Jesus warned us that “false christs and false prophets” will come and try to deceive even God’s elect (Matthew 24:23-27; see also 2 Peter 3:3 and Jude 17-18). The best way to protect yourself from falsehoods and false teachers is to know the truth. To recognize a forgery you must study the real Jacob. Any believer “who rightly cuts the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) and who makes a thorough study of the Bible will recognize false teachings. For example, a believer who has read the actions of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Matthew 3:16-17 will immediately question any doctrine that denies the Trinity. So, step one is to study the Bible and judge all teachings based on what the Scriptures say.
Jesus said “for the tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 12:33). When looking for “fruit”, there are three specific tests to which any teacher can be subjected to determine the accuracy of his preaching:
1) What does this teacher say about Jesus? In Matthew 16:15-16, Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”, and for this answer Peter is called “blessed”. In 2 John 9 we read, “Whoever is a transgressor and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ, he does not have God. Whoever remains in the teaching of Christ, he has the Father as well as the Son.” In other words, Jesus Christ and His work of salvation are of the utmost importance; beware of anyone who denies that Jesus is equal to God, who despises Jesus’ sacrificial death, or who rejects Jesus’ incarnation. 1 John 2:22 says, “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? It is the Antichrist who lies to the Father and the Son.”
2) Does this pastor preach the gospel? The gospel is described as the good news regarding Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). As beautiful as it sounds, the statements “God loves you,” “God wants us to feed the hungry,” and “God wants you to be rich” are not the complete message of the gospel. As Paul warns in Galatians 1:7, “except that there are some who confuse you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” No one, not even a good preacher, has the right to change the message that God has given us. “If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be anathema!” (Galatians 1:9).
3) Does this teacher display character traits that honor God? In reference to false teachers, Jude 11 says, “Woe to them, for they have walked the way of Cain and for reward have thrown themselves into the temptation of Balaam and perished in the rebellion of Korah.” In other words, a false teacher can be recognized by his pride (Cain’s rejection of God’s plan), greed (Bileam’s prophecy for money), and resistance (Korah’s appointment of himself over Moses). Jesus said to beware of such people and that we will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-20).
For further study, review those books of the Bible specifically written to combat false teachings in the church: Galatians, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, and Jude. It is often difficult to recognize a false teacher/false prophet. Satan pretends to be an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), and his servants pretend to be servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:15). Only by being thoroughly familiar with the truth will we be able to recognize a deceiver.