(The following message was given by Watchman Nee in Kuling on September 28, 1948, as part of the “New Believers” series. It was later excluded from the final published version of the series.)
Heresy is a big subject. We should give new believers a proper understanding of the subject so that they can build up a proper defense against it. We should read the verses above to new believers one by one, and then we should tell them that these verses show that many heretics will arise in the end times. These heretics come from within the church. Some will use the name of Christ to propagate their heretical teachings. Every Christian should be warned concerning the matter of heresy. Jude 3 says that we have to “earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.” We must be orthodox in our faith. We must help the new believers to choose the proper path. We should warn them concerning heresies. We have covered the subject of the pathway of the church. We said that only one church will keep the Lord’s word and His name in the end times—the church in Philadelphia. Our eyes must be opened to find this church.
Many curious ones like to try different things. In the end they become poisoned by what they try. Curiosity brings nothing but poison to a person. God’s children do not need to become involved in a heresy, only to find out later that it is a heresy and then condemn it. We do not need to be involved in heresy after heresy and condemn them one by one afterwards. As soon as we hear some strange thing, we should turn away from it. Some people like to try things out. In the end they fall into the very things they are trying. They are stumbled by them and cannot get out of them. This is dangerous. We should never be curious, lest we fall into heresies and become trapped by them. No heresy is one hundred percent heresy; every one is a mixture of heresy and truth. Satan would not be so foolish as to come up with something that is pure heresy. Most of the time heretical beliefs are mixed in with the best truths. When a man receives the truths, he takes in heresies at the same time. It is not easy for young believers to discern these heresies. We should learn to not touch heresies. We should flee from them and reject them. Only those who are sober will save themselves from danger; those who are curious will always suffer the poisonous sting.
No young Christian can deal with heresies. The best thing for a young Christian to do is to turn away from them altogether. But if you are in a place without a church or if you are alone, here are ten criteria for you to test whether a teaching is heretical. If any of the ten criteria fits the description or if a person teaches any of these ten things, you have a heresy. What determines a group as heretical or not is not the volume of teachings it produces, but the presence or absence of heresy. As long as there is heresy, the group is off. I would rather listen to a message with little truth but no heresy than to listen to one with much truth mixed up with a little heresy. A little poison can kill a person. In the same way, a little leaven can leaven the whole lump. Some of these heresies can only be identified by men with special gifts. It may appear easy to identify these heresies, but in reality it is not that simple. We need to ask if a teaching has a little heresy in it. If it does, we have to discard it even if the rest is good.
There are many kinds of heresies. Some heresies completely deny the Lord. Some stand on the ground of miracles, works of wonders, and divination. Some have to do with prophecies, some with questions related to judgment after death, and some with mortification of fleshly lusts. Furthermore, each kind of heresy is propagated by many different groups. There are many different kinds of heresies, and they are all different in their errors. But as long as they err in one thing, they constitute a heresy. However, we must have substantial evidence before we can call a teaching a heresy. Heresy is a strong word, and we must not condemn anyone as a heretic lightly. Now let us examine the ten things that determine a heresy.