Inigo Montoya: Gamaliel's Advice

When it comes to questionable teachers, we should just follow the advice of Gamaliel in Acts chapter 5. If they're not of God, they won't last. But if they are of God, we should not oppose them, because in so doing, we would be found fighting against God.

Very good answer.

Inconceivable! You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means.

Why Gamaliel’s Advice Is Commonly Misused

You keep using that verse. I do not think it means what you think it means. Welcome to the program, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Justin Peters. I hope that this finds you and your family doing well today.

I want to thank you so much for joining me. Gamaliel's advice in Acts chapter 5. This is a kind of a go-to text for many, particularly within the charismatic movement, but also the social justice movement, when it comes to questionable teachers.

Maybe some teachers out there that have gained a lot of popularity, and they're kind of like a rising star, but we're not too sure about them just quite yet. We don't know a whole lot about them yet. The jury's still out a little bit.

I'll tell you what let's do. Let's follow the advice of Gamaliel. Gamaliel was a Pharisee, and he was Saul's instructor before Saul was converted and was later known by his Greek name. He didn't change his name, by the way, just a Hebrew name to Greek name.

That's all it is, but that's for free. That won't cost you anything. So Saul of Tarsus was a student of Gamaliel. And then later in Acts chapter 9, obviously after the events of Acts chapter 5, is when Saul was converted.

Gamaliel’s Counsel in Acts 5

But at any rate, Gamaliel was very well respected amongst the Pharisees. And so in Acts chapter 5, you have Peter and the apostles in Jerusalem, and they were preaching the gospel, preaching in the name of Jesus.

The Pharisees warned them not to preach in the name of Jesus, but they said we have to obey God rather than man. So they continued to preach in the name of Jesus. They were thrown into prison for doing so.

God delivered them miraculously out of prison, and immediately upon their release, they continued to preach the gospel in the name of Jesus. So they were causing quite a stir there in Jerusalem. And the Pharisees got together, and they had a little meeting.

They had a little powwow to try to decide what are we going to do with these apostles, these Christians who keep preaching in the name of Jesus when we don't want them to. So they had a meeting. So that's for context.

And let's look at this. I'll read it for you in Acts chapter 5. We'll begin in verse 39. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin, and he gave orders to put the men, Peter and the apostles, outside for a short time.

And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. For some time ago Thutos rose up claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him.

But he was killed, and all who were following him were dispersed and came to nothing. After this man, Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census, drew away people after him, he too perished, and all those who were following him were scattered.

So in the present case, I also say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them, or you may even be found fighting against God.

Why Waiting to See If a Teacher Lasts Is Bad Advice

So even though a lot of people may not know to call it Gamaliel's advice, they will still kind of follow this general approach when it comes to some questionable teachers. And they'll say, well, you know, if these teachers aren't of God, they won't last.

They'll be like Thutos. They'll be like Judas the Galilean. They won't last. They'll just be a flash in the pan. They won't last. Don't worry about it. God will take care of them. But on the other hand, if they are of God, then we should not oppose them.

Because in so doing, we would be found fighting against God himself. Now, that sounds like reasonable advice, doesn't it? You could even say that that sounds like spiritual advice. And there's many examples of charismatics using Gamaliel's advice when it comes to some questionable teachers that are gaining popularity, particularly in the charismatic movement.

When you have a teacher that's kind of rising in popularity very quickly, kind of a shooting star kind of thing, and most charismatics will embrace that person. But there'll be a few who are like, let's kind of wait and see.

You know, see what happens. Let's follow Gamaliel's advice. And one example of this I'll share with you. There's many, many that I could. But one example is from a man named Adrian Warnock. And Adrian Warnock is on his soteriology, on his doctrine of salvation.

As far as I know, he is quite sound. He has written for Desiring God. He's written for John Piper. But he, like John Piper, is a charismatic. And I'm going to show you a quote that he had regarding Todd Bentley.

Now, Todd Bentley, most of you know by now, he is one of the darkest, most obvious charlatans and hucksters ever to come down the evangelical pike. This is a man who claims that God told him to kick elderly women in the face with his biker boot.

And I'm thinking, God, why is not the power of God moving? He said, because you haven't kicked that woman in the face. And there's this older lady worshiping right in front of the platform. And the Holy Spirit spoke to me.

The gift of faith came on me. He said, kick her in the face with your biker boot. I inched closer, and I went like this. Bam! And just as my boot made contact with her nose, she fell into the power of God.

I mean, this guy is absolutely unhinged. He's not even mentally stable. And I can honestly tell you, without any hyperbole, that I genuinely believe that Todd Bentley is demon-possessed. I'm not exaggerating.

I genuinely think he's demon-possessed. He's one of the darkest individuals. He and Kenneth Copeland. One of the darkest individuals that I've ever come across. So Todd Bentley was making a lot of news back in 2008 in Lakeland Revival.

And he was the hottest thing going. I mean, God TV, they were showing these revival services every night live. People from all over the world were getting on airplanes flying into Lakeland, Florida to be part of these meetings.

And he was getting all kinds of accolades and endorsements from Bill Johnson, from Rick Joyner, from Cheyenne, from John Arnott. I mean, all the who's who in the WordFaith NAR movement. They were just all about Todd Bentley.

They love them some Todd Bentley. And Adrian Warnick, to his credit, was a little bit more cautious than most of the other charismatics. And he wrote this. He said, regarding Lakeland Revival and Todd Bentley, We should not rush to either wholeheartedly reject or accept everything that is happening.

I suppose I'm taking something of a gamalial approach, at least for now. Now, I'm sure Adrian Warnick is a perfectly nice guy. I've never met him before. But the first thing I would say is it's extraordinarily concerning that so many charismatics were reluctant to call out someone like Todd Bentley.

I mean, he's as obvious a charlatan and huckster as you will ever find. I mean, you wouldn't have to watch more than about 10 seconds of Todd Bentley before you realize something's wrong with this dude.

He's one of the darkest individuals I've ever met. And that shows you, unfortunately, the pervasive and consistent lack of discernment and reticence amongst so many, even of the more careful charismatics, to call out wolves, call a spade a spade for what they are.

And Todd Bentley, he's as obvious, as I said, he's as obvious a charlatan and huckster as you could ever want to meet or not want to meet. But Gamaliel's advice, it's bad advice. It sounds noble, it sounds spiritual, but it's very bad advice for two main reasons.

Why Gamaliel’s Advice Fails Biblically and Logically

Number one, Gamaliel was not a believer. We have no indication that Gamaliel ever came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And we can safely say that in Acts 5, he certainly was not a believer because he was a Pharisee and was definitely not a believer then.

So if you're going to follow the advice of Gamaliel, you're following the advice of a lost person. Generally not a real good idea to do when it comes to matters of spiritual importance. And the second reason that Gamaliel's advice fails is because, dear friends, it just doesn't even pass the common sense test.

If Gamaliel's advice was good advice, why do we still have Mormonism? Why do we still have Jehovah's Witnesses? Why do we still have Buddhism? Why do we still have Islam? I mean, name your favorite false religion.

They've been around for hundreds, some of them for thousands of years. Clearly they're not of God, and yet they're still here. So Gamaliel's advice may sound all noble and spiritual, but Gamaliel's advice is very bad advice.

And Gamaliel's advice goes against the clear teaching of Scripture when it comes to false teachers, false prophets. Indeed, when it comes to matters of just about anything, we are to test all things, right?

1 Thessalonians 5 .21, we are to test all things, hold fast to that which is good. We are to test everything through the lens of Scripture. We are to mark and avoid false teachers, Romans 16 .17. We are to expose the evil deeds of darkness, Ephesians 5 .11.

26 of the 27 books in the New Testament directly warn about false doctrine and or false teachers. Only the book of Philemon does not. The apostles all warned about false doctrine, false teachers. Jesus himself warned over and over and over about false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing, whitewashed tombs, over and over and over.

Gamaliel's advice is unbiblical, it's unwise, it's illogical, doesn't pass the common sense test, and it goes against literally dozens of commands, direct commands in Scripture to actually test all things, not just to sit around and see what happens.

It's bad advice. Gamaliel's advice is so bad, you'd have to call it sinful advice because, as I said, it does go against the clear teaching of Scripture. So, dear friends, this is one of those things in the Bible, and you find a lot of it in the book of Acts.

Gamaliel's advice is descriptive. It is describing what happened in these events, Acts 5. This is not prescriptive. Gamaliel's advice is not prescriptive. His advice is described, not prescribed. So, you keep using that verse.

I do not think it means what you think it means. All right, dear ones, thank you very much for joining me. I hope this was helpful. Until our next time together, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all.