28 Distinguishing Marks of True and False Apostles

(2 Corinthians 11:7–15, 20)

Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you; and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. … For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. (11:7–15, 20)

The famous quote attributed to the circus promoter P. T. Barnum, “There’s a sucker born every minute,” aptly sums up a major result of the Fall. Thus, one of the most pervasive effects of total depravity is gullibility. Even today, in the most highly educated society in history, people remain amazingly gullible. Deceitful swindlers take in thousands with phony investment schemes, fake charities, bogus health claims, and a myriad of other scams. They ensnare their victims through a variety of means, including ads, telemarketing, and the latest high-tech twist, spam e-mail.

But far more dangerous than the petty plots of human hucksters are the deadly schemes of Satan. The former cost people their money; the latter cost them their eternal souls (cf. Matt. 16:26). Satan’s deceptions succeed because people are born into this world easily deceivable and highly temptable. The unregenerate are “alienated from the life of God” (Eph. 4:18 NKJV; cf. 2:12; Gal. 4:8; Col. 1:21) and, not knowing Him (1 Thess. 4:5; cf. Eph. 2:12; 2 Thess. 1:8), are cut off from the source of truth (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4; Rom. 1:18; 2:8). Further, they are under the sway of the “prince of the power of the air … the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2; cf. 6:12; John 8:44; 12:31; 1 John 5:19), leaving them vulnerable to the lies and deception promoted by deceitful spirits (1 Tim. 4:1; cf. 1 Kings 22:22–23; 2 Thess. 2:9) and evil men (2 Tim. 3:13).

The deceptive schemes of demons and depraved people permeate every aspect of human society. Morality, sociology, education, politics, science, the arts, and, especially, religion are thoroughly infused with the deceptive falsehoods spawned by the “father of lies” (John 8:44). Having turned their backs on God and the truth (Rom. 1:18–32), the unregenerate cannot help but fall victim to Satan’s plots (2 Tim. 2:26), as orchestrated by his minions (Eph. 6:12), since they belong to his kingdom (Col. 1:13). They are beguiled and seduced from the beginning to the end of their lives (Eph. 2:2–3).

But infinitely more tragic than the gullibility of the unregenerate world is the gullibility of the church. The church is the “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15), the possessor of “the word of truth, the gospel” (Col. 1:5) found in God’s Word, the Bible, which is truth (John 17:17; cf. Pss. 12:6; 19:7; 119:151). Its Head is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6; cf. John 1:17; Eph. 4:21), and it has “the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16). Therefore it is inexcusable for believers to fall victim to the “the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11; cf. 2 Cor. 2:11) and “be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph. 4:14; cf. 1 Cor. 14:20). (I discuss the danger of the church’s lack of discernment in my book Reckless Faith: When the Church Loses Its Will to Discern [Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 1994].)

Those who do not understand the truth are incapable of discerning error. The absence of discernment is a logical consequence of ignorance of Scripture, because discernment involves the application of biblical knowledge. Ignorance of doctrine results in spiritual immaturity, which leads to a lack of discernment and opens the door wide to Satan’s deceptive schemes.

Throughout its history, the most damaging assaults on the church have not come from atheism, skepticism, humanism, or persecution. The church has been ravaged when undiscerning Christians have been seduced by what appears to be divine truth but is not. The people who pose the biggest threat to the church are not those who openly attack it. Of far greater danger are those who claim to represent God and to teach the truth of Scripture, but in reality are deceivers (cf. Matt. 7:15–23; Gal. 1:6–9; 2 Thess. 2:1–3; 1 Tim. 4:1–2; Titus 1:10–16; 2 Peter 2:1–3; Jude 4–16).

In his farewell address to the elders of the church at Ephesus, Paul warned of the twin dangers of false teachers and gullible believers. The apostle had built a solid foundation during his three years of ministry in the Ephesian church (Acts 20:31); he “did not shrink from declaring to [them] the whole purpose of God” (v. 27). But in spite of that, Paul knew they were still vulnerable. Therefore he commanded the elders,

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert. (Acts 20:28–31)

Knowing that the church would be attacked, Paul pointed its leaders to the only source of protection: “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (v. 32). The only way to avoid being deceived is to be discerning, and the only way to be discerning is to understand and apply Scripture.

Sadly, lack of discernment had created havoc in the Corinthian church. False teachers were seeking to seduce the Corinthians and lead them “astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). As a vigilant shepherd, Paul warned his flock of the danger they posed; in fact, this entire epistle is an antidote to their poisonous lies. In chapters 10–13 in particular, Paul directly confronted the false teachers.

This passage presents in stark terms the contrast between Paul, who lovingly, humbly proclaimed the truth, and the false teachers, who deceptively abused the Corinthians. The specific point at issue was money, always a prime motivation for false teachers (Rom. 16:18; 1 Tim. 6:5; Titus 1:11; 2 Peter 2:3, 14; Jude 11; cf. 1 Tim. 3:3; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:3). The greedy false apostles took money from the Corinthians; Paul did not.

As he approached the distasteful task of making the comparison between himself and the false apostles, Paul listed three marks of a true apostle (humility, truth, and love) and three corresponding marks of a false apostle (pride, deception, and abuse). The same criteria may be used today to distinguish true men of God from false teachers.

MARKS OF A TRUE APOSTLE

As he reluctantly sat for a self-portrait, Paul painted a threefold picture of a genuine man of God.

HUMILITY

Paul began his comparison with a question containing sarcasm and irony. Did the Corinthians really think him guilty of a sin … because he preached the gospel of God to them without charge? The implication of the apostle’s question is that they were as much as calling his humility a sin. Or points back to Paul’s acknowledgement in verse 6 that he was “unskilled in speech.” The apostle was referring to the false teachers’ disdainful charge that his “speech [was] contemptible” (10:10). They scorned Paul as a rank amateur, who lacked the polished communication skills on which they prided themselves and, Paul says caustically, “Is this a sin?”

It was Paul’s “amateur status” that raised the issue he alluded to in verse 7. The false apostles put a perverse spin on Paul’s humble refusal to accept money from the Corinthians. In Greek culture, a skilled orator was considered a professional, one who made his living from the fees he charged. By ministering free of charge, they maintained, the apostle labeled himself an amateur who lacked their credentials and hence was not qualified to be heard by the Corinthians. Further, they insinuated, how could what Paul had to say be of any value if he did not charge for it? He himself had set the price tag on his teaching: He would not take any money for it because it was worthless. Amazingly, many of the Corinthians fell for that outrageous lie.

The Corinthians’ gullibility on this issue was inexcusable. In his first inspired letter to them, Paul had explained at length why he did not take any money from them:

My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not use the milk of the flock? I am not speaking these things according to human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops. If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel. But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make my boast an empty one. For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. What then is my reward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. (1 Cor. 9:3–18; cf. Matt. 10:10)

Though he had every right to “reap material things” from the Corinthians, he chose to forgo that privilege. Since it was all so new, and all the other traveling teachers required money, he wanted to make sure that he would “cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.” It was Paul’s practice not to be supported by new churches he founded, for two important reasons. First, he wanted to distance himself from deceivers, who were in the ministry for money. Second, he worked to provide an example to the new believers, as he explained to the Thessalonians:

Nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, so that you would follow our example. (2 Thess. 3:8–9; cf. Acts 18:3; 20:34; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:9)

Though Paul did not take money from churches while he was establishing them, he did accept support from those churches after he left. They were thus able to share in his church-planting ministry (see the discussion of v. 9 below).

Paul’s purpose in humbling himself was that the Corinthians might be exalted. The gospel elevated the Corinthians from darkness to light (Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13; Eph. 5:8; 1 Thess. 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9); from sin to righteousness (Rom. 6:18; 1 Peter 2:24); from Satan’s domain to Christ’s kingdom (Col. 1:13; cf. Acts 26:18); and from death to life (John 5:24; 1 John 3:14). Paul’s free preaching of the gospel had elevated them from damnation to glory; where was the sin in that?

Rather than accept payment from them, Paul robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve the Corinthians. Sula? (robbed) is a strong term, generally used in a military context to speak of pillaging, or of stripping a dead soldier of his armor (Colin G. Kruse, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995], 187). Wages translates opsōnion, which is used in Luke 3:14 to speak of soldiers’ pay or rations (cf. its similar use in 1 Cor. 9:7).

Obviously, Paul was speaking metaphorically and with irony; he did not actually rob or defraud any church. But the gifts he received from poor churches made them still poorer, and Paul’s humility made that seem to him as if he were plundering them. Specifically, the apostle had in mind the impoverished churches of Macedonia (Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica). They not only contributed to the offering for the Jerusalem church (2 Cor. 8:1–5; Rom. 15:26) but also supported Paul’s ministry on more than one occasion (Phil. 4:10, 14–18; cf. 1 Thess. 3:6 with Acts 18:5).

Even when Paul was present with them and was in need, he was not a burden to anyone. He had plied his trade as a tentmaker (or leather-worker) while in Corinth (Acts 18:3). However, either business became slack or the demands of his ministry curtailed the amount of time he had to work. In either case, Paul was for a time in a dire situation, lacking the basic necessities of life. Yet even then he refused to be a burden (the Greek verb literally means “to grow numb,” and hence to be a dead weight) to the Corinthians. Eventually, Silas and Timothy arrived with the Macedonian churches’ gifts, alleviating Paul’s needs and allowing him to devote himself full-time to ministry (Acts 18:5). Just as Paul had kept himself from being a burden to the Corinthians in the past, so he would continue to do so on his upcoming visit (2 Cor. 12:14).

Unlike the proud, lying apostles, who would not dream of lowering themselves to do manual labor, Paul humbled himself to the place of a common worker. True men of God are “free from the love of money” (1 Tim. 3:3) and seek nothing but the opportunity to faithfully carry out their ministry.

TRUTH

As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. (11:10)

Paul could justly affirm that the truth of Christ was in him. He not only proclaimed the truth but also lived it out in absolute integrity. To do otherwise would be hypocrisy, which Paul abhorred (cf. 4:2; Rom. 12:9).

Earlier in this epistle he reminded the Corinthians, “For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God” (2 Cor. 2:17). He had “renounced the things hidden because of shame, [and was] not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending [himself] to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (4:2). Paul ministered at all times “in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth” (6:6–7) and therefore could claim, “we spoke all things to you in truth” (7:14).

Paul’s boasting would not be stopped because he was not going to change his policy. He would continue to minister free of charge, both at Corinth and throughout the surrounding regions of Achaia. That there were other churches in that province is clear from Paul’s references to “all the saints who are throughout Achaia” (1:1), and to Phoebe, a member of the church at the nearby port city of Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1). That Paul included the surrounding region suggests that the false apostles’ influence was not confined to Corinth.

Paul was a man of impeccable integrity, completely faithful to his convictions, which were based on God’s revelation. He typifies all true men of God who demonstrate selfless humility, and whose lives reflect an unwavering devotion to the truth that they proclaim.

LOVE

Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! (11:11)

Another insidious charge leveled by the false apostles concerned Paul’s humble refusal to take money from the Corinthians. That he did not do so, they argued, showed that he did not really love the Corinthians and wanted no strings to bind him to them.

Paul replied to that false allegation by asking the Corinthians the rhetorical question, Why did I not take money from you? Because I do not love you? That they could seriously entertain the notion that Paul did not love them was absurd in light of his repeated actions and affirmations (cf. 2:4; 12:15; 1 Cor. 4:21; 16:24). That those to whom he had sacrificially ministered (cf. 2 Cor. 1:6; 2:4; 4:8–15), asking nothing in return, could see that as proof that he did not love them shows the power of satanic deception.

Since the Corinthians doubted him, Paul appealed to the highest court, emphatically declaring, God knows I do! Philip E. Hughes writes,

There were no depths to which these intruders were unwilling to descend in order to alienate the Apostle from his dearly loved children in the gospel. Hence Paul’s question here: “Wherefore? Because I love you not?” and his protestation: “God knoweth!” It is a real cry from the heart. Words and explanations and justifications are out of place when the relationship of love involved is that between a father and his children. Before God both he and they need no persuasion that this accusation is a cruel and damnable falsehood. No man on earth had a warmer and more devoted heart than the Apostle Paul. Love was the impulse of his whole life and ministry as Christ’s Apostle. And so he leaves this shocking and monstrous insinuation that he has no love for them to the judgment of God, who knows and will vindicate the truth. And in doing so he also leaves it to their consciences. (The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992], 390)

That God knows their hearts is the ultimate refuge and comfort for believers when they are falsely accused (cf. 11:31; 12:2–3). Because he ministered in the sight of God (2:17; 4:2; 8:21; 12:19), Paul could appeal to Him with a clear conscience (1:12).

MARKS OF A FALSE APOSTLE

But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. … For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. (11:12–15, 20)

Just as Paul’s humility, truth, and love paint a portrait of a true man of God, so the false apostles’ pride, deception, and abuse typify false teachers.

PRIDE

But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. (11:12)

The false apostles’ pride most clearly manifested itself in their greed. Though they desperately wanted to be seen as Paul’s equals, Paul’s refusal to take money from the Corinthians posed a major problem for them. Since they did take money from the Corinthians, they were caught on the horns of a dilemma. To continue to do so left them in an awkward and embarrassing position in comparison to Paul. On the other hand, for them to refuse to be paid was unthinkable, because they were in it for the money.

But despite the pressure from the false apostles, what Paul was doing he would continue to do; he would not give an opportunity to them to be regarded just as he was in the matter about which they were boasting. He would not help them out of their dilemma by changing his policy and taking money from the Corinthians. The contrast between his selflessness and the false apostles’ greed should have made it clear to the Corinthians who was the genuine man of God. Paul was never a burden to them (v. 9), in contrast to the parasitic false apostles.

DECEPTION

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. (11:13–15)

These three verses form the heart of this section. Paul denounced the false apostles in strong, forceful language because the truth was at stake. Unlike many today, Paul was not willing to sacrifice truth for unity. Throughout this epistle, he had alluded to the false apostles, referring to them obliquely as the “many” who were guilty of “peddling the word of God” (2:17); as “some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh” (10:2); as “those who commend themselves” (10:12); as those who preach “another Jesus” and “a different gospel” (11:4); and, sarcastically, as “the most eminent apostles” (11:5). But now the time had come to bluntly and directly expose them.

The measure of a person’s love for the truth is how that person responds when confronted by it. Those who most loudly proclaim the virtue of tolerance are often those with the most to lose if confronted by the truth. And when the truth is brought to bear on them, they frequently retaliate with fury. But when the honor of God and Christ, and the truth of the gospel and Scripture were at stake, Paul was not one to equivocate. Demonstrating what many with shallow convictions would see as a shocking lack of tolerance, Paul exposed the deceiving teachers as Satan’s servants (v. 15), masquerading as true men of God.

Paul probably coined the term pseudapostolos (false apostles), which appears nowhere else in the New Testament (cf. Rev. 2:2). Such deceivers have plagued God’s people throughout redemptive history. The Lord through Jeremiah warned of deceitful false prophets: “The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds” (Jer. 14:14; cf. 23:14, 26). In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warned, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). In the Olivet discourse, the Lord noted that they would be especially active in the end times: “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24; cf. 1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:13). The Jerusalem Council cautioned against false teachers claiming to have been sent by the Jerusalem church: “We have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls” (Acts 15:24). “Beloved, do not believe every spirit,” John warned, “but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

The deceitful workers plied their trade by disguising themselves as apostles of Christ to deceive the gullible and undiscerning. Though they brashly posed as equals to Paul and the Twelve, the false apostles were in reality deceitful workers, Satan’s servants who would disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. The Bible reveals that deceit is a hallmark of false teachers. Paul warned the Romans that “such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting” (Rom. 16:18). He wrote to Timothy that “evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13). To Titus he wrote, “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision” (Titus 1:10). Because of the ever-present danger they pose, the New Testament warns believers not to be taken in by them (Matt. 24:4; Gal. 6:7; Eph. 5:6; Col. 2:4, 8; 2 Thess. 2:3; 1 John 4:1).

It is no wonder that false teachers masquerade as God’s servants for even Satan, the ruler of the domain of darkness (Luke 22:53; Eph. 6:12; Col. 1:13), disguises himself as an angel of light. It is in that guise that he appears to the church, not the pitchfork, horns, and pointed tail of mythology. Satan is most effective in the church when he comes not as an open enemy, but as a false friend; not when he persecutes the church, but when he joins it; not when he attacks the pulpit, but when he stands in it.

But neither Satan nor his servants will get away with their charade forever. John records that Satan will be bound at the start of the Millennium:

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. (Rev. 20:1–3)

Satan’s ultimate fate will be eternal punishment in the lake of fire: “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10).

The Bible reveals that an equally fearful judgment awaits all false teachers. In Matthew 7:21–23 the Lord Jesus Christ solemnly warned,

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.”

The destiny of false teachers will be according to their deeds.

ABUSE

For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. (11:20)

This was a sad verse for Paul to write, for it reveals how seriously the Corinthians were seduced. They even willingly tolerated harsh treatment from the false apostles. Enslaves translates katadoulo?, a verb that in its only other New Testament appearance refers to the Judaizers’ enslavement of the Galatians (Gal. 2:4). The false works-righteousness system propagated by the lying teachers had robbed the Corinthians of their freedom in Christ. The Greek word translated devours pictures the false apostles preying on the Corinthians like predatory animals. It could be a reference to their demands for money (it is so used in Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47 to describe the greedy Pharisees’ seizing of widows’ houses). The Corinthians stood by while the false teachers took advantage of them (cf. 2 Cor. 12:16) and exalted themselves in their pride and arrogance. Their mistreatment of the Corinthians was, in short, a slap in the face, which was (and is) a symbol of extreme disrespect (cf. 1 Kings 22:24; Lam. 3:30; Luke 22:64; John 18:22; Acts 23:2).

Three valuable principles may be distilled from Paul’s contrast of himself with the false apostles:

First, believers must not be taken in by smooth, clever, seemingly spiritual oratory. Such speech may mask satanic lies and deception. Many false teachers use biblical terms but invest them with a radically different meaning.

Second, believers must go beyond a teacher’s words and examine his life. Religion is big business to false teachers, but those consumed with accumulating wealth and power are not true servants of Jesus Christ (Matt. 6:24).

Finally, believers must avoid the temptation to make tolerance a virtue. D. A. Carson notes

The appeal to limitless toleration … presupposes the greatest evil is to hold a strong conviction that certain things are true and their contraries are false. … But if we hold that God has revealed himself to men, supremely in the person of his Son, but also in the words and propositions of Scripture, then … we have no right to treat as optional anything God has said. (From Triumphalism to Maturity [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984], 101)

Toleration is the supreme virtue only to those who lack strong convictions.

To discern the true from the false spiritual leaders is vital to the health of the church. To fail to exercise discernment is to open wide the door to the sheepfold and allow Satan’s savage wolves to ravage God’s flock.

28 Distinguishing Marks of True and False Apostles(2 Corinthians 11:7–15, 20)

MARKS OF A TRUE APOSTLE

MARKS OF A FALSE APOSTLE

28 Distinguishing Marks of True and False Apostles

(2 Corinthians 11:7–15, 20)