How to Use the Bible to Teach Error

Bible on podium

The presence of false teachers in the world is a reality that we cannot ignore. Peter warned, “There will also be false teachers among you” (2 Peter 2:1). These were ones who taught “a different gospel,” which Paul explained “is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-7).

But how is this done? A false teacher does not come in, take away your Bible, and replace it with one that has different content which supports his error. He also does not refrain from citing or quoting Bible passages. Yet he teaches error. How? As Paul said, the false teacher must distort the gospel. He uses a Bible in proclaiming his error. This should not surprise us. Satan even quoted Scripture in tempting Jesus (Matthew 4:5-6). We need to understand how this is done so we will be better prepared to identify, expose, and combat error.

Ignore the Context

Satan may have quoted Scripture in tempting Jesus, but his conclusion of the quoted passage did not fit with the rest of what the Scriptures taught. Jesus pointed this out to him (Matthew 4:7). It is a popular tactic of false teachers to remove a verse from its context in order to defend their assertions.

Let us notice an example of this regarding the teaching of salvation. Paul wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Taking this verse by itself, one can easily argue that the only requirement God has placed upon us for salvation is belief.

However, this conclusion ignores the context. In the next verse, Paul quoted from the Old Testament: “But the righteous man shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17; Habakkuk 2:4), implying that our salvation is dependent upon more than simply belief but upon the way we live our lives. Earlier in the chapter, Paul spoke of the “obedience of faith” that he was called to bring about among the Gentiles (Romans 1:5). In the broader context of this epistle, Paul said that Christians are “buried with Him [Christ]” (Romans 6:4) by becoming “obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed” (Romans 6:17). He then said we have become “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). Obedience is plainly shown to be necessary.

Redefine Terms

Another effective tactic of false teachers is to redefine the terms in a passage in such a way that they appear to back up his message.

A common doctrine among the denominations is that we are saved by faith alone. There are many passages that speak of faith being essential for salvation. One such passage is Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The false teacher inserts his own definition for faith. He says that faith means faith alone, and is therefore not compatible with the idea that obedience is also necessary.

Instead of using our own definitions, we need to allow the Bible to define its own terms. Does the Bible mean faith alone when it speaks of faith? Not at all. In fact, the only time the phrase “faith alone” is used in the Bible is in James 2:24 – “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” We already noticed Paul’s mention of the “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5). We need to use these terms in the way that God intended.

Overlook Relevant Passages

Paul told the Ephesian elders, “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:27). When we preach and teach, we must present the word of God in its entirety. This does not mean that every time we teach, we cover the contents of the Bible exhaustively from cover to cover. Rather, it means we respect the word of God by basing our message on all relevant passages, rather than just a few that we can twist to fit our message.

Again, on the topic of salvation, many like to cite Romans 10:13 – “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” I firmly believe what Paul said here. Yet a denominational preacher, who teaches something very different that I do about salvation, will say they firmly believe Paul here as well. But the denominational preacher will typically use this verse to defend the “sinner’s prayer” – the act of one praying to God, accepting Jesus as their Savior, and being saved on that basis. If you ignore relevant passages, it would be easy to accept that conclusion.

But if we look at relevant passages, we see a different message than the one the denomination preacher presents. In order to be converted, Paul was told, “Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16). Paul told the Romans that one is saved when he calls on the name of the Lord. When he spoke of his conversion, he said that he called on the name of the Lord by being baptized to have his sins washed away. We cannot ignore that. Neither can we ignore the plain statement by Peter: “Baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21). There is no way for the denominational preacher to get around these passages unless he ignores them.

Conclusion

Those who distort the Scriptures do so to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). Yet we need to be careful that we are not “carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from [our] own steadfastness” (2 Peter 3:17). Those who teach error will use the Bible to do it. That is just a fact. So we had better know how they do it so we can recognize the error and not follow after it.


This article is one of the fifty articles included in the book Plain Bible Teaching: The First Ten Years. Click on the link to read more about the book.


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Comments

  1. Jeffrey O'Rourke says

    Greetings. A FB friend of mine indicated she “Liked” your site so I came to check it out. Such sadness here. Rather than “Plain Bible Teaching” there seems to be a lot of confusion. Just a few points:
    1) “Paul quotes from the Old Testament: “But the righteous man shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17; Habakkuk 2:4), implying that our salvation is dependent upon more than simply belief, but upon the way we live our lives.” The only thing you got right is that Paul quotes Habakkuk! This quote appears 3x in the NT and is a cornerstone for the gospel. The Greek is, “the righteous by faith shall live.” And the emphasis, if you will read the context, is, “righteous by faith” and is directly opposed to “righteous by works” (Titus 3:5).
    2) “obedience of faith” This expression occurs 2x in Romans. Faith IS the obedience called for. We obey the Gospel by believing in Jesus. When we repent of our unbelief and believe in Jesus as the Son of God, THAT is the obedience of faith.
    3) “obedience is also necessary” What do I have to do and how long do I have to do it before I am forgiven? The Law told you exactly what to do, but we are told clearly that we are not justified by the works of the Law. So what works do I have to do before I am justified? or, saved? Jesus did not pay the penalty for my sins? Must I now produce works of righteousness before I can be saved? (again, Tit 3:5) I save myself? or help Jesus save me by my own effort and works?
    4) “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen! BUT, if I have ALREADY been justified through believing in Jesus, what now do I lack? What more is required? Anything else would provide a contradiction to Rom 5:1 – Having been declared righteous by faith now you must do these 5 other things in order to be righteous.
    Since you mentioned the context of Romans 1:16, consider chapter 4,

    1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
    2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
    3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
    4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
    5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
    6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
    7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
    Did you see that, faith is counted for righteousness. “To him that worketh not but believeth…” Of course, this faith in my heart is manifested in my outward behavior. But it remains true, the Gospel message is, “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
    So I ask you, at what point are my sins forgiven and I can enter the blessedness of v 7?

  2. Jeffrey, it is apparent that our disagreement centers on the definition of faith. We both believe that faith saves us. But what does Paul mean by faith?

    You mentioned the example of Abraham in Romans 4, and it is a good one. It shows us that if one is saved, it is because of God’s grace, not because he has earned salvation. But what type of faith did Abraham have that God counted as righteousness? James provides some inspired commentary:

    “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,’ and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:21-24).

    Was Abraham justified by faith? Yes. Was he justified by works? Again, yes. The passage in Romans emphasizes the fact that works apart from faith are worthless. The passage in James emphasizes the fact that faith apart from works is useless. Each emphasizes a different aspect of our salvation, but they do not contradict one another. Instead they both support the same truth: God saves those who obey Him in faith.

    To answer your last question — “at what point are my sins forgiven?” — remember what Ananias told Saul (Paul): “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16). By this point Saul had seen the Lord, had come to believe in Him, and had shown a penitent heart in his time of praying and fasting. Were his sins forgiven at this point? No. Ananias told him to be baptized to wash away his sins. That is the point when an alien sinner has his sins washed away — baptism.

  3. Jeffrey O'Rourke says

    Thank you for your reply, but you seem to be saying two different things. As I read your initial blog you said works were required of us in order to be saved. So, based on this assertion I asked some questions that you did not address

    In your blog you wrote, “obedience is also necessary.” That is different than saying obedience follows or flows out of true faith. So I ask you again:
    + What do I have to do and how long do I have to do it before I am saved or justified?
    + Must I now produce works of righteousness before I can be saved?

    “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rom 5:1
    + If I have ALREADY been justified through believing in Jesus, what now do I lack? What more is required?
    + If I have peace with God how can MORE be required in order to have peace with God?

    Finally, if the gospel promises forgiveness of sins and my sins are forgiven when I believe and am baptized, then nothing I do after this can contribute toward my salvation. Is this not correct? My works can evidence the genuiness of my faith and relationship with God but do not save me.

  4. No, I’m not saying two different things. The gospel contains a consistent message — we are saved by faith. What kind of faith? One that includes both belief and obedience.

    I’m confused by your questions. How long do I have to do what? If you are asking if one needs to do anything after baptism, then yes, we do. We must live by faith.

    When an alien sinner is baptized into Christ, his sins are washed away (Acts 2:38; 22:16), he is added to the body of Christ (Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 12:13), and he is saved (1 Peter 3:21). After that point, we are expected continue in faithful obedience (Matthew 28:20; Romans 1:17). If we sin after being baptized into Christ, we are to repent and pray (Acts 8:22), confessing our sins to God in order to receive forgiveness of those sins (1 John 1:9).

    There is no time limit for our service to God. We are a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Therefore, we are to serve God as long as we are living on this earth. We must simply do what the Scriptures teach. That’s faith.

  5. Carlos Raymer says

    For we are God’s workmanship created IN CHRIST JESUS to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10; All men will hate you because of me, BUT he who stand firm to the end will be saved. ….be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. Matthew 10:22, Revelation 2:10. Paul, said he proclaim the whole will of God, Acts 20:27.

    Carlos Raymer