HOW TO RECOGNIZE A FALSE PROPHET
Matthew 7:15-20 – S-1057
After giving the invitation to “enter by the narrow gate”, to come to God by the only way He has provided, Jesus warns that not everyone who claims to belong to God and to speak for Him actually does so. When we stand at the crossroads of decision, we should remember that the true way to God is narrow and that the false way is broad; the true is difficult and demanding, and the false way is easy and permissive.
Jesus now says, in effect, “As you strive to enter that narrow gate and walk that narrow way that leads to life, beware of those who would mislead you.”
“Just as there is a misleading gate and a misleading way, there are also misleading preachers and teachers who point to that gate and promote that way.” The false gate has false prophets standing in front of it who seek to lead people into the false way and hinder them from entering the true.
READ MATTHEW 7:15-20
Jim Spackman Boston Story
In Boston… lost… six streets come together, no street sign. Stopped twice, still lost. Prayed. Went to convenience store. “Are you lost?” “Yes, how did you know?” “Retired taxi driver. Follow me?” Drove for several miles, neighborhood worse and worse. Sally, “Do you think that he is leading us out into the boondocks to rob us?” Finally stopped. “Go across bridge there and make a hard left, or you’ll miss it.” Paige looked back. “There’s a cross hanging around his mirror!”
Again and again He implores us to enter the straight gate. He again reminds us of these things by putting before us two special warnings.
1.Verses 15-20 – False prophets
2.Verses 21-33 – False Security
Today we examine the first warning. Next week the second.
THE BIBLE IS FILLED WITH WARNINGS OF FALSE PROPHETS
As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives before the last Passover week, His disciples asked, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?” He replied, “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many… For false Christs and false prophets will arrive and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:3-5, 24).
Paul’s last words to the Ephesian elders, when he met with them for a farewell on the beach near Miletus, included a somber warning about inevitable false teachers. “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arrive, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert.” (Acts 20:29-31).
There has always been a large market for false prophets, because most people do not want to hear the truth. They prefer to hear what is pleasant and flattering, even if it is false and dangerous, over what is unpleasant and unflattering, even if it is true and helpful.
READ JEREMIAH 5:30-31
According to Jesus the danger is not so much in the fact that there are going to be wolves in the world, although that is perfectly true; but that there are going to be wolves who have disguised themselves as sheep. In other words, the danger lies in the fact that there are going to be agents of the devil in the Church.
Someone will say, “Do you mean to tell me that God will allow men who are influenced by Satan to become church members?” The answer is, “Yes, indeed.” And not only that, He will also allow them to become ministers and speak from the pulpit.
READ 2 CORINTHIANS 11:13-15 “For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.”
It is possible for real Christians to be taken in by false prophets. When believers are careless about study of and obedience to the Word, lazy about prayer, and uncritical about the things of God, it is easy for them to be deceived by someone who pretends to be orthodox – especially if he is pleasant, positive, and permissive.
FALSE PROPHETS ARE IDENTIFIED BY THEIR FRUIT
READ MATTHEW 7:16-20 – False prophets are identified by their fruit.
Judging the fruit of false prophets, of course, is not nearly so easy as judging fruit in an orchard. But from Scripture we discover several primary tests we can apply in order to know.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FALSE TEACHERS WHO ARE INSIDE THE CHURCH (WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING) AND THOSE WHO ARE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH (WOLVES IN WOLVES’ CLOTHING).
WOLVES IN WOLVES’ CLOTHING
If a man were to come into the pulpit and doubted the existence of God and denied the deity of Christ and the miracles, most of us could spot him as a heretic. But he’s not a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s a wolf in wolves’ clothing.
What concerns me greatly is the seeming number of church people who succumb, not to the wolves in sheep’s clothing but to the wolves in wolves’ clothing.
When the Mormons come along and teach that Jesus Christ was the son of Adam and Mary and that you and I can one day be just as much God as Jesus Christ is, I have no trouble seeing the damning heresy there.
But some folks can’t see the wolf in wolves’ clothing. I have heard that one half of all converts to Mormonism came from a Baptist background.
Here are some of the marks of wolves in wolves’ clothing. HERE’S HOW YOU CAN IDENTIFY CULTS AND FALSE RELIGIONS
1.THEIR FOUNDATION IS EXTRA-BIBLICAL REVELATION
Every cult and false prophet gives token reverence to the Bible. Then they announce some subsequent revelation which effectively cancels the teaching of the Bible in favor of some new spiritual revelation.
Example: When anyone says, “Your Bible is fine, but it’s not sufficient. You need the Book of Mormon or ‘Pearl of Great Price’ or ‘Science and Health: The Key to Scripture’, that’s not a wolf in sheep’s clothing, that’s a full-fledged wolf who’s chomping at the bit for your soul!
Paul warns of this in Galatians 1:8-9
READ REVELATION 22:18-19
2.THEY EMPHASIZE SALVATION BY WORKS
Salvation by works teaches that eternal life depends upon some other basis than our faith in the work Christ on the cross. Eternal life is therefore dependent not upon the grace of God but upon human responsibility.
The message of the gospel is that we’re saved by grace alone! EPHESIANS 2:8-9
When someone says that there are twelve to fourteen steps which must be done to reach the third heaven, then you know he teaches a works system and is not from God.
Armstrong: “Salvation is like natural citizenship; it is a free gift, but it goes only to those who are willing to be law-abiding members of the Kingdom of God. Water baptism is the required part of the way of salvation. If we are to be saved by God’s grace, then we must keep the commandments.”
Yes, he says, it’s a free gift if you earn it by obeying God’s commandments – all 613 of them.
This is exactly what Galatians had done. Paul vehemently denounces them.
READ GALATIANS 4:9-11 – Paul’s not proud of them depending on laws. He’s afraid of them.
A good question to ask when one tries to win you to his group is “Is there any other way besides Jesus that you can get to God?” If they say, “Yes,” you know that they are deceived.
3.THERE IS DEFECTIVE CHRISTOLOGY
The general truth of Christianity is related to the question, “What think ye of Christ?”
A false teacher or a cult is readily identified by their statements and beliefs about Jesus Christ.
Examples:
Christian Science: “Jesus was a mere man who demonstrated the divine idea. It doesn’t matter whether Christ ever existed, and his blood doesn’t cleanse from sin.”
Jehovah’s Witness: “Jesus Christ is not the son of God. He is Michael the Archangel.”
Rev. Sun Myung Moon – test his Christology: “Salvation can only come through a Messiah who achieves perfection, marries and has perfect offspring. Christ was to do this but he failed because he died before he could marry. This redemption of man will be accomplished through a second Messiah who is to be born in Korea.” That Messiah is – guess who! None other than Moon himself.
New Age: “We are all Christ.”
4.OFTEN THERE IS A PRESUMPTUOUS MESSIANIC LEADER
This is the notion that a contemporary human being has been appointed by God to be some kind of saint or guru, or messiah, who represents divine authority that must not be violated.
We find folks everywhere who are constantly quoting and following Father Divine, Prophet Jones, Mary Baker Patterson Glover Johnson Eddy, Herbert Armstrong, David (Moses David) Berg, Guru Maharaj Ji, Swami Rama, Witness Lee, Sun Moon, Maharishi Mehesh Yogi.
Christians are warned about those pompous false Messiahs by Christ who said, “Take heed that you be not deceived; for many shall come in my name saying, ‘I am Christ’; and the time draweth near; go ye not therefore after them.”
5.THEIR TRUTH HINGES ON UNVERIFYABLE CLAIMS OF SPECIAL DISCOVERIES AND REVELATIONS.
Beware of any man or cult which claims to have some secret discovery or revelation which has come to a single individual and which is otherwise unavailable except through that person.
Mary Baker Eddy – “God has given to me the only keys to understanding the Bible.”
Why the Mormons have invented out of thin air an entire American civilization for which there is no evidence whatsoever! All from special revelation to Joseph Smith!
The fundamental of Christianity is that it is historical. It all centers around life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
READ ACTS 26:25-26 – “This thing was not done in a corner.”
Acts 1:3 – Christ showed himself to be alive by many infallible proofs.
Hundreds and thousands of witnesses to the open and public facts of the Gospel.
The Bible commits itself to literally hundreds of dates, places, peoples, cities, lakes, streams, mountains, and historical events.
The truth of Christianity doesn’t depend on private knowledge and secret, unconformable relationship on the part of suspect individuals.
Why do we reject such stories? Because they don’t conform to Biblical rules of evidence! Stories may be hallucination, outright lies, and even the result of indigestion or sleepless nights. We must have evidence!
The rules of evidence are clearly stated in Scripture. READ 2 CORINTHIANS 13:1 – “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”
In the Bible four writers used to confirm work and record of Jesus Christ. The doings of the apostles were not private séances but were seen and witnessed by thousands.
The Coming of Christ and His message wasn’t a private affair. He was announced by a sky full of angels, a star visible to all; a sinless life lived in the presence of thousands, a public death and a public resurrection attested to by over five hundred living witnesses, all recorded in a composite of Holy Scripture that cannot be broken.
WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
Now the greatest danger to believers is not the wolf in wolves’ clothing. The greatest danger to Christians is the wolf in sheep’s clothing.
We have no trouble standing face to face with a wolf. We get out our gun, so to speak, and protect ourselves. But an innocent-looking lamb comes along and we pet it and feed it and support it because we don’t recognize that it is a wolf who is disguised as a sheep.
So these false prophets do not wave a red flag when they make their statements. They appear to be all right.
HOW CAN WE RECOGNIZE THE WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING? Make this simple:
JUDE and 2 PETER are the New Testament books on false prophets.
READ JUDE 1:3-4, 8, 10-12, 16.
1.FALSE PROPHETS TEACH WITHOUT ANY “STRAIGHT GATE” OR “NARROW WAY”
The false prophet is a man who has no “straight gate” or “narrow way” in his gospel. He has nothing to which is offensive to the natural man; he pleases all.
READ JEREMIAH 6:13-15: “They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly (or lightly) saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
The false prophet is always a very comforting preacher. As you listen to hm, he always gives you the impression that there is not very much wrong. He admits, of course, that there is a little; he is not fool enough to say that there is nothing wrong. But he says that all is well and will be well.
2.THEY MINIMIZE THE UTTER SINFULNESS OF SIN
READ JUDE 4b
READ 2 PETER 2:2, 10, 14, 18-19
READ GALATIANS 5:19-21
Steve Garvey. Julie and I in Phoenix in February. Arizona Republic carried the story of Garvey’s three girlfriends. About to be married when one girlfriend claimed that she was pregnant with Garvey’s child. “Well, I don’t know if it is my child or not, but if it is, I will be my parental duties. After all I’m a Christian and I want to do what is right.”
We don’t need that kind of publicity. Loose attitude in Christian circles regarding sex.
3.THEY DO NOT EMPHASIZE REPENTANCE IN ANY REAL SENSE
It has a very wide gate leading to salvation and a very broad way leading to Heaven.
You need not feel much of your own sinfulness; you need not be aware of the blackness of your own heart. You just decide for Christ and you rush in with the crowd, and your name is put down, and is one of the large number of decisions.
Repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, that you are Hell-bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form.
There does not seem to be much room for that today.
The false prophet does not put it like that. He heals the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, simply saying that it is all right, and that you have but to come to Christ, follow Jesus, or become a Christian,
They offer an easy salvation – an easy type of life.
CAREFUL OF BIBLE TRACTS FOUR SPIRITUAL LAWS
4.THE WAY OF CAIN – JUDE 12: THEY IMPLY THAT THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO GOD THE FATHER THAN THE SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
GENESIS 4:3-8
The false prophet talks about Jesus. He even delights to talk about the cross and the death of Jesus. But the vital question is – What is his view of that death? What is his view of that cross?
Does he realize that Jesus Christ died on the cross to cover our sin with his blood? Does he really believe that Christ was there crucified as a substitute for men? Does he believe that it was only by the death of Christ that any man could be made fit for heaven and ready to approach God?
He has never seen it as a tremendous, holy transaction between the Father and the Son in which the Father has made the Son to be sin for us, and has laid our iniquity upon Him. There is none of that in his preaching and teaching, and that is why it is false.
5.THEY DIMINISH FINAL JUDGMENT AND THE ETERNAL DESTINY OF THE LOST
Paul preaches to Felix and Drusilla of “righteousness and temperance and judgment to come.” But you’ll never hear that from a false prophet.
You’ll hear reincarnation from the New Age people who are creeping into the church.
St. Francis’ church is into New Age.
6.THE WAY OF BALAAM – JUDE 12: USING CHRIST FOR PERSONAL GAIN
In The Didache, one of the earliest Christian writings after New Testament times, we find a section devoted to dealing with false prophets. The term used to describe them is Christemporos, which means “Christ merchants”.
The Didache gives several means for distinguishing true prophets from false. One was that a true prophet would not remain as a house guest for more than two days, because he would need to be up and about his work. A false prophet, however, would willingly stay indefinitely, since he had no real mission to accomplish except serving his own interests.
The second test was in regard to asking for money. The true prophet, said The Didache, would ask for bread and water, but nothing more – that is, only for necessities to keep himself going. A false prophet, on the other hand, is not the least averse to asking for or even demanding money.
A third test was in the area of lifestyle. A person who does not lead a life that corresponds to the standard he teaches is clearly not a man of God.
Still another test was in regard to willingness to work. If a person wanted to live off others and would not work for his own keep, he was a Christ-trafficker.
A false prophet is always in church work for himself, to pad his own pockets, to satisfy his own greed, ego, and prestige and to gain power, influence, and recognition for himself.
Our day has more than its share of Christ merchants. Through books, radio, television, recordings, in churches, conferences, seminars, crusades and by various other means they package and sell the gospel in much the same way that Madison Avenue sells cars and soap. They are insincere peddlers of the Word of God who corrupt it for their own ends (2 Corinthians 2:17).
The golden cow
Prosperity gospel
7.KORAH’S REBELLION – JUDE 12
Numbers 16:1-3, 31-35
2 Peter 2:10
Jude 1:8
- THEIR CHARACTER IS MORE SELF-CENTERED THAN GOD-CENTERED
A person’s basic character – his inner motives, standards, loyalties, attitudes, and ambitions – will eventually show through in what he does and how he acts. John the Baptist told the hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees who came to be baptized to first “bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8). Their manner of living belied their claim that they lived and served God. When the multitude then asked John what good fruit was, he replied “Let the man who has two tunics share with him who has none; and let him who has food do likewise” (verse 11). To the tax-gatherers who asked what they should do, John said, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to” (verse 13). John was saying that the person who is genuinely repentant and who truly trusts and loves God will also love and help his fellow man (cf James 2:15-17; 1 John 3:17; 4:20).
Peter tells us that the true and mature believer will be growing in faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. “If these qualities are yours and are increasing,” he says, “they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).
Unless those who claim to be God’s spokesmen give evidence that their deepest motives and life patterns are to honor, glorify, and magnify God, and to grow in humility, holiness, and obedience, we can be sure that God has not called or sent them. If they are oriented to money, prestige, recognition, popularity, power, sexual looseness, and selfishness, they do not belong to Jesus Christ.
READ JUDE 20-23