When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
– Galatians 2:11-13 (NIV)
Sometimes, pastors, preachers, and teachers of the gospel message, have the unenviable task of calling out false teaching. Why? Because, just like Barnabas in the passage above, people will be led astray. Any teaching that distorts the truth of the gospel will create a perverted view of God.
I have known many pastors over the years who have refused to call out popular false teaching because they did not want to mention a television personality by name or upset the people in the pew who may have a favorable view of that person. This is a danger to the body of Christ as a whole. When you read through Paul’s letters, he mentions several people by name who were called out, for false teaching or wrong behavior. What was Peter’s problem? He did not want to upset a certain group of people. In reality, this is cowardice.
As I mentioned yesterday, the hardest thing to discriminate against between, is that which is true and almost true. It takes a mature and disciplined heart to know the Word of God (the Bible) and the God of the Bible so that falsehood will be discerned, and then it takes courage to speak up. In my estimation, not only are we lacking in mature believers, but we are also lacking in men and women of courage who will stand for what is true and right.
If you want to change the future, know the Word, know God, surrender to His instruction, and be bold to teach it to others, and also challenge those who misuse the gospel and lead others astray.
Be strong in the Lord.