Signs of False Prophets in The Church by Voddie Baucham

beware 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 thorn bushes or figs from thistles so every healthy tree bears good fruit but the diseased tree bears bad fruit a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire thus you will recognize them by their fruit jesus identifies the fact that there are first and foremost false prophets there are false prophets there are people who are out there who are false prophets there are those who speak the truth and there are those who tell lies there are false prophets truth can be violated and that the gospel's enemies usually conceal their hostility and try to pass themselves off as fellow believers there are false prophets this is not new by the way matthew chapter 24 and verse 11 we read for false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray if possible even the elect and then luke chapter 6 verse 26 reach this way woe to you when all people speak well of you for so their fathers did to the false prophets acts chapter 13 and verse 6 when they had gone through the whole island as far as pepos they came upon a certain magician a jewish false prophet named barges and in second peter chapter two in verse one we read but false prophets also arose among the people just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies even denying the master who bought them bringing upon themselves swift destruction so again this is not an isolated incident here in the sermon on the mount jesus bring this brings this up a number of times in his ministry and we also have this in the acts of the apostles and in the epistles the idea that there are false prophets we have to be aware of this fact there are false prophets the second thing we need to know is this false prophets are not always easy to spot notice what jesus says here look with me if you will again in verse 15 beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves in other words jesus says the first word he uses that beware be alert look carefully because there are false prophets and these false prophets will clothe themselves outwardly in the clothing of the sheeps but inwardly they are not so but jesus puts a finer point on it here jesus says beware of false prophets not because they're going to be easy to spot they're going to be out there for you to see and for all the world to see and you'll be able to know hey that's a false prophet jesus says you need to beware you need to be on the lookout because these individuals will dress themselves in the uniform of my sheep they will hide who they truly are they will learn to use narrow gate language they will learn to emulate hard road living they will learn to masquerade as small crowd people and they will learn to trick you into thinking that they are on the road that leads to life and yet they are false prophets here's why it's difficult for us to identify false prophets number one because of biblical and theological illiteracy that's our first problem biblical and theological illiteracy that makes it difficult to identify false prophets if we don't know the bible if we don't know doctrine if we don't know theology it is virtually impossible for us to identify false prophets and what they do is prey on individuals who are biblically and theologically illiterate [Music] again it's difficult for us because false prophets are difficult to identify they're there but they're difficult to identify we're not just talking about the obvious ones who are out there jesus says these are individuals who have clothed themselves in the garments of my sheep my followers see the false prophet that's the scary one is not the one who is out there teaching doctrine that is completely in opposition to biblical truth no the false prophet who's the scary one is the one who has the meat of a lie covered with the skin of the truth [Music] listen to this [Music] john chapter 10 verses 3-5 to him the gatekeeper opens the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and he leads them out when he has brought out all his own he give he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice a stranger they will not follow but they will flee from him for they do not know the voice of a stranger amen do we need to be on guard yes but here's what you need to know true sheep follow the true shepherd and they do not follow the voice of a stranger [Music] yet false prophets are still a danger why listen to what jesus says first of all the ammunition beware beware why be on guard i mean if there's no danger why be on guard secondly what does he call these individuals ravenous wolves in other words they come to do much harm like the thief who comes to steal and to kill and to destroy here's what you need to know a false prophet is ultimately not going to take a narrow gate hard road small crowd on the way to life christian and turn them into a broad gate easy road big crowd on the way to death non-christian so that's not the danger but here's what you need to know a believer can have his or her life turned upside down by a false prophet a believer who knows god loves god and is following god can have his or her life turned upside down by a slick talking false prophet sometimes for years a false prophet can have a true follower of christ twisted and tied all up in knots until they are ultimately delivered from the falsehood [Music] so don't you think for a moment that just because you're a follower of christ just because you've been born again that you don't need to be careful about what you listen to and that there is no danger of listening to false prophets there is a danger and they can do you and your family much much harm that's one of the reasons that god has given elders to the church to protect the doctrine of the church to protect the teaching of the church to refute false teaching that would come in and impose itself on the church that's one of the reasons that god gave the office of elder to protect the body especially in those circumstances because there are people out there who look good who sound good they're on christian radio they're on christian television some of them have household names and our best-selling christian authors and their ravenous wolves [Music] what do they do false prophets bear bad fruit and they bear bad fruit in two main ways bad teaching bad living bad teaching bad living look at what jesus says again you will recognize them by their fruits outwardly they may look really good but you need to become a pretty good fruit inspector you will know them by their fruit are grapes gathered from thorn wishes or figs from thistles so every healthy tree bears good fruit but diseased trees bear bad fruit a healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit can't happen that way what do you do examine the fruit that's our responsibility as believers examine the fruit our test is does what he said come from and line up with the bible amen we are not in the process of getting continued revelation from god so the first sign of a false prophet is he speaks things as though they are from god but they're not found in god's word [Music] he speaks things as though they are from god but they are not found in god's word [Music] [Music] 2nd timothy chapter three but notice that in the last days there will come times of difficulty for people will be lovers of self lovers of money proud arrogant abusive disobedient to their parents ungrateful unholy heartless unappeasable slanderous without self-control brutal not loving good treacherous reckless swollen with conceit lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god having the appearance of godliness but denying its power avoid such people stay away from such people for among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women burdened with sins and led astray by various passions always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth just as janice and james opposed moses so these men also oppose the truth men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith wow they're disqualified regarding the faith that's more judgmental but they will not go very far for their folly will be plain to all as was that of those two men you however have followed my teaching my conduct my aim in life my faith my patience my love my steadfastness my persecutions and suffering that happened to me in antioch at iconium at lystra which persecutions i endured yet from all of them the lord rescued me here's what's interesting remember last week we talked about that term that comes after the narrow gate that turn for the way it says the way is hard remember i told you last week that the word used there in the greek is the word from which we get the word persecution so in essence jesus was saying one of the evidence is that you are a narrow gate hard road christian is persecutions here paul is saying to timothy you know those liars those liars are not like me and one of the ways that they're not like me paul says what you know my persecutions you've seen evidence of my narrow gate hard road few friends life and that's one of the distinctions paul says between himself and the false prophets listen to the rest of this indeed verse 12 all who desire to live godly life in christ jesus will be persecuted not might not could but will while evil people and imposters will go from bad to worse deceiving and being deceived but as for you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed knowing from whom you've learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in jesus christ all scripture is breathed out by god and profitable for teaching rebuke correction for training in righteousness that the man of god may be competent equipped for every good work what does paul tell timothy you're okay because you've got the scriptures two distinctions between the true prophet and the false prophet number one they're teaching number two their life [Music] look at the fruit look at the fruit of what they teach look at the fruit of how they live this is what they teach line up with what the scriptures say is how they live line up with what the scriptures say by the way and if we're looking for the way that they live where would we look again think about the sermon that jesus is preaching don't disconnect it where do we go to find the kind of lifestyle that jesus is talking about how about all the way back to chapter five and verse one the beginning of the sermon on the mount he lays out for us what the kingdom lifestyle is like that's what we're looking for go back to the beatitudes go back to the six antithesis go back to chapter six true prayer true fasting true giving go back and look at the true religion of christianity as jesus has already laid it out in chapter five chapter six at the beginning of chapter seven and you have the kind of fruit for which we are called to look finally none of this matters if we're not ready and willing to test and judge none of this matters if we're not ready and willing to test and to judge it's meaningless if we're unwilling to test and to judge by the way why do i say judge the last phrase that jesus uses is very important the last phrase he uses in this paragraph is the tree that doesn't bear good fruit it's going to be cut down and thrown into the fire that's what you call judgment see none of this matters if it basically we don't believe that we're supposed to test we don't believe that we're supposed to make judgments again i'm not talking about being judgmental go back to the messages on the early part of chapter seven all right [Music] we're not talking about turning your nose up at individuals who don't like the things that you like who don't agree with you on non-essentials that's not what we're talking about here we're talking about false prophets and identifying false prophets who are destructive in the life of the church and if all we believe that we're supposed to do is read this for reading's sake and not apply it and not exercise sound judgment and not distance ourselves from false teaching and not expose false teaching whenever we find it then we'll have a problem [Music] listen to this if you will first john chapter four verses one through three beloved do not believe every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they are from god for many false prophets have gone out into the world by this you will know the spirit of god every spirit that confesses that jesus christ has come in the flesh is from god and every spirit that does not confess jesus is not from god this is the spirit of the antichrist which you heard was coming and is now in the world already again is this the only test no it's not the only test remember the series we did through first john there are many tests but here dealing with false prophets he says test what you hear from them test the spirits by the spirits this is judgment folks and it's the way christians are commanded to live look with me if you will of acts chapter 17. verses 10 and 11 the brothers immediately sent paul and silas away by night to berea and when they arrived they went into the jewish synagogue now these jews were more noble than those in thessalonica how about that these jews were more noble than those in thessalonica what pray tell made them more noble than the jews in thessalonica glad you asked they received the word with all eagerness examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so folks this is the apostle paul did you follow this this is the apostle paul this guy comes into town and he's been bitten by serpents and lived this guy has a man listening to him one night falls out of a window and dies brings him back to life he comes to berea and they say all that's fine and good but here's what we're gonna do we're gonna take what you said today we're going to go back and look in our bibles we're going to search the scriptures to see if what you're saying is actually true the bible says that made them more noble do you test what you hear even from here from this place we're far from infallible folks we are do you test what you hear that's one of the reasons that we teach the way we do that's one of the reasons that we come and bring your bible open your bible look in your bible read it touch it taste it see it because we want you to develop the habit of testing what you hear don't you dare trust me you trust the [Music] word we have to test everything by the word [Music] test everything by god's truth test everything by what's been spoken we got to be like the parents we must test everything according to the scriptures and we must be ready and willing always to identify expose and flee from false prophets don't like the way that sounds turn with me to one more passage look at ephesians 1 chapter 5. and look beginning in verse 6 ephesians chapter 5 let no one deceive you with empty words for because of these things the wrath of god comes upon the sons of disobedience therefore do not become partners with them for at one time you were darkness but now you are light in the lord walk as children of light for the fruit of life is found in all that is good and right and true and try to discern what is pleasing to the lord take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness but instead expose them for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible for anything that becomes visible is light therefore it says awake o sleeper and the rise from the dead and christ will shine on you [Music] our culture says that's mean and nasty that's judgmental that's not christian the bible says [Music] test the spirit beware of false prophets expose the deeds of darkness refute those who contradict sound teaching jude jude gives us this [Music] just while i was making every effort to write you concerning our common salvation i felt the need to write you and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith to agonize greatly to wrestle the term is used in classical greek for wrestlers who are engaged in combat he says i want you to engage in combat to agonize greatly the faith that was once for all handed down to the saints why because certain persons have crept in unnoticed those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation ungodly persons who do two things one turn the grace of god into lawlessness that's bad living and number two deny our only master and lord jesus christ that's bad teaching [Music] jude says agonize greatly against false teachers war with them those who turn grace into lawlessness and those who deny the essential truths of the gospel agonize greatly in that field of combat wage war and that field of combat refute those who contradict expose their dark deeds it holds firmly to that which is true why because we delight in the combat no because we delight in the truth and there is a major difference between those two let us delight in the truth and beware of false prophets you

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Id: _2PNf1Z6aYY

Length: 25min 22sec (1522 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 16 2021