10 TELLS OF FALSE TEACHERS: #4

Every book in the New Testament addresses false teachings or false teachers but one (Philemon). This series of blog posts will outline ten biblically sourced "tells," shared to help you discern truth from error and to determine if you are dealing with someone spreading deceptive doctrine.

Note: These posts are designed to share Truth, complete with scriptural references. While examples of modern-day false teachings are provided in general terms, know that in any given season, false doctrine will change. It transforms with the culture. Therefore, it's most beneficial to understand Truth rather than spend energy debating specific false doctrine or calling out specific false teachers. New false teachings and generations of false teachers will rise and fall, like fads. So stay focused on Jesus, contend for the faith, and read the Bible for yourself to be grounded in Truth.

Tell #4:

False teachers often condone or live ungodly lifestyles pertaining to sexual immorality. They preach about freedom but are slaves to corruption. They will defend sinful lifestyles under the guise of Christian liberty and love.

Example: "Jesus said nothing about same-sex relationships. Sexual immorality doesn't include homosexual relationships, so the homosexual lifestyle is acceptable. Love is love."

Actually, we know what Jesus thought about same-sex relationships by how He discusses marriage. When answering his disciples' questions about divorce, He references Genesis when He says, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matthew 19:1–11). Jesus also talks about sexual purity (Matthew 5:27-28; Mark 7:20-23). Finally, Jesus affirmed the Old Testament’s condemnation of homosexual conduct when He said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17). Part of the Law includes the directives found in Leviticus 18:22, which tells God's people not to "lie with" those of the same sex. Any twisting of this Scripture is sinful in itself.

These passages provide examples of what He considers morally wrong. While He does not offer a direct mention of same-sex relationships in the gospels, others do. And Jesus's established framework for marriage, His view of sexual purity, and His commands to uphold God's truth found in the scriptures provide the overarching context needed to understand His views.

So now, let's look to Paul. In Romans 1:24–27, the apostle wrote:

Paul explains how the Lord uses homosexual temptations as a judgment. Paul also includes homosexuality as one sin that, if left unrepented, seems to bar people from Kingdom entry (Romans 1:18-32).

In 1 Tim 1:9-10, Paul denounces “sexually immoral men, those who practice homosexuality” as among those who are “lawless and disobedient.” The word he uses for homosexuals, arsenokoitai, means “males in the marriage bed."

Then there is Jude, who, in his epistle, warns the Church about false teachers. In verse 7, he writes, "As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

"Having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh" refers to Genesis 19, where the conduct of the men of Sodom is described. As the Enduring Word Commentary says, "([verses] 4–5) The wickedness and depravity of the men of Sodom. ... Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.'" Carnally means "in the flesh." Historically, the Jews knew from generational teaching that homosexuality was included in the list of activities under the umbrella of sexual depravity. This was not Sodom and Gomorrah's only sin, but it was certainly among their sins, and Jude makes this clear. These two cities (and the cities around them) stand as examples of God’s judgment. All their sin—and most conspicuously, homosexuality—brought forth God’s judgment.

When looking across Scripture, it is clear and consistent—throughout the Old and New Testaments—that same-sex relationships are not the will of God and are punishable by Him. Scripture points to Sodom and Gomorrah over twenty times as an illustration and warning to those who might choose to live ungodly lifestyles (e.g., Matthew 10:15; 11:23–24; Luke 17:28–32).

It is an example that those in the homosexual community today would do well to heed. As Peter observes, “And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed" (2 Peter 2:2). If you go to a church that accepts homosexuality, ignores these parts of Scripture, uses eisegesis when teaching these scriptures, and will not repent of teaching this false doctrine, I encourage (beg) you to leave.

Eisegesis comes from the Greek word eisegeomai, meaning “to lead into.” This misinterpretation occurs when someone reads personal biases, assumptions, or cultural perspectives into a text to make their stance acceptable or their opinion seem true instead of drawing meaning from the text itself.

** Check out Loving Them to Death, an Amazon best-seller in Christian Discipleship.

*** Images created with the help of Grok to avoid identifying real people and create symbolic illustrations.