The church must not tolerate false teachers. They teach doctrines that will damn men's souls. False teachers can disrupt and even destroy the church. Like yeast in bread dough, error spreads from one person to another. Apostasy is the end result. Paul warned the Galatians about tolerating the teaching of error by saying, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough" (Gal 5:9). Jesus condemned the church in Thyatira because it tolerated a false teacher: "And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ...But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bondservants astray, so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols" (Rev 2:18,20).

Allowing one to be a teacher or a leader in the church when he teaches error or is involved in sin is wrong. Tolerating such an individual by remaining silent is to sanction the sin and the error. The false teacher himself is wronged when his error is not refuted. Paul delivered to Satan two false teachers, Hymanaeus and Alexander, so that they might "learn not to blaspheme" (1 Tim 1:20). They were in error and Paul refuted their error.

Those who are encouraged to listen to false teachers are wronged because the church has given them sanction by permitting them to teach. Let no one be deceived into thinking that such sanction is acceptable under the guise of freedom, personal liberty or fair play. The church is to be the "pillar and ground of the truth," not a forum for error (1 Tim 3:15).

False teachers in the church are so dangerous because they attack at a very vulnerable point, that of fellowship relationships. The very nature of fellowship in the church is love, sharing and trust. It seems unthinkable that a dear brother would teach something that would deceive our minds, destroy our faith and damn our souls. We do not want to believe he is a false teacher because he is a brother. The fellowship tie makes us want to excuse or justify such a brother. We rationalize: "Surely we misunderstood him!"; "Maybe he was misquoted."; "He is just stating his private opinion."; "We do not endorse him but we believe all segments of the brotherhood need a forum."; "He does not bind his doctrine as a test of fellowship."; "He is just trying to make us think."; "He has a lot of good things to say even if he might be off on some points."; "He is probably reacting to human traditions."

Certainly we must make allowance for a brother who is struggling with doctrinal misunderstanding, is spiritually immature or who holds opinions different from ours. This is not the case, however, with those who teach a false doctrine and/or form factions in the church. They are to be treated the same way Paul instructed the church in Rome to deal with such men: "Now I urge you brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them (keep away from them-NIV). For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Jesus Christ but of their own appetites; and with their smooth words and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting" (Rom 16:17,18; cf. Titus 3:9-11).

The epistles of John reflect examples of false teachers using and abusing fellowship in the church to spread their teachings and form factions within the body. One of their glaring false doctrines was a rejection of Jesus coming in the flesh (1 John 4:2,3; 2 John 7). Three other false doctrines are also evident from the text: 1) The Word of God was not an absolute objective authority; 2) Commandment keeping was unnecessary; and 3) They looked down on the brotherhood (See 1 John 2:3-6, 19; 3:14-18; 4:7-13).

John stated a clear solution: "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him greeting; for the one who gives him greeting participates in his evil deeds" (2 John 9-11). This is not a personal suggestion; it is a divine injunction: "Do not receive him" and "Do not give him a greeting." To do so makes one to share in his error.

Will God's people today become as they were in the days of Jeremiah? "An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; And my people love it so!" (Jer 5:30-31)