Anyone can talk a good game, but what their life produces reveals what is in their hearts. False teachers almost always live lavish lifestyles, consumed with the things of this world, and attempting to keep one foot on earth and the other in Heaven. This, of course, is not possible (Matthew 6:24; 1 John 2:15-17). What a man says is not a good indicator of who he is. It’s what his life produces for the kingdom that is a good indicator.
Beware of false teachers who attempt to drag you into their deception (Colossians 2:8). They are those who think they know Jesus, but He doesn’t know them (Matthew 7:21–23). Their teaching will leave you even worse off than they are (Matthew 23:15), and no closer to eternity in Christ.
No matter how much truth they dress their lies in, false teachers will win few true converts because they are preaching a different gospel, and a different gospel has no power to save anyone (Galatians 1:6-8; 2 Corinthians 11:3-4). They are under a curse, and we are to have nothing to do with them (2 John 10-11). We must be daily in the Word so we can discern truth from error and avoid these false teachers.
Luke’s account of this teaching says the fruit they produce comes out of the storeroom of their hearts (Luke 6:45). Evil men can produce nothing but evil. Their motives are wrong, and all their fruit is tainted and deceptive. There is no sense in looking for nuggets of truth in the sludge of their teaching. The Bible teaches we must beware of false teachers, mark them, and avoid them (Romans 16:17-18).
We must be ever vigilant in discerning truth from error (1 John 4:1). False prophets will deceive many (Matthew 24:11-12). It is vital to remain in constant prayer, asking the Lord to protect us from temptation and deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13). Some false teachers may produce signs and wonders by deceptive or even demonic means to fool us into thinking they are from God (Matthew 24:24). They might draw vast crowds, but they cannot produce good fruit (Matthew 7:18). They are lovers of self; brash, arrogant, and doomed to Hell (2 Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 7:21-23). Beware of false teachers lest they drag you off the narrow path and onto the wide road leading to destruction (Matthew 7:13-15).
Because false teachers pervert the plain truth of the gospel, they are frauds and enemies of the righteousness of God (Acts 13:6-11). They invade the Church with destructive heresies and blaspheme the truth, bringing destruction on themselves and on those who follow their unrestrained teachings and actions (Jude 4-13). They exploit the week for money and power (2 Peter 2:1-3), and for this will face eternal damnation. Beware of false teachers, because God will judge them (Micah 3:5-7), and we don’t want to be anywhere near them when that happens.
False teachers provide no hope or rest but only sorrow and violence (Ezekiel 22:25-28; Acts 20:29-31). Good fruit produces life, while bad fruit only leads to death (Proverbs 11:30; Matthew 12:33; Luke 6:43-45). Not only will evil men bearing bad fruit find their destiny in Hell, but they will first seek to destroy those who bear good fruit. Therefore, we must avoid them at all costs.
False teachers are easy to spot as we can recognize them by the fruit they produce. If we stay in God’s Word, we won’t fall into their deception. But we will be easy prey for them if we’re not immersing ourselves in scripture and prayer. His Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path (Psalm 119:105). Read God’s Word, follow His light, and beware of false teachers (John 8:31–32).