To be pleasing to God one must bear fruit in His name. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away” (John 15:2). In order to bear fruit, we must abide in Jesus who identifies Himself as “the true vine” (v. 1). “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (v. 4). What does it mean for Jesus to abide in us, and for us to abide in Him? Jesus adds, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you…By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (vv. 7-8). This is consistent with what Jesus said earlier in His ministry – “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). We cannot be God’s children, thus please God, if we do not bear fruit. We cannot bear fruit unless we abide in “the true vine.” Jesus is that vine, and we cannot abide in Him unless His words abide in us. It is imperative that the words of Christ, or His doctrine, abides in us. Without such there is no liberation from the shackles of sin, and no identification with the Father and the Son. For this reason, the scripture gives ample warning against false teachers. Their doctrine is false if it is not the words of Christ. Their doctrine does not produce the fruits of God which bring Him glory. One must not heed his words, nor receive him (cf. 2 John 9-11).

As simple as it may seem (and it is) to understand the reason for warnings against false teachers in Scripture, and to understand who is a false teacher, there are some even in the church who complicate such beyond any objective reasoning. The term “false teacher,” for them, does not simply describe one who teaches falsely. Rather, it describes a person whose character is false, and whose motives in teaching are malevolent. It is not one whose teaching simply contradicts the words of Christ, but one who dishonestly promotes those contradicting words to intentionally lead others astray, and malign Christ and God. The implication of such reasoning is that those who are honestly convicted that the doctrine they espouse is true, even if it stands in contradiction with the plain teaching of scripture, and have pure intentions in teaching that doctrine, that such are not “false teachers.” This idea of “false teachers” is contradictory to that of Scripture, and leaves us no objective standard to judge by. Any label of “false teacher” placed upon an individual is conceived purely from subjective reasoning. Scripture teaches otherwise.

Peter wrote, “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). Why does Peter call these people “false teachers?” It is because they brought “destructive heresies.” It is not because of their depraved character which Peter goes on to describe. It is not even because of the way in which they brought in the destructive heresies – “secretly.” Certainly, these things are wrong. However, these are only descriptions of the specific false teachers which Peter refers to, not ALL who are false teachers.

Peter likened the “false teachers” of his day to those in the past who were “false prophets.” This train of thought proceeded from the end of chapter one where Peter discussed the origin of scripture. “No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (1:20-21). “Private interpretation” is the translation of the Greek, idios epilysis. Idios, meaning “pertaining to one’s self, one’s own” (Thayer). Epilysis, meaning “a loosening, unloosing” (Thayer). Literally, idios epilysis means, “one’s own loosening, or unloosing.” When a word is spoken, it is loosed from one’s mouth. This is the idea in Peter’s writing. Scripture does not come from one’s own loosing, but from God’s loosing. “But there were also false prophets among the people” (2:1) – I.e. those who prophesy falsely, or whose prophecy is loosed not from God, but from themselves. “Even as there will be false teachers among you” – I.e. those who teach falsely, or whose teachings are loosed not from God, but from themselves. A false teacher is anyone who teaches false doctrine.

How do we determine whether one is a false teacher, thus, whether we are to have fellowship with him? If God requires us to make such a determination, and He does, there must be an objective test. John required his readers to perform such a test. He said, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:1-3). The doctrine espoused by those John was referring to was that Jesus Christ does not come in the flesh. However, the Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. So then, how would one determine whether another is a false prophet, or false teacher? Place their teaching alongside the truth. If there is a contradiction, they are false teachers because they teach that which is false, or contrary to the doctrine of Christ. John’s test he would have his readers to administer is purely doctrinal.

Likewise, Paul instructed the Galatians, “but even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). Who can say the test concerned the moral character of the teacher? Paul included himself! Elsewhere, he said that in the preaching of the word he did not use “flattering words…nor a cloak for covetousness,” (1 Thessalonians 2:5). Rather, he was “gentle” (v. 7), and “devoutly and justly and blamelessly [he] behaved [himself]” (v. 10). It is not reasonable to suggest he approached the Galatians any differently, nor would he in the future. Yet, the test remained the same – if he taught differently than the gospel of Christ, such was false doctrine, and he would be a false teacher. He would be accursed, regardless of his approach and motive in teaching the doctrine!

Jesus also required those to whom He spoke to administer such a test. He said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit…Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15-17, 20). What constitutes “fruit” in this passage? Some would suggest it concerns the prophet’s character. They are “false prophets” if they come bearing the fruit of dishonesty, extortion, covetousness, immorality, etc. Such would certainly make them worldly people, but do such fruits necessarily mean they are “false prophets” or teachers?

Consider Paul’s description of those who “preach Christ even from envy and strife…from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to [his] chains” (Philippians 1:15, 16). Firstly, how would Paul know that they act in such a way? They bear such fruit which can be seen. However, Paul continued, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice” (v. 18). Did Paul rejoice in their teaching of false doctrine? Of course not! They taught the truth. Their teaching was with wicked intentions, but it was the truth. Were they “false teachers?” No. Were they walking in sin? Yes. The same point can be made concerning Peter. His actions which Paul referred to in Galatians 2:11-21 were reprehensible. They were not in line with the truth of God’s word. However, this is the same Peter who taught the truth in Acts 15. His actions were inconsistent with the truth he taught, but he was not a false teacher.

What are the fruits by which Jesus said we would know the “false prophets?” Isaiah said, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). In this same way Jesus said the false prophets would be exposed – “To the law and to the testimony!” Is the doctrine they bring consistent with the standard of God’s word? If not, they are “false prophets.” But someone will say, “But they come in sheep’s clothing. That means they are dishonest, and intentionally seek to devour the sheep!” This may be so. However, what is perhaps even more dangerous than a false teacher who has every intention of doing harm to the extent that his intentions are manifest, is the false teacher who has every intention of doing good, but comes bearing a destructive doctrine. We must be able to determine whether the doctrine any teacher brings is from God’s word; whether that teacher appears as corrupt, or not. If his doctrine is not God’s doctrine he is a false teacher.

Despite the clarity of God’s word on the subject, there are still those who refuse to label others as “false teachers” even though their doctrine contradicts the Scripture. They will openly admit that the teacher is espousing a doctrine which is foreign to God’s word, but will cling closer to the man’s reputation than the truth. They will say things like, “This man should not be called a ‘false teacher,’ for he has done much good in God’s kingdom, and fully intends to continue doing so even with the doctrine he presents now. It may be that he is mistaken, but he remains honest, and should not be marked with such a negative label.” Firstly, a false doctrine is never harmless, even if it may come from an honestly mistaken person with good intentions. Peter described “false teachers” as those who “bring in destructive heresies” (2 Peter 2:1). Secondly, if the man is as honest as he is described, he will come to the knowledge of the truth, and reject such a doctrine which he used to champion. Paul said, “when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ” (Ephesians 3:4). He said we can “all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (4:12). It has been said before, “When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest.”

A false teacher is simply one who teaches false doctrine. We are not to receive such men, lest we share in their evil deeds (cf. 2 John 9-11), and they sway those less practiced in the truth (cf. Hebrews 5:12-14; Ephesians 4:14; Matthew 18:6-7).