True or False?
Brian Fletcher
Revelation 2:12-17
Read Passage: Revelation 2:12-17
Introduction: There are two main points that Jesus is making in his letter to Pergamum. First, Jesus lauds them for standing firm in the face of persecution. Second, Jesus tells them to stop believing in false teaching. The false teaching that was seeping into the Pergamum church was leading to idolatry and sexual immorality. These are pretty serious and so it's obvious why Jesus is calling them out on it.
Because this passage is mainly about false teaching, I want to take the opportunity to not just expose the false teaching in the Pergamum church but I want to teach you how to spot false teaching so you can avoid it. So, first, we are going to answer 3 questions and then we are going to walk through the passage verse by verse to see how we can correctly interpret the Scriptures and avoid false teaching or bad interpretation.
1. What is false teaching?
False teachings are beliefs that are contrary to the orthodox teachings of the Bible. Or, any belief that adds to, takes away from, contradicts, or nullifies the teachings of the Bible.
In Pergamum, false teaching included idol worship and appeasing the gods through sexual immorality.
Some other examples in church history would be:
- Believing that Jesus was NOT fully God and fully man. But rather Jesus was just an angel or simply a good moral teacher.
- Believing that salvation is a combination of God's mercy and our good works. Illustration: The Question I ask in member interviews: If you were to die tonight why should God let you into heaven?
- Believing that there are many gods, not ONE True God.
These are beliefs that Bible does not teach and therefore are false.
2. What makes us susceptible to false teaching?
Money, Sex, and Power
Our sinful nature allures us, pulling us away from true Biblical teaching by tempting us with things we crave.
We crave power, we want to be in control. We ...
Brian Fletcher
Revelation 2:12-17
Read Passage: Revelation 2:12-17
Introduction: There are two main points that Jesus is making in his letter to Pergamum. First, Jesus lauds them for standing firm in the face of persecution. Second, Jesus tells them to stop believing in false teaching. The false teaching that was seeping into the Pergamum church was leading to idolatry and sexual immorality. These are pretty serious and so it's obvious why Jesus is calling them out on it.
Because this passage is mainly about false teaching, I want to take the opportunity to not just expose the false teaching in the Pergamum church but I want to teach you how to spot false teaching so you can avoid it. So, first, we are going to answer 3 questions and then we are going to walk through the passage verse by verse to see how we can correctly interpret the Scriptures and avoid false teaching or bad interpretation.
1. What is false teaching?
False teachings are beliefs that are contrary to the orthodox teachings of the Bible. Or, any belief that adds to, takes away from, contradicts, or nullifies the teachings of the Bible.
In Pergamum, false teaching included idol worship and appeasing the gods through sexual immorality.
Some other examples in church history would be:
- Believing that Jesus was NOT fully God and fully man. But rather Jesus was just an angel or simply a good moral teacher.
- Believing that salvation is a combination of God's mercy and our good works. Illustration: The Question I ask in member interviews: If you were to die tonight why should God let you into heaven?
- Believing that there are many gods, not ONE True God.
These are beliefs that Bible does not teach and therefore are false.
2. What makes us susceptible to false teaching?
Money, Sex, and Power
Our sinful nature allures us, pulling us away from true Biblical teaching by tempting us with things we crave.
We crave power, we want to be in control. We ...
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