"Peter, Feed My Sheep” (17 Of 21)

These cults make you think of all these translations, paraphrases and perversions of the Word of God that are on the market today. They all claim to be the Word of God, but they differ in their translations of the scriptures. So how can they all be the Word of God?

Also, we cannot possibly believe that all these cults today are based on the Word of God, since they teach different things.

With that in mind, we can understand why Paul wrote to young Timothy about this. Look at 1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, GIVING HEED TO SEDUCING SPIRITS, AND DOCTRINES OF DEVILS.”

Illus: Dr. Joseph Parker, of London, said many years ago, "In the last thirty years I have seen enough dead theories and discarded hypotheses to fill a good-sized cemetery. They entered the world like an amateur band and coughed their way out like a squad of consumptive tramps.”

If Dr. Parker thought we were being besieged by false teachings in his day, what would he think about our day?

Paul told Timothy these things would come in the latter days, and some would depart from the faith to follow these "seducing spirits."

I. THERE SHALL BE

There shall be what? There shall be many false prophets in the last days, before Christ returns for His church.

Look at 2 Peter 2:1-2, we read, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”

These two verses reveal two concerns:

A. NEW TESTAMENT CONCERN

Men in the ministry are like men in other professions. You find good and bad in all professions. False prophets existed during the days of Peter.

For example, if I told you that all doctors and lawyers are good, you would wonder what I have been drinking, because while we know there are some good doctors and lawyers, in these professions there are also a lot of bad ones.

• The same thing goes for the ministry. Some of the greatest people you will find on this earth are ministers, who could be making a lot more money doing something else, but they have dedicated their lives to the preaching of God’s Word to lost mankind.

• At the same time, some of the biggest crooks that you will find on this earth are also claiming to do the same thing.

The fact that Peter speaks of false prophets implies that there were also true prophets, but he is warning us so we can be careful not to follow those who are teaching false doctrines.

One of the most unrecognized problems in the church today is that of corrupt teachings by these false prophets. Today they are allowed to teach all kinds of damnable teachings, and the Christian church will never open their mouths. WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?

It was a problem in Peter's day, and it is an even bigger problem for us today. The Lord recognized this growing problem when He was here.

He said in Matt. 24:11, “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”

It was a New Testament concern that the apostles frequently dealt with. Today in many churches you will never hear the man of God trying to warn God’s people of that same danger that is still prevalent.

But not only was it a NEW TESTAMENT CONCERN, also, it was an-

B. OLD TESTAMENT CONCERN

In the Old Testament, we see that they dealt with false prophets by not only condemning them with their mouths, they dealt with them severely.

WHAT DID THEY DO TO THEM?

Look at Deuteronomy 13:1-5. “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.”