# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_1969_S552 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) THEOLOGY OF FELLOWSHIP 541 false prophet (Greek: pseudoprephétés) is a pseudo, a fake, who claims to be a divinely commissioned spokesman for God when in fact God has not sent him.§ That the false prophets against whom our Lord warns in Matt.7:15 ff. are thought of, not merely as purveyors of lies, but as men who falsely claim to be prophets of God, is indicated also by verses 22, 23, which are part of the warning against false prophets. Here these people are quoted as saying, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?” As genuine prophecy both in the Old and in the New Testament was often accompanied by genuine mir- acles, so false prophets have again and again tried to bolster their claim to be prophets by purported miracles (Deut. 13:1, 2; Rev. 16: 13, 14). According to the strict Biblical usage of the term, therefore, not every erring teacher should at once be called a false prophet, much less erring Christians or whole churches. This is in no wise to say that there are not real false prophets in the world today. There have been such at all times. There are such today, both pretending to be inspired spokesmen for God, and claiming to perform miracles. Nor is this to say that the church dare ever relax her vigilance against every error in doctrine (1 Tim. 1: 3,4; Acts 20: 28-30). But the church ought not to use this passage loosely, as though all erring Christians and perhaps whole erring churches were to be treated as false prophets, who are wolves in sheep's clothing. This would be a serious error against the doctrine of the church, because also erring Christians are Christians, and members of the body of Christ. Gal. 1:6-9 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel; Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Gal. 1:6-9 was written against well-known heretical teachers of apostolic times, the so-called Judaizers, who taught that Christians had to be circumcised and to keep the ceremonial law of Moses, or they could not be saved. (Cf. Acts15:1.) St. Paul very properly rec- ognized this as destroying the Gospel itself, and told those who accepted this teaching. “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the Law: ye are fallen from grace.” (Cf. Gal. 5:4.) This passage must be applied against all teachers who, after the manner of the Judaizers, teach Christians to build their hope of salvation on the works of the Law. It is a constant warning to teachers and hearers alike against moralism, synergism, and the confusion of Law and Gospel. However, Gal. 1:6-9 must not be applied indiscrim- inately to every erring Christian or teacher, much less to whole churches in which the Gospel is preached, even though this preaching may be accompanied by doctrinal errors. It deals with teachers who overthrew the Gos- pel, the very foundation of the church’s faith. Therefore St. Paul pronounces a curse upon them, a thing which would be unthinkable, if he were dealing with erring Christians. Acts 19:8-10 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, dis- puting daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. This passage shows how St. Paul dealt with a sit- uation when, in a synagogue in Ephesus, where he had preached the Gospel and many had been converted, some “were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way [the Christian faith is meant] before the multitude.” Realizing that here he was dealing, not with weak or erring Christians, who needed to be taught, but with hardened enemies of the Christian faith, Paul “departed from them, and separated the disciples.” Evidently he found a different place for his preaching, for after this he “disputed daily in the school of one Tyrannus.” 2 John 7-11 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doc- trine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doc- trine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doc- trine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. This passage speaks of traveling teachers who came to the homes of Christians, making propaganda for their teachings or seeking free meals and lodging or both. These teachers are called ‘“‘deceivers” and “antichrist,” y.7. Their error is that they “confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” This kind of false teacher is well known from the first Epistle of John and from extra-Biblical literature. The error is that of Docetism, which held that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, but that His human nature was not real. According to these teachers, the Son of God had not really come into the flesh. This was not an error which built on the foundation “wood, hay, stubble” (1 Cor. 3: 12), but which overthrew the very foundation of the Christian faith. Therefore the apostle also says concerning such a teacher, “Receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: