I remember a senior adult woman in a previous church relating how much she enjoyed watching a rather famous preacher whose teaching I would label as spiritually dangerous. She further said to me, “I think our pastor doesn’t like for me to listen to this TV preacher because he doesn’t want me to listen to anyone else but him. He doesn’t want me to like any other preachers.” She was essentially accusing our pastor of feeling threatened, insecure, and jealous. She needed spiritual discernment to evaluate the teaching she heard and to recognize it as something in conflict with her own copy of God’s word.

It is the responsibility of our elders, or any spiritual leader, to protect the flock and “feed my sheep” as Jesus instructed Peter in John 21:15–17. The primary way protection happens is through the feeding of the sheep from the word of God. All teachers must pursue God persistently through his word in such a way that we grow deeply passionate about how God has spoken to us. Then we are able to speak out of the overflow of how God has spoken to us. God made all of us in need of receiving that kind of teaching to be spiritually healthy, as surely as we need food and water to be physically well.

Most of us need far more than we are getting! Acts 2:42-47 explains that the early church met every day! They committed themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to the fellowship, and to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. We are a different kind of society. Meeting every day isn’t going to happen, but that doesn’t mean we’ve somehow outgrown our need for daily input. This is one of many reasons we often encourage pleading with God to cause you to remember what a treasure the word of God is. Soon, you will look forward to seeking and experiencing that treasure every day.

Then, through your own study and reading, you learn to detect error for yourself. You learn to do what Jesus says in Matt. 5:15, “Beware of false teachers.” False teachers are not hypothetical; they are a real danger! You don’t need a “Beware of Dog” sign when all you have is a hamster. Jesus’ warning is right at the beginning of our text for Sunday. In that text, Jesus further shows how we can evaluate teaching because it’s important that we understand how we are influenced by what we hear.
Sunday will be the last message in our series Legalists, Rebels and Worshippers from the Sermon on the Mount. The text Matt. 7:15-29 contains one of the most serious warnings in all of the Bible. Please pray and join with me on Sunday as we explore it together in a message called Prepared for All Weather.

-Gene Cornett