By Brian R. Kenyon

Since part of Jesus’ mission was to restore the erring (Lk. 19:10), and since we are to imitate Christ (1 Jn. 2:6), we also must be involved in restoring the erring. There are two relevant questions we must answer before we can begin to restore the erring: (1) Who are the erring?; and (2) How do we reach them? These questions help us realize much more is involved than one generalized answer. Yes, all the erring have one thing in common: all have departed from the faith in at least one area. However, the reasons why they have departed are not all the same. Thus, for the purpose of this article, the first question would be better asked: Why or how has this particular person departed from the faith? Then, having answered that question, we would be in a better position to learn the best way to reach him or her.

Error Is Not The Same

While it is true that all error is the same in that all error is a departure from the truth, the motives for a person being in error and/or remaining in error show, in at least some sense, that all error is not the same. This can be illustrated from the Old Testament’s distinction between sins of ignorance and presumptuous sins. Moses wrote:

And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. 28So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the Lord, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. 29You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them. (Num. 15:27-29)

“Unintentionally” is also translated “through ignorance” (KJV). The idea referred to here is a person who sinned through deception, weakness, or impulsive lust. The opposite of “through ignorance” is “presumptuously” (Num. 15:30). With unintentional sins, Moses prescribed the specific sacrifice: a blood offering must be brought; the priest was to make atonement; and “it shall be forgiven him” (Num. 15:28). The forgiveness the Israelite then enjoyed, of course, was dependent upon the certainty of the shed blood of Christ on Calvary’s cross (Heb. 9:15 cf. Rom. 3:25). The law of sacrifice was to be the same for the native-born Israelite as well as the proselyte (Num. 15:29).

However, there was no offering prescribed for sins committed presumptuously.

But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. 31Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him. (Num. 15:30-31)

“Presumptuously” is also translated “defiantly” (NAS) and “with a high hand” (ESV). This is the kind of sin that is deliberate and blatant (cf. Ex. 14:8; Deut. 33:3). Moses gave no instruction for this sin to be forgiven. Instead, he said that “soul shall utterly be cut off,” which meant the guilty was to be put to death (cf. Lev. 17:4, 9). Moses then gave an example of presumptuous sin by writing of the man picking up sticks on the Sabbath (Num. 15:32-36). The verdict was, “as the Lord commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died” (Num. 15:36).

The New Testament also acknowledges the unforgivableness of presumptuous sins. “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Heb. 10:26). Unforgiven sin will always result in eternal separation from God (Lk. 13:3, 5; Rev. 21:8), but why a person is in sin and/or why his sin is not forgiven may be different among those in error, and those differences will dictate how attempts at restoration should be approached.

Those In Error Are Not The Same

Since there is a sense that all error is not the same, there is a sense that those who are in error are not the same. This should be obvious when comparing the lost in Luke 15. In the parable of the lost sheep (Lk. 15:3-7), one sheep strayed from the rest of the flock. This does not seem to indicate that sheep was deliberate and blatant in his wandering away. We can easily see how a sheep could gradually drift away by keeping its head down while grazing and following after green grass. It could travel far away from the flock before it even looked up. This can describe some who are in error today. They did not intend to drift away, but did so gradually, perhaps due to ignorance, weakness, or being under the wrong influence.

In the parable of the lost coin (Lk. 15:8-10), the coin was apparently misplaced at no fault of its own. Some in error today are there because they have been, in a sense, “misplaced.” This is not to say they are not responsible, like the coin, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive … according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). This is to say, however, that some may be lost because they were unnecessarily offended by a Diotrephes-type church member (3 Jn. 9-11) or perhaps because they fell through the cracks as a new convert.

In the parable of the two sons (Lk. 15:11-32), the younger son deliberately and determinedly wanted to separate from his father. Some are in error today because they absolutely desire it. In their present condition, there is nothing that could be said or done that would change their minds. Like the prodigal, they must come to their senses and want restoration before it can be attained. The elder brother was lost while he remained in his father’s house, and he could not even see it! Some in error today are militant, thinking that they are right with the Father and cannot see the error of their way (cf. Pr. 7:21-23).

All these in Luke 15 that were lost were not the same. Thus, in each case, a different approach was used to find them. The shepherd left the ninety-nine, found the lost sheep, and tenderly carried it back (Lk. 15:4-5). The woman meticulously cleaned her house until she found the lost coin (Lk. 15:8). The father whose son took the inheritance into a far country allowed his son to leave (Lk. 15:12-13). The father knew he could not force the son’s restoration. In this case, any finding of the lost would have to come from the lost person himself! Concerning the elder brother who refused to participate in the celebration for the younger son, the father took the initiative to go out to him (Lk. 15:28). The text never says what became of the elder brother. In each case of these lost, though, the person seeking their restoration went about it differently.

Reality shows that different circumstances and attitudes are behind why some members of the church are in error. Since this is the case, wisdom teaches that our approach to seeking their restoration should also be different.

False Teachers Are Not The Same

Let us apply the sense that all error is not the same to the subject of false teachers. All false teachers are not the same and thus should not be treated the same. Some do not intend to teach false doctrine and thus do not realize they are. For example, Apollos “had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John” (Acts 18:25). There were some key similarities between John’s baptism and the baptism Jesus commissioned immediately before ascending to the Father (Mt. 28:19; Mk. 16:16). John’s baptism was immersion in water (Jn. 3:23); it involved repentance (Mt. 3:2); and it was “for the remission of sins” (Mk. 1:4; Lk. 3:3). However, John’s baptism was no longer valid at the time Apollos taught it at Ephesus! As Paul explained, John’s baptism looked forward to belief “on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus” (Acts 19:4). Great commission baptism, on the other hand, requires the candidate to “believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9). John’s baptism looked forward to Christ; Great Commission baptism looks backward to Christ. There is a difference, and the difference matters!

Why Apollos only knew the baptism of John is not stated. The point for this lesson, however, is how should erring Apollos have been handled? Should he have been “written up” in the brotherhood journals? Should the church have withdrawn fellowship from him for teaching error? Inspiration reveals how Apollos’ error was handled. “So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:26). Rather than writing off Apollos as of no value to the kingdom, this godly couple took the time to teach the eloquent and powerful preacher “the way of God more accurately”!

Some teachers of error, however, intend to teach error and will not be persuaded otherwise. These false teachers need to be known so that Christians and local churches can guard against their error. For example, Paul warned Timothy about “Hymenaeus and Philetus … who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:17-18). Paul also, without naming names, warned others, especially the church at Corinth and the churches of Galatia, about the Judaizing teachers who taught, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1, 5, 24 cf. 2 Cor. 3-7; 10-12; Gal. 1-4). Why did Paul not mention these Judaizers’ names? Probably because it was obvious to the first readers of Paul’s epistle as to whom they were.

Conclusion

False teaching and false teachers are serious matters. Neither should be left unchecked. How we go about correcting either one, however, can be the difference between heaven and hell. If we hear teachers who are not teaching truth, may we seek to “explain … more accurately” the truth (Acts 18:26). When we become aware of false teaching, we must make sure it does not influence the local church. The false teaching must be corrected at the most expedient time. Either way, let us “test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1).