It’s What’s Inside that is the Biggest Threat
Only two more posts left in our series on the Sermon on the Mount! Today, we look at Jesus’ warning not of the pagan world, but of those inside our church!
Matthew 7:15 – 20 – “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
There’s an old Italian saying that goes, “Trust someone until you give you a reason not to.” Maybe it’s my Italian heritage that is pretty much my life motto, too. My husband, on the other hand, who was a police officer for over 30 years, lives by the motto, “Be cautious of everyone until you see evidence otherwise.” In Matthew 7:4-5, Jesus’ motto is, “Don’t be so quick to judge others, you’re far from perfect yourself.” Here, though, only 10 verses later, it appears that Jesus has a different motto for judgement when it comes to false prophets and false teachers.
The Google dictionary definition of “prophet” is “a proclaimer of the will of God.” Good job, Google! It goes on to list synonyms for the word as: soothsayer, fortune teller, and clairvoyant. Wrong, Google! While sometimes Biblical prophets foretold of future events, this type of prophecy (apocalyptic) makes up less than 5% of the all of prophecy in the Bible; with less than 1% being about events still in our future. Most often, prophets relayed a message from God to a specific people group (usually the Israelites, but sometimes their enemies) that pertained to judgement, their current or near future circumstances, or future hope for encouragement. They spoke only what God told them to speak, never adding anything to their message. Some other religions, while not believing that Jesus is the Son of God, will acknowledge Him as a prophet. There is nothing in scripture to back this view up. Jesus did not speak for God; He spoke as God!
A false prophet is someone who does not speak the message of God. Some scriptures use false prophets and false teachers interchangeably. Therefore, when Jesus speaks of false prophets, it applies to false teachers as well.
Jesus calls these false prophets ferocious wolves in sheep’s clothing ready to devour us. While He is speaking about false prophets in a general sense as an application for all of us, He is also saying this right after his narrative on the 2 gates/ paths. The two narratives are related. False Prophets will try and keep you from the narrow gate and lead you towards the wide gate. In other words, they will try and lead you away from Jesus to your destruction. Scripture is full of warnings about false prophets / false teachers. Ezekiel 13:1-7, Jeremiah 23:13-17, 1John 4:1-4
Why does Jesus call false prophets wolves in sheep’s clothing? Sheep are used throughout scripture as an allegory for the chosen people of God. Psalm 119:176, Matthew 26:31, 1Peter 2:25
Wolves were one of the shepherd’s biggest headaches. They were always trying to get into the sheep pen to kill and eat the sheep. Jesus uses this real-life situation as an allegory for our situation. John 10:11-13, Matthew 10:16, Acts 20:28-30 The wolf will be dressed in sheep’s clothing to gain access to the sheep pen. In other words, these false prophets / teachers will look like sheep (they will look like us!) The warning is clear. It is not from the outside, unbelieving world that these posers will come – they will come from within the body of believers – the church! False prophets & teachers will have enough truth in what they are saying, that many may be swayed to think they are truly speaking for God. However, the lies that their message contains will lead to destruction. This is exactly how Satan works. Going back to the Garden of Eden, his discourse to Eve contained a lot of truth, but he twisted it just enough so that it led to Adam and Eve sinning against God. Genesis 3:1-5 This is why knowing scripture is crucial! It is only when we know the true Word of God that we can spot the subtle lies we are being told by Satan, “Christian” evangelists, “Bible” Study authors, churches, or any other “false prophets” we may come into contact with who says they have a word from God but are really teaching / preaching heresy. (belief, opinion, or doctrine that is contrary to scripture).
Besides knowing scripture, another way to spot false prophets is to examine the fruit they produce. Bad trees produce bad fruit. If you look at the works of the false prophet, you will be able to see through them. Are they preaching the true Gospel? What are they saying about Jesus? Do they exhibit characteristics that glorify God? Are they backing up their teaching / preaching with scripture or they putting their own “creative spin” on things? Where does their message ultimately lead you?
We should examine anyone who is in a position of teaching us (whether directly or through a book), or who has Biblical authority over us, by asking the above questions about them. We may feel like we are being too suspicious, but there is too much at stake not to. Besides, one who is truly teaching / preaching the Word of God will pass our scrutiny and probably respect our diligence.
False Prophets / Teachers is a reoccurring theme in scripture. Jeremiah 23:16, Matthew 24:24, 2Timothy 4:3-4 are just a few examples.
Next Time: Here I Stand
