Matthew 7:15 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' 24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
Introduction
Suppose I asked you to pull out a piece of paper and jot down the five things you are most tempted to worry about. What would you write? What are the top five dangers that are lurking out there that could really spell disaster in your life if they happened? Or to put it another way – which threats are you putting the most effort and resources into protecting yourself and your family against? We buy insurance to protect ourselves against financial disaster. Some of you might be afraid that your marriage might fall apart, and you are working to avoid that. Maybe you are the type who gives serious thought to trying to eat right and exercise so you can avoid the danger of health problems. Maybe you are afraid your kids will end up with a hard life because their grades are so bad, so you are working hard to get them to get serious about school. We all take precautions against the dangers in life that we see as the greatest threats.
Now let me ask you this – out of the five things that you would write down, are any of them things that Jesus warned us to watch out for? Over and over and over in the gospels Jesus gives us warnings: “Watch out for this. Be on your guard against that. Beware of this.” That is language I find myself using more and more with my kids. I have three teenagers, and as you watch your children become adults you find yourself saying the words “watch out” more and more often. “Watch out for these kinds of relationships. Beware of this danger in life. Keep your eye open for this pitfall.” We do that as parents because we know that when you are young you just cannot appreciate how dangerous certain threats really are, and as parents we don’t want our kids to be caught off-guard by something and have their lives destroyed. And Jesus is like that with us. He loves us, he sees these hidden traps in life that we can’t see, and He is earnest about pointing them out to us – “Watch out – don’t step there, that’s deadly…” And so I am just wondering, of the top five dangers that you are taking precautions against in your life, how many of those are things Jesus told us to beware of?
I ask that question because it seems to me that there is a constant stream of theological teachings that seemed to be designed to dismiss Jesus’ warnings. Jesus says, “Beware that you are not deceived! Watch out!!!” And someone comes along and says, “Oh, don’t worry about that. Jesus is talking there to phony Christians. Real Christians can’t actually be deceived, so don’t sweat it.” Jesus says, “A great, horrible persecution is coming. It will be a time of extreme tribulation, and the love of most will grow cold and there will be a great falling away from the faith – watch out!” And then you read a book that says, “Oh, don’t worry about that. That’s not for us. We will be raptured long before any of that happens.” Jesus keeps saying, “Beware, beware, beware” and the teachers of our age keep saying, “Relax, relax, relax.” We are like teenagers who hear their parents’ warnings and say, “Yeah, whatever – I’ll be fine.”
Let me offer you a warning of my own – beware of teachers who tell you that you do not need to beware of the things Jesus said to beware of! And beware of any doctrine that diminishes the force of the biblical warnings.
“What kinds of dangers did Jesus warn us about?”
Well, He warned about the danger of greed (Lk.12:15). He warned us about the danger of having self-glorification as our motive (Mt.6:1). He warned about being lulled to sleep by the details of life so we are not ready when He returns (Lk.21:34). Each of those appears one time. But there is one warning that Jesus gave again and again and again in all kinds of different contexts. This one must have sounded like a broken record.
Matthew 24:4 Watch out that no one deceives you.
Mark 13:5 Watch out that no one deceives you.
Matthew 16:6,11,12 Watch out," Jesus said to them. "Be on your guard against the [teaching] of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
And that warning is repeated in Luke 12 and Mark 8.
Mark 12:38 Watch out for the teachers of the law.
Luke 21:8 Watch out that you are not deceived.
Luke 20:46 Beware of the teachers of the law.
Matthew 7:15 Watch out for false prophets.
Do you think Jesus was a little bit concerned about the danger of us being deceived by false teachers? If you are following a very experienced tour guide through the jungle and he warns you once about snakes, once about spiders, but then warns you ten different times about going off the trail and getting lost, what does that tell you? It is a real problem, and it is very likely to happen if you are not on your guard. And yet, how many of us have on our list of the top five dangers we face, being deceived or led astray? All that to show you that today’s text is of urgent importance.
Review
And if you want to see what is at stake, all you have to do is look at the context. We have been studying through the Sermon on the Mount and last week we came to the closing section of the sermon, where Jesus calls the listener to enter through the narrow gate.
13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
I think if you read that text to the average person, and asked, “Which road are you on?” most people would say, “Neither. I’m not on the narrow road or the wide road – I’m on the medium road.” Just as it is fashionable these days to be a political moderate, so most people like to think of themselves as religious moderates. The last thing you want to be in this day and age is a religious extremist. You do not want to be in the same category as Osama Bin Laden. And the narrow road is an extremist road – by definition. But most people do not want to be heathens or godless, secular humanists or atheists either. That is also too extreme, so they just want to be moderate. They know they might not quite deserve to go to heaven, but they are quite certain they do not belong in hell. So they really are not all that sure where they are going, but really it is a matter of little concern to them. They just want to live they way they live, and whatever happens on Judgment Day happens. They will roll the dice with eternity. They would not do that in lesser things. They do not just get on a random bus without know where it is headed. They would not board an airplane without first having an idea where it is going. But they will get on a broad road that leads to some eternal destination without giving five minutes’ thought about where it leads.
Context: False prophets hinder entry to the narrow gate
And so Jesus’ words are intended to shake us out of the lethargic fog of apathy and realize that anything other than the narrow road will end in hell so that we will wake up and enter through the narrow gate. But standing at the entrance to that gate is a major obstacle. The enemy has stationed some people right in front of that gate to wave as many off from entering as possible. And at every point along that narrow road these people are there misleading travelers with directions that actually end up leading them over onto the broad road. And the title Jesus gives those people is the Greek word pseudoprophatas (false prophets). So what is at stake in this matter of whether we are alert to false prophets? Eternal life!
14 small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. 15 Watch out for false prophets.
That warning comes immediately on the heels of the discussion of the narrow gate because one of
the biggest impediments to the narrow gate is the false prophets.
Wolves
The importance of which leaders you follow
And not just prophets, but any kind of false leader.
2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.
Scripture also warns about false apostles and even false brothers.
I think many times we underestimate the importance of the leaders we follow. In our pride we tend to think we are not really following any leaders at all. People go out of their way to say, “I don’t follow my pastor, I’m not a follower of John MacArthur or Piper or this guy or that guy. I’m not a groupie. I’m not a mindless, dumb sheep just following the herd – I think for myself!”
Following a good leader is good
Nobody wants to be called a groupie, but the reality is we are all followers. We are all sheep. That is not to say we are all lemmings – mindlessly following even if it means going off a cliff. Following a good leader is not a mindless thing at all – it is a wise thing. Falling in behind someone who knows where he is going is a smart thing to do. What makes a person a fool is not that he follows a leader – it is that he follows the wrong leader. But following good leadership is a mark of wisdom, because it is the way God guides us.
God has always guided His people by means of human leaders. And if God provides a leader for us to follow, we certainly do not want to be guilty of failing to follow that leader because we prided ourselves on being independent. And really, even the most independent types among us are all influenced by powerful leadership. A leader is someone who inspires people to follow in a certain direction. (If he forces people to follow by appeals to his authority – that is a dictator, not a leader. But if he inspires people to want to follow, that is a leader.) And whether we want to admit it or not, we are all on the path we are on in large part because of certain people who have inspired us to walk in that way. It might have been one of the great men of history, or it might have been a character in a sitcom on TV – but we are all influenced by someone. For some people it is the expert guest on the Oprah show. For others it is a preacher or a talk show host, or a professor, or some powerful personality at work. Or maybe it is your husband, or wife, or someone who died 100 years ago whose book you are reading. Or maybe you are following a modern-day leader one hundred forty characters at a time (tweet, tweet). But all of us are inspired to walk in one direction or another through the influence of various leaders. And people tend to be most influenced by the leader who is leading in the direction they want to go. People who want to be atheists think Richard Dawkins is a genius. People who want to believe in God think Dawkins is an idiot. Most people care more about whether a leader is saying what they want to hear than they do with whether that leader is really speaking the words of God.
The fitness of your leaders
Two different times in recent weeks I have come across someone who stated dogmatically and authoritatively that at the Council of Nicaea the Emperor Constantine threw out all the books of the Bible that he did not agree with. A historian would hear that and say, “That’s silly. The issue of which books belonged in the Bible was not even discussed at that council.” So why do we have people who sound so smart and so informed and educated dogmatically declaring this as fact in public forums? Where did they get that? They got it from a novel – a fiction book called The Da Vinci Code. There are actually people who are rejecting Christianity because of made-up historical details in a story – betting their eternal destiny on a version of history that exists nowhere but in a single work of fiction. And these are the people who claim to be thinking for themselves.
But honestly, I do not want to be too hard on those people who have been led astray by Dan Brown. Dan Brown intentionally made The Da Vinci Code sound like historical fiction, and gave the clear impression that the parts about the history of Christianity were the historical part and not the fiction part. He is extremely clever in deceiving people, and most people who just pick up a popular fiction book are not going to have the time to research and double check all the historical data presented in the book.
So Jesus warns us that there are people out there who seem really, really trustworthy and reliable who are lying. They seem like excellent guides, but it turns out they are blind, and they lead people in the opposite direction that they claim to be leading.
False leaders lead to hell
Where do you end up if you follow a false teacher? Jesus shows us where they end up in verse 19. On Judgment Day they will be cut down and thrown into the fire. And when they object in verse 23 and talk about how they spent their lives serving God, God will say to them, I never knew you. Away from me you evildoers. That is where they are leading. But they do not advertise that. I have never driven past a church and saw a marquee that said, “Join us! We’re all going to hell.” Nobody is selling hell. There are not any bestsellers on five easy steps to end up in eternal fire.
Sheep’s Clothing
Beware – they are disguised
So if that is the direction they are going, and that is the road they are on, why do people follow them?
Matthew 24:11 many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Why do they get so many followers? Jesus tells us why in verse 15.
15 Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
People follow them because they come in sheep’s clothing. The Bible uses sheep as a metaphor for the people of God. They come looking just like a real Christian. And I am afraid many people take that phrase sheep’s clothing way too lightly – as if they were showing up in some ridiculous silly disguise that you can instantly see as false just by looking at them. Sheep’s clothing means they look exactly like sheep. If these people were obvious, Jesus would not have to tell us, Watch out. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. On the inside they are wolves, on the outside they are sheep. And which part of them are you and I capable of seeing? The outside. Only God can see the heart – man can only see the outward appearance. So the part of them that gives them away is hidden. All we can see is the part that looks thoroughly Christian. That is how they manage to lead many astray in the end times.
So let me ask you this – what reaction would you expect from the church if a pastor came along and exposed one of these wolves? Suppose some preacher stands up and points to one of these guys and says, “That is not a real sheep. Beware – he’s a wolf!” What reaction do you think that pastor would get from most Christians? The reaction, in many cases, is going to be anger. He claims to be a brother, he looks like a Christian, talks like a Christian, has a big, influential ministry, so as soon as someone points to him and calls him a wolf, there are going to be howls of disapproval. “Why are you judging him? Why are you being critical? Why can’t we all just get along?” The people who are following that leader, and who are inspired by that leader, and who, in many cases, have learned all kinds of wonderful, true things from that leader – maybe even became a Christian through the ministry of that leader – they are not going to appreciate anyone coming along and calling that leader a wolf. They are experts in deceiving, so they are very hard to spot. And consequently, they tend to be popular.
Luke 6:26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
If you get too popular, watch out, because you are probably turning into a false teacher!
Discernment of or lack thereof a major factor in Christ’s assessment of a church
“Why does God allow this to happen?” The answer to that is in Deuteronomy 13.
Deuteronomy 13:1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.
He actually foretells the future with accuracy, but his doctrine is off. Even if a prophet has miraculous ability in his prophecies, still – if what he teaches does not match what Scripture says, he is a false prophet. “Why does God allow that to happen? Why would God allow Satan to give miraculous ability to a false prophet?”
3 …The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.
False prophets are allowed by God as tests of our faithfulness.
1 Corinthians 11:19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.
So discernment is a very, very important thing. When Jesus was evaluating the churches in Revelation 2-3, one of the chief criteria for whether a church was good or bad was how well they did at discerning false prophets. If a church was really good at that, Jesus praised them.
Revelation 2:2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.
But those churches who tolerated false teachers – Jesus rebuked them harshly.
Revelation 2:20 I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants
23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
If there is one thing Jesus cannot tolerate it is a tolerant church. And He will punish tolerant churches. And in some cases false teaching is tolerated not on purpose, but just because of a lack of diligence. They do not want to go through the hard work of examining anybody, so just about anyone can teach a class or a Bible study, and there are no safeguards, and as sure as day follows night you are going to get false teachers. It is like having a hole in your screen door in the summertime – you are going to get flies in the house. It takes constant vigilance to keep them out.
In fact, they even find their way into good churches. Remember what Paul said in Acts 20? He is talking to the elders he appointed and shepherded for the past three years and he says,
Acts 20:29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
Paul looks at the men that he personally trained for three years and tells them that some of them will become wolves. So even if you patch up the holes in your screen door you still need a fly swatter in the house.
Fruit
“What do you mean – a fly-swatter? How do you swat these flies? If these wolves have sheep’s clothing on, and are so deceptive and so hard to spot, how do you spot them?”
Matthew 7:16 By their fruit you will recognize them.
The way to spot them is by their fruit.
Not credentials
Notice He does not say, “by their credentials you will know them.” Our culture is really hung up on credentials. The people of our day would expect Jesus to say, “Beware of people without proper credentials and degrees and documentation.” Jesus does not say “By his diploma you will know him;” He says “By his fruit you will know him.”
The meaning of fruit (that which isn’t part of the act)
But what is fruit? This really had me stumped all week long as I was studying this, because when I first read that I thought, “Isn’t fruit what you see on the outside when you look at them? But if that’s what fruit is, then how can Jesus say they have sheep’s clothing on?” Their fruit is bad. But sheep’s clothing looks good. So how can someone simultaneously have sheep’s clothing on and also be producing bad fruit that exposes them as a false prophet? The sheep’s clothing is a life that looks and sounds like an authentic Christian life – but it is not really good fruit. So what is the difference between sheep’s clothing and good fruit?
Character
Good fruit is anything that a person does that is good and that comes from the heart. The difference between good fruit and sheep’s clothing is the sheep’s clothing is an act on the outside, whereas fruit is something that arises from what the person really is on the inside. Notice the dichotomy Jesus points to between the outside and inside.
15 They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
The inside does not match the outside. So spotting the fruit is tricky, because you cannot see the heart. There are, however, some clues that give away what is in someone’s heart. There are some things that a bad heart produces that are difficult to hide. But what are those things? What are the clues that can reveal a bad heart even through the sheep’s clothing?
Hypocrisy
Is there any instruction in the Sermon on the Mount on that question? Has Jesus said anything in the Sermon on the Mount about people who are one thing on the inside, but who put on an act on the outside? Have we come across the word “actor” in the Sermon on the Mount? Yes – “actor” is the literal translation of the word “hypocrite..,” and Jesus has spoken extensively about hypocrites in this sermon. So if we want to figure out the difference between sheep’s clothing and good fruit all we have to do is look at Jesus’ description of the hypocrites in the Sermon on the Mount. For example, hypocrites follow the “thou shalt not murder” commandment on the outside, but on the inside they have anger. Avoiding murder – that is sheep’s clothing. But good fruit is a patient, forgiving heart. Jesus says, by their fruit your will recognize them. You cannot recognize them by the external commands they follow, but you can pick up on a bad heart when you see a bad temper. Avoiding adultery – that is sheep’s clothing. But good fruit is purity of heart. Keeping formal oaths and abiding by contracts – that is sheep’s clothing. But good fruit is honesty in everything. Love your friends – sheep’s clothing. Love your enemies because God loves them – good fruit. Giving to the poor, praying and fasting – that is sheep’s clothing. But when it always seems to be done for an audience – it falls short of being good fruit. Being committed to get the sin out of other people’s lives – that is sheep’s clothing. Good fruit is addressing the sin in your own heart. Good fruit is the beatitudes – any action that rises out of being poor in spirit, and meek, and hungry and thirsty for righteousness, and merciful, and pure in heart, and peacemaking.
Luke 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
10 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked.
And John talked to them about kindness, compassion, generosity, selflessness, integrity, honesty, contentment. Those things are fruit because they are things that rise up out of the heart.
So how can you see through the sheep’s clothing – the Christian costume, and examine the actual fruit? You have to watch for things that are not part of the act – things that reflect the heart. What is his knee-jerk, off-the-cuff reaction to stress? Your involuntary reactions reveal what is really in your heart. That is your fruit. “What about the things I think about and plan – isn’t that fruit too?” It is if you have integrity. But not if you are a hypocrite. Hypocrites are actors, so the things they plan out are not fruit. The things they plan out do not reflect the heart – they are just part of the sheep’s clothing act. So you have to watch for things that give away what is inside – like being concerned about other people’s sins and never his own, or being unrepentant about his anger, or, the most common one of all – pride.
Pride
2 Peter 2:10 describes false teachers and says they are bold and arrogant, and they take authorities lightly. And in Colossians 2 Paul says their unspiritual minds puff them up with empty notions (Col.2:18). They are puffed up with an inflated ego. If you do or say anything that belittles them, look out. If you confront them with sin, look out. And if you are a nobody with nothing to offer them, do not expect them to give you the time of day.
greed and lust
They also very often tend to be materialistic, greedy, and often are involved in sexual immorality.
2 Peter 2:3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.
Wolves do not just kill sheep – they devour them. False teachers get rich off the sheep.
14 they are experts in greed
Sometimes they even flaunt their greed – like the prosperity preachers (people like Kenneth Hagan, Kenneth Copeland, Freddy Price, Paul and Jan Crouch, Charles Capps, Creflo Dollar, T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer). They live in multi-million dollar homes and fly around in private jets and brag about how they took the last $5 from some elderly widow. But for others the greed is a little more subtle. And when it is sexual sin it is usually hidden well. They just are not accountable to anyone – they have their lives set up with lots of privacy, so there are many hours in the week when no one knows where they are or what they are doing.
The fruit always matches the tree
They work hard to cover it all up with sheep’s clothing, but whenever you get a glimpse past the sheep’s clothing to their character, those are the things you see. And when those things are exposed, most people just look the other way. They do not want to believe this wonderful, beloved teacher could actually be a wolf. So they make excuses for the person. “Nobody’s perfect. He’s a good man at heart – he just has a few weaknesses. Those angry profanities that sometimes pop out of his mouth, that temper problem, that pride, those indiscretions – that’s not really him. That doesn’t really reflect what’s in his heart.” But Jesus says, “Oh yes, it does. The fruit always matches the tree.”
Matthew 7:16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Bad fruit just does not come from nowhere. And it certainly does not come from a good tree. Godly leaders do commit all kinds of sins, but when they do they repent. False teachers cover it up or make excuses, or when it is pointed out they just turn the tables and go on the attack against whoever is trying to expose them. In fact, sometimes they hide it completely and you cannot see their character at all.
Doctrine
But character is not the only kind of fruit. Their teaching is also part of their fruit. In Deuteronomy 13 God told the people – even if a prophet can foretell the future with 100 percent accuracy, if he does that and then turns around and teaches false doctrine that leads people away from the true God, put him to death. So even if you cannot see their character, you can examine their doctrine. And obviously there is going to be some bad doctrine, otherwise how would they lead people astray? And when I say “bad doctrine” I am not talking about being wrong on some minor points here and there. I am talking about heresy – teaching the wrong thing on some central point of the gospel so that the people who believe their teaching are actually led onto the broad road and are lost. So they have serious errors, however those are also disguised. They hide their heresy in a whole bunch of truth.
2 Peter 2:1 They will secretly introduce destructive heresies
If you just come right out with a bunch of heresy right up front you are never going to gain a following in the Church. So they teach mostly truth. Sometimes you can listen to an entire sermon and they do not say one wrong thing. They are very often excellent speakers, and can preach some very moving, very convicting, very insightful, very helpful messages. But if you listen long enough, eventually you will find out they teach some heresy. And again, some heretics are really obvious about their heresies – like Robert Schuller or the Emergent Church preachers like Rob Bell and Brian Mclaren, but others are much more subtle, like Philip Yancey or John Eldridge who teach that God does not know the future.
No narrowness
And still others are even harder to spot because they do not teach anything wrong at all. Everything they say is vague. You can never pin them down on any specific doctrines. But one thing you can notice is that they have no narrowness in their teaching. It is not that they are teaching obvious heresy. What these people teach is usually true, as far as it goes. The error is not so much in what they say, as in what they don’t say – the parts they leave out. They please everybody. They are experts at generalities, so whatever you believe, it sounds like that is what he is saying. If you have one view on a doctrine, and the guy next to you has the opposite view, both of you are saying “amen” in the sermon because he speaks in such vague, general terms that you agree with what he says, and your mind fills in the blanks of what he does not say. So everybody hears what they believe. People like this will affirm a lot, but won’t ever deny much. If you want to be clear about something you will tell people what you affirm and what you deny. We talked about this a few months ago when we were in chapter 6. If a politician says, “I’m for prosperity” everyone cheers, but no one really knows for sure what he means because he has not denied anything. But if he says, “I’m for prosperity, not capitalism” then you have a much clearer idea of what he is saying. Someone else might say, “I’m for prosperity – not high taxes.” Those two politicians agree on the statement “I’m for prosperity,” but when they tell you the flip side that they are not in support of – then you get an idea what they really mean. And it is the same way with preachers. If a guy walks around affirming, “God is a God of love,” and “Salvation is a free gift,” and, “Jesus died on the cross so you could be forgiven” – all that sounds great as far as it goes. But you do not really know what he means by all that unless he will be honest with you about what he denies. If he says, “I believe in love, not a God who sends people to hell,” then you know what he means. But the false teacher does not want you to know what he means. In fact, he may not mean anything. Sometimes their words are just tools to gain a following and fill the seats, and they really are not even trying to actually teach anything.
Appeal to the flesh
Another characteristic of false teachers is that they tend to appeal to the flesh.
2 Peter 2:18 by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people
If you listen to their preaching, they are not appealing to godly desires. The people who are packing into their churches by the thousands are not attracted by promises of righteousness holiness and heavenly reward. They come because the sermons appeal to their earthly desires – their “felt needs.”
Conclusion: How Priceless is True Prophecy!
My goal in this sermon is that we would all re-do that list of the top five dangers you are on your guard against, and put the danger of being deceived or led in a wrong direction right up near the top. But there is one other thing I would like to point out, and we will close with this. The reason false prophecy is such a danger is because of how important true prophecy is. The more dependent we are on the real thing, the more dangerous the counterfeit. That is why Jesus is so concerned to warn us about the false, because the real thing is so unspeakably important. Without it we would die. Getting the silent treatment from heaven would mean zero possibility of knowing God, zero possibility of spiritual life. Everything depends on us hearing accurately from God. So we rejoice over the fact that God has not given us the silent treatment. In the Bible He gave us everything we need and nothing we do not need. The true prophecy, as recorded in God’s Word is 100 percent accurate, 100 percent reliable, it guides us, shapes us, feeds our souls, opens our eyes to reality, shows us the heart of God, displays the glory of God, it makes us holy, it convicts us, it cleanses us, it strengthens us, it comforts us, it restores us. It is sweeter to us than honey and more precious than gold. Every fact about God – every piece of information you could ever possibly need is in this book. And not only was all the necessary information included, but all non-necessary information was left out. Which is fantastic news, because it means we never have to wonder if some passage in Scripture is important for us to know or if it is just extraneous information. We never have to filter through any chaff to get to the good stuff.
With all of our being, dear God, we thank You for revealing Yourself to us in black and white. You have spoken to us, recorded it in the Bible, preserved it safely through thousands of years, delivered it to us intact, and You are willing to speak to us through it every day. And you have given us leaders and teachers to help us understand and receive the truth of it. You have given us models to show us how to obey. You have given us great men and women of faith who inspire us to walk according to Your Word. Oh, how we treasure the leaders You have given us. Guard us, dear Lord, from the wolves who are so cleverly disguised. Make us diligent in our discernment. Make us love the truth so much that we will do anything to avoid being deceived. And enable us as a church, dear Lord, to retrieve those who are in the jaws of the wolves. Let our proclamation of the truth ring clearly in Denver and wherever we go that many might be awakened to the danger of the false teachers.
Benediction: 2 Peter 3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
