By Jeff Cranston

In Acts 15:22-29, the apostles and elders of the church of Jerusalem were led by the Holy Spirit to call out false teachers whose work among the new Christians in Antioch was subversive. Today, the church is still plagued by false doctrine, and Part 1 of this blog post, outlined a few popular beliefs in our current culture that infiltrate the church. So how do you respond to these false teachings? With the Word of God.

To the universalists: No one will be saved apart from Jesus Christ. Only those who repent and call on the name of Jesus will have eternal life (Acts 4:12, Matthew 25:46, Hebrews 9:27, John 14:6).

To heralds of the prosperity gospel: Jesus Himself had nowhere to even lay His head. He has promised us many things, one of which is that in this world we shall see suffering. But He is with us, and He has overcome the world (John 16:33, Romans 5:3-5, 2 Timothy 3:12, Luke 14:27).

To the new agers: There is only one sovereign God, Creator of all things. Only Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (Isaiah 55:8-9, Job 12:10, Hebrews 2:5-10, John 14:6).

To the legalists: If righteousness were attainable through the law, Christ would not have had to die (Matthew 7:22-23, Galatians 2:21; Romans 3:10-12, 28; James 2:10). We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ's singular work on the cross, and even this faith is a gift from God, not achieved by our own efforts (Romans 4:5, Ephesians 2:8). And we are not to judge our brothers and sisters in Christ on debatable issues (Romans 14:1-12).

To proponents of hyper-grace: God's grace has freed us from the bondage of sin, but we should not receive His sacrifice in vain (Romans 6:23, Hebrews 10:26-29). We must repent and seek to live under the lordship of Christ, seeking holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:13-16, 2:11-12, 16; Romans 5:20-6:18).

To the emergent church: If we dilute the gospel, then we no longer have Good News to share (Galatians 1:8-9, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Exodus 20:3-6, John 8:24). Only Christ can break the chains of sin, set the captives free and conform us to His image (1 John 5:3-5, Philippians 3:7-9, Galatians 5:16)

What a wonderful thing it was that the Spirit of God overruled where people had such differing views and brought them all, at last, to see that salvation is by grace alone through faith!

Jeff Cranston is lead pastor of LowCountry Community Church in Bluffton, South Carolina.

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