SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/16/2021 11:43 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-1 “The Deception of False Prophets”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 7:15
Message of the
verse: “15
"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but
inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
The biggest problem with false prophets is when they use
deception as this greatly increases the risk of someone following them. An example would be in say WWII when for the
most part both the enemy of say the allied forces would wear a certain uniform
and so you could mostly tell them apart from their own men. Now when we came to the problem with terrorists
one cannot know who they are as easily as they don’t wear an uniform to
identify them. The same is true with
false prophets as they don’t wear a bade or something like that to say “Hey I’m
a False Prophet,” as they are like what Paul says, an angel of light, as that
is the way that Satan is described. 2Co 11:14 “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself
as an angel of light.”
Now speaking of what prophets wore we can see that in the
OT that prophets like Elijah wore rough, hairy, uncomfortable clothing as symbol
of their foregoing the normal comforts of life for the cause of God. We see the same of John the Baptist, as he
was the last prophet of the OT era. So
false prophets could dress like the real prophets and one would have to use
other tactics to identify them.
Our verse for today speaks of false prophets who come in
sheep’s clothing and this is what a shepherd would wear, so false prophets
would dress up like a shepherd, but believe me they would care nothing about
the sheep they were suppose to take care of as “inwardly” they were “ravenous
wolves.”
John MacArthur writes “Scripture speaks of there basic
kinds of false teachers; heretics, apostates, and deceivers. Heretics are those who openly reject the word
of God and teach that which is contrary to divine truth. Apostate teachers are those who once followed
the true faith but have turned away from it, rejected it, and are trying to
lead others away. Those two kinds of
false teachers at least have the virtue of a certain honesty. They do not claim to represent orthodox,
biblical Christianity.
“The false shepherd (the deceiver), on the other hand,
gives the appearance of orthodoxy, frequently with great declarations and
fanfare. He is not a liberal or a
cultist but one who speaks favorably of Christ, the cross, the Bible, the Holy
Spirit, and so on, and who associates with true believers. He may go out of his way to appear orthodox,
fundamental, and evangelist. From his
looks, vocabulary, and associations he gives considerable evidence of genuine
belief. But he is not genuine; he is a
fake and a deceiver. He has the speech
of orthodoxy, but is a living lie.”
We
will close this first SD on this subject with what Paul wrote to the
Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “13 For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no
wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform
themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to
their works.” These kind of false
prophets are especially dangerous because they masquerade as true prophets,
which happened to the churches that Paul planted as we will see. They are therefore able to creep into
Christian circles virtually unnoticed. Let
us really finish by looking at Jude 4 and then Acts 10:28-32 as in the Acts
verses Paul tells the church leaders of Ephesus exactly what will happen to
them in the future: “For certain men
have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation,
ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord
God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” “28 "Therefore
take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His
own blood. 29 “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come
in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 “Also from among yourselves men will rise
up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 “Therefore
watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night
and day with tears. 32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word
of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among
all those who are sanctified.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I desire to trust the Holy Spirit of God to
give me discernment in order to identify any false prophets that I may
encounter.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust that the Lord will allow me to get a
problem with my Online Bible Program fixed as I use it every day.
2/16/2021 1:07 PM
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