Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 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. (Acts 20:28-32, ESV)

The apostle Paul spoke with the elders of the church of Ephesus as he was preparing to return to Jerusalem. He gave them parting instructions knowing he was about to face imprisonment and persecution. Chief among his concerns was that this church would face false teachers rising up from within its own ranks. False teaching abounded outside the church and they already faced that daily. It was Paul’s concern, however, that they be prepared to face the reality that there would be false brethren seeking to lead away believers.

There is still a danger in the church today that there will always be those who profess to follow Christ, yet serve their own purposes. Christ himself warned us through his parable of the sower (see Matt. 13:1–23) that some profess Christ, who will even have an appearance of being genuine, will one day fall away either because of persecution or the cares of the world. He even warned of false Christs and false prophets who, through their false signs and wonders, could deceive the elect were it not for the Holy Spirit (Matt. 24:24). The church cannot fail to be watchful for wicked men who have an appearance of godliness but are liars and deceivers at heart. We must be testing what such men intend to teach and lead us into against the Scriptures themselves, lest we too be led into sinfulness.

Some forms of false teaching may appear to be rather obvious. False religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism, and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church stand in stark contrast to biblical Christianity. Others, such as the health and wealth prosperity “gospel” or those who have a heavy-handed embrace of “miracles” within the charismatic movement, may claim to be Christian but are quite often heretical. In all these matters, a constant means of exposing their false teachings can be found by comparing their teachings with sound biblical doctrine found solely in the Scriptures. It is the duty of every church to equip its people with biblical truth so that they can readily see the false and expose it for the godless heresy it is. However, churches cannot be satisfied merely to examine the doctrinal statements and beliefs that are found in the false teacher’s file cabinet. It is needful that Christians examine not only what a teacher says he believes but how he applies those beliefs. Furthermore, we cannot rest on their file cabinet statement of faith as being sufficient if and when we find questionable practices and teachings from these teachers.

Currently, within the church is a movement calling itself Christian Nationalism, of which many teachers claim to hold to sound biblical doctrine. While they hold primarily to the Reformed faith, they teach practices that are inconsistent with Scripture. At the core of the claims of Christian Nationalism is the teaching that discipleship is not merely an individual matter, but that the church must implement Christian laws and government which will disciple nations as a whole. While many Christians may differ on the question of establishing a Christian government, most would agree that national laws should reflect the commandments of Scripture, if for no other reason than laws that defy God risk his judgment over that nation. However, as many Christian Nationalist leaders have promoted their beliefs, it has become clear that they intend more than to create just and godly laws in the world.

Western Culture has become awash with godless ideologies such as secularism, feminism, multicultural, sexual depravity marked as “alternative lifestyles,” the murder of innocent children in the womb, and more. Each of these ideologies has made clear efforts to eradicate biblical truth and to destroy God’s institutions of marriage and family. It is clear that Christianity must stand opposed to such efforts and seek the benefit of the culture by abolishing godless laws. However, some Christian Nationalist teachers are not satisfied with simply exposing the unbiblical nature of these ideologies but have begun to argue that Christian laws would impose a strict rule targeted at the sexes and ethnicities in order to restore what they claim would be a truly Christian nation.

For example, with regard to addressing feminism, some Christian Nationalist teachers have not merely called for a biblical understanding of the roles of men and women in the church and marriage, but have begun to argue that women should be relegated to a subservient role in which they cannot speak anything previously approved by their husbands or pastors. They raise concerns over women’s bible studies, women learning theology from anyone but their pastors or husbands, and teaching a form of submission that appears more to be silent servitude than being an equal help-meet. Concerning multiculturalism, some are arguing that Christians have a biblical duty not to intermix ethnic groups. They claim that nationalism requires a kind of pure bloodline, a separation between the races, for there to be a stable national identity. They dispute the idea that there is a greater connection between different ethnic groups who are all in Christ than there is between ethnically homogenous groups despite the rejection of God by some within their own “heritage.”

These are but two examples of such misuse of Scripture to justify unbiblical practices in the establishment of a “Christian Nation.” These teachings are leading their followers to treat women and other ethnic groups disparagingly, often questioning their intelligence levels and assigning an evil nature that is unique solely to the particular group. Not surprisingly, there is little recognition of their own sinfulness and a kind of arrogant presumption that they are superior simply by nature of their sex and ethnicity. Furthermore, when the followers of this movement act in such slanderous and wicked ways, the teachers and leaders not only dismiss any call for accountability but encourage the behavior by stating that the desired ends are far too important to correct. They appeal to the fact that the “angry young men” need to be encouraged, not rebuked, in order to achieve the sought-after Christian Nation.

It is this kind of corruption of Christian teaching that can rise within the ranks of biblical churches that we must also be on guard for. We cannot turn a blind eye to those who would claim to hold to the same doctrines as the true church while wielding those doctrines as a cudgel to beat their opposition into compliance. The Christian walk is one which should pursue personal righteousness as well as a desire to evangelize the lost and disciple new believers. We should encourage godly marriages and gender roles while simultaneously treating women with honor and dignity. We should oppose ideologies that call the church to affirm and celebrate godless cultural practices while also teaching Christians to treat all men equally. We should recognize that men and women of all ethnicities are dead in trespasses and sins apart from Christ, that no one group is more or less sinful and in need of salvation. If one’s pursuit of Christian Nationalism cannot teach these things, then it is nothing more than a cloak for sinfulness and a desire for power. Thus, it should be marked for the false teaching it is and Christians should be called to avoid it at all costs.

This article was also published on X.com.