They preach more to please the ear than to profit the heart. These men handle holy things rather with wit and entertainment than with godly fear and reverence. False teachers are soul-destroyers. They are like evil surgeons, that skin over the wound, but never heal it. Flattery destroyed Ahab and Herod, Nero and Alexander.
False teachers are hell s great enrichers.
It is not bitter, but flattering words which do all the mischief, said Valerian, the Roman emperor. The second distinguishing mark of false teachers is that they are notable for casting dirt, scorn and reproach upon the person, names and credits of Christ s most faithful ambassadors. And indeed, the same harsh treatment had our Lord Jesus from the scribes and Pharisees, who labored as if their life depended on it, to construct their own esteem upon the ruins of His reputation. I suppose false teachers fail to consider that saying of Augustine, He that willingly takes from my good name, unwillingly adds to my reward. The third distinguishing mark of false teachers is that they spew out the devices and visions of their own heads and hearts.