“Discerning False Prophets”

Matt. 7: 15-20

The danger of false prophets

After warning His hearers about the danger of the broad way, Jesus now warns them about the danger of false prophets. These are men and women who stand by the broad road that leads to destruction and encourage people to enter into it. The fact that Jesus warns us about these people reveals that the danger they pose toward humanity is real. Jesus knew that it was imperative to warn us about false prophets.

Our society does not think it is appropriate to label someone as a false teacher. Sadly, the mindset has crept into the church as well. In our attempt to offend no one, we are hurting everyone. It is not politically correct to make a judgment on someone for their moral or spiritual actions. As believers, we should expect that type of thinking from the world. As believers, however, we should be devastated that that mindset has come into the church.

We are people of the book. That being said, we should govern our actions and teaching by the book. Let’s consider what the Bible has to say about false teachers:

*In Deuteronomy 13:1-5 the Bible tells us that we can determine if a prophet is true or false not by the miracles he does but by his doctrine. If his teaching causes a person to follow after other gods he is a false prophet.

* In Jeremiah 5:31 the prophet says “The prophets prophesy falsely… and my people love to have it so”.

* In Matthew 24: 11 Jesus said “And many false prophets shall rise and deceive many”.

* 2 John 7 says “For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and is an antichrist”.

* 2 Peter 2:1 says “But there were false prophets among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you… And many shall follow their pernicious ways”.

2 Corinthians 11: 26 says that there are false brothers in the church, 2 Corinthians 11:13 says that there are false apostles, 2 Peter 2:1 says there are false teachers, Matthew 24:24 says there are false Christ’s, and Galatians 1:9 speaks of a false gospel.

False teachers are a real threat to the kingdom of God and therefore they must be identified. What makes it difficult to identify the false prophet is his deceptiveness. Some false teachers are obvious. They make no reference to the Bible or Jesus Christ. They are not in sheep’s clothing at all. They openly reject Christ and His church. We should be concerned about tem but we should be more concerned about the wolves in sheep clothing.

The greatest threat to a sheep in the culture Jesus lived was wolves. The fact that Jesus calls them ravening reveals that He knew what a wolf would do to a sheep. A wolf would tear apart a sheep and devour it. In order to get to the sheep the wolf had to be sneaky and cunning. He would hunt under the cover of darkness, slip into the fold and then destroy as many sheep as he could. The wolf was mot dangerous when he was among the fold.

The fact that the false prophets are in sheep’s clothing shows their deception. Shepherds usually made their clothing from the wool they got from their sheep. It was easy to identify a shepherd because he would be wearing wool clothing. The false prophet robes himself in the clothing of the shepherd so he can get close to the sheep. Satan transforms his ministers into angels of light, 2 Cor. 11:15 tells us. The false prophet will come into the church as a leader among the sheep. He will appear outwardly to be a shepherd. He may wear the clothing of a preacher. He may speak the language of a preacher. He may do the work of a preacher. The reality is that he is a wolf on the inside.

Notice also that the false prophet will “come to you”. He is looking for a pulpit and an audience. He is roaming abut seeking whom he may destroy. For the church to allow such men and women to enter into the realm of Christianity is very dangerous. False prophets must be identified and pointed out before they get a hold of the sheep.

A description of the false prophet

Jesus tells us that are able to discern a false prophet by the fruit he brings forth. He explains that a good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. Good fruit are the teachings and actions that proceed out of a good heart, one that has been changed by God’s grace. Bad fruit is the teachings and actions that proceed from the corrupt heart of an unredeemed person. We identify good and false teachers through their doctrine and character.

In verse 16 Jesus tells us that we do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. Thistles are weedy plants with prickly leaves and stems. From a distance a thorn bush may look like a grape vine and a thistle may look like a fig tree. As we draw close to it, we are able to see the tree for what it is. It is sometimes difficult to see, however. It is possible for a person to take grapes and stick them on a thorn bush or to take figs and fasten them to a thistle. The tree may than appear to be bearing fruit.

False teachers sometimes appear to have fruit. They have certain virtues in their life that may appear to be fruit. They have followers that sometimes may even be real believers that appear to be fruit they are bearing. The truth is that the apparent fruit does not come from the Spirit of God. It is simply attached to their branches through human effort, as a person may attach grapes to a thorn bush.

Consider this true story. There was a preacher who had at least one thousand followers here in America. He was involved in evangelism and many ministries in the name of Jesus. He counseled prisoners and juvenile delinquents. He started a job placement center. He opened up rest homes and homes for the mentally handicapped. He started a health clinic and a vocational training center. He gave free legal aid and founded a community center. Sounds like a good guy. Many ministers would have loved to have a ministry that size and be involved with so many community outreaches. The man I am describing is Jim Jones. In 1978 he and 914 of his followers committed mass suicide in a community they built together in South America. Jim Jones appeared to have fruit. He had followers. He had ministry. In the end, however, he proved to be a tool of Satan, leading people astray.

Let’s consider some things that are true about false prophets.

*Their teaching contradicts the Bible. We should clarify that there are nonessentials in the Christian life and essentials as well. Not every believer believes the same exact thing on every single Bible passage. Issues such as the return of Christ, the method of baptism, and spiritual gifts are a few of the nonessential things that believers all over the world have differing views on. These are not the things that make a person a false teacher. The essentials, or fundamentals of the faith are:

* The existence of the Triune God.

* The Deity of Christ.

* The incarnation of Christ.

* The substitutionary death of Christ.

* The resurrection of Christ.

* The universal sinfulness of mankind.

* Salvation by grace through faith.

These doctrines are clearly taught in the Bible. If a person or group rejects any of these truths they have rendered their message useless and heretical.

* They often leave out important truths. Sometimes it’s important that we listen to what a teacher/preacher does not say. Often these men and women will not speak on holiness or hell. Many times man is the center of their message. They do not encourage people to have a passion for Christ. They speak of the goodness of man and the ability we have within ourselves. This message is tailor made to appeal to the flesh of man. Jeremiah spoke of this in Jeremiah 23:17 concerning false prophets “They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you”. Instead of warning man of the consequence of sin, these false prophets choose to tell the people that God is pleased with them despite their actions. The message of God from Genesis to revelation is repent and commit to God.

* Their teaching does not produce followers with the character of Christ. In fact, usually their teaching puffs people up. It initiates and breeds pride. They may have certain character changes but they are not a result of The Spirit of God. Jeremiah spoke of a partial healing by these false prophets in Jeremiah 8:11, “For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace”. False teachers often give people principles for living that help them in this world. The problem is that the help the prophets give them is only beneficial in this world. They may have self esteem, confidence, knowledge, peace and many other things they desire. But when they die they realize none of that can help them. They stand guilty and unwashed before a holy God. At that point they have anything but peace and confidence.

* They claim to speak for God. All false prophets do this. We can sometimes be a gullible people. If a man or woman claims to be doing the Lord’s work, we usually give them the benefit f the doubt. We should remember that all false prophets claim to speak fro God, however. Jeremiah 23:21 says “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them yet they prophesied”. 1 John 4:1 says “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone into the world”.

* The converts of false prophets often give an unhealthy allegiance to the teacher/prophet or the movement. We should be careful when a man or a movement (denomination) is regarded in too high of a degree.

* The character of a false prophet is corrupt. That does not mean that it is obvious. It could be well hidden. It is often true, however, of false prophets that they tear other people down & they do not practice what they preach. Often times they take large sums of money from their followers simply on faith, with no oversight at all. They sometimes drink, do drugs and many times are caught in adulterous or immoral affairs. The Scripture teaches that a spiritual leader should be above reproach and blameless (Titus 1:6).

The Destiny of false prophets

Jesus says that the false prophet will be hewn down and cast into the fire. This, of course, speaks of the judgment of hell. 2 Peter 2:3 says that “their damnation slumbereth not”. The false prophet does not believe he/she is going to hell. They are deceived. 2 Timothy 3:13 says they are “deceiving and being deceived”. As we see in verses 21-23 they will cry out to the Lord proclaiming all they have done for Him. Jesus will tell them that He never knew them, however.

False teachers will pay a high price for their actions. They have not only taken themselves to hell, they have taken many other with them. They have caused people to stumble and miss the grace of God. They will remember this for all of eternity.

It is imperative that we identify false prophets and mark them as deceivers. We need to remember that not every bush with beautiful fruit is safe. Some of that beautiful fruit can kill a person if it is ingested. It is our responsibility to point out those poisonous plants before men and women are deceived and cast into the fire with them. We do this simply by living and teaching the truth of the gospel message.

In conclusion, I do hope that we will examine our own hearts. We need to make sure that the wool we are wearing is not just a uniform. We need to be certain that our belief system comes from the Bible and that our fruit comes from the Holy Spirit. We should also cling to doctrine. We should hold high the Scripture and search it for the truth of God. As we do this we guard our own hearts and are able to guide others into the truth that saves and seta free.