Reader Q&A: Can Wolves in Christianity Truly Be Saved? (Part 2) - By Elizabeth Prata

Found here. Our comments in bold.

----------------------

Ms. Prata asks a question she doesn't actually answer. She also confuses false teachers with generally evil men in the congregation. 

This is a confused, unfocused presentation. Especially since she completely ignores certain relevant verses, like:

He. 6:4-6 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

Lastly, we should note that sometimes the issue is not with false teachers per se, but rather teachers Ms. Prata disagrees with. And when there is a fallen teacher with whom she agrees, like David Platt, she dances around the problem by simply claiming he appeared to teach sound doctrine.

She badly wants the answer to be "no," that false teachers cannot be saved, that they are incapable of repenting, but ultimately she has no verse that tells us this. And that may be the bottom line here. People like Ms. Prata presume that excellent doctrine is the same thing as godliness. So a someone who teaches correct doctrine cannot be a secret sinner and cannot fall.

This is obviously false.

----------------------------

Yesterday I wrote about a Q&A I’d had from a reader and promised to post the other questions and answers today. Here is yesterday’s part 1- Decoding False Teachers: Types of Wolves in Christianity- Reader Questions & Answers part 1

I love when I receive questions. It encourages me because the queries show me that there are women out there who care about discernment, about Jesus, and about the purity of their walk with Him. That’s all discernment is: a process of training one’s self to have an ever more pure walk with Jesus. To learn who and what to go toward and who and what to stay away from in order to attain a more clear view of Him.

Here are the other two questions and my answers. I certainly do not have a monopoly in answers or final knowledge of the Bible. How would you have replied? What is your stance on some of these things?

Can a wolf be saved? Is there a hope for them in terms of genuine repentance, and saving faith?

I’ve often wondered this. Quite a bit, actually. Not knowing the answer and only surmising as to some notions as you’ll see below, I still do pray for the false teachers the Lord burdens my heart with.

Now, God CAN save anyone. (Oh. Well. Ms. Prata should end her article here...)

He saved Saul the persecutor and turned him into the most productive evangelist and missionary in the history of the world. Jesus pronounced woes and invectives upon the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes (so did John the Baptist). But Sadducee Joseph of Arimathea and Pharisee Nicodemus were more than likely genuine believers by the end.

However … my personal feeling of the actual false teachers, the ones embedded in Christianity and profess to love Jesus, is no, they will not be saved. Here are my reasons:

First- Jude 1:4 seems to indicate that at least some of these false teachers were deliberately raised up for God’s reasons, and were always marked for condemnation. (Let's quote it: 

Jude 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.

This verse is not about wolves or false teachers, it's about false brothers (see Jude 19). Now, we certainly will concede that a false brother could also be a wolf, but that depends on the circumstances. 

Further, Ms. Prata is a Calvinist, so why should it surprise her that both the Elect and the condemned were all chosen for various destinies?)

After all, “There must be heresies among you so that those who are approved might be made manifest” (1 Corinthians 11:19). (The word translated "heresies" ought to be "differences" or "sects." See our explanation here. Which of course means this verse is not about wolves or false teachers.

In addition, Paul's commentary on the differences of opinion within the Corinthian church is tinged with sarcasm. Therefore, he was not giving this church an imperative. The NIV makes this a little more clear: No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.)

2 Peter 2:1 seems to indicate the same. (Well, no. Let's quote it: 

2Pe. 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.

Peter was informing this church to expect that false teachers would arise, not that some are destined to be false teachers.)

 1 Timothy 4:1-2 says these hypocrites have a seared conscience. (Let's quote: 

1Ti. 4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

First we note that this is not about false teachers.

Second, this is not about specific people destined to be sinners.

Third, obviously a seared conscience is a serious thing, but does it speak of an irrevocable destiny? Again we note that Ms. Prata is a Calvinist, so every person is totally depraved, and no one is in a position to do anything about apart from God's intervention. So she's wrestling with an issue for which she already has the answer.)

At some point, Jesus turns the rebels over to their sin. (Romans 1:21). (Romans 1:24. Ms. Prata completely botches this. Paul clearly states his context: 

Ro. 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 

This verse is not about a group of false teachers who God will not save.)

Of course, we do not know the point if and when it occurs in various individuals.

Secondly, as to the seared conscience and also remembering Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, these false teachers, if they actually had the Holy Spirit in them, they would not persist in their evil teaching ways. (Ms. Prata is simply speculating. Where in the Bible does it tell us that the indwelling Holy Spirit prevents us from sinning?)

The Holy Spirit always points us toward truth. It might take weeks, months, or in some rare cases a year or so, but someone cannot and does not persist for 40 years as a false teacher and then suddenly repent. (Abandoning her former uncertainty ["I’ve often wondered this."], Ms. Prata is suddenly certain that false teachers cannot be saved.)

Romans 1:25 says they know God, but they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. "They," meaning sinners. Again, this verse is not about false teachers.)

I’ve never seen a long-term, false professing Christian teacher repenting, and I’ve never heard of it. (Ah, so Ms. Prata's anecdotal experience is the source of her doctrine.)

It is more likely that they are seared in conscience, hardened in heart, and being used by God as a judgment. (Now we determine doctrine by what is "more likely?")

Here is Paul Washer on false teachers. clip is 5 min, here is the beginning of it-

Washer transcript: “False teachers are God’s judgment on people who don’t want God, but in the name of religion plan on getting everything their carnal heart desires. That’s why a Joel Osteen is raised up. Those people who sit under him are not victims of him. He is the judgment of God upon them because they want exactly what he wants and it’s not God.” (One man's opinion. But we want to know what the Bible says. Chapter and verse, Mr. Washer?)

God allows false teachers so that it may be manifest those who are true. There must be heresies among you so that those who are approved might be made manifest. (1 Corinthians 11:19). (As we previously mentioned, this is a misleading translation of the word "heresies.")

Can a person truly be a wolf if they believe in and teach sound doctrine? (Ms. Prata now departs from the topic and never returns.)

Let’s look at the word “believe”: The demons believed in Jesus. In fact in Mark it was demons who assigned to Jesus the highest praise name of all - the Holy One of God. Judas believed sound doctrine. The issue is, they did not submit to it. They are rebels. So we need to be careful using the term ‘believe in Jesus’.

Let’s look at the word “doctrine”: All false teachers mix truth with the false. They all twist doctrine in some way, some more skillfully and hidden and others more easily detected (Example, Beth Moore- skillfully twisting her doctrine to make it seem sound, Todd Bentley- false doctrine easily detected). So it depends on what is meant by ‘sound doctrine’. Also, new converts might believe Louie Giglio is sound or a Beth Moore but as they grow they realize their doctrine is not sound. So while soundness is soundness, our perception of it is a continuum.

No doubt, false teachers may be difficult to recognize in the moment. If we don’t have access to their personal lives, or their doctrinal compromises haven’t yet been manifest publicly in their behavior, we may find it difficult to know whether they are true. But time will tell. They will be known by their fruit — not the fruit of ministry quantity and numbers, but quality and endurance — and ultimately the quality of their own lives. ~Dave Mathis, The Surprising Truth about False Teachers

Rick Warren appeared to teach sound doctrine. So did David Platt. For a while. Billy Graham appeared to teach soundly for a long time but secretly held heretical beliefs. Ravi Zacharias appeared to teach sound doctrine, in fact was noted for it, but was living a grossly immoral secret life. Look at lifestyle as part of any assessment of a teacher of the Bible. (So, we can conclude that doctrine, no matter how correct it is, is not a measure of salvation or being a wolf?)

Apollos was a diligent student of scripture and knowledgeable, and he taught, but he did not have the full story of the new covenant, only John’s Baptism. Did his lack mean he was false? No, because his teachableness and humility when approached by Priscilla and Aquila were also indicators of his status as true teacher. He did not reject the fuller knowledge, in fact, he hastily absorbed it and went on in humility to become a noted true teacher of the Gospel.

Beth Moore knows the full story of the Bible but chooses NOT to teach it even when urged, reminded, alerted, and corrected. Romans 1:25 applies to her.

All in all, false teachers are bad. They should not be tolerated, even a little bit.

And in the Scripture they are never tolerated. They’re never tolerated as sort of partially right and needing to be helped along to the fullness of the truth, they are totally denounced, condemned to eternal damnation. ~John MacArthur, Portrait of False Teachers part 1 (Everyone is "partially right." No one has perfect doctrine.)

Conclusion

The best thing to do is to train in discernment and to:

–stay in the word frequently if not daily
–appeal to the Holy Spirit daily for help in interpreting it rightly
–pray for growth in discernment (All good advice.)

The Lord will give these good gifts to His children, because they are aligned with HIS will. (?? There is no Bible verse that tells us that spiritual gifts are contingent on obedience.)

Further Resources

Portrait of False Teachers part 1, MacArthur sermon

Lessons I’ve learned from False Teachers, Tim Challies, essay

How to Identify False Teachers if you Don’t Know the Truth, For the Gospel, Costi Hinn essay

False teachers, Just Thinking Podcast

Decoding False Teachers: Types of Wolves in Christianity- Reader Questions & Answers part 1 The End Time