In 1961, the Israeli government recruited Eli Cohen—an Egyptian-born Orthodox Jew—to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina, disguised as a Syrian immigrant, and infiltrate the Syrian government. They kept his bank account plump so he could maintain his guise as wealthy, nightlife-loving political guru, and he had no trouble fitting in. Soon he was invited to Damascus, Syria, where he gathered extensive intelligence and climbed the social ladder to become a confidant of the Syrian leaders, who were hell-bent on destroying Israel. A minister of defense told Cohen the only way Syria’s military bases could be destroyed was by direct air attacks.
One day, while Cohen was overlooking the Golan Heights on the Israeli-Syrian border, an idea struck him. He told the president of Syria to have groves of eucalyptus trees planted around the military bases to disguise Syria’s military activity.
Shortly thereafter, in the famous Six-Day War of 1967, Israel had no problem knocking out all of Syria’s military operations in the Golan Heights—because they were all marked with eucalyptus trees.
The Golan Heights are in Israel’s possession today because of an imposter whose infiltration approach is exactly the one false teachers have been using since the dawn of the church: look like one of them, and lead them astray.
Dave Anderson told Cohen’s story in his message “The Elder’s Call to Protect the Flock” at the 2022 BER Conference. His message, summarized in this article, is too important to miss.
Paul’s Warning to the Ephesian Elders: Be Alert and Admonish
In his farewell address to the Ephesian elders, the apostle Paul said:
I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. (Acts 20:29-31).
Paul’s phrase “twisted things” gets to the core of how false teaching works. Subtly twisting and denying the Word of God has been Satan’s greatest strategy from the beginning of time, when the father of lies asked Eve, “Did God really say . . . ?” Protecting the flock from false teaching is one of the core duties of elders. Letting down our guard in this area leaves our people vulnerable to destruction.
“From the beginning of time, [Satan] has been denying and twisting the Word of God,” Dave Anderson said. “You don’t have to study the Bible very long to discover the enormous emphasis of false teaching. Satan is the father of lies, and his main weapon is false teaching and mis-emphasis.”
Martin Lloyd-Jones said, “We have somehow got a hold of the idea that error is only that which is outrageously wrong, and we do not seem to understand that the most dangerous person of all is the one who does not emphasize the right things.”
This danger is exactly why we need to teach the whole counsel of God. It is why we need to follow Paul’s instructions to be alert and to admonish.
The Greek word for “be alert” literally means “to stay awake.” The alertness required of an elder is constant vigilance—the opposite of being negligent, inattentive, preoccupied, and oblivious. As elders, we can’t be distracted with Netflix, social media, sports, and worldly priorities. There is far too much at stake.
Paul admonished the believers by administering the Word of God, which warns, strengthens, protects, guides, sanctifies, confronts, teaches, corrects, equips, restores, counsels, makes wise, rebukes, instructs, judges, and nourishes. Teach your people the Scriptures–the whole counsel of God—and you will protect them from false teaching.
Like Paul, you must never let your guard down. Paul said he admonished ceaselessly for three years! Shepherding isn’t as easy as telling the sheep, “Here’s the food, here’s the water, here’s where you sleep; I’ll come back next year to check on you.” The flock needs constant guidance, attention, and help.
False teaching surrounds us, from secularism to theological liberalism to the LGBTQ movement. You may feel like you’re impervious to these teachings, but what about the people in your church?
“What about the sixth grader in your church who gets questioned by a mob of other kids and asked if he thinks transgenderism is wrong?” Dave asked. “What about that lamb? How’s he doing? Is he prepared? Are his parents prepared? Where are the shepherds and what are they doing?”
Stay tuned for part two of this series, where Dave shares guidance on how to spot a false teacher and examples of false teaching you’re likely to encounter today.
This series is a summary of Dave’s message “The Elder’s Call to Protect the Flock” from the 2022 BER Conference. You can watch his message and the other conference messages at BiblicalEldership.com/Acts-20-Conference.