they mislead themselves and deceive others by their misinterpretations of God’s word. As we take up the study of God’s word, we should do so with humble hearts. All selfishness, all love of originality, should be laid aside. Long-cherished opinions must not be regarded as infallible.”—Ellen G. White, Counsels to Writers and Editors, Pages 36, 37.
This is a great concern of mine when discussing or studying The Word of God. I pray constantly to be humble, it is one of my downfalls, and so this is a reminder to myself, that I put my opinions to the test, always.
“The Lord designs that our opinions shall be put to the test, that we may see the necessity of closely examining the living oracles to see whether or not we are in the faith. Many who claim to believe the truth have settled down at their ease, saying, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.’ ”—Ellen G. White, Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 36.
Today’s lesson quotes Ellen G. White in her concern about protecting God’s Truth from error by those who: “give the words of Scripture a meaning that suits their own opinions, and they mislead themselves and deceive others by their misinterpretations of God’s Word.” [Ellen G. White Counsels to Writers and Editors, Pages 36,37] I agree with her concern.
Wolfs in sheep’s clothing are much more dangerous to the flock than wolfs who outright ‘preach a false Gospel’.
For example:
What is the ‘core’ message at the heart of Paul’s ministry? Is it accurately stated by saying that: “At the heart of Paul’s ministry was a relentless focus on the core message of the Gospel: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Or when quoting Paul with saying: “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified?”
Can we be mislead by quotes out of context or by stating partial Truth?
I ask: Where is the focus on the spiritually applied Truth according to the LIFE of Jesus? Why do the organized churches focus more on the prophecies about the birth and death of Jesus, the tangable symbols of the manger and the cross instead of His Life’s message?
Is it easier to establish ‘doctrine’ by selecting a few high points? Misleading by omission or a preferred focus on certain aspect of the Truth can cause a distortion of the whole Truth. Could a narrowed focus become more dangerous then outright false docrine by shifting the ‘purpose’ of the Gospel to support the ‘temple’s structure’ instead of feeding the living soul’s temple to worship God in Spirit and Truth?
Did Jesus Christ come to give us Life within Him to guide our daily conduct when encountering Life, or has He come to establish doctrines on which to ‘build the denominational houses on? Did He come to show us who our God is; to show that He is the Son of our God – the Creator of heaven and earth; that no other God exists, and that it is He who shows mankind how to live life among friends and foes according to His Way of Life?
As I see it, the only TRUTH that needs to be acknowledged, protected, and defended is that there are no other gods outside of our God and heavenly Father, the Father of our Savior Jesus Christ – His Son, the first fruit of His promissed resurrection of all who have their Life in Him – 1Cor.8:6; John 17:3. The rest can be debated, interpreted, or opined about.
Paul, possessed by the Holy Spirit, admonishes that the bearer of the truth of Jesus Christ be recognized by humility, gentleness and obedience to the glory of God:
“1 Now I … beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
16 To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand.
17 But …, let him glory in the Lord.
18 For not he that commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
-2 Corinthians 10: 1, 5, 12, 16, 17, 18
“Oh Brother [Sister], be faithful … and ever with Jesus abide.”
-SDA Hymn #602