Mike reposted a 10 year old post. Nothing has changed, it’s even more relevant today.
“Those who have crept in unnoticed who are now proclaiming a version of Christianity that is not genuine have their own disciples who are deceived into thinking that they belong to Christ, but they serve another Jesus not the Lord Jesus Christ. They are deluded and convinced that everyone who points out that their doctrines are unbiblical is a false prophet. They see our stance as evil and theirs as good. They see what really is evil as good and what is really good as evil. What we must never forget is that we are really fighting with Satan and his kingdom, not these people. They are simply his pawns.”
I would have worded this a bit different. Mike clearly makes is point that those in the church need to be addressed and the Bible does have many verses describing what to look for and how to deal with it.
“I was told by one fellow once who was trying to stop me from exposing his favorite “emergent” leader that God had commanded that we should allow the tares and wheat to grow together in the church and let God sort them out as our Lord shared in the parable of the Wheat and Tares found in Matthew 13:24-30. However, Jesus interprets this parable for us in v38 telling us that the field containing the wheat and tares is the world, not the church, and those told to leave them be until the judgment are angels, not Christians (v39).”
I agree with that but let us be careful with the words “not the church”. The whole passage was addressed to his disciples the leaders of the church. They don’t have the ultimate “reaping” authority in the world, but I think they are exhorted to use caution within the church. They can use measured and Biblical discipline, but not ultimate reaping. There maybe a fine line there. Old John Gill, says it this way:
Matthew 13:29 Gill
But he said, nay,…. The answer is in the negative; and which, if spoken to angels, is to be understood, that they should not inflict punishments, or pour out, their vials, as yet, on formal professors, lest the righteous should share in them; and if to magistrates, the sense of it is, that they should not persecute with the sword, or put men to death for heretical opinions; but if to ministers of the word, which sense I choose, the meaning is, that not everyone suspected to be a tare, or a nominal professor, is to be removed from the communion of the church, because there is often danger in so doing:
lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them: not that men of openly scandalous lives are to be tolerated in churches; they are to be withdrawn from, and put away; nor men of known, avowed, heretical principles; such, after the first and second admonition, are to be rejected: yet there may be such in churches, not altogether agreeable in principle and practice, whose character and situation may be such, that there is no removing them without offending some truly gracious, useful persons, in whose affections they stand, who may be tempted, by such a step, to leave their communion; and so cannot be done without a considerable prejudice to the church. The scope of the parable, and the design of our Lord in it, are chiefly to be attended to; which are to show, that a pure and perfect church cannot be expected in the present state of things; and that saints should not be immoderately uneasy, but patiently bear such exercises, until Christ’s time is come to relieve them, when the tares and chaff shall be separated from the wheat; when sinners shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous, and there shall be no more a pricking briar, nor a grieving thorn in the house of Israel.
Certainly, if this is true it’s a difficult path needing plenty of prayer and Bible Study to follow.
Verse 30 clarifies the final reaping:
Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Jesus is clearly speaking to his disciples and therefore the leaders of the church then and today. And makes distinction to the angels role in the final harvest, which applies to the world. But I would observe that the Tares are both inside the church and in the world. So I do see an urge to caution directed at the church leaders. Don’t get me wrong, there is a wealth of Biblical teaching on the false teachers that need to be dealt with. Another example is Paul to the Ephesians:
Acts 20:29-31 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. 31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
The first steps are to watch and warn!
Mark 13:37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Rainbow Trout 