Christians are commanded to distinguish between wheat and tares. The current woeful neglect of this important duty is responsible for the significant confusion and division among those who claim the Name of Christ Jesus. During the Church Age, Jesus taught that both genuine Christians and false Christians would be present in the world. Scripture informs that the fruits of teaching (true or false), actions (godly or evil), and beliefs (right or wrong) would provide the only evidence detailing the difference between true verses false believers. Scripture commands believers to test everything and to hold on to the good. We are also to test the spirits and carefully distinguish between Biblical verses false teachers, marking out the false, confronting and, if necessary, to exclude such from the assembly. The problem of wheat and tares existed from Jesus’ day, right up to this present time.
We maintain that most assemblies and Christians inadequately apply Scriptural tests to all these areas of teaching, actions, beliefs, genuineness faith and false teachers. While Biblical tests are adequate, it remains that church history demonstrates that tares continue to evade discovery. However, local assemblies and individual Christians are commanded by the Bible to practice church discipline for the sake of the purity of the Church Militant, for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and for the sake of the next generations of believers. Any believer who fails to take this duty seriously is neglecting a clear and important Biblical directive.