Beware Of Ravenous Wolves Series

When you listen to a teacher’s messages, are they scripturally grounded? What about the topics? If he preaches on wealth and prosperity, for example, then perhaps his heart is greedy for money. Does he tell course jokes outside the pulpit? What does he talk about in regular conversation? Are his concerns about others or himself? Is he critical of others, gossips, and has a lot of negative things to say? What opinions does he express about the community? What views does he hold concerning politics, and are they biblically based? If they are constitutionally based, you can probably give him a free pass! Now, I have been using the pronoun “he,” but these same questions can be applied to women teachers as well.

On the flip side, someone can “say” all the right things and not “live” the right things. In Ephesians chapter 5, Paul said, “Let no one deceive you with empty words” (v. 6). He went on to say, “Walk as children of the light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness” (vv. 8-11). In other words, “Do not just talk the talk and refuse to walk the walk. Bear good fruit found in the things which are good, righteous, and true; things that issue forth from the Holy Spirit.” They are called “the fruit of the Spirit” (v. 9). Down in verse 22, Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These go beyond words, as they are godly attitudes and behaviors.

The Penalty for False Teachers (vv. 19-20)

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account.” Pastors and teachers are responsible for people souls, and they are accountable to God. Go back to Hebrews 10:30-31, and we read this: “‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The LORD will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Pastors and teachers must be careful to bring forth good fruit and lead people in the way of righteousness; otherwise, they will be seen as bad trees, disobedient and ungodly, to be cut down and thrown into the fire! Now, this statement refers to some kind of judgment or punishment.

There is a two-fold application for the word “fire.” Allow me to preface the first application by pointing out how sometimes pastors and teachers can get caught up in the latest trend, fall into deception, and unknowingly proclaim false doctrine. They have failed to rightly divide the Word of truth for themselves, before sharing it with others. So, the first application is “the refiner’s fire,” where believers face testing and trials, to shape and correct their understanding and character. In Isaiah 48:10, the Lord declared, “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction,” and in Revelation 3:19, Jesus declared, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” So, pastors and teachers can sometimes stumble in their walk with God and have to face the fire.