36 Bible Verses about Heresies
Most Relevant Verses
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.
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.
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}, and they will turn away from the hearing of the truth, but will turn to myths.
having known me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that in accordance with the strictest party of our religion I lived [as] a Pharisee.
But some of those who had believed from the party of the Pharisees stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to command [them] to observe the law of Moses!"
{circumcised on the eighth day}, from the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew [born] from Hebrews, according to the law a Pharisee, according to zeal persecuting the church, according to the righteousness in the law being blameless.
(For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge [them] all.)
On that day Sadducees--who say there is no resurrection--came up to him and asked him,
And Sadducees--who say there is no resurrection--came up to him and began to ask him, saying,
Now some of the Sadducees--who deny {that there is a resurrection}--came up [and] asked him,
But I do confess this to you, that according to the Way (which they call a sect), so I worship the God of our fathers, believing all things [that are] in accordance with the law and that are written in the prophets,
For we have found this man [to be] a public menace and one who causes riots among all the Jews throughout the Roman Empire and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,
But we would like to hear from you what you think, for concerning this sect it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere."
And some men came down from Judea [and] began teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom [prescribed] by Moses, you cannot be saved."
As many as are wanting to make a good showing in the flesh, these are attempting to compel you to be circumcised, only so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For not even those who are circumcised observe the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised in order that they may boast in your 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.
For there are many rebellious [people], idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
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. Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father [either]; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.
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.
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.
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.
And he said, Watch out that you are not deceived! For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am [he],' and 'The time is near!' Do not go after them!
"At that time if anyone should say to you, 'Behold, here [is] the Christ,' or 'Here [he is],' do not believe [him]! For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
"And at that time if anyone should say to you, "Behold, here [is] the Christ,' 'Behold, there [he is],' do not believe [him]! For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce signs and wonders in order to mislead, if possible, the elect.
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,
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.
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,
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 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, dear friends, [because you] know [this] beforehand, guard yourselves so that you do not lose your own safe position [because you] have been led away by the error of lawless persons.
But reject those {worthless myths told by elderly women}, and train yourself for godliness.
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. A certain one of them, [one of] their own prophets, has said, "Cretans [are] always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."read more.
This testimony is true, for which reason reprove them severely, in order that they may be sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of people who turn away from the truth.
And in greediness they will exploit you with false words, whose condemnation [from] long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
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! 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!
These [people] are waterless springs and mists driven by a hurricane, for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved. {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.read more.
For if, [after they] have escaped from the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled in these [things] [and] succumb to [them], the last [state] has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known [it], to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them. The [statement] of the true proverb has happened to them, "A dog returns to its own vomit," and "A sow, [after] washing herself, [returns] to wallowing in the mud."