Beware False Prophets
“Beware of 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.”” (Matthew 7:15-17)
False prophets – they can be found from the earliest pages of the Old Testament to the final warnings of Peter and Paul. However, times have not changed – a fact that makes this particular devotional painful to write. John Updike writes the fictitious story of the atheistic pastor who knew how to say the right words, but they were only words empty of faith and power. And too, our age of social media and mass publication has fostered more and more false prophets. Anyone with half a brain and a full set of fingers can tweet away their latest hot take, captivating thousands to the damnation of their own souls. (For this reason, I advise you never to “google” a question about the Bible.) No longer do people even have to say the right words. They simple have to shout the loudest.
Do you realize the harm that has been done? The marriages broken? The children departed? The communities shattered? The churches disrupted? The souls damned? And yet we entertain false prophets – liking their posts and watching their shows – all the while they are “twisting the Scriptures to their own destruction.”
May I offer some pastoral advice on discerning false prophets? First, a false prophet is not someone in a different denomination. I have doctrinal disagreements with my brothers over secondary and tertiary issues; however, I personally pray for the fellow ministers in town every Sunday morning during our service. Why? Because we labor “in one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (Phil. 1:27). (And besides, everyone will become a Presbyterian in heaven.) Second, a sure sign of a false prophet is originality. The late Princeton theologian Charles Hodge once said, “I have never taught anything original.” May it be said of us all! Listen, if you hear an original idea after 2,000 years of Christianity, you may be listening to a false prophet. Third, a sure sign of a false prophet is their life. The motto of every minister should be 1 Corinthians 11:1 – “Be imitators of me, as I imitate Christ.” This doesn’t mean that your pastor should be sinless, but his life should mirror that of Jesus Christ – a life of service, simplicity, humility, and the like.
Finally, let me add one last ingredient – time. Bearing fruit takes time, and so does discernment. This is why I read old books because false prophets rarely get republished. Don’t latch onto or lash out at any one comment or action; instead, discern a consistent pattern of fruit. If your church or denomination has a group which discerns the character and giftings of future pastors, thank them. They guard your souls. Regardless, at all times, be watchful, be patient, and search the Scriptures daily; for the sheep will know their Shepherd’s voice (Acts 17:11; John 10:4).