Dominca VII post Pentecosten

In the passage from the Sermon on the Mount that we heard in our Gospel today, Our Lord warns his followers against those who would preach a false message, for their own gain, either changing Our Lord’s words, or bringing another message altogether.

Concern about false teachers was not just on Our Lord’s mind, we find warnings against false teachers in the writings of St. Paul, and even one of the earliest Church documents, the Didache, also known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, which gave rules for discerning false teachers from true ones.

The prospect of false teachers, then, is not a new phenomenon, but one which has plagued the Church from the beginning.

The danger of false teachers is real, because Our Lord’s words challenge us, and our fallen human nature tends to shirk challenge in favour of what is more comfortable, easier, more familiar.

When someone comes along teaching an easier message that Christ, it can be enticing.

The danger of false teachers is real, because many will cleverly mix what is true with what is false, so that their entire message seems true, if it is not given close scrutiny.

Pope Leo XIII warned against this kind of teacher when he wrote:

“There can be nothing more dangerous than those heretics who admit nearly the whole cycle of doctrine, and yet by one word, as with a drop of poison, infect the real and simple faith taught by our Lord and handed down by Apostolic tradition.”

Thankfully, Our Lord does not just give us a warning, but means of determining the false teachers from the true ones, “By their fruits you shall know them.”

Just as the true Church is known by the four marks of its being, one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, so heretics and false teachers are known by certain vices which contradict the Church established by Christ.

EXPLANATION: The marks of false teachers

Each week, when we pray the Nicene Creed, we profess that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

The Church is one, because God is one. God is perfect unity without division, and so the Church, as the Body of Christ is one, it is united, as the Catechism tells us: above all by the bond of charity, but visibly by its profession of faith, its common celebration of worship, and its apostolic succession through Holy Orders.

False teachers on the other hand, sow division into the body. All we need to do to find and example is to look to the Protestant denominations. After Martin Luther broke away from the Church, radical splits began to happen over and over again among protestant believers, until there are currently estimated to be over 40,000 protestant denominations currently in existence.

Division also comes about when believers tie themselves to individuals rather than Christ, then it becomes, I am for Paul, and I am for Apollos, and I am for this Pope, and I am for that Pope, we are called to follow Christ and Him alone. If anyone holds up another person to be the object of our veneration, we can know that their message is false.

The Church is holy. The most basic definition of holiness is simply being set apart for God. Those who preach a false message on the other hand, often strive for worldly things, be it fame, or fortune, like the preacher who preaches the simplicity of Christ while owning a fleet of private planes.

Of course, holiness involves more than just being set apart for God, it means conforming ourselves to Christ. While the false teacher only feigns being Christ-like, the one who feigns humility but acts arrogantly, the one who feigns chastity but lives unchastely, and so on.

Now just to be clear, I am not referring to those still engaging in the struggle to acquire Christ-like virtues, only those who profess virtue, but do not live it out.

The Church is catholic, again as the Catechism tells us, because Christ is present in his fullness in the Church, and because the Church has been sent out on a mission to bring the whole world to Christ.

So again, anyone who claims the fullness of Christ can be found outside the Church, or those who would seek to stifle missionary efforts out of fear of offending other faiths, is not a true teacher.

The Church is apostolic, as the Catechism affirms, because She was founded on the Apostles, because She maintains the deposit of faith handed down from the Apostles, and because She continues to be guided by the successors to the Apostles.

One who would claim to teach something contrary to the deposit of faith, whether that be a new doctrine entirely, or a change in doctrine that contradicts what was handed down to us by the Apostles and their successors through the centuries, cannot be a true teacher.

Our Lord told us that false teachers could be identified by their fruits, and it is in the four marks of the Church that true and false teachers are recognized.

IMPLICATION: Knowledge is the best defense

False teachers have existed from the beginning of the Church, and Our Lord’s warning the today’s Gospel is a reminder that we must always be alert to the possibility of false teachers in our midst.

But there are several things we can do to arm ourselves against the possibility of being deceived by false teaching.

First, as always, we need to study Sacred Scripture, particularly the Gospels. It is in the Gospels that we find Christ’s teaching in His own words. The remainder of the New Testament as well, gives us a sound understanding of the faith that has been handed down to us from Christ through the Apostles.

Second, we need to study the Fathers of the Church. The writings of the Fathers of the Church open up the Scriptures and give us a broader understanding of the sacred texts, as well as many elements of Sacred Tradition.

Third, we need to study Catholic Dogma and Doctrine. Certainly, the Catechism is an excellent summary of the teaching of the Church, but there are many other solid texts which can help to give us a good understanding of the Church’s magisterial teaching, such as the famous “Fundamental of Catholic Dogma” by Ludwig Ott.

Finally, for those up to the challenge, we should study the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas clearly and systematically tackles many questions of dogma and doctrine, as well as giving a philosophical basis for the faith. If St. Thomas’ own writings seem a bit too complex, there are many wonderful commentaries that can assist our understanding.

Our Lord warned us against false teachers, “who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves”. He told us that we would be able to know them by their fruits, and we must remain alert because the Church has been plagued by false teachers from the beginning.

The best defense against false teaching, though, is a solid grounding in the true teaching of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Related Media

Related Sermons