How to Guard Your Faith: The Bible’s 3 Tests for False Teaching

The Bible is clear: deception in the church isn’t a possibility—it’s a certainty. Jesus Himself warned us about the threat. The most dangerous deception doesn’t arrive with a sinister look; it comes to us “in sheep’s clothing” (Matthew 7:15), looking and sounding spiritual.

If we don’t know the difference between a true shepherd and a ravenous wolf, we put our faith and our families at risk. The good news? The Bible gives us three clear, non-negotiable tests to help us discern the truth.

The goal isn’t to judge other people, but to grow in discernment so you can be equipped for every season of life.

Test #1: The Test of Doctrine (What is the Content of the Message?)

The first and most important test is checking the foundational truth of the message against Scripture. False teaching always distorts one of two things: the Person of Christ or the Authority of Scripture.

1. Is Jesus Christ Central and Sufficient?

False teaching often subtly shifts the focus from Jesus’ finished work on the cross to what man can do.

• The Biblical Truth: Salvation, healing, and victory come entirely through the power of Jesus Christ and His atonement. He is sufficient (Hebrews 7:25).
• The Warning Sign: Any teaching that elevates man’s power, man’s faith, or man’s words to be on par with God’s power. If a message is more focused on what you can speak into existence or what you can get from God than what Christ has already done for you, the center has been shifted.

Key Verse: “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” (1 John 4:2-3)

2. Is Scripture Complete and Final?

The Bible calls itself sufficient to make the man of God “complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

• The Biblical Truth: The written Word of God (the Bible) is the final, supreme authority for all matters of faith and practice (Sola Scriptura).
• The Warning Sign: Claims that God is primarily speaking through a “new, essential revelation” via modern-day apostles, prophets, or special words that are not found in the Bible. This implies that the Bible is incomplete.

Challenge: Is the Bible your final court of appeal? Do you need a new dream or prophecy to know God’s will, or is His written Word enough?

Test #2: The Test of Character (What is the Motive of the Messenger?)

Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20). Often, the ‘fruit’ isn’t just about moral sin, but about motive and ambition.

3. Greed and Exploitation

The Bible frequently warns that a primary motive for false teachers is financial gain. They are wolves because they devour the flock’s resources.

• The Biblical Truth: Giving should be cheerful, voluntary, and sacrificial, motivated by gratitude, not guaranteed return (2 Corinthians 9:7).
• The Warning Sign: Smooth talk, flattery, or pressure to “sow a financial seed” with the explicit promise that God is guaranteed to multiply it back to you. This turns worship into a self-serving transaction.

Key Verse: “[They] serve not our Lord Christ, but their own appetites; and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” (Romans 16:18)

4. Humility and Servanthood

True shepherds of God’s flock are marked by humility, not a hunger for power.

• The Biblical Truth: Christian leadership is defined by servanthood (Mark 10:43-45). Pastors and elders are called to humbly care for the flock (1 Peter 5:2-3).
• The Warning Sign: A love of titles, prestige, and control. Teachers who demand unquestioning submission, cannot be challenged, or live in lavish excess built on the donations of the poor.

Challenge: Does the messenger live like a humble servant of God and men, or like a celebrity who uses the flock for personal gain and glory?

Test #3: The Test of Outcomes (What Does the Teaching Produce?)

Finally, we must look at what the teaching prepares a follower for—the challenges of real life.

5. Endurance Through Suffering

The true Christian life is one of spiritual power and earthly suffering (2 Timothy 3:12).

• The Biblical Truth: We are called to “count it all joy” when we meet trials, knowing God is using suffering to perfect our faith (James 1:2-4). The true Gospel anchors us in every circumstance.
• The Warning Sign: A teaching that promises a life free of sickness, lack, or difficulty. This gospel fails in the face of reality. When a person who believes in guaranteed health and wealth gets sick or loses their job, the teaching gives them no biblical comfort—it only tells them they lack enough faith.

6. The Fruit of Holiness (Not Just Wonders)

Jesus gave the most chilling warning to those who had all the spiritual gifts but lacked the one thing that mattered.

• The Biblical Truth: Miracles, wonders, and casting out demons are not the final proof of a true ministry. The ultimate evidence is a life of holiness and obedience to the will of God (Matthew 7:21).
• The Warning Sign: A ministry that focuses entirely on spectacular experiences (miracles, signs, “being slain in the spirit”) while minimizing or ignoring the call to humility, sacrificial love, and the daily disciplines of holiness.

Key Verse: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name… and done many wonders in your name?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.‘” (Matthew 7:22-23)

Your Call to Action: Be a Berean

The best defense against the counterfeit is a deep, personal knowledge of the genuine article.

1. Be a Berean (Acts 17:11): Don’t take any teacher’s word—including this post—as final authority. Go home and examine the Scriptures daily to see if these things are true.
2. Grow in Knowledge: You cannot spot the fake dollar bill if you don’t know the real one intimately. Commit to saturating your life in the full counsel of God’s Word.
3. Contend for the Faith: You are called as a Christian man to guard and defend the truth that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). Stand firm on the authority of Scripture and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ.

Which of these three tests do you find most helpful in recognizing deception today? Share your thoughts in the comments.