"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' - Matthew 7: 21-23 (ESV)
How do so many come to the last day having believed they have served Christ only to discover they never knew Him? Because they were deceived by false teaching. Because they did not do the work of a Berean. Because instead of hunting heresy the heresy hunted them. The Bible clearly teaches that we can believe in vain. That we can place our faith in a false gospel; a false Christ. Beloved, do not simply believe every spirit. Test them to see that they truly are from God by lining them up to the inerrant, infallible Word of God.
That brings us to the final key verse for today. The role of those who labor in preaching and teaching. I know many men who faithfully preach the Word but do not wish to point out anything false. By doing so they only do half of what has been commanded of them. The verse from Paul to Titus cannot be clearer. There are two parts to the calling. One is to give instruction in sound doctrine and the other is to rebuke those who contradict it. I know this grates against the Kumbaya Christianity movement in America but this is the Word of God. There is a sad verse in the Book of Ezekiel when the Lord is looking for a man willing to stand in the breach for Israel so that God might not destroy it but He found no one.
And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. - Ezekiel 22:30 (ESV)
It is equally sad today that precious few who are called are willing to stand in the gap for the church and intercede on its behalf by chasing away the wolves that continue to ravage the flock. It is almost as if we are more concerned about the feelings of the wolf than we are of the sheep he is destroying. Forget your chorus of don't judge! That is for novices to Scripture! The Bible makes it clear that we are to judge righteously. It makes it clear that we are to judge within our own house. It is the world we are not judge because they still face the judgment of God. The Bible is crystal clear that we are to watch for false teachers, discern false teachers, and rebuke false teachers. We cannot stand idly by as the called of the Lord while other sheep are being slaughtered. It is not just enough that we preach correctly but we must protect all of the sheep by making sure that those who preach falsely are exposed. We are meant to be on the hunt.
So heresy hunter? Yes I am and I wear it as a badge of honor. If you are lying to the sheep of the Lord and making merchandise of them then you should be hunted. If you are trying to make yourself rich by bleeding the sheep of the Lord then you should be hunted. If you are seeking to draw a following after you, crossing the world to make a single convert but by doing so make them twice the son of hell that you are, then you should be hunted. You should be hunted and your teachings dealt with as mercilessly as you deal with the sheep. We are not in the business of playing with wolves. We do not coddle them. We do not try and find common ground with them. We do not make excuses for them. We just don't.
We hunt them and it is open season.
Reverend Anthony Wade - August 13, 2015