We live in a world where fake news can spread quickly. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there were influencers online claiming that the virus was caused by 5G mobile phone masts. There were people who claimed that Bill Gates had hidden microchips inside Covid vaccines. And one conspiracy theorist on the make started selling toothpaste containing colloidal silver which he claimed could kill the virus.
Unfortunately, charlatanism can make itself inside the church.
Last year, the BBC uncovered how the late televangelist T.B. Joshua faked miracles and built up a huge following in Laos, Nigeria. It reported that he “amassed great wealth throughout his career, possessing a fleet of cars and travelling via private jet”. It said:
Although thousands packed his churches, Joshua always struggled to be accepted by his peers.
Ostracised by both the Christian Association of Nigeria (Can) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), he was described as an “impostor” who belonged to a group of “occults” that had infiltrated Christianity.
Oyewole Akande, a deacon at Sovereign Grace Bible Church in Lagos, wrote about the scandal in an article for The Gospel Coalition. Akande said that Christians should avoid churches with poor governance in place. He said: “If your church doesn’t have clear church governance, your membership there means that you’re helping perpetuate an unbiblical system that can lead to abuses of the worst kind.”
Which brings me to 1 John 4. Even in first century Christianity, there was a problem of fake teachers. John writes that Christians should “not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
He goes on to say: “They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.” And that notion of worldliness in supposed prophesies – as opposed to reflecting Biblical teaching – should provide a red flashing light.
Then Paul shifts theme in the chapter to the topic of love. “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love,” he says.
He continues:
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
Just as fake prophets whose influence is not counteracted can cause problems in the church, so too can conflict between believers. But John says that our relations with others should be based on love. So we need to be charitable, empathetic and irenic when we debate.