3. False teachers are dangerous.
False teachers are dangerous, and part of what makes them so dangerous is that they will affirm so much that is good and true.
They will not deny all of the doctrines upon which the Christian faith stands or falls but only select parts of it. They draw in the unsuspecting with all they affirm and only later destroy them with all they deny.
There is an important lesson: We only know a person when we understand both what he affirms and what he denies.
4. False teachers are divisive.
False teachers cause division within the church and often cause division even among true Christians.
Because false teachers tend to remain within the church, and because they claim to be honoring the Bible, they confuse true believers and drive wedges between them.
Amazingly, it is often those who stand fast against falsehood who get labeled as divisive. The church often trusts a smiling false teacher ahead of a frowning defender.
5. False teachers give people what they want.
As Paul wrote his final letter to Timothy, he warned that the time was coming when people would not endure sound teaching (and hence, sound teachers), but instead they would have itching ears and demand teachers who would satisfy this itch.
False teachers do this very thing. Their concern is not for what people truly need but for what people want.
The concern of the Christian is the exact opposite—the gospel does not address what we want but what we need!
