JD: Might be helpful for our listeners to understand what we mean by heretic. That word only used one time in the Bible, Titus 3:10.
DJ: Well, first of all you can just go to Merriam Webster and Merriam Webster says that heresy is adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma or second definition it’s a deviation from a dominate theory or opinion or practice. We would say that someone who denies the character and nature of God or the word of God or that Jesus is God in the flesh all of those would constitute heresy. But when you take the application of II John where it talks about not joining with those who would teach these things that are heresy; if you join with a heretic and give him a platform and you’re not doing it for the purpose of debate and exposing the fault hood but in context of hospitality and cordial discussion then he becomes a partaker in that and he joins arms with the heretic and so in practice he becomes a heretic himself. In Titus 3:10 that you referred to it says rejected the man after the first and second admonition.
JD: I think it might be helpful to clarify that we are not necessarily calling into question the salvation of everyone who might fall into the category of even being a heretic or a false teacher.
DJ: You know one of the things I tell my students all over the world by God’s grace you don’t have to be a good theologian in order to be saved. In fact, almost every person who is saved they probably hold the heretical views for sometime until they are discipled and understand the word of God.
Also, you can have those who have been believing correct
things about the word of God but end up coming to false conclusions and go a
stray and walk away from what we would say is Biblical teaching and we
understand that if someone is ever saved they’re always saved. So, what we want
to do and others want to do if someone does stray into error we want to
lovingly point out that error and draw them back. It doesn’t mean they’ve lost
their salvation or that they were never saved all though that could be possible
as many or perhaps even most that is not automatic.
JD: David James with the Biblical prospective on who can be a
heretic and what is the Biblical definition of a heretic.
We report this information because it is setting the stage
for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
Since the Bible defines heresy thus those who are teaching
heresy would be referred to as heretics whether they’re saved or lost. The prophetic
scenario of God’s word is that there will be false teachers, heretics, even in
ministry and in the church at the time of the rapture of the church and leading
up to the Lords return after the tribulation period, that’s Matthew 24:4, 5, 11,
and 24. By the way that’s what Jesus said.
