Reading… and Thinking

For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

— 1 Thessalonians 2:3-7 (ESV)

Unfortunately, all preaching is not true. And sadly, the motive behind some preaching is far from the spirit of Christ.

Besides these verses, Paul speaks similarly in 2 Corinthians, and both Peter and John issue similar warnings in their letters. And Jesus is particularly strong in addressing the issue in the Revelation.

In this passage, Paul describes 3 possible sources of wrong teaching:

• Error – that is, the preacher is mistaken. The error may be held sincerely, but that doesn’t make it OK.
• Impurity (or uncleanness in some translations) – that is, a message that, at least in part, is designed to appeal to the senses, perhaps even going as far as immorality.
• Deceit – that is, guile, likely with a profit motive.

Paul goes on to talk about how he, Silas and Timothy hadn’t made their appeal in a way aimed to be humanly pleasing, or flattering, or as a cover to get money. These would apply to the second and third sources of wrong teaching. And then he gives evidence to back his claim. The first problem, error, he had already addressed in the first chapter: their preaching was accompanied by the visible power of the Holy Spirit, showing that it wasn’t all a sincere belief in some fable.

What can we do in our own day to ensure we’re not listening to something wrong?

• Error can be very effectively countered by insisting that the preacher’s teaching be completely in line with the written Word of God. The Word is the product of the Spirit, and it alone is the authority. Intense sincerity isn’t enough.
• An impure appeal can be very insidious. Actual immorality can be seen for what it is, although there’s no guarantee that we won’t be taken in by it – some of the 1st century believers did get swayed by it. More difficult to spot is a kind of feel-good appeal that’s long on emotion and short on substance.
• The final problem can be tested for pretty easily: how prominent in the message is the preacher’s request for money? Paul talks about how he supported himself working with his hands, in order to not ask his hearers for money.

As Paul, Peter, John, and Jesus make clear, there’s going to be a lot of wrong teaching out there. It was already well underway in the 1st century. We wouldn’t need the warning if it was always easy to spot! We need to be on the lookout. We can thank Paul for giving us the heads-up, and pointing us toward the tests we can use: check the message against the Word, check how much it’s an appeal to the emotions and senses, and check how much they’re asking for money.