Is Calling Out A False Preacher A Bad Thing?

“You shouldn't do that!”  “They aren't hurting anyone.”  “They inspire people.”  “They are even using the Bible.”  “Who are you to judge?” “Their doctrine doesn't matter, just as long as people listen to them.”  “They must be doing something right, look at the crowds they draw.”  “If they are so wrong, why do I feel so good after I hear them preach?”  “Why can’t you be more like Jesus and just love people?”  “Quit being a know-it-all."  "Your're so judgmental."

These are just a few of the questions and statements you often hear when you call out someone – most of the time a well-known televangelist – for preaching or teaching heresy.  It is seen as prideful, arrogant, mean-spirited, hateful, un-Christlike, divisive, and just plain wrong.  You are seen as majoring on minors, as building yourself up by tearing someone else down.

But does it matter?  Should we care about what we are listening to and what others are hearing?  Let me ask you this: Would you entrust the life of a loved one – your spouse, your parent, your child – to just any physician?  No, of course not.  We are particular about which doctors we see, as we should be.  But why do we take more precaution concerning the doctor who treats our body than the preacher who feeds our soul?  Could it be that we see the damage inflicted to our body by a quack doctor as more severe than the damage inflicted to our soul by a false prophet?  I think so.

Doctrine matters because souls matter.  (Please do not see this as an endorsement of a state-church or an endorsement to put false prophets on trial in American court rooms because it isn't!)  500 years ago, when false prophets were tried, convicted and punished (by death) the line of reasoning was this: False teaching is spiritual murder because false doctrine kills the soul.  And because it is worse to kill the soul than the body, false prophets were held accountable.

We don’t try false prophets in courtrooms today.  But as shepherds of God’s flock, we are responsible to call out false prophets and false doctrines, heresy that damns souls to Hell.  You see, it is not unloving to call out false prophets; indeed, it is loving.  A person who lovingly calls out false prophets for preaching error is not being a grouch; they are being gracious. 

Here’s the question we must ask and answer (and we will over the course of the upcoming week): What would Jesus say to false prophets?  What would Paul say about it?  What about Peter, John, and Jude?  Does the Bible say how we should respond to false prophets? 

Let us prayerfully heed Jesus’ words: “Pay attention to what you hear” (Mark 4:24).