10 TELLS OF FALSE TEACHERS: #9

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 #9:

False teachers deny or minimize Jesus as Lord and are silent on what He actually did on the cross regarding atonement and the substitution that was required to save us from our sin. They emphasize His love and portray Him as a good teacher or prophet, maybe even Savior, but they ignore His truth and role as King of kings and Judge. By demoting Jesus, they try to justify sin.

The full Gospel message is what's required. Teaching only about Jesus's love without teaching about the cross or our sin is teaching a different gospel.

Example: Often liberal false teachers (progressive Christians) are guilty of this tell. In their eyes, traditional views make Jesus too supernatural, judgmental, or "violent," so they reframe Him as a more inclusive, ethical, and culturally relevant person, which leads to a half-true gospel. From a biblical standpoint, it produces what the apostle Paul called "another gospel" (Galatians 1:6–9)

These false teachers appear "loving" because when they redefine the cross as an example of love or political martyrdom—not atonement for sin—their watered down truth seems Christlike.

To paraphrase one of Alisa Childer's blog posts, when "Jesus's mission is recast as primarily fighting oppression, poverty, and injustice (a 'social gospel'), sin is redefined as systemic evil or personal brokenness rather than rebellion against a holy God. The focus becomes 'What would Jesus do?' in terms of activism, inclusion, and tolerance. Conservative critiques note this leads to moralism: Be kind, feed the poor, affirm all identities—without the transforming power of the indwelling divine Christ or the blood that cleanses" (emphasis mine).

But it's not just progressive false teachers and followers who demote Jesus. Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus is not God Almighty but Michael the Archangel—God’s first created being. Mormons believe Jesus is the literal spirit-brother of Lucifer, a created spirit-child of the Father and a heavenly mother. Christian Scientists believe “Christ” is a divine idea or principle, not a person. These groups all self-identify as "Christians" and sincerely believe their views honor the Christ.

But the Bible is clear about who Jesus is and what He has done for us. These are just a few of the verses:

• (1) John 1:1 (“the Word was God”).

• (2) John 8:58 (“before Abraham was, I am”).

• (3) Colossians 2:9 (“in him the whole fullness of deity dwells”).

• (4) Philippians 2:5–6 ("Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped…").

• (5) And there are over 200 prophesies in the Old Testament alone that point to Jesus as Christ.

Any teaching that makes Jesus less than the eternal, uncreated, fully divine second Person of the Trinity “demotes” him and presents “another Jesus” (2 Corinthians 11:4).

If you’re evaluating a specific group, church, or teacher, the quickest "test" is this: Do they believe and teach that Jesus is part of the eternal, uncreated God-head, who became man, died for our sins on the cross, rose again three days later (was resurrected), and is equal with the Father? If not, traditional Christianity says the Christ they present is not the biblical one.

** 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.