“But they preach Jesus!” is what people often say when someone asks questions about a preacher. It means: “He talks about Jesus, so he must be fine.” This page asks if that is true.
What is this page about?
Ministry, gospel, prophet, false teacher
A ministry is a church, a preacher, or a group that teaches about God. The gospel is the good news: Jesus died for our sins and rose again. A prophet is someone who says, “God told me this.” A false teacher is someone who teaches things about God that are not true.
The man who writes this site sees some ministries that use the name of Jesus, but also do things like these:
- They teach things that Christians have not believed for 2,000 years.
- They say you are “born again” if you were sincere enough, not because of what God has done.
- They teach new things that “God told me,” and nobody can check them.
- The message is about “me,” or about the preacher, not about Jesus.
- Leaders become rich from poor people’s money, and promise them that God will pay them back many times.
- They promise healing. When a sick person is not healed, they say, “Your faith was too weak.”
- They say what will happen in the future, and it does not happen.
- They use rude, dirty words in the pulpit.
- They teach violence or hatred in the name of Jesus.
- They say people who disagree with the preacher will die.
He asks: “If none of this matters, why does the Bible warn us so many times about false prophets and false teachers?”
This page does not name any living person or any church. It does not say who is saved. It does not tell anyone to leave their church.
Seven points
- People who say “who are we to judge?” have some good reasons. God can use preachers who are not perfect.
- But the Bible never says the name of Jesus is enough. Jesus said many people would use his name to trick others.
- The Bible says: check what is taught about Jesus.
- The golden calf was called “a feast to Yahweh.” The right name was used for the wrong thing.
- Good servants of God never take honour that belongs to God.
- The Bible gives simple tests. Who is at the centre? Do the prophecies come true? Where does the money go? What does the teaching do to people?
- Not every difference between Christians is serious. And we must test our own church first.
This is my own opinion. I am happy when anyone talks about Jesus. I do not want people to become suspicious of every preacher.
But I cannot find any place in the Bible that says the name of Jesus is enough. I find many places that tell normal Christians to check what they hear.
The other side has good reasons
People who say “who are we to judge?” often point to these things:
- Paul was happy. Some men preached about Jesus because they were jealous of Paul. Paul said he was happy that Jesus was preached anyway (Philippians 1:15–18).
- Jesus said, “Don’t stop him.” A man who was not one of the twelve disciples drove out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus told the disciples not to stop him (Mark 9:38–40).
- “Don’t judge.” Jesus said, “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged” (Matthew 7:1).
- People found Jesus there. Many people first heard about Jesus in these ministries.
- Old churches have problems too. The old, traditional churches have had bad leaders and scandals.
These things are true. But when we read each one carefully, it says less than people think.
What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. I rejoice in this, yes, and will rejoice.
Philippians 1:18 · World English Bible
In simple words: Their reasons were bad, but they preached the true Jesus. So I am happy.
Those men preached the same Jesus. Their problem was their bad heart. But other teachers changed the message. About them, the same Paul wrote this:
But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.
Galatians 1:8 · World English Bible
In simple words: If anyone changes the good news, even me, even an angel, God will judge him.
What about “Don’t judge”? In the same talk, a few sentences later, Jesus said: “Beware of false prophets … By their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15–16). So Jesus does not want us to judge if a person is saved. Only God knows that. But he does want us to check what people teach.
Same Jesus, bad heart: Paul was happy. Different message, using Jesus’ name: Paul said “let him be cursed.” What matters is what is taught, not only the name.
Jesus said many would use his name
For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.
Matthew 24:5 · World English Bible
In simple words: Many people will use my name to trick others.
Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
Matthew 7:22–23 · World English Bible
In simple words: On the last day, some will say, “We did great things in your name!” Jesus will say, “I never knew you.”
These people used the name of Jesus three times. They did miracles. But Jesus did not know them.
In the book of Acts, some men tried to drive out an evil spirit. They said, “We command you by Jesus, the one Paul preaches about.” The evil spirit said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). Then the man with the evil spirit attacked them, and they ran away. The name of Jesus is not a magic word.
To test a teaching means to check it. We ask: Is this true? Does it agree with the Bible? The Bible tells normal Christians to do this.
Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
1 John 4:1–2 · World English Bible
In simple words: Don’t believe everyone who speaks about God. Check them. Ask: what do they say about who Jesus is?
Jesus said many people would use his name and trick others. So the Bible tells us to test what people say about Jesus.
The golden calf
When Moses was on the mountain, the people of Israel made a calf out of gold.
Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.”
Exodus 32:4–5 · World English Bible
In simple words: They made a golden calf. Then they said, “Tomorrow we will have a party for the LORD.”
They used God’s own name. They thought they were worshipping the true God. But it was still wrong. They wanted something they could see, because Moses was gone. They made their own kind of worship. And a calf of gold cannot tell anyone what to do.
In the New Testament, good servants of God never take honour that belongs to God:
- A man bowed down to Peter. Peter said, “Stand up! I myself am also a man” (Acts 10:26).
- People wanted to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods. They tore their clothes and said, “We also are men” (Acts 14:15).
- John the Baptist said about Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).
- King Herod let people say, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” God struck him, “because he didn’t give God the glory” (Acts 12:22–23).
You can use God’s name and still worship in a wrong way. If a ministry is all about the preacher, his name and his picture, it is like the golden calf, even if it uses Jesus’ name.
The same stones, a different picture
About 1,850 years ago, a church leader called Irenaeus saw false teachers. They used the name of Jesus and the words of the Bible. Irenaeus said they were like this:
An artist makes a beautiful picture of a king, using jewels. Then someone takes the jewels and moves them around. Now they make a picture of a dog. But he says, “Look! This is the king!” It is the same jewels, but a different picture.
False teaching is like that. It uses the same words: Jesus, faith, the Spirit, blessing. But it puts them together in a different way. So the picture changes. Maybe you are now in the centre, not Jesus. Maybe the preacher is in the centre.
How did the early Christians know the true picture? They kept it in short statements of faith called creeds. The Nicene Creed is about 1,600 years old. Most Christian churches in the world still say it.
False teaching often uses the right words. Ask: who is in the centre of the picture?
Five simple tests from the Bible
1. Who does the work in being born again? The Bible says God does it.
not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
Titus 3:5 · World English Bible
In simple words: God saved us because he is kind, not because of good things we did. He washed us and gave us new life by the Holy Spirit.
If someone says, “You are born again if you were sincere enough,” then you are doing the work. On a bad day, you will ask: “Was I sincere enough?” But God’s promise does not change on a bad day.
2. Can anyone check the “new message from God”? The Bible says: even if a prophet’s sign comes true, do not follow him if he leads you away from God (Deuteronomy 13:1–3).
3. Where does the money go?
In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words
2 Peter 2:3 · World English Bible
In simple words: False teachers love money. They will use clever words to take your money.
A very old Christian book, the Didache, was written almost 2,000 years ago. It says: if a preacher says “God says, give me money,” do not listen to him. But if he asks you to give to people in need, that is good.
4. When a sick person is not healed, who is blamed? Paul was a great apostle. But he left his friend Trophimus sick (2 Timothy 4:20). Paul himself asked God three times to take away his own pain. God said, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Nobody in the Bible was blamed for being sick because his faith was weak.
5. Do the prophecies come true?
When a prophet speaks in Yahweh’s name, if the thing doesn’t follow, nor happen, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.
Deuteronomy 18:22 · World English Bible
In simple words: If a prophet says “God says this will happen,” and it does not happen, God did not say it. Do not be afraid of that prophet.
Check five things: Who does the work? Can it be checked? Where does the money go? Who is blamed? Did it come true?
“By their fruits”
Jesus said we can know false prophets “by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). Fruit means what a person’s life and teaching produce. A big church is not always good fruit. The Bible says:
- Words: Do not use dirty or hurtful words (Ephesians 4:29).
- Violence: Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword back” (Matthew 26:52).
- Hatred: “Love your enemies … pray for those who mistreat you” (Matthew 5:44).
- Threats: Two disciples wanted fire from heaven to kill people who did not accept Jesus. Jesus “turned and rebuked them” (Luke 9:55). He told them they were wrong.
So if a preacher says, “Anyone who disagrees with me will die,” he is doing what Jesus said was wrong.
Look at the fruit. Rude words, violence, hatred and threats are not the fruit of Jesus, even if the preacher says “Jesus.”
Real people get hurt
and those words will consume like gangrene, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus: men who have erred concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past, and overthrowing the faith of some.
2 Timothy 2:17–18 · World English Bible
In simple words: False teaching spreads like a sickness. It can destroy people’s faith.
Think about these people. (They are made up by this page, but things like this really happen.)
- A poor family gives money they need for food, because they are promised that God will pay them back many times. Nothing comes back.
- A sick woman is told, “If you are not healed, your faith is weak.” She feels ashamed and stops coming to church.
- A man trusts his pastor more than Jesus. When the pastor does something very bad, the man loses his faith.
- A girl hears every year, “This will be your year of blessing!” It never happens. When she grows up, she leaves the faith.
Is it loving to say, “Who are we to judge?” The Bible says love “rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6).
Not every difference is serious
Christians disagree about many small things. Paul told the Christians in Rome not to fight about food and special days (Romans 14). Some churches sing old hymns, some sing new songs. That is fine.
Also, God’s Word is still God’s Word, even when a bad person preaches it. A Christian leader called Augustine said: when a bad minister baptizes, it is still Jesus who baptizes.
So when is a difference serious? When it changes one of these four things:
- Who is Jesus?
- What did Jesus do for us?
- How does God give us his gifts? As a free gift, or as payment?
- Who gets the glory? God, or a person?
Most of the problems in the list at the top of this page change one of these four things.
Test your own church first
Old churches have failed these tests too. About 500 years ago, some preachers in the old church sold papers called “indulgences.” They said that if you paid money, your dead relatives would go to heaven sooner. A priest called Martin Luther said this was wrong. He wrote: “The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.”
So these tests are not only for other churches. They are for every church. Start with your own.
Questions you can ask about any church:
- Is Jesus at the centre, or me, or the preacher?
- Does it agree with what Christians have always believed (the Nicene Creed)?
- Where does the money go? Does someone check?
- Did the prophecies come true?
- When sick people are not healed, are they cared for or blamed?
- Does the preacher take honour that belongs to Jesus?
- Does the preacher have someone he must answer to?
- What does the preacher say about enemies and about people who disagree?
Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 · World English Bible
In simple words: Check everything. Keep what is good.
What this page does not say
- It does not say that any one church or preacher is false.
- It does not say that people who found Jesus in a flawed church are not real Christians.
- It does not say that every disagreement is serious.
- It does not say that old churches are always right.
It says only this: the Bible never says the name of Jesus is enough. The Bible tells us to test what is taught about Jesus, who is at the centre, and what the teaching does to people.
The title of this page is what people say, not my answer. Many people say it kindly. I think the kindness is good, but the answer is wrong.
In the Bible, the leaders who loved God’s people the most were the ones who checked most carefully what the people were taught. And the tests are simple. Anyone can use them.
Read it yourself
- Read Philippians 1:15–18, then Galatians 1:6–9. What is different?
- Read Exodus 32:1–6. What name did they use for the calf’s party?
- Read Matthew 7:15–23. What test does Jesus give?
- Read Deuteronomy 18:21–22. What should you do if a prophecy does not come true?
- Think about the last sermon you heard in your own church. Who was in the centre?
Want more?
The quick version has three short exercises. The full dossier has all the evidence and every source.
Quick version →Full dossier →Bible verses in boxes on this page come from the World English Bible, a modern translation that is free for everyone to use. In Old Testament verses it uses the name Yahweh where many Bibles write “the LORD”. Some other verses are given “in simple words”. The full dossier quotes all the verses from the Authorised (King James) Version.