Are You Sure?

How does God define a false prophet in the OT? Deuteronomy 18:21-22 “And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.”

What do you think a false prophets main motive would be? Money? Power? Prestigious positions? All of these are selfish desires. Jesus warns us by describing false prophets Himself. He says in Matthew 7:15 ““Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

Best way to protect yourself and others against false prophets is to hold their words against the Word of God. Acts 17:11 “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

False prophets are always described as self seekers who rob others on their spirituality. How does this happen? A man or woman stands in a position before the people and proclaims to be from God, but in reality they only want personal gain. They care very little for your spiritual well-being. Now they may write books with some good things in them, they may write books that have some useful information, but at their core they do not care about you…they care about themselves. How do they rob the people of God? They rob them by not teaching them the difficult things that God has laid out for us. They do not push people out of their comfort zones. They don’t compel people to change their lives. They do not lead the way God intended. the preach a watered down, feel good gospel. They rob people of growth. The rob people of spiritual blessings.

Do you know of any false preachers today?

How might we be false preachers ourselves if we are not careful? Allowing our own agenda’s supersede the texts meaning. Twisting God’s word to fit our own narrative. (Not accurately interpreting the meaning of God’s word. Not really a false prophet, but more of an uneducated prophet on that topic preached.) *I have even heard well educated preachers misinterpret scripture at times*

What does God say should be done with false prophets?

How should/would we/you handle false prophets when one arises?

How do we tell the difference between an under-educated preacher, and a false prophet? Stack his claims against God’s word, and then confront him/them with it. If they repent and learn, then they will be set on a straighter path (hopefully). If they refuse to repent and they argue their points against the word of God you have presented to them, then they need to be avoided and the people need to be warned.

The difference between an apostle and a disciple. 1.) Peter says that an apostle must be one of the 12 that were called to follow Jesus in the flesh. 2.) An apostle must be one of the 11 who witnessed Jesus risen from the grave in the flesh.

*Mathias replacing Judas means that he was likely one in the crowd that faithfully followed Christ, even though he was not one of the core 12. This would also lead us to believe that he was one of the 500+ people that Jesus revealed Himself to after His resurrection.*

So Every saved person is a disciple, but not every saved person is an apostle, yet all apostles (say for Judas) were disciples.

Peter writes this letter to those who are disciples of Christ. Not only does he write it to the fellow Christians, but he also equates himself with them. Now we know that Peter was a man just like we are, but God chose him to start the church. Because of the some people venerate him as the saint of all saints, or the first Pope of the church, but Peter says nothing of the sort. He says “to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

There are three things that we all have in common. From the first soul ever saved, to the last one that will give their life to Christ. We do not deserve it, we did not earn it, and Jesus paid it all with His righteousness and His righteousness alone. Everyone who has gone on before us, and all those who will follow behind, all of us have stood in the grace of God and accepted the free gift of imparted righteousness from our Savior Jesus Christ.

Here is a good way to look at people: Saved and Not Yet Yielded. Someone is either saved, or they need to be saved. They are either on a path to righteousness, or they need us to share the gospel with them. The only way you will ever truly know the difference is if you have a spiritually motivated conversation with them. Do not go off their actions alone. False prophets are wrapped in a sheep’s skin and often pass as a saint. Look past the exterior and dig into the guts.

Be sure that you are saved, be sure that you are growing, and be sure to watch out for those false prophets (those who seek to elevate themselves at the expense of the spirituality of others.)