We hear and read lot today about how Pastors and others are false teachers or do not teach God's Word accurately.
Over the years I believe that I have seen every pastor/Theologian I know of criticized as being a false teacher. You name them and someone has picked apart their teachings/Preaching.
Yes their are false teachers out there and I think many of you would agree that most if not all are represented on the internet. Many are obviously doing what they do for the money or power or pride etc.
I will include some wisdom from John Piper who is among the many who have been labeled a false teacher.
"John Piper pleads with fellow pastors to abandon the secularization of the pastorate and pursue the prophetic call of the Bible for radical ministry.
"We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and the heart of the Christian ministry. The more professional we long to be, the more spiritual death we will leave in our wake. For there is no professional childlikeness, there is no professional tenderheartedness, there is no professional panting after God. Brothers, we are not professionals. We are outcasts. We are aliens and exiles in the world. Our citizenship is in Heaven, and we wait with eager expectation for the Lord (Phil. 3:20). You cannot professionalize the love for His appearing without killing it. And it is being killed. The world sets the agenda of the professional man; God sets the agenda of the spiritual man. The strong wine of Jesus Christ explodes the wineskins of professionalism..." from the article: Brothers, We are Not Professionals "
...If Paul, being a pastor of pastors, can document his weaknesses for all to see in Scripture, how much more should the modern pastor articulate our dependency on Jesus. How refreshing the gospel becomes when it becomes good news for the preacher as well. The pastor needs rescue just as much as the community he is part of.
Only Jesus, the chief Shepherd, the righteous High Priest, could wear humanity flawlessly. Only he could bear our failures in perfect submission to the righteousness of God and conquer the grave with all glory and honor due his name." from the article: Only One Perfect Pastor
On the internet in particular people are quick to label someone a false teacher. Yet as we rightly divide the word of truth with the aid of Christ and the Holy Spirit we must strive to be humble and prayerful least we fall into the sin of self-righteousness!
"Very few, if any, false teachers come into the church announcing their plans to lead Christ's sheep astray or proclaiming that they are there to overturn the gospel. In fact, history proves that false teachers are often some of the most charismatic individuals you will meet. They have a "way with words," able to sound mostly orthodox while denying, perhaps subtly, particular points that are necessary for faithfulness to our Lord. If they are confronted about this, they will often make a sweet-sounding appeal to unity, preying on people's inclination to avoid controversy whenever possible... from the article: Signs of the False Teacher