The New Doctrines and How to Handle Them

It is the last days. And as predicted in the Bible, many deceivers and false teachers are all over the places, deceiving and being deceived. This lesson is intended to remind the believers in Christ of the need to abide in what we have been given in the Bible and not to run after any new doctrines or special revelations.

In This Post

• Introduction
• What Are New Doctrines
• The Motivations for New Doctrines
• The Strategies of False Teachers
• How to Handle False Teachings

Introduction

When it comes to Bible doctrines, if it is new, it is not true. And if it is true, it is not new. This lesson is about false teachers who always like to come up with new revelations. But they do this to deceive the people. By connecting their words to divine revelations, they avoid being questioned. This is the most powerful strategy of false teachers.

The problem with all these alleged special revelations is that they always contradict the Bible. And that is why you need to stay away from them.

What are New Doctrines?

A doctrine or a message is not new simply because you are hearing it for the first time. There are things in the Bible that many people still don’t know about.  So, we can be ignorant of a teaching that is true. For instance, there was a time I was totally unaware of the doctrines of atonement and adoption. And then I started learning about them.

New doctrines are those that are not found or taught in the Bible. They usually come from the so-called special revelations that someone claims to receive. Not only are they not found in the Bible, they usually contradict the message of the Bible.

The Delusive Deliverance

A good example of new doctrines is the modern-day deliverance that is popular among certain denominations. The doctrine suggests some rituals that you need to do to have victory over sicknesses, poverty, witches and wizards, generational curses, etc.

Somebody forgot to read his Bible, because if you’re truly saved, you already have victory over all those things without any additional rituals. At the same time, no follower of Jesus Christ is promised a perfect life here on Earth. That is still future, when we will live without poverty and sicknesses.

And this is the truth that the promoters of this so-called deliverance doctrine deny. But not only that, they also say that you can never stop needing that deliverance. If you believe that, you will be perpetually subjected to defeat and will never know true victory in this life.

If you question this teaching, the promoters will quickly take you to Obadiah 17. When you tell them that Obadiah 17 has nothing to do with their deliverance rituals, they respond by saying Jesus did deliverance. But the part that they miss is what exactly does Jesus send us to do? If you know that, you will also know that it is the only source of deliverance and victory.

One of the many negative effects of new doctrines is that they shift the peoples’ attention from the Bible unto man-made traditions. It is the devil’s strategy of making the believers focus on the wrong things, fighting the wrong battles. The devil has the false teachers at his disposal to do just that.

A Note on the Church History

There are those who try to defend a non-biblical teaching by claiming that it has been taught throughout church history. The truth is that many false teachers taught false teachings throughout church history, even during the Apostles’ days.

So, a teaching is not true simply because it has been taught for a long time. It is true only if it is taught in the Bible, regardless of when we discovered it.

The Apostasy of the Last Days

The Bible says that in the last days, the people will fall away from the truth, not to the truth.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

All of the new doctrines in the recent years have been contrary to the truth. Expect people, including some so-called church leaders to fall away from the truth and not to it. All the more reason why you need to be careful and discerning when it comes to new revelations.

Moreover, be careful about believing doctrines that are only taught in your Church and unheard of anywhere else. If you believe them, you might be at risk of following lies.

The Motivations for New Doctrines

The motivations vary from one ministry and minister to the other. But in general, the following are true of all the so-called ministers who like to come up what new or special revelations:

1. The Desire for Control

They want to force their thoughts and opinions on the people. If they had opened the Bible and wrongly applied a passage, someone might be smart enough to detect it, and bold enough to question it. So, to avoid being questioned, they just say “God told me…,” or “the Holy Spirit told me…” Who can argue with that?

By so doing many have been put under the bondage of traditions, rituals, and unnecessary offerings that are usually connected to some empty promises. 

The job of a Pastor is to preach the gospel and disciple the believers. Give them the Scriptures and let the Holy Spirit lead them in making the right decisions. Don’t make the decisions for them. Don’t control their thoughts or their lives.

2. The Desire for Uniqueness

Some preachers feel the pressure to be unique in their teachings, not in style or presentation, but in the actual doctrines. But this is unnecessary. Every now and then, I hear people talk about how difference Churches have different callings. This is false, unless these so-called Churches don’t use the same Bible. The purpose of every Church is to go and teach all nations, evangelize the world, and disciple the believers.

There are many moving parts involved in the call of a Church. Different people may be endowed with different spiritual gifts, but all the gifts are meant for one purpose: witnessing about Jesus Christ to the lost world, and shepherding the believers in Christ. This is the only calling given to the New Testament believers.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

There is absolutely no need for a church to have a unique calling!

3. The Desire for Personal Gains

To get more money from your wallet, they must apply a little bit of pressure on you. That’s when the lies begin to drop from the pulpit. The pastor begins to talk about God telling him to ask 50 people who want special blessing, etc. to give some special offerings to claim the blessings.

The Bible warns us about these deceivers:

Philippians 2:21 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.

2 Peter 2:3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

The people are enslaved and impoverished by the lies, while the leaders cash in on the peoples’ ignorance. The special offering givers who were promised special blessings grow poorer and thinner. But the false teachers grow richer and fatter.

The Strategies of False Teachers

These claims of special anointing, new illuminations and revelations apart from the Bible are often connected to the Holy Spirit. “…the Holy Spirit told me…” Many of them are very convincing in their presentations.

Some of the things that they say will not be totally false, or wrong. There will be a little bit of stuff that will make sense. After all, a dead clock is right twice a day. Their followers take this half-truth to be the truth because they don’t know any better.

They sometimes spill some Bible verses (usually quoted out of context) around their lies, just to make it sound real. But this only works for those who are Bible illiterate which unfortunately is the majority of the followers of false teachers.

How to Handle New Doctrines

Be discerning and judge all doctrines carefully. This is why the believers need to be students of the Bible. As a Christian, Bible study should be a part of you. It is needful for the believers to grow in the knowledge of the truth. This is the only way you can detect false teachings when they come.

1. Determine to Grow in the Knowledge of God

The Bible encourages the believers not to remain babies in knowledge, but to grow.

Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

When you are a child, you believe everything that you are told. Many baby Christians are being made to do many stupid things in the name of special revelations. They get into all kinds of rituals that false teachers refer to as prophetic actions. They are not prophetic, but pathetic.

Hebrews 5:12-14 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

A child who is not growing is child who is retarded. There are unfortunately many retarded children of God today who refuse to learn.

The Holy Spirit Works through the Word

The Holy Spirit functions in accordance with the Word of God. He will not reveal or say anything to anyone that will contradict the Scriptures. So, when someone gives you a message that contradicts the Bible, know assuredly that the Holy Spirit did not speak to him/her.

But wait, how can you know the message that contradicts the Scripture if you don’t know the Scripture? It is impossible! You cannot spot a fake dollar bill if you don’t know the real dollar bill.

2. Know that the Scripture is Sufficient

Part of the tricks of the false teachers is to downplay the sufficiency of Scripture. To them, the Bible alone is not enough to give us the words of God. They have to seek special revelations apart from the Bible, and thereby receiving the doctrines of devils.

The Bible says that all that God wants to tell us “in these last days,” He has spoken it through His Son – Hebrews 1:1-2. We are encouraged to hold on to that which we have received “from the beginning:”

1 John 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

The Bible is so complete and sufficient that it issues a warning to anyone who would add to it, or remove from it. That, my brethren, is a testimony to its sufficiency.

Conclusion

God exalts His Word above His name (Psalm 138:2). If the Word of God is that important, then we must take it seriously. Study it. Live it. Share it. Contend for it as we are commanded in the Scriptures.

Stay away from new revelations. You don’t need them. Stick with the Bible, God will speak to you by it. It is sufficient for faith, life, godliness, and truly all that we need to live the Christian life.

Thank you for reading!