Anatomy of False Teachers

They have been a part of the people of God from the very beginning.
They have often been welcomed and even celebrated as men who were especially spiritual.
They regularly claim to have special insight into the ways of God that no one else has.
When they gain widespread influence, God’s people go astray and God’s revealed will is disregarded.
When their message is believed and their instruction is followed, the end result is always spiritual disaster.

That is the legacy and heritage of “false teachers” among the people of God.
False teachers—people who claim to speak for God while disregarding or twisting what He has revealed in His Word—have been a plague on God’s people throughout history. And they continue to plague the church today.

This is why the Bible is filled with warnings against them, telling us to be on the look out for them and to resist their efforts to lead us astray.