Introduction
[Knock, knock, knock] The ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ are knocking at the door. They are evangelising this street. They come from the Watchtower House up the road. Did you know that there their base they print up to 120 million pieces of literature a year? That they produce literature in 25 languages for 55 countries around the world?
Watch out, watch out the false prophets are about! And it’s not only outside Christian circles. Jesus tells us we can expect to meet false prophets and false teachers inside our churches, too. There will be those who try to guide the flock away from the truth.
Now the truth is a tricky thing these days. In postmodern Britain they say that all truth claims are valid. They say that you cannot claim that you have the truth and someone else doesn’t. Jesus, however, says different. Jesus says there are those who know and teach the truth, and there are those who don’t know the truth and teach lies. And he has two words for us this morning, v15: “WATCH OUT!!!”
Main Body
1. Watch out! False Teachers are in Disguise.
Jesus says, “They come to you in sheep’s clothing”. It will not be easy to tell who they are at first. Sheep look harmless. Sheep look cuddly. Jesus calls real believers sheep. But these people aren’t really sheep. It’s just a disguise.
We usually assess our Bible teachers and pastors and leaders by asking: Is he nice? Does she dress well? Does he speak well? Is he interesting? Is he relevant? Does he have the right qualifications? Is he a Reverend? Does he make me feel good? Does she have a nice smile? Can he tell good stories? The problem is, false teachers are often very likeable, winsome people. And they may look just like sheep! They may not even be a leader in the church. They may not even speak in meetings. But they pass on their false teaching through conversation or books and videos.
It’s not always easy to tell who the false teachers are.
2. Watch out! False Teachers are Dangerous
Jesus says that “inwardly they are ferocious wolves”. You see, their aim is not to care for the sheep; their aim is not to glorify God. Their aim is to have their own way; their aim is to glorify themselves; and they will tear the flock to pieces.
They will cause disunity. If you follow their teaching you will waste you time, your money and your energy. They could lead you away from God altogether.
The apostle Paul wrote a letter to a church where this happened. It was the Galatian church. False teaching had got into the church. Paul could see these lovely believers walking away from God. He said, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all.” (1:6) False teachers are dangerous.
3. Watch out! False Teachers will be Dealt With
Jesus says, v19, that just as bad trees are cut down and thrown into the fire, false teachers will likewise be dealt with. But until then...
4. Watch out! False Teachers can be Discerned
And here we’re getting to the heart of the matter: Jesus says, “By their fruit you will recognise them.”
After a while it will be possible to discern who these people are. Just as good fruit comes from a good tree and bad fruit comes from a bad tree, we must look at the fruit that people produce. We must examine the fruit of their lives.
I want to mention 4 ways that we can ‘watch out’ for false teachers. Whether we’re looking for new deacons or a new pastor, choosing preachers, or buying books or teaching DVDs...
a) Watch for the content of their teaching
Do they minimize or maximize Christ? In 1 John 4, we read that false teachers have a tendency to minimize Christ. A number of years ago a person came up to me after the service and criticised my preaching. She said she didn’t like it - ‘it’s all, ‘Jesus this and Jesus that!’ She didn’t know it, but that was the best preaching complement I’ve ever had! False teachers present their own spiritual sounding ideas. They minimize Christ.
The types of false teaching could be endless. Some false teachers will not focus on the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Some will not stress the importance of being made right through God alone through faith in Christ. Some will not teach the deity of Christ. Others will not urge obedience to Christ.
False teachers often present an unbalanced Bible message. They will take one aspect of truth and distort it. They might not be Grace-based – and rather teach legalism. They may not be Word-based but prefer to talk about spiritual experiences. They may teach that God always wants us healthy and wealthy. They may teach an easy Christianity that can walk down the broad road. They may insist you always read one certain book as well as the Bible.
b) Watch for the conduct of their life.
Jesus says in John 15, “You are my friends if you DO what I command.” Do they just talk the talk? Or do they walk the walk?! A genuine Bible Teacher will not just know and speak the Word of God, he or she will try to live out the Word of God. Practical day to day obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ is their number one obsession.
Be careful of Bible Teachers who live greedy, lusty, lazy, selfish, lives. Be careful of those who don’t show genuine love for their family; and those they meet. Be careful of those who have habitually bad relationships with others. Are they God-pleasers or man-pleasers?
c) Watch for the character of their spirit
Lately in homegroups we’ve been studying the Fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” So, do you see this fruit – do you see the character of Jesus in the so called Bible Teacher? I’m not asking you to say whether people like me are perfect! The more you get to know me, the more you realise how NOT perfect I am. Just ask my lovely wife who has to live with me! But, in general, you should be able to look at my life and see the work of the Spirit on my character. If I am HABITUALLY unloving, miserable, impatient, and not self-controlled, etc, you should suspect the sincerity of my Christian faith, and my credentials as a Bible Teacher. Watch for the character of their spirit.
d) Watch for the consequences of their ministry
In 3 John 9, John writes about a man called Diotrophes. Diotrophes seems to have been a false teacher in the church. John writes that “he loves to be first”. Does the leader love to be first? Is the teacher making a personality cult around him? Is the church becoming a private, exclusive clique of special ‘holy’ people? Are people being forced to give their money?
Or, does their teaching result in people becoming better disciples of Jesus? Do people repent from sin and put their trust in Jesus? Do people learn to love God and the Bible more? Do people learn to love and forgive each other? Is the church becoming more holy, more loving, more welcoming? Is the church becoming a good news proclaiming outreaching church? By their fruit you will recognize them. The fruit of their teaching, the fruit of their conduct, the fruit of their character and the fruit of their ministry.
If you see good fruit then that person is abiding, is remaining in Christ. Jesus said, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.” (John 15:5)
But a word of warning here! Jesus is not calling us to be witch hunters! Jesus is not telling us to try to catch each other out! Here in this church we want to encourage each other in Christian ministry. We don’t want to be spying on each other and judging each other. But we must be like the Berean Christians... Acts 17:11-12
Receive the message with open arms! But test it! Look at the Bible. Does the Bible say what I am saying or not? Be a Berean Christian!
Application & Conclusion
Make sure you protect yourself from false teaching. If the only Bible input you’re getting is here on a Sunday morning, it’s not enough! You need more Bible input!
1. Read, read, read your Bible!
By saying there is a true or false prophet Jesus is telling us there is a standard. The standard is God’s word the Bible. You will only know what is right and wrong if you are in relationship with Jesus Christ and are constantly in the Bible. You need to be reading the Bible every day at home!
2. Pray, pray, pray for the Holy Spirit’s help to understand, love and practice the Scriptures.
3. Come, come, come to church AM & PM if you can!
4. Go, go, go to homegroup and be a learner with others!
Watch out! Watch out! False teachers are about! But we can protect ourselves by knowing God’s Word.
