When we think of the Great Commission, we often focus on reaching the lost and preaching the gospel. Yet, in Matthew 28, Jesus commands his followers not only to go and make disciples but to accomplish that task through teaching them to observe all that he has commanded (v. 20). This instruction does not just have unbelievers in view; it also applies to the shepherds of the church itself. As Paul reminds Timothy, the survival and health of the church hinge on training the next generation of faithful leaders (2 Timothy 2:2). Yet, one oft-cited, sobering statistic reveals that nearly 85 percent of the world’s pastors and ministers lack formal theological training. The challenge is compounded by the fact that many church leaders around the world don’t wait for such education before diving headlong into ministry. While some, like Apollos, are open to correction and growth, others—whether through ignorance or ill intent—may lead their congregations astray. The church must rise to meet this need, ensuring its leaders are grounded in sound doctrine and equipped for faithful ministry. In this vein, consider these five forms of false teaching plaguing the global church.
1. TRINITARIAN HERESIES
Since the earliest days of the church, the enemy has sought to corrupt biblical doctrine with respect to the nature of God himself. In the third century, for instance, Sabellius taught the error of modalism, the unbiblical notion that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are merely three different manifestations of one God, rather than three distinct, co-equal, co-eternal persons. Little has changed since the 400s; false teachings relating to the Trinity continue to threaten the health of local churches. One missionary in South Asia recently described to me that most of the Christians among whom he ministers have embraced or are at risk of embracing modalism themselves. Islam and Mormonism also represent equal and opposite corruptions of the biblical doctrine of God—the former conceiving of God as a single, solitary monad incapable of possessing love and community within his singular nature, and the latter by positing an infinite number of finite, planetary demigods. Missionaries engaged in teaching today must be wellversed on the doctrine of God—both in his oneness of being and his threeness of person, subsisting in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2. CHRISTOLOGICAL ERRORS
A related yet distinct category of heresies common in the world today includes those teachings which corrupt the Bible’s Christology, or its doctrine of Christ. Islam proffers a Jesus (or “Isa”) who is merely a prophet and not the divine Son. Hindus usually affirm Jesus as some sort of avatar, or physical manifestation of a god. Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus is the first creation of God and is to be identified as Michael the archangel, despite Scripture’s teaching that God has created all things through Christ (Colossians 1:16) and Christ is superior to the angelic species (Hebrews 1:4-6). And modern Talmudic Judaism holds that Jesus was not only merely human but was a false prophet. The Bible clearly teaches that Christ, as the God-man, is the sole, effectual mediator between God and mankind (1 Timothy 2:5). Thus, a Jesus who is less than truly divine or less than truly human cannot save. It is crucial that in our global ministry efforts we teach not only the work of Christ but the person of Christ.
3. SOTERIOLOGICAL ERRORS
Broadly speaking, much of the world has been “Christianized” to some extent; if we were to count all Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestants as Christians, they together comprise roughly a third of the world’s population. But as evangelical missionaries working in the shadow of Christendom can attest, not all Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, or mainstream Protestants truly possess saving knowledge of the biblical gospel. Since the Council of Trent (1545- 1563), the Roman Catholic Church has formally anathematized all those who embrace justification by faith alone—the material cause of the Protestant Reformation, and the direct teaching of the books of Romans and Galatians. Eastern Orthodox theology regarding the way of salvation is somewhat harder to pin down, but its emphasis on mystical union with the divine and strict adherence to church tradition mean that adherents often lack certainty of their salvation or a biblical understanding of grace. Even among Protestants, radical methodologies like Insider Movements teach missionaries to regard as converted those who have little understanding of the gospel and who likely see Jesus as a mere moral teacher. Those called to make disciples among the nations must take care that they do not take for granted the salvation of those who outwardly identify with the broader Christian tradition.
4. SPIRITUALISM
Within both the developing and developed regions of the world, new— and not so new—notions of spirituality represent a formidable hurdle for evangelists. In traditional cultures, spirits such as gods, demons, or ancestors are feared as powerful, and through such superstitions the forces of darkness hold sway over entire tribes and cultures. In the East, philosophic religions like Taoism see all of existence as a single, divine whole in which good and evil exist in a natural duality, failing to recognize the distinction between creation and its Creator and the ultimate triumph of good over evil. In the West, atheistic materialism has been supplanted by New Age spiritualities, in which the occult has seen a resurgence, and hallucinogenic substances like ayahuasca are used to commune with unseen entities and ascend to higher planes of consciousness. Without careful instruction, these false spiritualities can find their way into the church, and Jesus may be regarded as simply an ascendant teacher of a higher way of life more attuned to the universe’s mysteries. Missionaries on the field must carefully emphasize God’s distinctness from creation, Christ’s authority over every spiritual entity, and both the emptiness and danger of magical practices that attempt to connect the user with the divine.
5. PROSPERITY “GOSPEL”
Many American Christians are familiar with a certain brand of teaching, perpetuated through cable television and popular books, which presents Christianity as a self-help regimen designed to maximize their wealth, health, and happiness. Unsuspecting consumers of such content are promised that with enough positive thoughts, prayers, or expectant words spoken regarding a situation, they can call down virtually limitless blessings from heaven on their earthly lives. In this system, Christ is not a suffering Savior from sin but a self-help guru with a message of positivity and ease. What many may not realize is the extent to which the American church has exported this false gospel throughout the developing world. Vast swaths of Africa lie under the sway of prosperity-preaching charlatans who, like their American counterparts, enrich themselves with donations given in faith that rewards will follow. Biblical teachers in every culture must stand guard against this false gospel of health and wealth and preach boldly a true gospel of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins. Though the range of false teachings facing the global church is wide, few of the heresies with which missionaries contend are truly new, and many can be traced to the earliest days of the church. But what is older still is the truth itself, which stands for all time in Scripture, equipping God’s people with all that is needed for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). May we contend earnestly, armed thus with the Word of God, for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
BY: ALEX KOCMAN
