Identifying and responding to cults and false teachings.
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60104 Twice in the opening chapters of Revelation, Jesus singles out a group called the Nicolaitans — once commending the church at Ephesus for hating their deeds (Revelation 2:6), and once rebuking the church at Pergamum for tolerating their teaching (Revelation 2:15). The fact that Jesus mentions them by name, and that He hates…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60082 The Word of Faith movement is one of the most widely diffused streams of popular Christianity in the world today, with roots in mid-twentieth century America and branches now extending across every continent. Its central teachings about health, wealth, confession, and the power of spoken faith are encountered across television networks, megachurches, and…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04117 If you have spent any time in charismatic circles you will almost certainly have encountered the idea that God has been moving in successive waves of the Spirit across the twentieth century, each building on the last and preparing the church for what comes next. The language of a “Third Wave” of the…
Reading Time: 8 minutesQuestion 04118 The word “impartation” has become so standard in charismatic vocabulary that many Christians use it without pausing to ask whether it describes something the Bible actually teaches. The idea is deceptively simple: that a spiritual gift, anointing, or measure of the Spirit’s power can be transferred from one person to another through the…
Reading Time: 8 minutesQuestion 0013 In his final letter, penned in the shadow of martyrdom, the Apostle Paul issues one of Scripture’s most memorable warnings about the future condition of the church. The vivid imagery of “itching ears” captures a spiritual pathology that would characterise not a distant apostasy but an imminent danger requiring Timothy’s immediate attention. This…
Reading Time: 9 minutesQuestion 0015 Among the most significant challenges facing the contemporary church is a movement that calls itself progressive Christianity. Unlike obvious heresies that reject Christian vocabulary entirely, progressive Christianity retains traditional Christian language while systematically redefining its meaning. It claims to represent an evolved, enlightened form of faith appropriate for modern people—a Christianity liberated from…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 0016 This is one of the most important questions any Christian can ask, and the fact that you’re asking it suggests you already have a healthy spiritual instinct. The New Testament writers were deeply concerned about false teaching infiltrating the church, and they gave us plenty of guidance on how to spot it. The…
Reading Time: 8 minutesQuestion 0012 Paul’s warning to Timothy about false doctrine in 2 Timothy 2:17 employs one of the most visceral metaphors in Scripture. Writing from his Roman imprisonment, likely in the damp and disease-ridden Mamertine Prison, the apostle reaches for medical language to convey the devastating nature of heretical teaching. The image he selects, gangrene, would…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 11040 The idea that Christians can “activate” healing by speaking God’s Word has become popular particularly through Word of Faith teaching. Believers are encouraged to “speak healing into existence” or “claim your healing” by quoting Scripture. But does the Bible actually teach that our words have power to activate God’s healing? Let’s examine what…