Category: Truth

PART THREE: “RED FLAGS” OF FALSE BELIEFS

Note: This is third post in a series.  You may want to read Part 1 and Part 2 first.

The Bible warns that there are many who preach false beliefs:

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.
-1 John 4:1

I want to tell you a few “warning signs” or “red flags” to look for in terms of false religions/beliefs.

You may be a member of one of these false groups/churches. You may think that I am talking specifically about your church. Trust me when I say that I am not talking about any one particular group–I am speaking of any group that has wavered from the truth of the Gospel. Many of them seem to share these common traits:

RED FLAG #1: denying the Divinity/Deity of Jesus Christ. Some religions teach that Jesus was just a special man, angel, or something that is not equal with God the Father. This simply does not fit what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that Jesus was with God the Father since the beginning (John 1:1-3), was worshiped while on earth (John 9:38, Matthew 2:11, Matthew 28:17), will be worshiped at the final judgement (Ephesians 2:10-11), and is the exact representation of God the Father (Colossians 2:15). You simply cannot honestly read the Scripture and conclude that Jesus is not God in the flesh.

RED FLAG #2: Claiming you must be part of their religion to truly be saved. We are saved only through a relationship with Christ (John 14:6). Many false religions, however, teach that they are the “one true church.” They claim that you must be part of their group or be baptized into their group to be saved or to truly please God. Some groups claim that they have the same apostolic authority that Paul or Peter had. This is ironic, since Paul did not put himself about the truth of the Gospel (Galatians 1:8). Remember what I said in previous articles–our authority for truth is the Bible, not someone claiming to be an apostle.

RED FLAG #3: Adding to the requirements of salvation. We are saved by faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:1-8). Many false religions tend to add to the requirements of salvation, teaching that genuine faith alone is not enough. This is often done to manipulate people into working for or giving money to the church. Many false religions spread rapidly because the members think they can only please God by giving money, going door-to-door, or other acts of service to the church. They are trying to earn salvation, which God is willing to give us freely. Of course God called us to serve Him, but true believers simply do this out of love. I serve God because He has saved me–not because I’m trying to save myself.

For a more in-depth analysis of false religions, I highly recommend The Institute for Religious Research.

PART TWO: INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

I previously challenged you to use the Bible, God’s word, as the final source of authority and truth for your faith (see Part 1 of Discerning the Truth). I also challenged you to learn to study God’s word so you will not be fooled by false teaching. Paul challenged Timothy to do the same thing:

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth
-2 Timothy 2:15

Notice that Timothy was challenged to be one who “correctly explains” the Scriptures. Unfortunately, many people incorrectly explain the Scriptures. The Bible, like any other book, can be misquoted, misused, and twisted.

Here’s an extreme example. I can use Bible verses to promote suicide:

Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.
. . . Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”
(Matthew 27:5; Luke 10:37)

As you can see, I’ve completely twisted the Scriptures by copying and pasting them. I have taken the words out of their original context. Of course the Bible does not condone suicide! My point is this: you can make any book mean anything you want if you use it improperly. This is a simple illustration of what happens when people take Bible verses and interpret them out of context. In much the same way, many people/religions end up with false beliefs because they copy-and-paste the Bible.

Here are a couple of simple things that you can do to understand what the Bible really means:

1. Read a passage of Scripture in context. When studying a Scripture verse, look it up and read the whole chapter of the Bible where the verse is found. Read before and after the verse. Find out who wrote/spoke this passage and who he was talking to.

I started doing this when I was a teenager with no formal theological training. I found that simply reading a passage in context made things much clearer and exposed the vast majority of false teachings/teachers.

2. Remember that Scripture should interpret Scripture. You can usually find more than one Bible passage about a particular topic. If one passage is not 100% clear, it is wise to look for other passages that explain things more thoroughly. Study and see what the whole Bible teaches about a particular topic.

My next article will deal with some “warning signs” or “red flags” of false beliefs/religions.

See Also: Discerning the Truth Part 3