As a high school student I saw the devastation of the Jonestown massacre, led by a false teacher. As an adult, I witnessed the burning of Mt. Carmel on live TV. How do we know a false teacher? Some would say, “They disagree with me.” I am not confident in that standard, because I can be wrong, while I think I am right. So what is the standard? Do they agree with the revealed word of Scripture and what it says about Jesus Christ? One challenge we face is the charismatic leadership of people who use their gifts to lead others astray. So we cannot use “results” as the standard. Conceivably, a person could have a large following and still be wrong. Peter identifies two specific markers of the false teachers in his day: first, they lead others into immorality and second, they show their greed by using their ministry to become wealthy. Another challenge we face is the deep desire of people to follow a leader who will tell them what they want to hear.
In our day we hear many talking about the “wrong side of history.” We are called to tolerance of all manner of sexual behavior. If one does not agree with majority opinion then they are assumed to be wrong. If you are going to stand on one side of history or the other, it would be wise to stand with Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul. Friends ask me if the scripture is clear in its teachings about sexuality being reserved for a man and a woman in a committed marriage. After thirty-five years of teaching and preaching, I believe that the scripture is very clear. Some scholars and pastors have engaged in hermeneutical gymnastics to try to argue that the scriptures do not say what they say. Others say science demonstrates that Paul and Jesus and the prophets were all wrong about this. A physician friend says if science claims to disprove the scriptures, we need to keep studying.
So how are we to respond in a world that says all should just follow their own sincere desires? We speak the truth in love. We believe the truth of the gospel: that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. We must honestly acknowledge our own brokenness and sinful behavior. It is not that some are sinners and others are not. “All have sinned and come short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23). It does us no good at all, however to say that our sin or the sin of others is now okay with God. Did I mention we do this in love? This means we care enough about people to tell them the truth and to gently correct, calling them back to the standard of holiness prescribed in God’s word. Some will say that we are unloving if we do not agree with their behavior. If we are compassionate shouldn’t we affirm others who are doing what they feel is right. That is not compassionate at all. So, we continue to speak the truth in love. We show more love by correcting than by condoning harmful behavior. And we never stop loving people.