Have you ever met a false teacher? I dated one for four years. He would ride in on a white horse (or in his case, an unsuspecting white four door Buick), and then drive off to his hometown forty minutes away.
Thank God I eventually learned to spot the contradictions in his life, but it took a long time – and a lot of heart ache.
That’s the thing about false teachers—they don’t wear name tags that say “Heretic” or come with warning labels. Sometimes, they look really good on paper. But if you don’t know what to look for, or if you’re not anchored in sound doctrine, you can be misled.
So, what is a heretic? What makes someone a false teacher? And how do we tell the difference between a real warning and a disagreement in theology?
Let’s define our terms first.
What is a heretic or a false teacher?
According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, heresy is “adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma.” In other words, anyone who believes or teaches something that goes against Christian doctrine is a heretic. And that includes people inside the church.
Got Questions explains it well: “The gauge for ‘heretical’ teaching varies according to the established orthodoxy of the day.” That’s why Christians were called heretics by the Jews in Acts 24:14. And in the Middle Ages, many who were executed by the Catholic Church weren’t teaching false doctrine—they just had a Bible.
So what’s the biblical definition?
Simply put, a heretic denies the teachings of Jesus. When a person claims to teach the Word of God but contradicts Jesus’ words or the core doctrines of the faith, they are a false teacher. That’s why it’s so important not to label someone a heretic just because we disagree with them on secondary issues. We need to weigh everything against the standard of Scripture.
Titus 1:10-16: A Clear Guide to Spotting False Teachers
In Titus 1, Paul gives us clear instructions on how to recognize false teachers and what to do about them. Here are three things the text reveals about how sound doctrine is necessary for discerning true teachings from false teachings:
1. Sound doctrine resists culture’s influence (v.10, 12)
Paul knew the culture of Crete. In fact, he quoted the Cretan poet Epimenides, who said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” Paul understood the culture as well or better than Titus—the one Paul left in charge of the church in Crete. However Paul wasn’t trying to clean up the culture—he was trying to keep the culture out of the church.
We hear people say today, “Don’t fight the culture war. Just preach the gospel.” But here’s the thing—if we don’t understand how the culture influences us, we won’t recognize when it creeps into our churches. Sound doctrine is what anchors us to truth and keeps us from being swayed.
Paul told Titus to appoint elders who would hold fast to the trustworthy word and teach sound doctrine because false teachers were already infiltrating the church. Their lives contradicted their words. They were more Cretan than Christian.
2. Sound doctrine exposes contradictions (v.10–11, 16)
There are two main ways to identify a contradiction in the life of a false teacher. They will contradict sound doctrine in either their words or their works.
Paul pointed out the circumcision party—people who added works to salvation. That’s blatant false teaching. The only way to spot the contradiction is to know what sound doctrine is.
And it wasn’t just their words. Their lives told the story too. Jesus warned in Matthew 23 about the Pharisees, saying, “Do what they say, but not what they do.” That’s hypocrisy. It’s not enough to teach truth—we have to live it too.
Paul says these false teachers were “upsetting whole households” and “unfit for any good work.”
3. Sound doctrine confronts false teachers (v.11, 13–16)
Paul didn’t mince words—he said, “They must be silenced.” The Greek implies putting a muzzle over their mouths. Confronting false teachers is difficult but necessary.
Why must we confront it? For the health of the church and for the sake of the false teacher. Verse 13 says, “Rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.” The goal is restoration, not cancellation.
Paul says their minds and consciences were defiled. They claimed to know God, but denied Him by their works. That’s what makes them detestable and unfit for any good work.
So what do we do with this?
We start by examining ourselves. Is your faith Christ-centered or culturally compromised? Are there contradictions in your life or in your church? Are your beliefs aligned with the truth of Christ?
Dr. George Barna’s research from 2024 shows that 64% of Americans claim to be Christian—but only 4% have a biblical worldview. That’s a massive gap. We can’t just claim to know Jesus. We have to live like it.
Sound doctrine anchors us. It brings consistency between what we believe and how we live. It purifies us from the inside out.
How do we muzzle false teachers today?
We live in the Information Age. False teaching spreads fast. And sometimes it’s online influencers or “Christian” content creators we’ve never met. So here are a few practical steps:
- Make sure you’re part of a local church where you know your pastor and are being discipled in real life.
- Think of online teachers as supplements, not replacements. They don’t walk with you or know your story.
- If someone teaches Jesus + anything or Jesus – anything, stop listening.
- If someone you follow becomes a heresy hunter, step back and evaluate. Are they helping you grow in truth, or just stirring up controversy?
In closing…
There are false teachers out there. No doubt. But not everyone we disagree with is a heretic. That’s why we need to be people of the Word—anchored in sound doctrine and discerning through the Spirit. When we do speak up, we must do it in love and with humility, hoping to bring correction and restoration.
Let’s not fall into the trap of cancel culture. Let’s hold fast to Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, and stay rooted in His Word.
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