Beware of false prophets-1

하나님이여 내 마음을 정하였사오니 내가 노래하며 내 심령으로 찬양하리로다 ² 비파야, 수금아, 깰지어다 내가 새벽을 깨우리로다 ³ 여호와여 내가 만민 중에서 주께 감사하고 열방 중에서 주를 찬양하오리니 ⁴ 대저 주의 인자하심이 하늘 위에 광대하시며 주의 진실은 궁창에 미치나이다 ⁵ 하나님이여 주는 하늘 위에 높이 들리시며 주의 영광이 온 세계 위에 높으시기를 원하나이다. My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being! ² Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! ³ I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. ⁴ For your steadfast love is great above the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. ⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth! (Ps. 108:1-5)

¹⁵ 거짓 선지자들을 삼가라 양의 옷을 입고 너희에게 나아오나 속에는 노략질하는 이리라 ¹⁶ "그의 열매로 그들을 알찌니 가시나무에서 포도를, 또는 엉겅퀴에서 무화과를 따겠느냐" ¹⁷ 이와 같이 좋은 나무마다 아름다운 열매를 맺고 못된 나무가 나쁜 열매를 맺나니 ¹⁸ 좋은 나무가 나쁜 열매를 맺을 수 없고 못된 나무가 아름다운 열매를 맺을 수 없느니라 ¹⁹ 아름다운 열매를 맺지 아니하는 나무마다 찍혀 불에 던지우니라 ²⁰ 이러므로 그의 열매로 그들을 알리라. ¹⁵ "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Mat 7:15-20)

FCF: We may be tempted by false teachers and prophets about Christ and His Word.

주제: 열매는 어떤 사람이 누구인지를 보여주기에 우리는 열매를 보고 거짓 선지자들을 식별해야 합니다.

Theme: Because fruits reveal what one is, we must recognize false prophets by their fruits.

Introduction: There are so many dangers we must beware of, to keep ourselves from harm in our daily lives. Sure, we go through hidden or exposed dangers in our brief lifetime. A ninety year old mom often says to her seventy year old son about a possible car accident, admonishing him to be careful. We are safety-conscious all the time. I still remember the first day of my job orientation at Bob Jones University in which the instructor emphatically repeated the words “safety, safety, and safety first.” I could sense that he didn’t want anyone to be victimized by careless mistakes at the workplace. He taught us how to lift heavy objects and how to work on a ladder. He cautioned us against dangerous chemicals. His point was for us to keep ourselves safe from these dangers. I was careful enough not to fall from the ladders, though I was close to falling once or twice. I am sure some of you parents remember the first day you son or daughter was ready to hit the streets after they obtained their driver’s licenses. You cautioned them about their safety on the road. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ does the same thing for His disciples. He is not concerned about their physical safety, but about their spiritual safety. He knows there is a danger of false prophets who stand at the narrow gate and dissuade His disciples into entering the narrow gate and journeying in the hard path. In His conclusion, He has urged His disciples to follow the hard and narrow path to life, avoiding the broad and easy path to destruction. Right after His admonition, He again cautions them against those who deny the necessity of true Christian discipleship. Addressing the issue of spiritual dangers in Matthew 7:15-20, the Lord exhorts His disciples to keep on walking on the path to eternal life.

The world in which we live in is not only full physical perils but also spiritual dangers. We must observe that the consequences of spiritual dangers are much greater or much more serious than physical ones because they may make a wider influence and determine our eternal destinies. If we fall from a ladder while working, we may be made injured, handicapped, or killed. But, if we fall from the ladder of God’s truth, we may lose eternal life if not restored by God’s grace. Though this is certainly true, we tend to pay attention more to safety regulations of the physical ladder than to the Lord’s words concerning our spiritual safety and dangers, to which we need to pay attention in order to complete our journey to the Celestial City.

Knowing the negative dangers and consequences of following them, the Lord Jesus strongly exhorts us to recognize false prophets by the fruits. In an implicit way, the Lord contrasts Himself with false prophets. As we listen to His teachings on kingdom lifestyle, we must discern truth from falsehood. Instead of believing or accepting uncritically every word a teacher may speak, we must test false teachers by their fruits because fruits reveal what one is. I can’t fully emphasize the importance of discerning false prophets because false prophets may lead our souls to falsehood and eternal condemnation. We have to be serious about what the Lord’s words against false prophets in our passage today. I have three practical points which we may apply to the discernment of false prophets. First,  

I.         거짓 선지자들의 겉과 속이 다름을 주목하라.

Notice the two-facedness of false prophets.

The Lord Jesus calls His disciples’ attention to the deception and danger of false prophets. He calls on them to be alert against these people. The Greek word translated as “Beware” in English means “be careful, pay attention to, or occupy oneself with.” It is the present tense verb, which suggests the idea of constant vigil. The Lord calls on us to be extremely careful about false prophets. He assumes the presence and activities of false prophets among His people. Since the Fall of Adam and Eve, there has been a constant war between true prophets and false prophets. Both look similar and different in origin. The Lord calls them as “tares” growing together with grains in the same field. They look similar at first, but they are different by nature and origin. In short, false teachers look innocent, harmless, and reliable, but are in reality dangerous, destructive, and deceptive. Their inside and outside are totally different.

The Lord’s description of these false prophets demands our extreme care. Our carefulness may be compared to that when vipers are ready to strike us at any moment or when we stand before the high cliff. He describes false prophets as those who come in sheep’s clothing. He points out their outward innocence. False teachers are working not in the world, but in the church. Their targets are not people in the world, but God’s people who stand at the narrow gate. They disguise themselves as true believers, disciples, or prophets of God. Thus, their church attendance, their theological language, their behaviors in the church, their charity works, and their piety, all these may suggest that they are true spokesmen of God.

Looking at their outward appearances, however, it is hard to tell what they are; it is hard to tell their falsehood from truth. They look normal, speak normal, and act normal. They will be welcomed into the household of faith, because they come in sheep’s clothing. As we know, sheep are innocent, pure, or vulnerable. Outwardly, there is nothing we can be suspicious of. False teachers hide their real identity from us by masquerading themselves with angels of the light. So, it requires of us to evaluate them, not only with their look, but also with their hearts. We must look beneath the surface of their careers, educations, backgrounds, or their words.

The problem is that we tend to be easily swayed by outward look. What we are inwardly doesn’t seem to matter much today in the world. If you have a nice-looking face, chances are higher that you will pass your job interview. Some go through cosmetic surgery to pass job interviews and find a job. Indeed, we judge people according to their first impressions. Some serial killers are nice-looking guys, not like heinous monsters. They try to earn trust from innocent victims through their outward attractiveness and smooth talking. There is a saying that “all that glitters is not gold.” This saying debunks man’s tendency to be drawn to something that looks externally valuable. The following story is behind this saying. Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice: The beautiful young Portia has been left with a fortune on the death of her wealthy father. Concerned, before his death, that his daughter would be vulnerable to fortune hunters, he stipulated in his will that all suitors would go through a test. They would have to correctly pick one of three caskets which contains Portia’s picture, to be wedded to her.

One of the caskets is made of gold, one silver, and the last one is made of base lead. Suitors line up to undergo the test. The first suitor chooses the gold casket and opens it to find a skull with a rejection letter including this “all the glistens” quote. His preference for gold has proved to be deceptive. The second suitor chooses the silver casket and finds a puppet of a jester. The final suitor, a poor young Venetian, comes to woo Portia. He chooses the lead casket and reveals her picture within. She returns to Venice with him to marry. This story serves the point that something that appears to be valuable may not be what it looks. It warns us not to choose something on the basis of external attractiveness, which may be often deceptive and dangerous. We are living a world where people value outer beauty more than character. We have to be discerning of inner character so that we may be not deceived.

In Jesus’ day, the crowds followed famous rabbis whose academic credentials were dazzling, whose speech looked impeccable, and whose law-keeping was perfect. They received rigorous Pharisaic training. They were proven by the Jewish community. In contrast, a young carpenter Jesus was a mere outlier unknown to the Jewish establishment. He was uneducated, uncultured, and unrecognized. But He called on all classes of people to repent and believe the gospel of the kingdom of God. He called on them to abandon religious hypocrisy and love God and neighbor. He called on them to enter by the narrow gate and follow the narrow path to life. The Pharisees appeared to be trustworthy and authoritative, but they were double-hearted hypocrites. They were teaching the false gospel of salvation by works. They were false teachers. They were like false prophets in Jeremiah’s day that proclaimed, “Peace, Peace!” when there was no peace but the imminent fall of Jerusalem by the hands of the Babylonians. Though he was mistaken by the majority of Judeans as a false prophet, Jeremiah was a true mouthpiece of God. He looked poor and humble, like Jesus. But he was a prophet of God.

We must be careful not to judge by appearance. Seriously, we have to be careful to find what they are inwardly. As far as false teachers are concerned, they look like saints of God in the church. There is no way we can tell what they are by looking at their outward appearances. So, we must look into their hearts to determine what they are. But as we all know, it takes long time to find out what they really are inwardly. I often hear of some fake marriages. The man introduces himself as a Seoul national graduate and medical doctor. He fills out a personal information card with a long list of his credentials in a match-making company. His education, career, physical attraction all suggest that this man be someone all women desire to get married with. But the problem is that all his information is a lie. He uses all of his false information to seduce a gullible girl. Once he gets her attention and secure her trust, he begins to ask money of her to open a clinic, promising he will pay it back right away with high interests. As soon as he gets the money, he is gone with the winds. He is a hoax, conman.

Jesus uses a metaphor here to point out that these false prophets appear to be one thing, but in reality they are something quite different and dangerous. There is a total difference between their outlook innocence and their inward voraciousness. The difference is that of heaven and earth, truth and falsehood, or life and death. These false prophets intend to disguise themselves to deceive others and lead them into destruction. So, they are as dangerous as ravenous wolves. They preach and teach their falsehood in the guise of truth and love. Since they can’t achieve their evil purpose if their ravenous identity is revealed, they are good at covering themselves with sheep’s clothing.

Those who are careless embrace these wicked people as God’s true messengers. Like innocent, unsuspicious little lambs in the children’s story, we may judge their identity by looking at their faked white hands. The wolf faked his hands and voice as if he were their mother. At first, the children refused to open the door to the wolf, because they recognized he was the wolf. But, later, they were duped by the persistent wolf and swallowed up by him. They were doing fine at first, remembering the mother sheep’s warning. All the wolf cared about was his empty stomach. He wanted to feed his greedy belly. In a way, this is what Jesus talks about here. He forewarns us against the approach or presence of violent wolves in the church.

If we can recognize them as wolves by merely looking at their appearances, then we wouldn’t let them into our midst. But they look innocent. They look like one of us. So, we extend our hands of fellowship and let them into our fellowship. As a result, we are ravaged by these wild creatures. These wolves are looking for easy-going, careless preys, appealing to their easy-going lifestyles. The New Heaven and New Earth Cult sends its spies into various churches in Korea. As they come in sheep’s clothing, they attend every service, practice piety, or gives to the church faithfully to win their target people’s approval and hearts. Once they win acceptance and recognition, they begin to spread negative rumors about the pastor and the church’s leadership. They divide people’s hearts for the church. Then, they split the church and take their victims to their cult.    

Their outward spiritual excellence and innocence arises not from their relationship with the Lord, but from their faithfulness to the cult leader and its heretical theology. Examples for this kind of lie are numerous in the religious realm. I remember watching a TV episode which tried to bring a religious charlatan to justice. This is an old, innocent looking man. He was known for his philanthropy in Korea. He adopted several handicapped children. On a TV show, he wept for these poor children, asking for donations. He visited a lot of churches and used children to share their testimony to woo compassion and money from the congregations. Everything he did seemed to be fine at first. But, he was a money-monger. He abused them physically and verbally. He didn’t give them food. He took advantage of these handicapped children to enrich himself and mark his name as a father of the handicapped in Korea.

Paul warned against false teachers in the Corinthian church as follows: ¹³ 저런 사람들은 거짓 사도요 궤휼의 역군이니 자기를 그리스도의 사도로 가장하는 자들이니라 ¹⁴ 이것이 이상한 일이 아니라 사단도 자기를 광명의 천사로 가장하나니 ¹⁵ 그러므로 사단의 일군들도 자기를 의의 일군으로 가장하는 것이 또한 큰 일이 아니라 저희의 결국은 그 행위대로 되리라. ¹³ For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds (2 Cor. 11:13-15). It is hard to discern discrepancy between outward innocence and inward violence. We should not be bewitched by their careers, Ph. D., speech skills, or innocent looking. We need to consider these things to judge whether they are true or false prophets. We must beware of their deceptive nature. At the same time, we must look beneath the surface of their look and look into the nature of their hearts, because what they are inwardly is what they really are. So, we need to check on whether they truly belong to Christ or not. This is what we consider next week.  

Conclusion: Careless neglect of safety issues may bring about irreparable damages. It happens in the spiritual realm. We must be careful and critical about anything related to our spiritual destinies. As we have learned today, we have to exercise spiritual discernment against the infiltration of false teachings of the world into our midst. We must not be bewitched by their outward innocence. We must see through their ravenous hearts, so that we keep following the Lord and His Word. We must not nod uncritically that they are the true people of God. They are violent wolves in the sheep’s clothing. We must keep on walking on the narrow, hard path to eternal life, overcoming the temptations of false prophets. Of course, we can’t reach perfect match between our hearts and our actions as long as we live on earth. However, we have a growing desire to serve the Lord and follow His path. We ask the Lord to grant us power to surrender our hearts to His Word. However, false prophets harbor wicked schemes to trap innocent people for their personal gains. To accomplish their goals, they masquerade them as the angels of light or the servants of righteousness. They look spiritually great, but they are ravenous wolves in their hearts. We must take every caution against them. We must not tolerate them in the church of Christ. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we look at every one in the church with suspicion and distrust. Instead, we must carefully recognize them by their fruits as we endeavor to follow the narrow path of Christ to eternal life. In so doing, we must guide our daily walk through God’s revealed Word. By Christ’s enabling grace, let’s make God’s Word shape our outlook, attitude, and conduct!

Benediction: ²⁴ 능히 너희를 보호하사 거침이 없게 하시고 너희로 그 영광 앞에 흠이 없이 즐거움으로 서게 하실자 ²⁵ 곧 우리 구주 홀로 하나이신 하나님께 우리 주 예수 그리스도로 말미암아 영광과 위엄과 권력과 권세가 만고 전부터 이제와 세세에 있을지어다 아멘. ²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.  (Jud 1:24-25)