This is one of the most maliciously attacked (and rejected) areas in all of Christianity. The attacks are an almost continual onslaught by most of Christendom, or you have the other side where they will just ignore you while harbouring malice, and evil thoughts. Both are equally unbiblical and ungodly.
But to critically test and judge, and expose error and name the names of teachers of error, is certainly not wrong. Error and false teaching is a great danger to churches and professing Christians, hence the reason why the Apostles spent so much time dealing with it. Every preacher has a responsibility to deal with error and defend the truth against error (Ac 20; 2 Tim 4:1-4; Ti 1), as does every born again believer (Ju 1:3). It is so very right, and of course there are parameters and guidelines set by Scripture in how we judge, test, expose and name. Each will be examined.
The Biblical Necessity to Critically Test Everything
Critically testing everything that is visualized or heard is exercising spiritual discernment. Discernment is judgment based on a standard. If you can judge, and you can and must (Jn 7:24; Lk 12:57; 1 Cor 2:15; 10:15; Pr 21:3,15; 1 Th 5:21; etc), then you have a basis for judgment. If you can't judge, then it doesn't matter. Judging is not subjective, but with an objective standard, the Word of God. Everything is to be judged (1 Cor 2:15; Ac 17:11), which requires discernment. Only saved people have discernment, because they are saved, they “have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things” (1 Jn 2:20), therefore “he that is spiritual judgeth all things” (1 Cor 2:15).
Truth by nature is antithetical. You can't love truth and error simultaneously. Loving truth requires hating error, which then requires rejecting error. All of it requires discernment. To love health mandates hating disease. The same is true concerning truth and error, righteousness and unrighteousness. Loving right doctrine means hating false doctrine. We can't love and hate false doctrine at the same time, nor is it possible from the same heart. To get rid of false doctrine and practice, we must treat them like they matter to someone, at least to God, and hopefully us. The opposition of truth with error, is noted through Scripture. For example:
“Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.” (Ps 119:127-128)
“Abhor [hate] that which is evil; cleave [cling] to that which is good.” (Rom 12:9b)
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Ac 17:11)
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil." (1 Th 5:21-22)
Only what is Biblically sound “is good.”
Today this is more needed than ever before in the history of mankind. Never before has there been such a deluge of error, heresy and apostasy, which the Bible warns of such a time to come (2 Tim 3:1-13; 4:3-4). The times of evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, in the cycle of deceiving and being deceived (2 Tim 3:13). Instead of doing what the Bible says, what we have is hatred for the tester and exposer, in their blind loyalty to man. This is one of the greatest causes of sin, error, heresy and apostasy creeping into and permeating churches. The correction that is desperately needed will not be received because reproof is not allowed in this context. False brethren abound and they hate, something nothing new to the apostles in Scripture. Pauls attitude towards false brethren is found in Gal 2:4-5,
"And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you."
False brethren shouldn't be subjected to even for an hour. Its a figure of speech. Paul meant, give them no time. Reprove them and reject them.
Of course the critical mindset is wrong when testing and judging is not according to scripture but your own opinion. This is very common today. Instead of arguing Biblically people argue humanistically, ungodly or carnally with logical fallacies which is just another form of lying and bear false witness.
But to judge with godly judgment is not wrong, as the next point will cover. In fact, we are commanded to “judge righteous judgment” (Jn 7:24). We are to “prove all things” (1 Th. 5:21). We are to imitate the Bereans who tested everything by Scripture (Ac 17:11). We are to esteem God’s Word to be right in every point and to hate every false way (Psa 119:128). The Scripture is given for reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16-17). All these things requires a testing critical mindset.
Paul critically tested false teachers/believers like Demas (2 Tim 4:10).
All doctrine and teachers and testimonies are to be tried according to the Word of God:
"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Is 8:20)
Every message, messenger, and method is to be judged according to the Word of God.
The church at Ephesus was commended because they had "tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast fund them liars" (Rev. 2:2). They had obeyed the Word of God as preached by Paul the Apostle (Ac. 20:28-31). The church at Pergamos was rebuked because they tolerated those that held "the doctrine of Balaam," and "the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate" (Rev. 2:14-15). It is never right to tolerate false teachers or compromisers, but they are to be tried by the Word of God, and exposed.
No error should be tolerated. Not even one iota. But people don’t only tolerate error, they despise the one exposing the error. The Bible teaches that we are to test all teachings (1 Jn 4:1, 6; Ac 17:11; 1 Th 5:21), expose those teachings that are false (Eph 5:11), confront and rebuke the false teachers (Ti 1:9,13), and then separate from those who persist in false teaching (Rom 16:17; Ti 3:10; 1 Tim 6:3-5; 2 Jn 1:9-11), lest in the end, we are disqualified for service (2 Tim 2:20-21), or worse yet, we are identified with the false teachings and the false teachers themselves (2 Jn 1:10-11), and God chastises us with sickness and/or death (Heb 12:5-11; 1 Cor 11:28-32) or exposes us as false believers (Matt 13:3-23; Am 3:3).
Isn't teaching and preaching to be judged by its absolute faithfulness to the text? Is it okay for someone to teach and preach something different and aberrant than what a particular passage says or doctrine teaches? If the meaning of Scripture is mangled, is the Holy Spirit actually in it? What does 1 Jn. 2:20-21, 27 declare?
"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. . . . But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."
Obviously error and lies is not of the Spirit of God. He sits not at the table of error to feed His sheep. And whatever happened to discernment? Isn't spiritual discernment to be a major mark of a true believer (i.e. 1 Cor. 2:12-16; Pr. 14:15, 18; 1 Th. 5:21; Eph. 5:6-13)? Can people no longer discern what is of God and what isn't? Why not? Discernment comes with salvation; so those that don’t or can't discern are in all likelihood not saved, but of the “natural” man, the non-spiritual man (i.e. unsaved) (1 Cor. 2:14-16). According to God’s Word, born again people of God will know “the difference between the holy and profane, and . . . discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezk. 44:23), for “he that is spiritual judgeth all things,” (1 Cor. 2:15), and obeys the command to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Th. 5:21). “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor. 2:14). The noble Jews of Berea demonstrated more discernment (Ac 17:11) than vast majority of people in churches today, yet they weren't even saved at that point (Ac. 17:12). (Notice also in v. 11 that Paul exalted them because they tested everything he was saying). People may think that God works in a way that circumvents the Bible, but they have deceived themselves in this, like they deceive themselves with “every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” (Eph. 4:14). And whatever happened to reproof and rebuke; reproving these blatant errors and false teachings? Its also gone with the wind.
It is the devil who wants everyone to give up Biblical criticism. If we buy into that, we have no shield of protection.
The Biblical Necessity to Judge and a Refutation of Matt 7:1-5 Corruption
One of the most popular passages of Scripture for compromisers, contemporary professing Christians, neo-evangelicals, and the like, is Matt 7:1,
"Judge not, that ye be not judged."
The passage fits into their corrupted narrative of love of self, love of the world, "love" of people over God, and love of sin and error that meets their philosophy and lifestyle. Such people corrupt and twist and wrest this passage out of its interpretation and contextual meaning, as they do the rest of Scripture. (All of Scripture must be read and interpreted by its context [most importantly], literally interpreted [unless otherwise indicated], harmonizing Scripture and doctrine since all of Scripture harmonizes perfectly, thereby rightly dividing God's Word). Of course there is a reason for the perversion, misuse and abuse of Scripture, and that is simply because they do not understand the Scriptures, nor can they rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). Therefore, they privately interpret the Scriptures, as all false teachers do (2 Pet 1:21-2:3), and wrest the Scriptures unto their own destruction (2 Pet 3:16), which is an "error of the wicked" (2 Pet 3:17). Then with their corrupted understanding, they march forward attacking those who do understand God's Word, and obey it. They shall have their reward.
The context itself clearly and evidently says that judging of the hypocrite (Matt 7:5), is hypocritical (Matt 7:2-4), which is condemned, because the hypocrite has never judged himself (Rom 2:1-5) and thus is left to God's judgment (cf. 1 Cor 11:31, 32b), for the hypocrite is ALWAYS an unsaved person. ALWAYS (cf. Matt 23). No place in Scripture is a hypocrite ever saved.
The false judging happening in Matt 7:1-5 is committed by the hypocrite, the one who has never actually judged himself, his sinful and wicked nature, and then in his hypocrisy, attempts to judge another while the beam remains stuck in his own eye. Therefore,
"Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." (Matt 7:5)
This is NOT speaking to saved, born again believers, but to unsaved people. Theses verses are clear on that, since saved people do not walk around with beams stuck in their eyes. They have judged themselves and fled to the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of their wicked and deceptive hearts. If there's sin or error in their lives, God deals with them by chastening, because they are His sons (Pr 3:10-11; Heb 12:5-11), but those who are not chastened are unsaved, hypocrites, bastards (Heb 12:7-8; 1 Cor 11:32). The false judger has never judged himself, thus never repented, never feared the Lord, and hence never been chastened of the Lord:
"Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;" (Rom 2:1-5)
Rom 2:1-5 harmonizes with Matt 7:1-5, and in fact, Paul is expounding on what the Lord was teaching in Matt 7:1-5. But even the very context of Matt 7 tells us that judging is not only right, it is commanded. But again, false professors of Christianity pervert and twist and wrest the Scriptures, so they aren't reading the rest of the chapter to develop a better understanding of what Matt 7:1 means. They aren't even reading the rest of the immediate context, Matt 7:1-5!
In Matt 7:6 Jesus warned of casting pearls before dogs and pigs. So twisted is the interpretation of heretics concerning Matt 7:1, "Judge not that ye be not judged." that they skip entirely over the rest of the chapter, including v. 6, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and rend you." Thats some pretty perceptive judging commanded by Christ in v. 6, judging who is a dog or a pig, and furthermore, judging what holy things and pearls are. How could we know what a dog and pig is, if we aren't judging? In v. 15, the Lord Jesus warned, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing..." How can we know what a false prophet is, who he is and what he is falsely teaching, if we aren't judging every teacher we come in contact with as to their beliefs and doctrine and practices, by the Word of God? Verses 16-17, "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit." Did the Lord mean that we could not judge the tree (person), by the fruit of their life and doctrine and practice? Certainly not, for you cannot know without judging. How could we possibly know the evil fruit of the corrupt tree of the false teacher or even, on the other hand, the good fruit from the good tree of the true godly teacher (vv. 16-20), if we aren't judging their lives, beliefs, doctrines, teachings? In order to beware of false prophets, we must judge (discern, perceive) the lies they preach. None of these things would be possible without judging. The examples continue of repeatedly, not only in Matt 7 but everywhere in the Word of God. The truth is, everything and everyone must be judged, "not according to the appearance," which would be according to sight or how something is perceived by glance (such as the visage of an individual, the smiles, and the cheerful upbeat attitude, which is a means of flattery and perversion of judging), "but judge righteous judgment," (Jn 7:24), which is judging by the Word of God. All judgment should be on the basis of Scripture, not according to the visage, whims or prejudices. This is precisely what the LORD God was implying when He told Jeremiah:
"Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them." (Jer 1:17)
Some other examples of Scripture. A fornicator is described in 1 Cor 5:1-13. Paul "judged" (v. 3) the man even though he was absent, and he told the Church at Corinth that they were to "judge" (v. 12) those that were within. The Greek word for "judge" ("krino")is the same here as in Matt 7:1, and means to condemn, contend, dispute, decree, and determine. Paul the Apostle did not violate "judge not, that ye be not judged," in judging the man, nor in instructing the Corinthian Church to judge also. All of this judgment was according to the Word of God. Paul continues the theme of judging into 1 Cor 6, where he condemns the Corinthians for not judging, because all wise men (which are saved men), judge (vv. 1-5). Later in the same epistle, he even commanded (the inspiration of God's Word), to judge his teachings:
"I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say." (1 Cor 10:15)
Only a few passages later, he demands no fellowship with unsaved Gentiles who sacrifice to devils (vv. 19-22), but how would we know that, without judging the life, beliefs, practices, doctrines of people?
The truth is, even the unregenerate hypocrites who twist and misuse the Scriptures are always judging, all the time, only hypocritically and falsely, for they just don't like to be judge, which is also primarily why they are unsaved, and refuse to repent and flee from the wrath to come. They don't like someone pointing out their sins and evil and errors, even as the Lord Jesus tells us in Jn 3:19-21,
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."
As already indicated, the Lord Jesus Christ demands judging:
"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." (Jn 7:24)
But also here:
"Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" (Lk 12:47)
We are commanded to judge, but to "judge righteous judgment," which is judgment based upon God's Word. If judgment is made upon any other basis, other than Scripture, it is a violation of Jn 7:24. Webster's Dictionary says that a judge is "one who declares the law." The faithful born again believer must discern and judge on the basis of God's inspired law, the Bible. Saved people "have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Heb 5:14). To "discern" means to distinguish, discriminate, and judge, and the same word is translated "discerning" in 1 Cor 12:10 concerning "discerning of spirits," which is judging by evidence whether they are evil or of God. Discerning and judging means the same thing. A person who is able to discern/judge Biblically has at least one of the major marks of true spiritual conversion, having the indwelling Spirit of God.
When the Bible condemns judging, it does so on three basis: (1) Judging over matters in which the Bible is silent, which is primarily two areas: food we eat and holidays we keep, something Rom 14:1-6 is warning of. We have personal liberty in these two areas. (2) Judging motives, what Jam 4:11-12 warns of. Since you don't know someones thoughts and intents of the heart, you cannot judge someones motives, but their actions and words. False professing "believers" especially neo-evangelicals and reformed calvinists, are masters at judging motives, because thats all they got. Rather than exercising discernment and heeding the reproof and warnings, watchman of the Lord (Mk 13:34; Ju 1:3) are slandered, defamed, and falsely judged. False judgment in judging motives. Instead of giving attention to what is written or stated, motives are judged. That is also unscriptural and evil, the very unlawful judging that is warned of by James in Jam 4:11-12. (3) Judging according to personal opinion rather than the clear teaching of God’s Word. To judge things by one’s opinion or tradition and background and to set up one’s own conscience as a law for others is the sin that is condemned in Rom 14. In this chapter Paul said,
“Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand” (Rom. 14:4).
He was talking about judging others in matters in which the Bible is silent. This is clear from the context, which is diet and holy days (Rom. 14:1-6). The NT establishes no laws about diet and holy days, so it is wrong to judge others in such matters. There is personal liberty.
The born again believer WILL judge, for "he that is spiritual [saved] judgeth all things," (1 Cor 2:15a), and he will do so with joy:
"It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity." (Pr 21:15)
Those unwilling or incapable or spiteful towards discerning or judging between right and wrong, truth and error, good and evil, true teachers and false teachers, are incidentally revealing their true spiritual nature, which is unregenerate and rebellion.
Therefore,
The Biblically Necessity to Contend Against and Expose Error, False Doctrine and False Teachers, and That Includes Labelling
The Biblical necessity to contend against error and false doctrine and expose false teachers and separate from such is everywhere in the Bible, especially in the NT. For instance: Matt. 7:15-20; 23:1-39; Ac 13:9-12; 15:1-2; Rom. 16:17-18; 1 Cor. 2:15; 5:1-13; 2 Cor. 6:14–7:1; 11:3-4, 12-15; Gal. 1:8-9; 2:11-14; Col. 2:8; 2 Th. 3:6, 14; 1 Tim. 4:17; 6:3-5; 2 Tim. 2:14-21; 3:1-9; 4:1-5; Ti 1:9-14; Jam. 5:1-6; 2 Pet. 2:1-22; 1 Jn. 4:1; 2 Jn. 1:9-11; 3 Jn. 1:9-10; Ju. 1:3-23; Rev. 2:6, 14, 20-23; 3:14-19.
But its not occurring in >99% of Christendom. Why not? Like that of laity, majority of men in the pulpit have never been truly regenerated, thus they will never reprove false doctrine or warn of false teachers. False believers do not have these kind of concerns. Their allegiance is not to the Lord Jesus Christ but to their own belly, which is their own personal whims, desires, lusts and opinions, just like Rom 16:18 tells us:
"For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."
True born again believers on the other hand, like the apostles of old, and others mentioned in the Bible, are true servants of Christ (Gal 1:10), they are soldiers of Christ, spiritual warriors, Master's men, men of discernment, men who know how “to judge righteous judgment” (Jn 7:24), and that is why the Bible believers and penman wrote and spoke so boldly against false doctrine. They will not accept or tolerate sin or error or heresy. They will plainly reprove it and rebuke it like the Word of God commands. Every single NT letter openly exposes and opposes false doctrine and warns of false teachers and commands separation, as can be noted by the list above. Much of the NT was written to publicly correct false teaching.
There are no Scriptural proof texts for heretics and neo-evangelical false professors to lean on, including Matt 18, but not for a lack of trying. 'You didn't follow Matt 18 and go speak directly to Francis Chan about his ungodly and false doctrines and ecumenicalism; or fly to California and speak to Rick Warren about his joy over the doctrines of Roman Catholicism or why he holds hands with Pope Francis, or promotes New Age authors, or says that Moslem devils worship the same God as Christians do, or go and smooch up with the Houstons on their run from the law before condemning Hellsong's ungodly and unfruitful works of darkness they dare call "worship."' And the list could go on into oblivion.
Mr. Scripture Wrestler, can you find me a verse that says Elijah conferred with the priests of Baal before he mocked their idolatry and slew them? Was Paul walking in the flesh when he called down a curse on Bar-Jesus in Ac 13:10-11? Of course, if you are using the so-called modern perversions of the"Bibles," such as the ESV or the NKJV or the NIV or the evil and blasphemous Message, you just might find a verse to suit your corrupted philosophy. My old Authorized Version of the Bible reads:
"Saul, filled with the Holy Ghost, . . . said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" and then smote him blind for a season.
We cover the subject of Matt 18 in detail here: Misuse and Abuse of Matthew 18 by Sinning, Erring Church Leaders, and Others. Matt 18 has nothing to do with false doctrine, therefore does not come under the instructions Christ gives in that passage. False doctrine (which includes corruption and wresting of Scripture) is never a private matter and is always to be dealt with publicly. What some professing teacher says in books or TV, radio, sermons, etc, is part of a public domain, subject to review, analysis, and critique of any kind. Publicly. Anyone who makes public declarations intended to influence others through sermons, books, radio, TV, internet, etc, ought to know that he is responsible for what he says and will be held accountable. The small size or closeness of a community also doesn't matter. Anyone exercising influence publicly is open game for critique. We see this throughout Scripture. Paul reproved Peter, the most senior Apostle (rightly seen as the leader of the apostles), before the entire church at Antioch, and before the billions of people under heaven that have read Gal 2. He withstood Peter for corrupting the gospel through his false "separation" and dissociation from Gentile believers (Gal. 2:11-14), because of the intimidation from false Jewish believers. We don't need to obtain permission from anyone to critique anything that has been espoused in a public forum. There is absolutely no Biblical requirement to first contact that person, whosoever he or she may be. There is no respect of persons with God or His servants (De 1:17; 16:19; Pr 24:23-25; 28:21; Rom 2:11; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25; Jam 2:1-9; 1 Pet 1:17). But heretics habitually exercise partiality and respect of persons, transgressing even for a piece of bread (Pr 28:21). The best manner of public correction, reproof, contention and expose is by writing or speaking publicly.
Because of the lies and falsehoods surrounding this subject, and a conspiracy of silence amongst so-called professing believers (most of which are as lost as the politician behind the podium, hence their pew warming in the apostate assembly), heretics and false teachers are free to spread their poisonous doctrines today. Wolves in sheep's clothing are thus enabled to ravage the so-called professing flock, thereby destroying many. Some however, maybe even most, love to have it so, and will never respond Biblically to reproof.
Let us consider some "hard" exposes in Scripture:
1. John the Baptist. John called the Pharisees and Sadducees (the religious leaders of his day) "a generation of vipers [snakes]" (Matt 3:7). Today, he would be accused of being unloving, unkind, and unchristian.
2. The Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said to the religious Pharisees,
"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt 12:34).
But apparently this is unacceptable language to spineless slow belly evanjellyfish and some fundamentalists, but it is biblical language and it came from the mouth of the Son of God.
Standing face to face with these false teachers, Jesus Christ the Son of God, called them "hypocrites," "blind guides," "blind," "whited sepulchres," "serpents," and "vipers" (Matt 23:23-34). Yet, apparently it is okay to associate with men whose doctrines are just as unscriptural as those of the Pharisees and heretics of other kinds. The apostate EMC denomination for instance insists on working with Roman Catholics and other assorted heretics. But according to these and many other so-called Christians, we aren't supposed to rebuke them for their compromise.
How soft was Jesus in dealing with false teachers and heretics?
"Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise" (Jn 2:13-16).
Jesus Christ is presented today as one who was meek, lowly, kind, and loving, even to false teachers, but this is false. When dealing with false teachers and prophets, His words were sharp and His actions plain.
Near the end of His public ministry, Christ found it necessary to cleanse the temple once again. The exposure of false doctrines and practices and purging out of these things is a never ending job. At that time He said,
"Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves" (Mk 11:17).
Is it any different today? The thieves claim to represent God in His house, and rob people of sound doctrine, truth, true Biblical exegesis, the Bible and peddle their perverted "Bibles" instead. They also rob the people off the true gospel of Christ, the doctrine of separation and the doctrine of sanctification. There goes true conversions, and separated people from the world and sin and error. No one can tell (so-called) people of God from the people of the world. Thus these ungodly thieves, false teachers, must be exposed.
False teachers and heretics have come into the lives, homes and churches with their books, literature, movies, psychology, seminars, "Bible" education, and have turned the Father's house into a den of thieves. It is time that true born again men of God stand up and expose their errors for all to see. A preacher’s one objective should be to be faithful to God and His Word. At all costs. When that is his mind, he will seek to please, not men, but God, and persuade, not men, but God (Gal. 1:10).
3. Paul the Apostle.
God's Word commands marking (exposing) and avoiding false teachers:
"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" (Rom. 16:17).
Why?
“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” (Rom 16:18)
Those whose teachings and/or conduct contradicts the Word of God are to be marked and to be avoided. NOT in some kind of heretical” in essentials" fashion only. It is the "all things" concept. They are false teachers who deceive the hearts of the simple (which are unsaved false professing believers, Pr 1:20-32; 14:15, 18) through their deceptive oration. This requires discernment and judgment by the Word of God, which requires knowing the Word of God and that involves studying the Word of God and being strong in sound doctrine, which should be the testimony of every single true born again mature believer (Is 8:20; 1 Jn 2:20-21; Pr 8:8-9; 22:20-21).
The ecumenicists, neo-evangelicals, and compromising fundamentalists will, naturally, resist all effort to obey this Scripture.
God, through the pen of Paul, demands the reproof and rebuke of teachers of error and false doctrine:
“Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith" (Ti. 1:13).
This was written to Titus, because there were those going from house to house and subverting whole houses with false doctrine (Ti 1:10-16).
False teachers from the EMC denomination, EBMC denomination, Phil Schlamp, Henry Redecop, George Froese and John Regier, John Maxwell, Steve Janz, Henry Hildebrandt and Church of God, Ravi Zacharias, John Piper, Tim Keller, John MacArthur, Mike Hovland, R.C. Sproul, James White, Eric and Leslie Ludy, Protestant Reformers such as John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Jack Hyles, Michael Sullivant and PVBC, Gordon Conner, Reg Kelly, Caleb Garraway, Baptist College of Ministry and Falls Baptist Church, Kurt Skelly, Clarence Sexton, S.M. Davis, John R. Rice, Spencer Smith, Rick Flanders, Other IFB False Teachers, Paul Juss and Victory North Association, John Wimber and Vineyard Churches, The Getty's, Brian Doerksen, High Valley, Mark Hall and Casting Crowns, Rick Warren, Francis Chan, Augustine, David Lynn, Sarah Young, Asbury College, Justin Johnson and Grace Ambassadors Church, Charles Ryrie, Hannah Whittal Smith, Warren Wiersbe, Roy Hession, C.S. Lewis, John Hagee, K.P. Yohannan and Gospel for Asia, Charles Finney, Choo Thomas, Martin Richling, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr as a mere sampling, are subverting whole houses with their false doctrine today, whether physically or post-mortem through their material. Are we to sit silently by, while they do this, without rebuking and admonishing people to avoid their teaching? No, absolutely not! The faithful servant of the Lord is to:
"Hold fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers" (Ti. 1:9).
Paul says we are to rebuke them:
"Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith" (Ti 1:13).
Paul repeats the same in Eph 5:11, with the added caveat to separate from them:
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph. 5:11).
Reprove means to censure, condemn, find fault, rebuke, and to refute.
The same is commanded in 2 Th 3:6,
"Now we command you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which ye received of us"
We are to withdraw from those whose doctrine and/or conduct does not conform to the Word of God. The context clearly shows that obedience to sound doctrine is what Paul has in mind, for he says,
"if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet, count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother" (2 Th. 3:14-15).
Paul admonished Timothy to "withdraw thyself" from those who "consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness" (1 Tim. 6:3-5).
“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words,and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.” (1 Tim 6:3-5)
Paul further commands the exposing of these false teachers and to turn away from them in 2 Tim 3 and 4. Concerning the last days, he says that some will have "a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away" for such people are "never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim 3:5, 7).
“Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.” (2 Tim 3:8-9)
How can we know that they “resist the truth” and are “men of corrupt minds” and “reprobate concerning the faith” and that we are turn away from them and expose their folly, if we do not identify them and their message as it is tested by the Word of God? It would certainly be impossible. It is the business of the true preacher of God to:
"Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Tim 4:2).
Why?
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2 Tim 4:3-4)
Unsaved false professing charlatans love to have their ears tickled with the fables and unsound doctrines of great but deceptive orators and their pompous speech though they be false teachers (the same ideas is emphasized in Rom 16:17-18).
We are commanded to test the teachings of men, because we are to reject heretics:
“A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject" (Ti 3:10).
We should reject those who deny or corrupt any sound doctrine of Scripture, and the list of such people is as long and wide as the earth. If the professing believer/teacher will not respond to being admonished, then he is to be rejected and treated as an unsaved person.
We are commanded to look out for those who preach another gospel, another Jesus and another spirit. In 2 Cor 11:4, Paul warned about those who preach "another Jesus . . . another spirit . . . or another gospel.” We can only know the false teachings concerning the gospel, Christ or the Spirit unless by judging their Jesus, their spirit, and their gospel by the Word of God. In the context, Paul called these false preachers that teach such heresies as "false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ" (2 Cor 11:13). He explains in vv. 14-15 that these so-called transformed “ministers of righteousness” are in fact the ministers of Satan. These ministers of Satan, which the world is loaded with and found absolutely everywhere in evangelicalism, protestantism, catholicism, and even fundamentalism, are to be exposed publicly and avoided at all costs.
In the book of Galatians Paul warns about those who "pervert the gospel of Christ,” who are “accursed.” Paul also said, "if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." (Gal 1:6-9). Multitudes today are preaching a perverted gospel. They are dime a dozen, nearly every single man that presents himself as a preacher and minister of the bible. Thats the unfortunate truth, and we know this by their corrupt fruit and false doctrine. Those who teach salvation by baptism, or by any type of work, are teaching a perverted gospel. Those who preach a salvation that you can lose, are preaching a perverted gospel. Charismatics, Catholics, Protestants, Evangelicals, and many Fundamentalists are preaching a perverted gospel, denying some element of the true gospel, especially repentance and Christ’s Lordship. Cooperating with these “liars, evil beasts, slow bellies” (Ti 1:12), those who are willfully teaching heresy, and even those who are ignorant to the true gospel because they’ve never been genuinely converted, is not being obedient to the Biblical command to expose and separate from them in all aspects of evangelism and Christian work and their influence.
The apostle to the Gentiles taught a vast amount of truly deep, “positive” truth, but he was never content with that, and the “negativity” of fighting against error and sin became the most mentioned doctrine in all the NT. He fought against compromisers, heretics, false believers/brethren, false teachers, Galatian Judaizers, Corinthian spiritualizers and Colossian gnostics. He stood against false christs and false gospels and false spirits of any and every sort, but he didn’t stop there. He also stood against carnality and worldliness (warning that both are symptoms of false believers), man-centredness, pride of scholarship, unqualified pastors, dishonesty, laziness, and every type of sin in the churches.
He was an unwavering disciplinarian (1 Cor. 5; 1 Tim 5:20). He was huge on rebuking and reproving (2 Tim 4:2; Ti 1:13; 2:15) and expected as much from all professing believers, at least those “full of goodness, filled with all knowledge” (Rom 15:14). Unlike many preachers since then, Paul never backed down, never softened his stance, never regretted or repented of fighting for truth’s sake. He wasn’t afraid of opposition, and well knew of the opposition and conflict that fighting, contending for the faith, and exposing error and teachers of error would create. At the very end, Paul summarized his Christian life with these words, “I have fought a good fight” (2 Tim 4:7). Indeed!
Any preacher who is not a fighter (I.e. contender, exposer, reprover, etc), is not walking in the footsteps of Paul or obeying his words: “Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me” and “of my ways which be in Christ,” (1 Cor 4:16-17). I personally have no intentions of stopping. If you want to hate that and despise it, go right ahead, but that doesn’t change anything for me.
If we fail to expose false teachers/prophets and separate from them, then we have betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel.
They must be separated from:
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Cor 6:17).
This is crystal clear. Truly repentant sinners separate from the errors and lies they have embraced, and turn from these things (amongst other things such as self, sin, people) to the Lord Jesus Christ with a surrendered heart. We turn from apostasy and religious error, and God receives us as sons and daughters and dwells in us (2 Cor 6:17-18). In some cases it may take a bit of time after our salvation to understand that we are in an apostate or heretical church or denomination, so we leave at such a point. But how can any Bible believer remain in ungodly, heretical and even blasphemous organizations such as the National Council or World Council of Churches? How can they remain in the Southern Baptist Convention, or any of the other apostate Evangelical or Reformed or Protestant or Catholic organizations and denominations? Or in the Evangelical Mennonite Conference (EMC) or in the Evangelical Bergthaler Mennonite Conference (EBMC)?
How can a true believer remain among compromising and heretical evangelicals, reformers, protestants, Catholics (who are exceedingly apostate) or wishy-washy fundamentalists?
You can't. This is not the way the Holy Spirit of God leads and teaches the saint (e.g. Ti 2:11-14).
Rev 18:4,
"And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
4. John the Apostle.
John the Apostle makes it abundantly clear that all teachers professing Christianity are to be tested because many false teachers/prophets are in the world:
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 Jn 4:1).
Every message and messenger is to be judged according to the Word of God. John the Apostle wrote that the church at Ephesus was commended by the Lord because they had "tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast fund them liars" (Rev. 2:2). The church at Pergamos was rebuked because they tolerated those that held "the doctrine of Balaam," and "the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate" (Rev 2:14-15). It is never right to tolerate false teachers, but they are to be tried by the Word of God, and exposed. Of course those who disobey the Word of God will seek by every means to avoid this teaching. But they have deeper problems, which is their actual true spiritual condition, which is dead and yet of the natural man. They need to be genuinely born again.
John says not to receive any teacher into your house who disobeys and corrupts the doctrines of Christ, which is the teachings of Jesus Christ in particular, and the written Word of God in general:
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:” (2 Jn 1:9-11)
This passage also reiterates the truth that false teachers are unsaved heretics who transgress and abide not in the doctrine of Christ. They “have not God.” They have not either “the Father [or] the Son.” Whether by literature, radio, telephone, or TV, false teachers and prophets are brought into the homes of many Christians today. No discernment, and that is, again, because they are absent of the Hoy Spirit of God since they’ve never been regenerated by Him.
I resolve to be as the prophet Micaiah:
"And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. . . . And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak.” (1 Ki. 22:8, 13-14).
There are no forbidden subjects, and I refuse to genuflect to government, media moguls, man-centred heretics behind podiums or anyone wearing jackboots and carrying a whip. I am not for sale, nor is the truth (Pr 23:23), and thus will continue writing and speaking what I perceive as Biblical truth even if I am never heard or read again. I would be honoured if my tombstone said,
“Here lies this unworthy child of God, a Bible-believing born again servant of Christ by the grace of God who could not be bought, bullied, badgered, or blackmailed and remained as independent as a sheep on ice and dedicated to truth and Truth until his last breath.”
The Biblically Necessity to Name Names
If we know who the false prophets and false teachers are, how can we fail to warn people of these "ravening wolves" (Matt 7:15)? All through the Bible we find proof that not only they should be identified and exposed but they must be.
Many mistakenly believe that it is wrong to expose error and to name the guilty teachers; but they are very clearly wrong according to the Bible.
Paul the Apostle named Peter the Apostle publicly. Peter was guilty of unscriptural practice, of hypocrisy which affects the gospel.
"But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed . . . But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" (Gal 2:11-14).
The whole issue revolved around hypocrisy and shame of Jesus Christ, both of which negatively affect the gospel and the truth of the gospel. No issue is more important than the gospel, though everything in the bible is important, but in this case the integrity and purity of the gospel is at stake. Paul is given no choice to the matter of the exposing error and naming Peter’s name, a man who was his senior when it came to apostleship. That made no difference. Dangerous error must be exposed, including naming the name.
Paul named Demas for forsaking God (apostasy) and loving the world, two-fold reason why he was an unregenerate false believer/teacher:
"For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world" (2 Tim 4:10).
Those who forsake apostolic doctrine (forsaking Paul is synonymous with forsaking apostolic doctrine, which is tantamount to forsaking God because everything Paul taught was the inspired Word of God, and he authored half of the NT books), for worldly living and pleasures (another evidence of an unsaved nature—i.e. 1 Jn 2:15-17; Jam 4:4; Lk 8:14) should be named and exposed, because they have never been truly converted and are false teachers, in the business for all the wrong reasons, like Simon the sorcerer (Ac 8:13-24).
Paul named Hymenaeus and Alexander. Paul exhorted Timothy to,
“War a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme" (1 Tim 1:18-20).
God's true servants should and must war a good warfare, of which includes naming those who have departed from the faith that was once delivered to the saints. Making shipwreck is blasphemy. These are apostates. They need to be given over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that that their soul may be saved as they are humbled and truly repent and surrender to Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Cor 5:1-8). These men had made shipwreck of faith and Paul exposed them and called them out by name.
Paul named Hymenaeus and Philetus. He told Timothy to "study to show thyself approved unto God” (which means that the evidence, fruit and sound doctrine that extends from proper study reveals God’s approval, a certain test of faith, as Scripture repeatedly speaks to) and that involves “rightly dividing the word of truth,”
“But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some" (2 Tim 2:15-18).
False doctrine, regardless really of what it is, overthrows the faith of some, so those who are proclaiming it must be publicly exposed and reproved.
Paul named Alexander the coppersmith:
"Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words" (2 Tim 4:14-15).
This problem with Alexander the coppersmith (differentiating him from other Alexander’s familiar to Paul) was clearly a doctrinal problem, and not personality. Alexander had withstood the words and doctrine of Paul, which again is tantamount to withstanding the words and doctrine of God. Yes, it really is because Paul was God’s spokesperson, His messenger, the purveyor of His words, teachings and ways. So withstanding or rejecting Paul and his words, was synonymous with doing the same to God. This is exactly how Scripture reads. Alexander was an enemy to the truth. Only a coward charlatan and hireling will be silent when the truth of the Bible is under attack.
John the Apostle named Diotrephes.
"I wrote unto the church; but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, recieveth us not" (3 Jn 1:9).
John related how this man had prated against him "with malicious words" (v. 10). John further instructed Gaius,
"Beloved, follow not that which is evil but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God" (v. 11).
It is not only not wrong to name those whose doctrine and practice is contrary to the Word of God, but absolutely, critically necessary.
In fact, the whole Bible abounds in examples of false teachers and false prophets being named and exposed. All this modern day talk about “love” and “grace” is merely lip service towards the excuse of not exposing error. It’s not actually biblical love or grace but a Satanic lie.
Moses named Balaam (read Num 22-25). Many years later, Peter, in the NT, exposed "the way of Balaam . . . who loved the wages of unrighteousness" (2 Pet 2:15). Balaam was a prophet that was in the work of God for money and power, just like Simon the sorcerer (Ac 8), just like Judas Iscariot (Matt 27), and just like many, many false teachers and false prophets today, and that doesn’t just mean those preaching a false prosperity gospel like we see TV false prophets. Many, many preachers in “churches” today beg for money (by falsely establishing the OT tithe meant for the Levitical Priesthood only) and live like kings, while multitudes of people give them their hard earned money. They are always building their empires of mega churches, colleges, and list of missionaries supported, to establish their future in the boys club and dependance on mammon (read Lk 16:1-13, where they fit to precision). But, these false teachers (2 Pet 2:1-3) attempt to rubber arm others to keep their mouths shut about these religious charlatans. No one can we be silent about any false teacher or false prophet and be true to God. Since silence means approval, those that attempt to “minister” in such a manner, are merely proving that they are part of the same problem, i.e. false teachers who are “dumb and greedy dogs” (Is 56:10-11).
“His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.” (Is 56:10-11)
Jude also exposed Balaam. He exposed “the error of Balaam" (Ju 1:11). John the Apostle exposed "the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication" (Rev 2:14). Balaam was an anti-Semite, while masquerading as a genuine believer. This gets right to the heart of the matter, concerning the doctrine of separation. Balaam never directly cursed Israel even though he wanted the wages that he was offered to do so. The men of Israel committed "whoredom with the daughters of Moab . . . and bowed down to their gods" (Num 25:1-2). Why did they do this? Because Balaam taught Balac how to break down the barrier of separation between the Moabites and the Israelites. And now we know this to be so because it is plainly stated in the NT, in Rev 2:14, but also in the OT, in Num 31:16. This sin resulted in 24,000 men of Israel dying under the judgment of God.
False teachers also break down the barrier of separation between God's people and false religion and the world and other ungodliness. False believers and false teachers always reject the doctrine of separation, and that there is so little preaching and teaching on this doctrine today speaks absolute volumes. Balaam breached the doctrine of personal separation by causing the men of Israel to commit fornication with the Moabite women. He breached the doctrine of ecclesiastical separation by causing the men of Israel to bow down to Baal. This brought a curse upon Israel. The major issue in our day of this rejection or denial of personal and ecclesiastical separation is a lack of true conversion. Until people are truly born again, and turn from the false gospel and false Jesus and false spirit they have embraced, we can expect the continued widespread havoc that we see everywhere today.
It seems to be believed by many that some people are too important, to high and mighty, to be named or exposed. Men in high places, pastors of large churches, and those with great audiences whether in church, book, TV or radio, are supposedly above criticism. Whatever they may do or say, no matter how contrary to the Bible it may be, its supposedly all right because man-centredness rules supreme while God and His Word is suppressed. Nothing could be further from the truth. Nathan reproved the man and we can read of it in the Word of God. There was a man in a very high place who was a secret adulterer. Surely this man who held the highest office in the land could not be rebuked by a lowly unpopular prophet. Nathan went right into the presence of David, revealed the sin in a parable form, and then told the enraged David, "Thou art the man" (2 Sam 12:7).
Hanani named king Jehoshaphat. In many ways Jehoshaphat was a good king, but he mistakenly failed to obey religious separation. He caused his son to marry wicked king Ahab's daughter (2 Ch 18:1; 21:1-6). He made an alliance with Ahab and went to the battle of Ramoth-gilead with him (2 Ch 18). Hanani "said to King Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord?" (2 Ch 19:2).
We have a question for those who insist on working with false teachers and false prophets such as Charismatics, Catholics, Neo-Evangelicals, Reformed Calvinists, Protestants, etc,
"Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord?"
Yes, it is right to expose error and to name those who are in error. It is right to "earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Ju 1:3) and "Fight the good fight of faith" (1 Tim 6:12). It was once delivered and it has never been recalled for revision. We had better beware of "false teacher . . . who privily shall bring in damnable heresies" (2 Pet 2:1). Faithful messengers will warn the professing sheepp of these heretics, and identify them by name. It is not enough to broadly hint of their identity, for the young lambs will not understand and will be destroyed by the wolves.
The Issue is Professing Christians Don't Like the Whole Bible
True doctrines have slid with wrong practices, including warped aesthetics and inordinate affections. The Bible teaches true unity which is based on sound doctrine, the truth, but people don't like many truths in the Bible, such as the ones addressed here. Now unity might be expected over minimal doctrine. You can hardly tell the difference in most churches between the church and the world. To conform to that, the gospel is then changed to something that excludes resulting behavior. Even if a church hasn't slid on most of the doctrine, it won't separate from a church that has moved. Churches have become a hodge-podge of belief and behavior. You can't rely on the church anymore for stability for truth, goodness, and purity. It's stopped giving guidance and instead reflected what is happening around it. In this they have also succumbed to the spirit of the age in yoking with false teachers and false prophets.
God hasn't changed though. He still wants all of His Word practiced, every bit of it. Christians now don't like the whole Bible and they don't even have to like all of it. They just have to believe the parts that are "essential," which excludes almost everything in the way of practice. And they aren’t heretical apparently. Right.
Scripture still has authority as much as it ever has, but churches don't respect the authority of scripture. They follow it in the areas they think they'll be benefited, which certainly isn't in critically testing everything, judging, exposing error and naming the names of false teachers and prophets. They know the Bible has lost its authority with them, but they still advocate for it in those areas they think they can say are plain enough. It's not convincing, so churches have stopped attempting to convince people with the truth and now are doing it with social and "spiritual" aspects that they hope will transmit to others the possibility of something divine. A critical mindset, being "judgmental," hating error and warning of false teachers certainly hampers these efforts and is harshly frowned upon in these environments.
If you are going to preach the Bible, you have to preach all of it, believe all of it, practice all of it, and apply all of it, using its principles and precepts. It is as authoritative, as true, and as good as it ever has been. The Bible applies to every area of life, including these important areas identified in this report. These practices still matter to God, and take up a large chunk of the NT. They should matter to you.
The Greater Issue: The Rejectors and Despisers Are Mostly Unregenerate
This is where the problem lies, the very crux of the issue.
Paul addresses this succinctly in 2 Tim 3:1-9,
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was."
They are false teachers and scoffers, which will be many in the last days:
"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts," (2 Pet 3:3)
Christ spoke of those who in the day of judgement would call Him “Lord, Lord” but were condemned as workers of iniquity (Matt 7:21-23). These with false professions are said to be known by their corrupt fruit (Matt 7:15-20); and the lack of good fruit. Christ said “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). Paul’s words to the Romans was that preaching the gospel was “according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith” (Rom 16:26). True faith is manifested in expressing love to God by obeying His Word. Anything less is disobedience–works of iniquity–and not of faith, and the evidence of an unsaved person.
"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me." (Jn 14:23-24)