Is there such a thing as a “less wrong” false teacher? Or have you ever said something like, “Well, he’s not as bad as this person.”?
I caught myself thinking that last night. First, we all know what a false teacher is… one who does not preach the gospel. One who is, as some put it, gospel light. Or any number of movements out there – the Health, Wealth & Prosperity Gospel, the Word of Faith movement, the Emergent Movement. All of these are false belief systems, and the people who proclaim them are false teachers and heretics, and blasphemers.
There are a number of others, but you get my point.
As far as the people teaching, you have people like Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Brian McLaren, Doug Padgitt, Rob Bell, Kenneth Copeland, Paul Crouch (Head of TBN), Robert Tilton, Kenneth Hagin, Todd Bentley, and a host of others.
So, is it fair to say, for example, that Joel Osteen isn’t as bad a Todd Bentley? Or maybe, how can you classify Brian McLaren and Benny Hinn together? Is one of them less wrong?
I caught myself last night reflecting on Franklin Graham, and I remember thinking, “Well, he does the so called sinner’s prayer, but I would rather listen to him than Joel Osteen. I guess he is just ‘less wrong.’”
Well, no that doesn’t matter. Wrong is wrong. Now, let me clarify. Franklin Graham may not be a false teacher per say, but he does believe in the sinner’s prayer, which is not Biblical and may (not always) lead to a false assurance of salvation, and that is the same in the end as wrongly believing in a false gospel.
Do you ever catch yourself thinking as I did about a “less wrong” teacher?
The gospel is truth. We don’t need to add to it by speaking a word of faith; we don’t need to doubt God’s word in telling us that we are saved and justified by faith. Everything that we have on this earth has been given to us by the grace of God and it should be our desire to use all that we have to bring glory and honor to Him. He is our peace; nothing else do we need.
May we worship God and our Lord Jesus Christ with the echo of Revelation 5:13: “And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
I will leave you with the words of some Godly men about preaching the one and only gospel and not backing down:
“Let this be to you the mark of true gospel preaching – where Christ is everything, and the creature is nothing; where it is salvation all of grace, through the work of the Holy Spirit applying to the soul the precious blood of Jesus.”
- Charles Spurgeon
“There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the Gospel to you when they tell you, ‘you can have a purpose to your life’, or that ‘you can have meaning to your life’, or that ‘you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.’ All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t get to the heart of the Gospel.”
- R.C. Sproul
“If Jesus had preached the same message that ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.”
- Leonard Ravenhill
Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. – 2 Timothy 4:2-4
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. – Romans 1:16
hoaxdetector
1 August 2010 at 10:05 PM
You wrote: “Franklin Graham does believe in the sinner’s prayer, which is not Biblical and may (not always) lead to a false assurance of salvation, and that is the same in the end as wrongly believing in a false gospel.”
Just two hours before reading your post, I was talking to a man who said that in his small group Bible study, there are three people who have said they came to Christ at a Franklin Graham crusade some years ago, that there lives have never been the same since, and they have been active in a church and growing and serving Christ ever since with evident fruit. None of the three knew each other before joining this particular Bible study group, their only thing in common is that they each repented of their sins, believed in Christ, and called on His name during a Franklin Graham crusade. I just find it astounding (even if I can somehow say very gently, brazen) that you can call someone a false teacher because it is possible that the so-called sinners prayer might be prayed insincerely. As though any step that a person might take towards receiving eternal salvation by whatever means you happen to biblically prefer, might not have people who take that step without believng or responding sincerely. If Franklin Graham is a false prophet because he asks people to pray a prayer of confession, repentance, and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then Lord gve us a whole lot more alse prophets because a whole lot of people out there are living transformed lives who have prayed that prayer.
Adam Smith
1 August 2010 at 10:22 PM
If you’re going to quote what I wrote, at least make it accurate…
“Franklin Graham may not be a false teacher per say, but he does believe in the sinner’s prayer, which is not Biblical and may (not always) lead to a false assurance of salvation, and that is the same in the end as wrongly believing in a false gospel.”
Key words there… I did NOT call Franklin Graham a false prophet as you said.
Please read in context correctly if you choose to share your opinion. Thank you.