When the Persecuted Church Faces False Teachers

A few years ago, I attended a training about ministry in the Middle East. At the time, it was considered cutting-edge teaching. But as I listened, the things I heard puzzled me. The ideas weren’t clearly unorthodox on the surface, but they did seem to have some theological confusion. 

When I asked clarifying questions, I was dismissed as being overly critical. For the next few years, the entire experience baffled me. Unfortunately, the main leader of the training was later accused of both sexual sin and financial misdealing. 

While I wish that was the only example of such a thing in the work across emerging churches of the Middle East and Central Asia, it’s sadly not uncommon. We’re accustomed to hearing about the very real persecution our brothers and sisters face in the region, but we might not think as much about another significant challenge they endure: false teachers. 

Persecution is usually obvious, but false teachers aren’t always as easy to identify. Where can we begin? I’ve found the short epistle of Jude helps us understand a pattern of conduct in a certain segment of false teachers, and that it also gives instructions for how churches should respond. 

HOW TO STAY ON GUARD

In the book of Jude, the conduct of false teachers was characterized by at least two things: sexual immorality and rejection of authority. Unfortunately, this is all too common today in false teachers around the world. 

As Jude points out, “they have crept in unnoticed.” Since no false teacher is going to self-identify as someone who practices sensuality (v.4), it’s important for those who are evaluating teachers to know as much as possible about their personal lives. Any hint of sexual immorality in church leaders must be quickly addressed. We must be especially diligent in our fact-finding efforts as we seek to partner with leaders around the world.

Another red flag is a lack of external or mutual authority. Leaders who are “shepherds feeding themselves” (v. 12) almost always lack fellow godly elders. These teachers act as the final say on their teaching and financial arrangements. They often use favoritism to protect their role or relationships. This allows them to be the ultimate authority, while avoiding close oversight. 

What should a body of believers do when they realize they have been infiltrated by a false teacher? Jude gives excellent advice in verses 20-23. He tells the church to “keep themselves in God’s love”. He goes on to say that the church does this by prayer, building themselves up in the faith, and waiting for the promise of eternal life (v. 21). 

HOW TO STAY FILLED WITH HOPE

In other words, don’t run and hide, or question all the ways this could have happened. Don’t point the finger and let divisions break out. Unify, build, and trust God. 

Jude also instructs the church to go after members that might have been led astray or are doubting, and to fight for them by “snatching them from the fire”(v. 22). This sort of banding together and working on behalf of one another in the church is a beautiful display of what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ. 

So, whether you are a missionary or a lay elder or an underground church leader or a future missionary, let’s remember the words of Jude when we encounter false teachers in the church. 

After identifying and rooting them out, let’s work with all our might on behalf of those affected by trusting this promise in Jude’s benediction: that “the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord” will keep them from “stumbling” and one day present them “blameless in the presence of his glory with great joy.”