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The Quandary of Learning From Heretics and False Teachers: Four Points to Consider

Micah Coate

Updated: Apr 27, 2024

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” — Paul to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2:15

“Rightly dividing the word of truth” is what all Christians are called to do. The body of Christ has and will continue to suffer the very real consequences of unbiblical doctrines unnecessarily if this responsibility is only left to those behind the pulpit. Not rightly dividing or interpreting the Scriptures naturally leads to false teachings, some of which are heretical. Although false teachings are legion today, there’s an important difference between the few essential doctrines of the faith and the many others that are not. To clarify, we’ll reserve the word heresy for just those doctrines that deny or drastically change the fundamentals of the faith, referring to all other fallacious beliefs simply as false teachings.


Two men that I’ve quoted and affectionately praised on a few Salvation and Stuff episodes are Voddie Baucham and John Piper. Both pastors are men of God, gifted in teaching, and passionate about the gospel. And from my judgment, both men offer sound opinions on a panoply of issues, both biblically and culturally. Obviously, there is much to learn from them, their stories, and their insights. With that said, both men are reformed pastors who believe, to exactly what extent I don’t know, in TULIP theology. Now, if you believe as I do that TULIP theology, the systematic backbone of Calvinism and Reformed Theology, is heretical, you’ll find yourself in somewhat of a quandary.


Throughout church history it seems that the particular quandary of concurrently accepting and denouncing doctrines from the same person wasn’t given much thought, if any at all. Far too often, the heretic was simply burned at the stake by the religious authorities of the place and time and supposedly his heresy burned into oblivion as well. Essentially, they eradicated the man in hope to eradicate the message.


But while Christendom has advanced in the last few hundred years extending freedom of conscience while limiting ecclesiastical punishments, many today still tend to treat those popularly deemed as false teachers or heretics in similar fashion — meaning we believe someone is either completely orthodox or completely heretical. It is much easier to heavily lean on one side or the other and bypass the messy middle. This is because the reality that one person can simultaneously hold orthodox and unorthodox viewpoints (and everyone does in varying degrees — yes, even your pastor) is a dilemma too hard or burdensome to grapple with.


Consider Baucham and Piper: How can they be orthodox on a number of issues, yet, so wrong on many others? Or how can C.S. Lewis and Rob Bell hold that all people will ultimately be saved, (the doctrine of Universalism) as alleged, while also working to advance the gospel? Likewise, how did Martin Luther go from penning Protestant’s most indispensable doctrines of salvation by grace and faith alone early in his life to holding deeply antisemitic views later in life? Well, therein lies the point: these few examples are not outliers; they’re the norm.

Indeed, to err is human. But when we oversimplify the doctrine or man who holds it, we, like those in times past, have accepted the horrible idea that a heretic or even a false teacher has nothing to offer or that there is no truth to be found within their heresy. This is a mistake.

We must then ask the question: How can false teaching or heresy have truth in it? But the better question to ask is how can heresy be devoid of it? I think the old metaphor that rat poison only consists of 1% arsenic or presently “brodifacoum” is helpful in understanding this predicament. If this is true, it means that ninety-nine percent of pesticide is able to be consumed without harm. Likewise, if false teachings or heresies are metaphorical rat poison, then they must always be mixed with truth. We notice this tactic from the beginning when the Serpent in the garden tempted Eve. He intentionally misquoted what God had actually said. And several millenniums later when the Devil tempted Jesus in the desert, he always used Scripture to make his case, but was sure to twist its intended meaning.

If a teaching was clearly devoid of any truth, then it would be impossible to sell — no one would swallow it. Thus, part of the task of rightly dividing the Scriptures is to assess all teachings and determine what is edible and what is not. When we practice this we will also avoid the pitfalls of finding ourselves in one of two unbiblical extremes. The first is banishing the word “heresy” from your vocabulary because its too judgmental and the second is deeming anyone a heretic who does not agree with every particular view of your personalized theology. While the former is much more fashionable today, it is no less offensive than the latter. Regardless, here are four points to help us all distinguish between false teachings and heresies and how we can rightly evaluate them.


1. Reserve the charge of heresy to those doctrines essential to the faith: the fundamentals. As Augustine of Hippo wisely put forward, “In the essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things love.” For more information on my thoughts concerning the fundamental doctrines of the faith, listen to Salvation and Stuff’s episode 23, titled: John in addition to the five-part Foundational Faith series.

2. Don’t oversimplify the man or the message and be wary of those who do. From Martin Luther, John Calvin, C.S. Lewis, and Rob Bell, all, like you, were fearfully and wonderfully created — complex, unique, and for better or worse, reflected the culture of their time. Don’t oversimplify the complex and be wary of those who do.

3. Tolerate the heretic, not the heresy. The ultimate goal in engaging false teachers is not to destroy them but to convince and change them. Likewise, when we engage with their false doctrines via their teachings and writings, we do not want to revert to the intolerance of book burning but rather honest dialogue and debate. Much like the true saying, “Love the sinner, hate the sin,” heretics can be tolerated, but their heresy cannot.

4. Find the truth in the heresy. As stated above, all false teachings are mixed with truth. As the Anglican John Stott said, "Every heresy is due to an overemphasis upon some truth, without allowing other truths to qualify and balance it.” When we fail to acknowledge this, then we end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Find the truth in the heresy.


As believers who hold fast to God’s word, our job is to consciously look into heresy — both those teachings that are essential to the faith and those beliefs we personally find to be biblically incongruent. We need to compare all things to God’s word and with our best intellectual effort and purest motives, separate the wheat from the chaff. Doing this, I believe, is one clear way we become diligent to present ourselves approved to God, “a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”


Yes, we can actually learn from false teachers. After all, based on my views of Calvinism and Tucker Carlson some might consider me a heretic, but I hope you can still learn something from me.

Micah Coate, President and Host of Salvation and Stuff

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