“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:15–16, ESV)
We are all concerned with security now days. We lock our doors. We get anti-virus software for our computers. The federal government has established agencies to protect the integrity of our nation. churches have employed security teams to protect their parishioners. However, there is another area of security which is absolutely essential. It is to protect the congregation from covert operatives that enter the congregation under the guise of sincere believers, but with false teachings. Here Jesus deals with issue in the Sermon on the Mount. He stated,
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:15–16, ESV)
He tells the citizens of the Kingdom to beware of such false teachers in “sheep’s clothing.” The word translated “beware” is prosecho, means to bring near. It comes from two Greek words, which translate as “near” and “to have or to hold.” The word is often used in the context of being attentive to something. The idea is to bring something near so you can pay close attention to it. The verb “beware” is a Greek present tense imperative, meaning that this is a continuous command from the Lord, meaning that we must “Keep on being closely attentive.”
Therefore, the Lord commands every citizen of the Kingdom to be on constant vigilance for those covert operatives, those “false prophets” in “sheep’s clothing,” who teach false doctrine. These come disguised as prophets of God. While they call themselves Christian, their doctrine is far from the truth because the truth is not in them.
How do we identify these false teachers, since they come disguised with a Christian title? In our Wednesday evening class on the Cults, we have discussed for distinctive marks of a cult. It is worthwhile to review these. They are defined by mathematical symbols, (+ add, – subtract, x multiply, and / divide). First, these false teachers add to the 66 books of the Bible. They do this by writing documents that they count as new revelation, equal in authority to that of the Bible. In some cases, they feel that their writings are of greater authority. They may also add to the 66 books of the Bible by giving an exclusive interpretation by one of their own prophets, without which you cannot correctly interpret the Bible.
Second, false teachers will subtract from the Trinity of God. They normally do this by denying the full Deity and humanity of Jesus Christ. In other words, they will not say that Jesus is the eternal and infinite God who became man. They will infer or state that Jesus is a god, one of many gods, a man who would become a god, or just a good man and teacher.
Third, false teachers multiply works unto salvation. They must, if they deny the Deity of Christ, for if Christ is not God, He could not pay the infinite price of man’s sin. Thus, they teach that a person must do good works or practice certain ordinances of the church, such as baptism, to merit salvation. In such teaching, they undermine the work of the atonement and deny the doctrine of free grace, clearly taught in the Scriptures.
Last, false teachers divide followers. They do this by making membership in their organization necessary for salvation. According to these teachers, if you belong to any church that is not their church, you will be eternally lost.
The main point in this is to be vigilant. Jesus stated that you will know them by their fruit. What type of fruit will they produce from this false teaching? It cannot be the fruit of the Spirit. It can only be the fruit of the flesh. The reason for this is that the false teachers have never experienced true salvation. If they had, they would not be teaching that which is false. Since they have not experienced true salvation, they are devoid of the Spirit and cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit. So, watch out for those who call themselves Christian but teach things contrary to Christianity. They are wolves in lambskins seeking to devour the unsuspecting with their false teachings.
Renewing the Heart 