Presentation 32
Presentation 32
Introduction
Some time ago an essay appeared in the Glasgow Herald entitled ‘Redefining
God’. It argued that since society has freed itself from the moral inhibitions
produced by the 10 commandments and since so many of the claims found in
the New Testament, including the miraculous nature of the virgin birth, the
resurrection and ascension of Jesus, are unacceptable to the highly tuned
intellects of our day, what we need to discover is a God of our time, a new
God. The essayist then went on to unveil his new god and that god was none
other than the values of secular humanism. The writer had merely produced
god in his own image, someone he could live comfortably with. This kind of
thinking sets off alarm bells that spell out danger.
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The Reality Of The Danger
Throughout the course of human history there have been men who have
seen dangers where they did not exist. Those who have not taken to heart the
lesson of the little boy who called ‘wolf’. Paranoids like General McCarthy who
have seen danger lurking in every shadow or in his case ‘reds under every
bed’. But Jesus was no alarmist! He would never have given this warning
about false teachers if he did not believe that they presented a very real
danger. His were never exaggerated claims or hollow warnings. He knew only
too well the devastation and destruction that false teachers dragged in their
wake. And this is the substance of the passage before us.
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The Reality Of The Danger
Why was the danger which Jesus describes in these verses so real? Quite
simply because it came from a direction where it was least expected. The
church as she mounts her battlements of expects attacks to come from the
outside. From a world that is opposed to God and his values. We can so train
ourselves to scan the horizon as we look out for danger that we do not see it
creeping up behind us..
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The Reality Of The Danger
Jesus’ illustration of the sheep in wolves clothing is very graphic. His hearers
were well aware of the danger that wolves presented to their flocks. The
shepherds among them knew the importance of looking out for the very
distinctive shape of the wolf. What they did not expect was a wolf that had
zipped itself into a sheepskin in order to subtly infiltrate the flock in order to
do untold damage. The idea seems so ludicrous. But we are always at our
most vulnerable when we are positive that we know the only direction from
which an attack could come.
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The Reality Of The Danger
If you are familiar with the history of the second world war then you will know
the reason for the collapse of Singapore the most impregnable navel base in
the British empire. In 1942 the base was overrun and I quote by ‘a band of
little yellow men on bicycles’. Her powerful 15” guns were facing out to sea
from where the expected the attack to come. Jesus’ point, quite simply, is that
false prophets are of great danger to the church because they attack and seek
to undermine it from within.
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The Reality Of The Danger
Jesus was only too well aware that throughout the church’s history false
prophets had infiltrated the church and misled God’s people. Jeremiah the
prophet called of God to minister to his people discovered that the message
God gave him to preach was being contradicted by other so called prophets.
“Don’t listen to Jeremiah, He’s been out in the sun too long. He really should
be locked up for his own good. He’s become a bit of an extremist. Now the
religious leaders of Jesus’ day discouraged the people from listening to him.
They taught contradictory things. Teaching that would have a detrimental
effect and disastrous consequences. They were well described by Jesus as
‘blind leaders of the blind’.
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The Reality Of The Danger
Invariably such false teachers attack the very foundation of the faith and
because of their status and rank within the church they are often believed.
You may know that John Wesley and George Whitefield were greatly used of
God in the C18th Religious Awakening on both sides of the Atlantic. It was an
age of great godlessness and depravity and these men took the message of
the gospel to the people and gathered great crowds in the open air preaching
upon the necessity of being born again. There greatest opposition however
did not come from those outside the church but from those within, ‘Don’t
listen to these enthusiasts’, they said, ‘don’t be disturbed by them. You are
fine the way you are. You are religious enough. Do not let them turn your
heads.’ These too are the false teachers of which Jesus spoke.
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The Reality Of The Danger
And they are with us still today. They seek to undermine our confidence in
God’s word. They attempt to devalue the atoning work of Jesus upon the
cross. One of the most recent offerings has appeared in an essay in the
Glasgow Herald....
These things should disturb and anger us but they should not surprise us and
take our breath away. Jesus warns us to expect danger from within the
community of professing believers for only then can we contend for the faith.
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The False Prophet’s Deceptiveness
Not only is the danger of false teaching a real and present danger but those
who purvey it are dangerous because of their ability to disguise their true
identity. In Jesus’ illustration the cunning wolf has disguised himself in order
to gain credibility with the flock he is mixing with. They are not aware of being
under attack. You will know that during conventional warfare, if a soldier is
dropped behind enemy lines out of uniform, and captured he is shot. I
understand that the reason for this severe penalty is that the enemy soldier is
considered to have taken an unfair advantage of his opponents. He cannot be
recognised for what he is and therefore there is no opportunity to put up
resistance. His disguise enables him to quickly overwhelm his target. Now says
Jesus it is the deceptive quality of the false prophet’s disguise that makes
them such a danger to the flock.
Presentation 32
The False Prophet’s Deceptiveness
The false prophet will not advertise himself as a communicator of error. He
does not hold up a banner that reads, ‘I specialise in heresies that are
guaranteed to deceive’. He will claim to teach the truth while hiding behind a
cloak of Christian piety hoping that this disguise will prevent detection. The
real danger to the church does not come from those who are obviously
heretical. If a preacher were to claim that Jesus was really a spaceman and
that the only way to get to heaven was to deposit all of your life savings in his
personal numbered bank account in Switzerland, I think it is fair to say that we
might be reasonably suspicious. The real danger comes from the person who
can give the appearance of being orthodox and who is likeable and sincere.
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The False Prophet’s Deceptiveness
The dangerous false prophets in Jeremiah’s day, and of Jesus day and the
churchmen opposed to the C18th religious awakening and those of our own
day have a singular characteristic in common. They all claim to be orthodox. I
once spoke to someone who sat spellbound through a sermon and for
months raved about it. The preacher had been a great communicator and a
very able academic. But the content of his preaching subtly undermined the
whole fabric of the Christian gospel. Jesus is encouraging us here to use our
critical faculties and not to be dazzled by a person’s outward clothing, charm,
learning, or ecclesiastical honours, for these things do not guarantee
authenticity.
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The Test Of Genuineness
How are we supposed to tell if a person is a false teacher or not? Jesus
provides us with a test in vs16 and 20... ‘you will know them by their fruit.’ A
tree cannot disguise the character of its fruit. The process of producing fruit
may take some time but when that first bit is taken its true character is
revealed. What then is the fruit we are to look for in the life of the Christian
communicator? It is found in both the content of a person’s teaching and the
character of a person’s life.
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The Test Of Genuineness
It seems to me no accident that J’ teaching on false teachers follows
immediately upon his teaching about the narrow gate. The favourite
preaching pitch of the false teacher is outside the narrow gate. He not only
muddles and distorts the gospel making it difficult for his hearers to find the
narrow gate, but those who have been directed towards it from elsewhere he
actively discourages from entering.
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The Test Of Genuineness
It is precisely this danger that Bunyan illustrates in Pilgrim’s Progress. As
Pilgrim travels towards the narrow gate he is met by a false prophet called Mr
Worldly Wise Man, who persuades pilgrim that the narrow gate would take
him on a dangerous, difficult and unrewarding journey. He tells him he should
instead go to a town called Morality and to a teacher called Legality. There he
would learn that he did not need a Saviour but learn all he needed to do was
to try hard and to be on his best behaviour. Thankfully Pilgrim was not
deflected for long. Now I have had people come and tell me that professing
ministers of the gospel have given them similar directions.
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The Test Of Genuineness
The false prophet will sometimes teach that the narrow gate is really much
broader than Jesus implies and that there is no real cost involved in Christian
discipleship. Some openly contradict Jesus’ teaching and that the broad road
does not really lead to destruction, that all roads lead to heaven. But it is
important for us to recognised that the false prophet can also be recognised
not only by the content of what he says but also by what he does not say. His
preaching may not contain obvious error but there are often things which he
skips. He will not mention that sinful mankind stands guilty before a holy God.
He will not attempt to persuade his hearers of the danger of standing under
the judgement of God and of their great need of salvation.
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The Test Of Genuineness
He will not point to the narrow gate where men have to humble themselves
in order to seek God’s forgiveness and where we come to a place of trusting
Christ alone for salvation. His preaching will be soothing, comforting and
comfortable but never disturbing. One writer puts it like this:
There is nothing in their preaching which searches the conscience and makes
his hearer uneasy, nothing which humbles and causes their hearers to mourn
before God; but rather that which puffs up and makes them pleased with
themselves and to rest content on a false assurance.
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The Test Of Genuineness
Not only are we required to look into the content of man’s preaching but into
the content of his character. Of course we are not looking for perfection. If you
are you will be constantly disappointed for every Christian has feet of clay, we
all remain flawed this side of eternity. But what we should be looking for is the
evidence of God’s Spirit. This fruit which is the product of God’s Spirit cannot
be counterfeited. There are such things as counterfeit miracles as v22
indicates and we will deal with that next week, but the fruit of Christian
character cannot be counterfeited. The fruit of love, joy, peace, - patience,
kindness, goodness, - faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Presentation 32
The Test Of Genuineness
If you examine the character of false prophets throughout history you will find
no evidence of this fruit. Look at the lives of those who tormented Jeremiahwhat do you find? There is hatred, envy, jealousy, severity, nothing
approaching the fruit of God’s Spirit. Look at the lives of the false teachers
opposed to Jesus and what do you find? Hatred, envy, jealousy, severity,
legalism, impatience, treachery..... Now it may take some time before a
person’s character becomes clear to us. A great deal can be disguised behind
a cloak of charm, politeness and a hearty spirit. But when the pressure comes
on, in time of crisis, or when they are caught off guard, then their real
character will be displayed.
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Conclusion
Someone has said if you are going to place poison on a shelf alongside healing
medicines then you had better label it clearly. Jesus is attempting here to label
clearly the poison of false teaching that is often placed along side the healing
balm of the gospel. He wants his people to be able to identify false teaching
and false teachers before any real harm is done. Jesus is no scare monger nor
does he want to produce a band of scare mongers. His great concern is that
we learn to be vigilant and discerning. The stakes could not be higher. For we
are dealing with the eternal destiny of those who may be led astray.
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