Collection › LCMS Convention Workbook (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1969 · 48th Convention › Sheet 572
LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Sheet 572

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

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: