Resources/Articles
The Lowest Class of People in the World
What class of people constitutes the lowest element of society? Drug dealers? Child molesters? Murderers? Freeloaders? Prostitutes? Thieves?
According to Isaiah, it is none of these. “Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel (we would say, from the highest to the lowest), palm branch and bulrush in one day” (Isaiah 9:14). Then in the next verse, he identifies “the tail,” the lowest of the people: “The elder and honorable, he is the head; the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. For they that lead this people cause them to er; and they that are led to them are destroyed.”
There is no lower element in society than false teachers. They claim to be guides to heaven, but they point the way to hell. Their victims are not those who seek wickedness. They are those who seek salvation. The spiritually blind come to them for guidance, only to be led over a cliff. The lost come for soul-saving truth only to be given damnable error.
True teachers of the world suffer because of them. They approach the lost with the pure gospel, only to find them already “turned off” from religion because of false teachers. When an earnest seeker is found, the challenge then is to remove from the person’s mind the constant exposure they have had to false promise, “visions,” “testimonials,” and dramatic tactics of television evangelism.
Some false teachers are intentional frauds, while others are unintentional. The intentional deceivers are motivated by greed, selfish ambition, and sometimes, sensuality (2 Peter 2:1-3). They make merchandise of their victims. They beg for money and grieve over their desperate state. In reality, they have huge amounts of money invested in all types of accounts. They claim to be lovers of God, but in reality are lovers of self. They are nothing more than “false apostles” and “deceitful workers” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
Other false teachers are unintentional. They are victims of deceit and look for others to deceive. They do so in belief that they are serving God (John 16:2). They are sincere, but each one must be warned to consider the words of James 3:1: “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” Being eager to share the gospel is essential, but care should be given not to rush into the work of teaching without considering the responsibilities and judgment that go with it.
False teachers are not good people. They are the lowest class of people in our society. The fearful thing is, what if I am one - deceived by one - or lend support to one?
