SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/15/2021 2:03 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
“The Danger 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.”
As we look at the first word in
verse 15 we not only see a scene change, but we also see a warning, a warning
of danger. Jesus is telling His
listeners and now His readers to be on guard against these false prophets
because they are harmful. MacArthur
writes “The word conveys the idea of holding the mind away.” I suppose you could say He is saying “Keep
Out!” or Keep Away” or “Danger Ahead.”
As we saw in the story about the Jonesboro incident that Jim Jones was
not just wrong, but he was very dangerous, so it would have been better if none
of those who were falling that cult to at first begin to think about it, to
keep it far away from their minds. Those
type of people are more dangerous than a cobra or a tiger and the reason is
because those animals can only harm the body, while false prophets are
spiritual beasts and are immeasurably more deadly, for they can harm one’s
eternal life. In the letters that both
Peter and Jude wrote they use words in describing false prophets as “unreasoning
animals,” and then Peter goes on to warn that they “deceive unstable souls,
luring them into their jaws through the lust of the flesh” see 2 Peter 2:12 and
Jude 10.
Wolves are another comparison to
what false prophets can do, for wolves are a great danger to sheep, as even a
grown sheep is almost completely defenseless especially against a sheep. MacArthur writes “Wolves are known for being
merciless and ferocious (cf. Ezek. 22:27).
Harpax (‘ravenous’) is also
translated ‘swindler’ (Luke 18:11; 1 Cor. 5:10-11; 6:10), referring
metaphorically to those who deceitfully and mercilessly ravage a person of his
money and possessions. ‘False prophets’
and ‘wolves’ are clever and wily, and are always on the lookout for new
victims.”
Jude tells beliers how to respond to
false prophets: “keep yourselves in the
love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to
eternal life” (v. 21). We as believers
must first of all get ourselves right with the Lord, to make sure we are in the
place of divine fellowship, blessing, and power and then we will be prepared to
“have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of
the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by
the flesh” (22-23).
MacArthur
adds “The first group Jude mentions is composed of believers who have been
tempted to doubt their faith, and who need comfort and assurance. The second group is composed of unbelievers
who are on their way to hell and who need to be grabbed, as it were, and held
back. The third group, however, is
composed of those who are confirmed in false religion and who are extremely
dangerous, even to the most mature Christian.
We must witness to such people with special care and in special
dependence on the Lord for wisdom and protection, lest we ourselves become
spiritually contaminated by their polluted views and ways.”
I
remember a very long time ago when my first Pastor after I became a believer
taught through the book of Jude. In
those messages he talked about leading an older person to the Lord and used the
term found in verse 23 “snatching them out of the fire,” as an illustration of
leading an older person to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In
conclusion we can say that false prophets are as dangerous to God’s people as
wolves are to sheep.
2/15/2021 2:28 PM
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