Greetings!
After giving the invitation to "enter by the narrow gate" (Matt. 7:13), to come to God by the only way He has provided, Jesus warns that not everyone who claims to belong to God and to speak for Him actually does so. When we stand at the crossroads of decision, we should remember that the true way to God is narrow and that the false way is broad; the true way is difficult and demanding, and the false way is easy and permissive; the true way has relatively few following in it, and the false way has many.
Jesus now says, in effect, "As you strive to enter that narrow gate and walk that narrow way that leads to life, beware of those who would mislead you. Just as there is a misleading gate and a misleading way, there are also misleading preachers and teachers who point to that gate and promote that way." Just like the false gate and way, they will claim to show the way to heaven and life, but they actually show the way to hell and destruction. The false gate has false prophets standing in front of it who seek to lead people into the false way and hinder them from entering the true.
In the present passage Jesus first gives a warning and then calls us to be watchful. Just as He described the true and false ways (Matt. 7:13-14), He now describes the true and false teachers of those ways.
BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS
MATTHEW 7:15-20
Part 3
THE DANGER OF FALSE PROPHETS
Matthew 7:15 (NASB)
"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
"Beware" always warns of danger. It is not a call simply to notice or sense something, but to be on guard against it because it is so harmful. The word conveys the idea of holding the mind away. "False prophets" are more than wrong; they are dangerous, and we should not expose our minds to them. They pervert thinking and poison the soul. They are more dangerous than a cobra or a tiger, because those animals can only harm the body. False prophets are spiritual beasts and are immeasurably more deadly than the physical ones.
In Palestine, "wolves" were the most common natural enemy of sheep. They roamed the hills and valleys, looking for a sheep that strayed away from the flock or lagged behind. When a wolf found such a sheep it quickly attacked and tore it to pieces. Even a grown, healthy sheep was utterly defenseless against a wolf.
"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.
It is not enough for a faithful shepherd to feed and lead his flock, he must also protect it from predators. Paul had no doubt that after [his] departure false teachers would threaten the Ephesian church (Acts 20:29-31), as they already had entered the church at Corinth (2 Cor. 11:4) and the churches of Galatia (Gal. 1:6).
The apostle Paul warns,
- Acts 20:29-31 (NASB)
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"I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 "Therefore be on the alert."
- Acts 20:29-31 (NLT2)
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I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. 30 Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. 31 Watch out!
Whenever the truth is proclaimed, Satan can be expected to counter it with the lies of false doctrine. It has always been so. Paul's striking description of false teachers as "savage wolves"... "not sparing the flock" echoes that of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 7:15; 10:16).
Because of the serious danger they pose to the church, the Scriptures condemn false teachers in the strongest language. Peter vividly describes them in 2 Peter 2 as
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"those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority" (v. 10)
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"unreasoning animals" (v. 12)
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"stains and blemishes" (v. 13)
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"having eyes full of adultery"... (v. 14)
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"having a heart trained in greed"... (v. 14)
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"accursed children" (v. 14)
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"springs without water"... (v. 17)
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"mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved" (v. 17)
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"slaves of corruption" (v. 19)
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"dogs returning to their own vomit and pigs wallowing in the mud" (v. 22).
True to Paul's prediction, false teachers did "come in among" the flock at Ephesus and attack it (cf. Rev. 2:2). Even more subtle than the attack of false teachers from outside the church, however, is the defection of those within. Accordingly, Paul warned them that "from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them."
"Perverse" is from diastrephō, which means "to distort," or "to twist." False teachers twist God's truth for their own perverted ends. "Draw away" is from apospaō and could be translated "to drag away" or "to tear away." If the under-shepherds are not vigilant, Paul warns, the wolves will drag their sheep away to devour them.
Tragically, even the Ephesian church, where Paul himself ministered for three years, saw such defections among its leadership. In his letters to Timothy (who was then the pastor of the Ephesian church), Paul condemned the false teachers who had arisen from within the Ephesian congregation (1 Tim. 1:3-7; 2 Tim. 3:1-9), even naming some of them (1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 1:15; 2:17).
To guard their flocks from attacks from both outside and inside the church, the under-shepherds must do two things.
First, they must be on the alert. Knowing that the savage wolves are awaiting an opening to attack their flocks, they must be vigilant.
One commentator describes the importance of the shepherd's vigilance:
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The Eastern shepherd was, first of all, a watchman. He had a watch-tower. It was his business to keep a wide-open eye, constantly searching the horizon for the possible approach of foes. He was bound to be circumspect and attentive. Vigilance was a cardinal virtue. An alert wakefulness was for him a necessity. He could not indulge in fits of drowsiness, for the foe was always near. Only by his alertness could the enemy be circumvented. There were many kinds of enemies, all of them terrible, each in a different way. At certain seasons of the year there were floods. Streams became quickly swollen and overflowed their banks. Swift action was necessary in order to escape destruction There were enemies of a more subtle kind—animals, rapacious and treacherous: lions, bears, hyenas, jackals, wolves. There were enemies in the air; huge birds of prey were always soaring aloft ready to swoop down upon a lamb or kid. And then, most dangerous of all, were the human birds and beasts of prey—robbers, bandits, men who made a business of robbing sheepfolds and murdering shepherds. That Eastern world was full of perils. It teemed with forces hostile to the shepherd and his flock. When Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Habakkuk talk about shepherds, they call them watchmen set to warn and save.
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Many a minister fails as a pastor because he is not vigilant. He allows his church to be torn to pieces because he is half asleep. He took it for granted that there were no wolves, no birds of prey, no robbers, and while he was drowsing the enemy arrived. False ideas, destructive interpretations, demoralizing teachings came into his group, and he never knew it. He was interested, perhaps, in literary research; he was absorbed in the discussion contained in the last theological quarterly, and did not know what his young people were reading, or what strange ideas had been lodged in the heads of a group of his leading members. There are errors which are as fierce as wolves and pitiless as hyenas; they tear faith and hope and love to pieces and leave churches, once prosperous, mangled and half dead.
The faithful shepherd must warn his flock. Paul had done so during his own ministry at Ephesus; he reminds the Ephesian elders of how "night and day for a period of three years [he] did not cease to admonish each one with tears." "Admonish" is from noutheteō, which refers to giving counsel with a warning involved (cf. Col. 1:28).
The pattern of Paul's ministry shows the importance of warning believers about false teachers. He admonished the Ephesians "for a period of three years," caring for "each one" of the flock (cf. v. 20). So compelled was he to warn them that he hardly had time for sleep, ministering "night and day" (cf. 1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:8). Nor was it a mere academic exercise for Paul—he punctuated his warnings "with [his] tears."
He wept because he knew the terrible consequences when false teachers infiltrate. Only by following Paul's example can the faithful under-shepherd protect Christ's flock from the savage wolves and diseased sheep who constantly threaten it.
Jude also gives a strong warning against false prophets and tells how believers are to respond to them. He writes, "Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life" (v. 21). Our first need is to get ourselves right with the Lord, to make sure we are in the place of divine fellowship, blessing, and power.
Then we will be prepared to (1) "have mercy on some, who are doubting (v. 22); (2) save others, snatching them out of the fire (v.23a); (3) and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh" (v. 23b).
- Jude 1:22-23 (NASB)
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And 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.
- Jude 1:22-23 (NLT2)
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And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.
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(v. 22) The first group Jude mentions is composed of believers who have been tempted to doubt their faith, and who need comfort and assurance.
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(v. 23a) 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.
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(v. 23b) 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.
"False prophets" and those who follow false prophets are as dangerous to God's people as "ravenous wolves" are to sheep.
Proverbs 22:19 (NASB)
So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have taught you today, even you.
Amen.
