54 Bible Verses about False Teachings

But I have a few [things] against you: that you have there those who hold fast to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat food sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. So likewise you also have those who hold fast to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps [them] and teaches [them], this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Now we ask you, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to him, that you not be easily shaken from your composure, nor be troubled either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter {alleged to be from us}, to the effect that the day of the Lord has arrived.

Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of liars, who are seared in their own conscience, who forbid marrying [and insist on] abstaining from foods that God created for sharing in with thankfulness by those who believe and who know the truth,

But I have against you that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, the one who calls herself a prophetess, and teaches and deceives my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

and they worship me in vain, teaching [as] doctrines the commandments of men.'"

And they worship me in vain, teaching [as] doctrines the commandments of men.'

And the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with its mouth, and with its lips it honors me, and its heart is far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men that has been taught,

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these [things] the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

If you have died with Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit [to them] as [if] living in the world? "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch," which [things] are all [meant] for destruction by consuming according to human commandments and teachings,read more.
which [things] {although they have}, to be sure, an appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and humility and unsparing treatment of the body, {do not have any value} against the indulgence of the flesh.

Just as I urged you [when I] traveled to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus, so that you may instruct certain people not to teach other doctrine, and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause useless speculations rather than God's plan [that is] by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a faith without hypocrisy,read more.
from which some have deviated, [and] have turned away into fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the law, [although they] do not understand either [the things] which they are saying or [the things] concerning which they are speaking confidently.

But there were also false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers among you also, who will bring in {destructive heresies}, even denying the Master who bought them, [thus] bringing on themselves swift destruction.

"Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside are ravenous wolves.

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among you yourselves men will arise, speaking {perversions of the truth} in order to draw away the disciples after them.

For there are many rebellious [people], idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whom it is necessary to silence, whoever are ruining whole families [by] teaching [things] which must not be [taught] for the sake of dishonest gain.

And from among you yourselves men will arise, speaking {perversions of the truth} in order to draw away the disciples after them.

so that we may no longer be infants, tossed about by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with reference to the scheming of deceit.

O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted [to you]. Turn away from pointless empty talk and contradictions of [what is] falsely called knowledge, which some, [by] professing [it], have deviated concerning the faith. Grace [be] with you [all].

Do not be carried away by various and strange teachings, for [it is] good [for] the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods by which those who participate have not benefited.

having eyes full of [desire for] an adulteress and unceasing from sin, enticing unstable persons, [and] having hearts trained for greediness. Accursed children! [By] leaving the straight path, they have gone astray, [because they] followed the way of Balaam the [son of] Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness,

These [things] I have written to you concerning the ones who are trying to deceive you.

And many will follow their licentious ways, because of whom the way of truth will be reviled.

And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Watch out that no one deceives you! For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many.

So Jesus began to say to them, "Watch out that no one deceives you! Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am [he],' and they will deceive many.

For there will be a time when they will not put up with sound teaching, but in accordance with their own desires, they will accumulate for themselves teachers, {because they have an insatiable curiosity},

{For by speaking high-sounding but empty words}, they entice with desires of the flesh [and] with licentiousness those who are scarcely escaping from those who live in error, promising them freedom [although they] themselves are slaves of depravity. For to whatever someone succumbs, by this he is also enslaved.

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits [to determine] if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.read more.
You are from God, little children, and have conquered them, because the one [who is] in you is greater than the one [who is] in the world. They are from the world; {therefore} they speak from the world and the world listens to them.

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce signs and wonders in order to mislead, if possible, the elect.

whose coming is in accordance with the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with every unrighteous deception against those who are perishing, in place of which they did not accept the love of the truth, so that they would be saved.

And I saw another beast coming up from the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he was speaking like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast on behalf of him, and he causes the earth and those who live in it to worship the first beast {whose fatal wound had been healed}. And he performs great signs, so that he even causes fire from heaven to come down to the earth before people.read more.
And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it has been granted to him to perform on behalf of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who has the wound of the sword and [yet] lived. And it was given to him to put breath into the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast both spoke and caused that all those, unless they worshiped the image of the beast, should be killed.

Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of liars, who are seared in their own conscience,

But I am afraid lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds may be led astray from the sincerity and the purity of [devotion] to Christ. For if the one who comes proclaims another Jesus whom we have not proclaimed, or you receive a different spirit which you did not receive, or a different gospel which you did not accept, you put up with [it] well [enough]!

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits [to determine] if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are the spirits of demons performing signs that go out to the kings of the whole inhabited world, to gather them for the battle of the great day of God the All-Powerful.

And in greediness they will exploit you with false words, whose condemnation [from] long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Beware lest {anyone take you captive} through philosophy and empty deceit, according to {human tradition}, according to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ,

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God, and this is the [spirit] of the antichrist, [of] which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus [is] accursed," and no one is able to say "Jesus [is] Lord" except by the Holy Spirit.

And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because every lie is not of the truth. Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This person is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.read more.
Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father [either]; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

"Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits: they do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, [do they]? In the [same] way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.read more.
A good tree is not able to produce bad fruit, nor a bad tree to produce good fruit. Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. As a result, you will recognize them by their fruits.

For you put up with [it] if someone enslaves you, if someone devours [you], if someone takes advantage of [you], if someone is presumptious [toward you], if someone strikes you in the face.

Little children, let no one deceive you: the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as that one is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this [reason] the Son of God was revealed: in order to destroy the works of the devil. Everyone who is fathered by God does not practice sin, because his seed resides in him, and [he is] not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God.read more.
By this the children of God and the children of the devil are evident: everyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, namely, the one who does not love his brother.

If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not devote himself to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching [that is] in accordance with godliness, he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a morbid interest concerning controversies and disputes about words, from which come envy, strife, slanders, evil suspicions, constant wrangling by people of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who consider godliness to be a means of gain.

Just as I urged you [when I] traveled to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus, so that you may instruct certain people not to teach other doctrine, and not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause useless speculations rather than God's plan [that is] by faith.

But avoid pointless chatter, for it will progress to greater ungodliness, and their message {will spread} like gangrene, among whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have deviated concerning the truth [by] saying the resurrection has already taken place, and they are upsetting the faith of some.

[As for] you, what you have heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you have heard from the beginning remains in you, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.

I am astonished that you are turning away so quickly from the one who called you by the grace of Christ to a different gospel, not that [there] is a different [gospel], except there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim a gospel to you contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let him be accursed!read more.
As we said before, and now I say again, if anyone is proclaiming a gospel [to] you contrary to what you have received, let him be accursed!

I am setting before you this instruction, Timothy [my] child, in accordance with the prophecies spoken long ago about you, in order that by them you may fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience, which some, [because they] have rejected [these], have suffered shipwreck concerning their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, in order that they may be taught not to blaspheme.

Hold fast to the pattern of sound words which you heard from me, in the faith and love [that are] in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Now I exhort you, brothers, to look out for those who cause dissensions and temptations contrary to the teaching which you learned, and stay away from them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own stomach, and by smooth speech and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come, for people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, hardhearted, irreconcilable, slanderous, without self-control, savage, with no interest for what is good,read more.
traitors, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God, maintaining a form of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid these [people]. For from these are those who slip into houses and captivate foolish women loaded down with sins, led by various kinds of desires, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. And {just as} Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these oppose the truth, people corrupted in mind, disqualified concerning the faith. But they will not progress to a greater extent, for their folly will be quite evident to everyone, as also the [folly] of those [two] was.

But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and contentions and quarrels about the law, for they are useless and fruitless. Reject a divisive person after a first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.

Everyone who goes too far and does not remain in the teaching of Christ does not have God. The one who remains in the teaching--this person has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into [your] house and do not speak a greeting to him, because the one who speaks a greeting to him shares in his evil deeds.