March 7, 2023

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” Matthew 7:15-16a

Notice that Jesus did not say, “Beware of all prophets.” A prophet is someone who claims to speak for God. A true prophet is Holy Spirit led and will never contradict the Holy Scriptures. Fruits (what they say, how they live) should always be tested by God’s standard: the written word. Today there are numerous scriptural contradictions propagated in the churches. Some are leftovers from the fallen medieval church and some have been added fairly recently.

Before Paul closed his second letter to the believers in Thessalonica, he warned:

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive a love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2:7a, 9-12

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Acts 17:10-11

In these last days, false doctrines and unbiblical lifestyles are accepted in the mainstream. The stakes could not possibly be higher. We must be like the Jews of Berea, ready to listen, ready to learn, and eager to test all things by God’s standard. In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, his concern for the fledgling church was evident: Test all things; hold fast what is good (5:21). And how do you test all things? It must be by the word of God!

Beloved, each of us who profess Christ is called to be a Repairer of the Breach (Isaiah 58:12). The breaches in Biblical doctrines matter because what you believe about these things is central to what you believe about the identity and character of God. This is about who you worship! Among the controversies are: Creation or evolution? Sabbath or Sunday? Monogamous, heterosexual marriage for life or uncommitted relationships, polygamy, gay unions? A sinister spiritual enemy known as Satan or a cartoon character with red leotards and batwings? Life and death reality or “You shall not surely die”? Conditional immortality or inherent immortality? Healthy lifestyle or just consume whatever you want? The Ten Commandments or no more law? Death (perishing) for the unrepentant or eternal life in a torture chamber of fire? Two genders or ninety-three? Waiting for the return of Jesus to claim His people or instantaneous arrival in heaven or hell at the moment of death? An errant belief in one or more of these is what our sinister enemy is hoping – in order to subtly and systematically destroy your love of the truth that [you] might be saved. Every teaching of our God is given from His great heart of love!