Let No Man Be Your Teacher

Matthew 23:6-12 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ ⁸ But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ,and you are all brethren. ⁹ Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. ¹⁰ And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. ¹¹ But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

I learned a valuable lesson over the past 48 hours.  I have earnestly sought the truth in the Scriptures, the written word of God, and have used this forum to document the truth as it has been revealed to me.  The lesson I learned is that we are to look to God alone to show us the truth.  I had become enamored with others that teach about God, certain other bloggers and YouTubers.  There is a particular YouTuber that speaks out often on Godly issues and the vast majority of what he has said is true and many of his teaching can be helpful .  As the popularity of this man’s ministry has grown and the accolades pour in from the readers, the message has become increasingly boastful, arrogant and divisive to the body of Christ.  It is as if this “teacher” is the only one with any true light and everyone else has it all wrong.  The message has become highly judgmental and the spirit behind the message seems to be the antithesis of love.  My spirit has given me reasons to pause and I even commented to a few of the messages of my concern about the divisiveness and the apparant spiritual pride this man seemed to be projecting.

The Holy Spirit triggered me to indirectly seek council from a sister in Christ and the result was the leaven hidden in this man’s teaching became apparant to me.  What a wake up call and I praise God for correcting me as my own belief system was unconciously beginning to be influenced and I was slowly moving away from the truth.  I have repented of this and again Praise God for His Spirit that prompted me to the truth.  Had I not followed the Spirit’s leading and disobeyed, I very well could have been deceived and unwittingly been lead back onto the path of destruction.

Mark 13:5-6 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.

I realize I had begun to put down my Bible and instead spend countless hours listening to others preach via their video’s or their blogs.  While this can be healthy to an extent as it promotes fellowship and discussion with the body of Christ,  it is no substitute for focusing on God and His Word.  I myself have written several posts that warn against the very deception that almost ensnared me.  This brings me to the subject of this post.

Jesus told us to let NO MAN BE YOUR TEACHER.   God’s word tells us that all revelation of knowledge comes from above, it is not from men.  Men may be the vehicle God may use to deliver truth to us but as soon as we start seeking after men instead of Him, we put ourselves on a slippery slope where deception can easily take over.  I have been numb all day thinking about how close I was to falling to deceptive influences.  What was the poison that was being preached that almost ensnared me?

1.  The Bible is not the word of God 

2.  All churches are evil

There is  some truth surrounding these statements but on the surface they are false and very dangerous doctrines.  For example, the Living God does continue to speak to us today and His spoken word is the word of God that give life to His sheep who hear His voice and follow Him.  But this does not invalidate the written record of His word, the Scriptures that were God breathed and given to us so we can know Him and the truth.  For sure, we must hear His voice and follow Christ to be saved.  But to slander the Bible and those that study it and tell them it is a dead work and Pharisaical leaven and to discourage Bible reading goes against the written word in the Bible itself.  This doctrine leads to spiritual pride and division in the Body of Christ.  This preaching did not pass the test of Scripture. 

Secondly, while many churches are indeed false churches and many pastors are false teachers, to throw the baby out with the bath water and suggest that going to church itself is wrong and will lead one to hell is not Biblical and again flunks the Scripture test.  Thankfully, my blogging has espoused the truth and has kept Biblical balance and perspective, however, I was being tempted to ratchet up the judgment on professing Christians as these insidious lies began to take hold in my spirit.  A false teacher will scatter the Sheep and create division within the body.  Paul tells Titus how we should respond to this situation.

Titus 3:10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.

We must seek God directly via His written word and in our prayers  and ask God for revelation, knowledge or wisdom.  God does use others to reveal truth to His sheep as my own example of the sister’s YouTube video has proven.  But there is a real danger if we begin to rely totally on any blogger, YouTuber or even a Pastor for our spiritual education.  We must directly seek the face of God and no matter what we hear or see, we need to test it all with the Scriptures.  If anything we are exposed to contradicts the written word of God, we are to reject it, no matter how smooth, logical or flattering it may sound.  The Bible is infallible.

1 Thess 5:19-21 Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; ²⁰do not treat prophecies with contempt. ²¹Test everything. Hold on to the good. ²²Avoid every kind of evil. 

The Apostle John also told us plainly that it is the anointing that lives in us via the Holy Spirit that will guide us in all truth.  If we take our eyes off of Jesus and begin to glorify men, we open ourselves up to all kinds of deception.

1 John 2:27  But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

 I write this post to as a memorial to remind myself of this truth and God willing to spark others to wakeup if there are deceived or in the process of being deceived in these end times.  I pray whatever I write will stimulate others and brings them closer to a true walk with God.  But remember,  I am just a man who has some of the light as the Lord in His wisdom and mercy has given me.    Anything I say must conform to the written word, if it does not, then what I say is not the truth. 

 Hebrews 8:10-11 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ¹¹ None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.

I believe I have written the truth on this blog.  If any brother in Christ thinks otherwise I ask that you approach me in love and gentleness to point out my error.  We can’t run around like a know it all and be a Bible thumping evil judge. 

Praise God for his Love.  He chastises those He loves so we will come to the truth and walk always in His light.

May God Bless You Richly!!!