10 TELLS OF FALSE TEACHERS: #8

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 we must stay focused on Jesus, contend for the faith, and read the Bible for ourselves to be grounded in Truth.

Tell #8:

False teachers reject authority, including the truth of God's Word—that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, sufficient, and authoritative word of God. They might also reject historical Christian leaders and theologians, Church oversight, modern biblically sound teachers, and Christian mentors, often labeling such leadership or correction as "antiquated," "irrelevant," "legalistic," or "prejudiced."

False teachers often do one of three things when it comes to the Bible.

(1) They reject the authority of the Bible entirely, claiming that it is not the inspired Word of God, but merely written by "a bunch of men."

(2) They claim the biblical writers didn't understand certain aspects of human nature or spiritual truth or that their teaching or doctrine doesn't apply to today's world/culture.

(3) They misinterpret or twist God's Word to suit their ideologies.

We've already discussed the third, so let's dive into the first two.

You might hear false teachers say, "The Bible was written by humans. I don't need to read it because I have a close relationship with God. I know what He wants and says through prayer. That's all I need." This is an obvious tell because if they can discredit the Bible, they can ignore its truth. Instead, they claim some special connection with God where He tells them everything they need to know.

This is what Scripture says about that:

And, perhaps most clear is (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

For more on the truth and validity of the Bible, see my earlier blog post on God's Word.

Regarding the second point, false teachers often claim the Bible is a human-sourced, religious document—wise, insightful, and sacred in parts—but only fit for the times in which the authors lived. This makes it easy to dismiss the commandments they don't like or find hard to follow.

The Bible repeatedly says it is permanent and useful for every generation:

• Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” → If Jesus doesn’t change, His teaching doesn’t change. Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:1).

• Matthew 24:35 (Jesus speaking): “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” → Jesus directly predicted that His words would outlast the universe.

• Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

Not only that, but the core "problems" and the "evil" that the Bible addresses are the same today:

• Greed, pride, lust, anger, selfishness → still destroy marriages, communities, governments, relationships, and even churches.

• The need for forgiveness, justice, purpose, and love → still universal.

• Questions about where we came from, why we’re here, and what happens after death → unchanged since Genesis.

Even if someone says the Bible is irrelevant for the modern culture, they usually still want to keep some of it:

• “Love your neighbor” (Mark 12:31) → keep

• “Don’t judge” (though a highly misinterpreted version of Matthew 7:1 when people fail to read the entire passage) → keep

• “Forgive” → keep

  
  

But they reject the parts they dislike (sexual ethics, the reality of Hell, the work and sacrifice of Christ on the cross to atone for our sin, etc.). You can’t cherry-pick the parts you like and then call the whole book irrelevant. That’s not intellectual honesty. That’s convenience.

Perhaps the most interesting part of all of this is that the Bible actually predicts that people will say exactly this:

• 2 Peter 3:3–5: "Scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, 'Where is the promise of his coming'" and deliberately forget God’s Word.

• 2 Timothy 4:3–4: “The time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead ... they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

False teachers will reject the Word of God not because it lacks power, but because it confronts the very idols they refuse to surrender. They trade divine authority for human approval, inspiration for opinion, and truth for tolerance—leaving behind a hollow gospel that cannot save. The irony is that the very thing they're doing (elevating human authority they like and agree with over God's truth) is the very thing they accuse God's Word and biblically sound theologians of doing.

Any time we are caught in debates with someone who might be a false teacher, the best question to ask is, "Do you believe in biblical inerrancy?" If they don't, nothing they teach should be valued. And no further argument is required. Just walk away.

** Check out Loving Them to Death: How a Deceptive Definition of Love Fuels False Teachings' Fast Spread, an Amazon best-seller in Christian Discipleship.

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