As someone who writes a great deal of discernment devotionals regarding the teaching and abuses within the church, I can tell you that the inevitably there are always more reactions defending the person espousing false teaching than there are people defending the purity of the Gospel. One of the most often used defenses is "judge not." As we see however from the Matthew verses, the judge not reference has nothing to do with exposing false teachers whatsoever. Even if it did, we eventually come to verse five where Jesus still says we are to help our brother remove the speck from their eye. To make matters even worse with their biblical illiteracy however we then see the same people accusing those who are standing for the truth as causing division. That is the opposite of what the Bible teaches:
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. - Romans 16: 17-18 (ESV)
Read these verses carefully beloved. It is not people objecting to false teaching that cause division but doctrine contrary to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. When you preach a prosperity gospel you are dividing the body of Christ. When you preach a hyper-grace gospel you are dividing the body of Christ. When you preach word-faith, bridal paradigm nonsense, false signs and lying wonders, or any other contrary gospel you are dividing the body of Christ. Instead we see the opposite in the church today. We see a Joel Osteen preach a completely heretical gospel filled with word faith lies, prosperity lies, and false salvation lies and when someone points out the lies the people say - judge not! You don't know his heart! I do not have to know his heart. I only have to discern his teaching. As my pastor says, you can be sincere and sincerely wrong. Jesus warns us about this with frightening eternal consequences!
"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)
Beloved, do we truly understand the gravity of these verses? This is the day we stand before Christ. This is it. No turning back. Our fate decided. Either the blessings of heaven and eternal life await or the burning fires of hell and eternal damnation. This is no game. Take a look at what these people did. They prophesied in His name! They cast out demons and performed mighty works in His name! These are people who obviously thought they were serving God. They certainly thought their sincerity would be enough. They may have felt they served Him their entire life. When they saw the mighty works and signs and wonders they must have felt confirmed that they were on the right path. Yet He says He never even knew them! Depart from me! You can have a church building packed with 50,000 people every week. It does not matter. You can have a respected "prophetic ministry" where you feel you encourage thousands of people at a time. It does not matter. The only thing that matters is if He knows you. If you are found in Him by being in His Word. Not in the word of man. Only in the Word of God. That is the more unbelievable point. In order to truly believe that judge not means we ignore false teaching and prophecy means we have to ignore huge swaths of Scripture:
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. - Colossians 2: 8 (ESV)
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. - 2Timothy 4: 3-4 (ESV)
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.- Matthew 7: 15 (ESV)
