Astonishing List of False Teachings in the Church

Why Church Teaching Must Be Tested

The Assumption of Biblical Teaching

If you ask Christians what their church teaches, the most common answer is, “My church teaches the Bible.” But what Christian church does not make that claim? A church does not simply read from the Bible for an hour. A passage is read, and then someone explains what it means and what the congregation should believe. Some churches teach verse by verse, while others teach by topic. Either approach can still miss the context. So how do we know whether we are hearing the truth or following a list of false teachings in the church today?

Distinguishing Scripture from Interpretation

When we read directly from the Bible, we are reading something true. The danger enters through interpretation: what a teacher says outside those verses, how passages are connected, and whether the original context is honored. The Bible is not at fault because churches disagree. Those who explain it can be wrong. Although there are many examples of false teaching today, the words of Jesus and His apostles remain true. If we decide there is no way to know the truth in Scripture, we make ourselves spectators who follow feelings and accept whatever an authority tells us.

The Reaction to Challenging Truth

What I am about to say might make you upset. But if it does, it’s most likely because you are afraid. If I have found anything to be true in my Christian walk over the years it is that Christians are afraid of the truth. If you tell them that you can prove their church is in error about something, they don’t want to hear it, they don’t want to change their thinking. It reminds me of the Pharisees when Stephen was breaking down their theology with great force:

Acts 7:54-57 ESV Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. (55) But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (56) And he said,“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (57) But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.

Some make light of the truth, while others express anger, but among the masses we find willing ignorance. Of course some will come forward and relentlessly argue to no end. But how many of these naysayers actually test their own theology? I don’t think it’s common to put away what we have trained our minds to believe in order to be sure we are actually correct. We don’t want to entertain things that make us feel uncomfortable. We want that familiar comfort food that we have grown accustomed to.

The Prevalence of Partial Truths

I am here to tell you that at least half of what you are learning at your church may be error. Yes, your pastor teaches from the Bible. That is not my argument. My concern is whether the interpretation matches what the writers of our New Testament Scriptures actually taught. A lesson can contain Bible verses and still leave you with half-truths about Jesus, grace, and the meaning of Scripture.

The Failure of Doctrinal Dependency

Many Christians were never taught how to understand Scripture in context. They receive bits and pieces but no reliable way to complete the puzzle. Truth remains obscured because it is difficult to set aside what trusted people have told us, and a commentary or footnote can quietly become the final authority. Pray for the Spirit of God to lead you into truth.

You’re going to have to clean your slate and be led from a clear mind. You’re probably thinking “Why would I believe you, my pastor teaches hundreds of people and follows proven doctrine.” Look, if you want to play the popularity game, go to the Catholic church. Their doctrine would have to be the most proven of them all, they’ve been doing what they do long before the protestant reformers came along right? Yet, if any church is a shining example of ignorance it’s certainly the Catholic church and their influence is all around us!

Reliance on The Holy Spirit vs. “The Professionals”

I do not care which teacher you follow; every teacher can be wrong, and every pastor can contribute to false teaching in the church today. It is our responsibility to test what we hear rather than depend on instructors for everything. The Holy Spirit guides us into truth. Do we really believe that? Too often we suffer from a kind of white-coat syndrome, assuming that seminary credentials and doctoral degrees guarantee a correct interpretation.

If we are honest, today’s Christians’ thoughts would sound like this: ‘Unless a white coat says it, we have to be careful.’ We need career pastors to tell us what to believe. These are the professionals God gave to help us so we can do what we do in our daily jobs and rely on them.”

We have to wake up from our dependence on religious professionals. My purpose is to get you thinking and help you learn how to understand your Bible. I want the life-giving Spirit of God within you to come alive like never before. Seeing what you believe in the actual context of Scripture, rather than only through a pastor’s sermon, can change your life. The written word of God begins to come alive before your eyes. This is where spiritual growth accelerates. Your church may be wrong about far more than you realize, and uncomfortable truth should not be rejected merely because it does not feel good.

The Fear of Starting Over

Hearing that there is a massive list of false teachings in the church today can be unsettling. If your church teaches some of them, the thought of relearning what you were taught may feel stressful and overwhelming.

But what if some of those teachings have stunted your spiritual growth? What if there is far more to know about your faith, and the truth is better than you imagined? Starting again is not as difficult as it may seem, but it requires the courage to release familiar assumptions. Give Jesus the wheel. It will take some time and energy, but He will take you places if you let Him.

The State of Evangelism and Celebrity Pastors

Christian evangelism has become bland because many believers do not understand Scripture well enough to explain their faith with confidence. Shallow messages can produce plenty of emotion but little clarity. Our best attempt at evangelism becomes, “You should come to my church.” At most, we may be inviting another person into an obscure understanding of grace and into the same confusion we have never learned to examine.

Watching well-known pastors does not provide special protection from error. It does not matter whether you follow John MacArthur, Greg Laurie, David Jeremiah, Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, or John Piper. You may find breadcrumbs of truth in all these places, but you will also absorb error if you never learn to understand and test Scripture for yourself.

Paul’s Rebuke of Spiritual Infancy

1 Corinthians 3:1-7 ESV But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. (2) I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, (3) for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? (4) For when one says,“I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? (5) What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. (6) I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (7) So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Was it that Paul didn’t want them to understand what he taught? No, Paul knew he taught truth. Christ sent him directly for this purpose. Paul didn’t want the sheep to need him for everything. When they heard his teaching he wanted them to prove it for themselves in scripture. This is why the synagogues were so important. The synagogues had scripture. Today most of us have a bible, but we just lay it on a table for others to see. We proclaim belief in the bible and never question what is actually in it. We pick it up once in a while and it’s hard to understand so we go back to the professionals.

The Danger of Blind Reliance

Do you think the false teachers of Paul’s day didn’t teach from the scripture just like your church? Think about that for a moment! Of course they did! That’s why Paul didn’t want his church to blindly rely on him! If they couldn’t prove their own case in scripture they would fall for anything! He called these type of people infants! If you are being honest with yourself, are you still an infant? I went to church for years and never got out of that position. Many go for a lifetime and then find this out. Your church doesn’t care if you depend on them like babies. They are all set up to be a full-time daycare for infants. But who is actually growing in the truth about Jesus??

The Berean Standard: Testing Theology

Paul wanted his church to depend on God, not him. The writers of our new testament proved their case in scripture and they desired for each member to do the same:

Acts 17:10-13 ESV The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. (11) Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (12) Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. (13) But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

So we see here that the Bereans earned the title of noble for searching the scripture and putting Paul’s teaching to the test. They didn’t just listen and nod their heads. They challenged it to the extreme. Have you challenged your theology in scripture? Would you earn the title of noble or infant? Do you follow scripture or are you led by the warm fuzzy feeling you get when a large group of people sing and act like they agree on everything the church teaches? Is it noble to follow our feelings? We don’t see that written anywhere in scripture.

Choosing Between Truth and Feelings

Another important detail in the Berean account is the reaction of those who did not search the Scriptures. They became angry because they did not like what Paul taught. Who followed their feelings: the noble Bereans or those who rejected the message? If we say, “It feels wrong, so it must be wrong,” we are not following the Berean model. The church I attended made that choice when I shared truths that challenged its theology. Truth does not fit comfortably within an institution when it threatens the business model or gets in the way of a good sermon.

Like the first-century Jews who rejected Christ, Christian churches today can teach from Scripture and still reach the wrong conclusions. That is why we find so many examples of false teachings today. Error can become so familiar that it limits our ability to understand anything outside the system that taught us. Will you be a Berean and test what I say, or will you follow the feeling in your gut, say, “Something is not right here,” and never examine it further? What if the Spirit of God is pressing you to look again? Are you willing to take the chance that you have rejected truth?

Examples of False Teaching Today

If you are still with me, we can now examine the list of false teachings in the church today. It is your responsibility to investigate each claim. I have other messages that can help, but do not believe something merely because I said it, and do not reject it merely because it unsettles you. Do the noble thing: search the Scriptures and test it for yourself.

Search these topics for the truth, not for what you want to believe. Look for what the Lord wants you to believe, not your favorite pastor.

It is a scary thing to realize that Jehovah’s witness establishments are teaching their people as much scripture and good behavior as your church and they don’t even believe Jesus is God. We follow our church with full trust because they open up a bible and teach from it. How do you know your leaders are teaching you the truth about Jesus?

Let’s quickly zip through these examples of false teaching today and observe the issues that result in these great errors:

1. God will Bless you if you Tithe, you Rob God if you Don’t.

This might well be the most obvious of all the error. It is troubling how today’s churches get away with teaching people this stuff. I’ve heard so many Christians through the years saying things like “They gotta do what they gotta do, at least they do good things with it.” But what if your church is the one robbing God and blaming you, are you okay with that? The tithe, to be clear was never 10 percent of anyone’s income. When Abraham tithed to Melchizedek it was spoils of war. When Israel tithed under the Law it was a portion of their inheritance such as grains given to the Levite Priesthood to support their duties in the temple. Jesus himself calls the tithe a matter of the Law:

Matthew 23:23 ESV “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Is it time the church starts giving back what they have taken from the saints who live under grace and not under law (Romans 6:14)?

For a closer examination of tithing and Malachi 3, continue with Will a Man Rob God? The Truth About Tithing

2. Water Baptism is a Requirement for Salvation

The idea that you must undergo water baptism to gain salvation is quite controversial in the church The biggest problem I see with denominations that teach this doctrine is that it doesn’t stop there. Water baptism is merely the first step in earning your salvation. They call it a “work of faith” in order to convince you that they don’t support a works based salvation. But we know that the thief on the cross was not a Christ follower prior to his sentence. He wasn’t able to access any water, yet Jesus saved him. Why? Jesus tells us why:

John 6:29 ESV “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Make water baptism a celebration, the way God always intended it, not a legalistic religious obligation.

Explore the distinction between water baptism and salvation in Is Water Baptism Necessary for Salvation? and True Baptism: No Water Required.

3. One Must Self Cleanse by Asking God for More Forgiveness

Contrary to popular belief, this doctrine does not appear in our scripture. The Apostles never taught it to Christians. To be clear, when I say ‘Christian’ I mean a person who has received the indwelling Spirit of God after Christ rose from the dead. People often use 1 John 1:9 to support Christians asking for more forgiveness, but John wrote that passage about Christ rejecting Pharisees and how God saves them. God saves everyone the same way: by agreeing with Him about our sin and accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for us by faith.

The church has used one passage of scripture to build an entire doctrine which conflicts with all of scripture! Ask forgiveness for believing this rubbish and start living the forgiven life that God gave you. You cannot achieve forgiveness; you must receive it, and you already have all you need if you are a Christian (2 Cor 5:19). Don’t follow this religious bar of soap theology that keeps you focused on yourself instead of Christ. Live a life of thankfulness for what Jesus did for you.

Examine 1 John 1:9 and finished forgiveness more closely in 1 John 1:9 Is Not Christian Instruction and 1 John 1:9: What Is It Really About?

4. You Can be Out of Fellowship With God

If we possess only positional forgiveness, as so many churches teach, then we must also bear positional condemnation. Although we can be out of fellowship from one Christian to another, due to error, we cannot be out of fellowship with God. We were born into perfect fellowship when we received the Holy Spirit. About this truth Paul writes:

2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

If the Holy Spirit provides our fellowship with God by dwelling within us forever (Ephesians 1:13-14), then how can we lose fellowship with Him? Does the church teach you two truths that oppose each other? I believe religious tradition trained us to think that cognitive dissonance is higher learning: ’that’s why it doesn’t make sense to us lay people.’

But the truth is that God designed us to depend on Him. Adam and Eve were in a perfect fellowship before the fall when the Lord took His Spirit away from them. Christ Jesus restored this perfect fellowship at Pentecost and promised it would never leave you (John 10:28). You are in the hand of the Lord and He dwells within you forever. Don’t let your church obscure this amazing truth from your view through their double talk. Wake up to grace and see with clarity.

Continue exploring fellowship and freedom from legalism in Can You Lose Fellowship with God? and What Is Christian Legalism?, or browse the 1 John studies.

5. We Must Repent and Stop Sinning to Walk by the Spirit

Self righteousness makes light of sin. When we become good in our own minds we condone the sin that we have become comfortable with. We make our sin small and see others as large. While critics blame grace teachers for giving a license to sin, it is legalism that makes light of sin and teaches people to condone it in their lives. It actually lowers the bar so that it looks achievable. There has to be a carrot on the stick in order to guide like this. This is exactly what the Pharisees did. Jesus addressed this in the Sermon on the Mount. Our Lord Jesus called this hypocrisy! We must first walk by the Spirit (dependent on the Lord) before we can experience a change of heart that pleases God.

Galatians 5:16 ESV But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Legalism has this completely backwards. They tell you do not gratify the desires of the flesh so you can walk by the Spirit! It’s going to be hard not to stumble or fall when you are walking backwards! Don’t depend on your behavior to abide in Christ; depend on Christ to change your desires and transform you (Romans 12:2).

Study what it means to depend on Christ in Abiding in Christ: What Does It Mean? and Thrown into the Fire and Burned.

6. Being a Disciple Requires Following Jesus’ Commands

The more we study the context of scripture, the more we will find that there is only one command from Christ that has the power to make us anything in Him:

John 6:29 ESV “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

The rest is all about abiding in this truth and allowing it to lead you.The disciples did not choose Christ, he chose them to bear fruit:

John 15:16 ESV You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

And Jesus made it very clear the people he chose wouldn’t become disciples by human decision:

Luke 14:26 ESV “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

It’s impossible to become a Christian without God opening our eyes. Being a disciple of Christ under the standards we see in scripture is simply being a Christian. We don’t always act like Christians, but that doesn’t make us any less of a Christian. Discipleship doctrines do not make you a disciple, they are in opposition to the gospel and the teachings of our Lord Jesus. These false doctrines place you on the side of the first century Pharisees, the hypocrites. Legalism has to make it seem possible to achieve something while it remains just out of reach. Christ made it impossible apart from Him so no one could boast (Ephesians 2:8).

Consider discipleship and identity more fully in What Is Biblical Discipleship? and The Discipleship Fellowship Debacle.

7. God Punishes Christians

In the Old Testament, sin carried a penalty. If you broke the Law, you paid a price. The Law counted sin against the people of Yahweh. Punishment is the consequence of something we have already done.

In Christ, God has forgiven us of all sin. Contrary to popular belief, this changes the way God is dealing with His people today. We can no longer go to the old testament to prove our case here:

Hebrews 8:12 ESV For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

God is no longer punishing us for our sin; don’t believe it because I said it, it’s a promise from God! Discipline acts as personalized training to prepare us for the future. In Christ, God trains us like athletes for endurance. This does not serve as a payment for our misbehavior; that concept belongs to Law-based living.The indwelling Counselor strengthens us. Reject the lies others tell you about God and accept His reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19)!

For a fuller distinction between punishment and discipline, read Does God Punish Christians? and God Chastises Those He Loves?

8. Church Institutions are the House of God

Christians today have become dependent on professionals. Men in powerful positions lead what we call the church today. They do a great job teaching you to beware of those who disagree with them. They’ll call them wolves in sheep’s clothing.

But who else let someone other than God himself guide them? Adam and Eve fell into this didn’t they? Adam and Eve listened to one of God’s angels and believed him when he spoke against what the Lord taught them.

As Christians, we start out our journey seeking Christ, but we quickly lose our way and start seeking our church’s opinion on everything. We get comfortable with the people and the pastor; we get the books they recommend; we join the study groups that use their approved content.

But we must remind ourselves:

Acts 17:24 ESV The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

Explore church identity and ministry further in Thinking Outside of the Box Church and What Is a Pastor?

9. Church buildings are where you go for Christian fellowship

In John’s first epistle he wrote:

1 John 1:3 ESV that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

John proclaimed the truth about Jesus and exposed a list of false teachings in the church of their day throughout his letter. He proclaimed that his fellowship was in the Lord. He wanted those he wrote to to share fellowship in this truth. He wanted them to rejoice in the truth with him. He tells these Christians that rejoicing in truth is their fellowship with one another. Many were being led into the error that was causing problems among the believers. Many of those that John wrote to were out of fellowship with one another. They had drifted from the truth that God gave them in Christ. Fellowship with one another is not something you find in bricks and mortar. You find it in truth; you find it in Christ.

Jesus and his apostles corrected error. Error breeds sin and division in the church. Christian fellowship does not require an institution. Furthermore, an institution that ignores community participation in teaching and elevates one man as the perpetual speaker stifles fellowship and growth. The Christian church in our bible looked nothing like what modern leaders present to us today. They’ve taken the fellowship out of the church and replaced it with career pastors seeking salaries and retirement benefits for remaining loyal to the institution. When push comes to shove, is it God they serve, or is it the institution? Would your Pastor trade his pension for truth if he found the institution to be in error? Can we trust a business based fellowship?

Continue with Bring Fellowship to Your Christian Gathering and Christian Forgiven-ness for more on fellowship grounded in Christ and truth.

10. Jesus is coming soon to rapture us

In Matthew 24:39-42, Jesus describes one person departing and another remaining. Matthew offers no further explanation, but Luke records a little more of the conversation…

Luke 17:33-37 ESV Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. (34) I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. (35) There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” (37) And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

We clearly see here that those who we think experience the ‘rapture’ actually go to their death. Is this what so many people actually want for themselves, is this escapist theology something we can rely on to save us? I think it’s time to rethink what we have been parroting for so many years and start believing what Jesus told his disciples:

Matthew 24:34 ESV Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

We can escape bad theology by believing that the events of AD 70 fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy, just as He predicted.

Explore more studies that test end-times assumptions in the Prophecy topic collection.

Conclusion

Please realize, if you take this list to your pastor he will quickly comfort you and tell you “it’s all wrong, stay away from that wolf in sheep’s clothing.” But it is when you challenge your pastor with good questions after searching scripture for yourself that you will find how lacking their knowledge truly is. Just like in the popular science fiction film ‘The Matrix,’ you now face a choice between a red and a blue pill. You can take the blue pill and go on in willing ignorance with the masses never seeking the real truth, or you can take the red pill and see things how they truly are. Are you afraid to take the red pill?

It’s your choice. We don’t wake up to grace by taking the blue pill. The apostles didn’t promote anything like the false teachings we have in the church today. And like we see today when lies are exposed, people did not welcome their message on every street corner or synagogue. The authors of our scripture and Jesus himself rejected error. I encourage you to push past the fear of being different and seek what is good and true. If you seek so shall you find (Mathew 7:7).