Believer Beware!

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”  Matthew 7

There are false prophets among us! Jesus warns us of them. You know if Jesus warns us that they’re here. We don’t like to think of anyone as a false prophet but they’ve been around since the beginning of the church. Many of the New Testament letters were written to combat their false teaching.

To make matters worse, these false prophets want to devour us! Jesus says that “inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” Christians are depicted as sheep in the Bible and wolves have only one use for sheep -- dinner.

Don’t expect to see wolves sitting openly in the pews at church next Sunday. False prophets come “in sheep’s clothing.”  They look just like you and me. However, although they disguise themselves as sheep, they can be identified as wolves. 

Jesus tells us that we can know false prophets by their fruits. What is coming forth from them? We often evaluate on the level of someone being nice, handsome, compelling, funny or charismatic. That’s not how God tells us to evaluate.  It’s by what fruit comes from them.

The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). I’ve heard it said that the one thing false prophets can’t do is deny their flesh. Putting to death the deeds of the flesh is something we can do only with the Spirit. False prophets don’t have the Spirit, consequently they can’t deny their flesh.

Somewhere in the false prophet’s ministry you’ll see gratification of the flesh. It could be with money as they love to use God’s people to acquire their own wealth. You may see their flesh manifest itself in an inflated ego (pride).  And, yes, one of the most popular, sexual immorality. They don’t just struggle with a particular sin, but use their ministry to feed their flesh. To acquire the money, pander to their pride and to seduce.

The reality may be that you’re not close enough to the false prophet to know whether they are proud or money hungry. So how do you identify a false prophet from afar?  You identify them from their teaching. Know the Bible. That’s what false prophets do, they twist the Word of God. Spend time getting to know the Word better than the one who wants to devour you.  The more time you spend with the Good Shepherd the more easily you will spot a wolf.

Identifying a false prophet is not one of the top five list of subjects we want to hear; but take Jesus’ warning of ravenous wolves seriously and beware!

So Much for “All Paths Lead to God.”

¹³ Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  Matthew 7

One of the most popular religious beliefs today is that all paths lead to God.  Whether Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and so on, pick what works for you, and you’ll find your way to God. This view fits nicely in our pluralistic society. You don’t have to step on toes or ruffle anyone’s feathers, and you’ll never be called a “fundamentalist.”  The problem with this is that it stands in direct opposition to the teaching of Jesus.

Jesus does not teach many paths, He teaches two:  The first leads to life but it is narrow, difficult and only a few travel it. The other path is wide and well-traveled, but unfortunately it leads to destruction. The first path, the one that leads to life, is Jesus (John 10:9). The other, leading to destruction, is the path of all others not coming through Jesus.

Jesus clears up any ambiguity of His claim to be the sole path to heaven with one statement: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  The single solitary path to heaven is through Jesus.

The reason why? Only one path has a savior. Jesus offers what nobody else can --  payment for sin. Jesus, the perfect sinless Son of God, stood in the place of the guilty sinner and paid the price for the sins of the world. Every other path offers a way to work off sins. There is no way to work off sin. You can’t do five good deeds to pay off one bad deed. How would you even keep track! Thanks be to God that He sent His Son to pay for my sins on the cross!

You have two paths to choose from. Embrace the one path that leads to life – Jesus!  

Godliness Made Simple

 ¹² Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.  Matthew 7:12

Jesus, as only He can, takes something very complex and makes it simple. The Old Testament (referred to here as the “Law and the Prophets”) has 613 laws, or do’s and don’ts. It’s hard to keep just a couple of rules, how do you keep 613?  Well, Jesus tells us how.  We call it “The Golden Rule.”

Jesus says, “Whatever you want people to do to you, do to them.”  Notice this statement is positive, not negative. We often hear it as, “Don’t do to people what you wouldn’t want them to do to you” (negative).  However, Jesus says we’re to take the initiative and, “Do to others what we would have done to us” (positive).  So, if you think it would be nice for someone to offer help when you have the need, offer help to others when you see they need it. If you want others to come to you instead of talking behind your back, do the same for them. If you expect others to make an effort to understand you, make an effort to understand others.

Jesus says doing for others as you would have done to you fulfills all the laws in the Old Testament. For example the Law says, “Thou shall not lie.” In living out the Golden Rule you will naturally tell the truth. Since we all want others to be truthful to us, we’ll be truthful to others. The same with “Thou shall not commit adultery.” You want your spouse to be faithful to you, so be faithful to them.

The Golden Rule goes a step further than being honest because we want others to be honest with us: It leads us to help others with their burdens. reaching out in love; because truth be told, that’s how we want to be treated.

The Golden rule should be our motive to share the Gospel. We who believe the Gospel are eternally grateful to those who cared enough to step out of their comfort zone and share the hope of Jesus with us. Should this not lead us to do the same with others?

Living out the Golden Rule helps us simplify godly living. However simple does not mean easy. Living a godly life and doing to others as we would have them do to us takes commitment, but one well worth the effort.

Prayer Works

⁹ “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹ If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹² Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:9-15

Just a quick reminder of something you already know, or should know. Prayer works. This passage gives us two reasons to believe in the power of prayer.

The first is that Jesus Himself commands us to ask.  “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you.” In this verse, Jesus is commanding that His followers ask. He also promises that when we ask we will receive. Put your faith in this promise.

The second reason to believe in the power of prayer is that God is good. Jesus tells us that if a sinful, fallen, earthly father would give his child bread when they ask for it, how much more will your Father in heaven give to you? God is good and He meets His children’s needs.

So turn back to the simple faith you once had and pray. Pray knowing you’re praying because Jesus told you to. Pray knowing that Jesus said “everyone who asks receives. “ Finally, pray with the expectation that God will answer your prayer because He is the good Father and will meet His children’s needs.  

An Evangelical’s Perspective on Abortion

As far as topics go, abortion is always a lightning rod. Not only do people differ on their opinions,  but people are passionate about their beliefs. People have their reasons for why they are passionate about their stance on abortion. The pro-life movement believes that everyone has the right to life, no matter how old they are. The pro-choice view seems to stem from the belief that a woman has the right to choose what to do with her own body, even if it means ending the baby’s life that is inside her body.

My purpose for this article is not to win an argument, but articulate the Evangelical pro-life perspective on abortion.  As an Evangelical, I believe the Bible is the written Word of God. The Bible is the foundation for my beliefs and morals. 

We see in the Bible that God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”(Jer. 1:5 ESV) I believe this passage is very relevant when it comes to the subject of abortion.

God declares that He formed Jeremiah in the womb. In the womb, God ordains and oversees the creation of a human life. To me, this stands against the argument of “my body, my choice.”

One of the key questions in the abortion debate is “When does life begin?”  God had plans for Jeremiah even before Jeremiah was formed in the womb, even ordaining him to be a prophet before he was born.  It is not up to us to say how long it takes after conception to become an actual person, whether in the first trimester or second. Being that God “knew” Jeremiah before he was formed, we cannot put less value on a baby in the first trimester of development than we do just before it is delivered.

As an Evangelical, I know that the Bible attributes life and its creation to God. Because of my belief in God and that His Word is truth, I believe that abortion is wrong: life itself is a gift from God. I feel blessed that God has given me life, and I believe that we should not deprive innocent unborn babies from the right to life.

A Time to Move On

⁶ “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” Matthew 7

This is a tough one. What does Jesus mean? Many commentators believe this verse is a continuation of the first five verses where Jesus talks about judgment. Many Bible translations include this verse under the same heading as verses on judging. If you look at the flow of thought in Matthew 7, it seems likely that verse six would be included with the preceding five verses. They deal with judgment, the next five deal with prayer. It’s possible, though not probable that Jesus would introduce a subject for a single verse and move on.

If you connect the preceding verse, verse five, to it, “First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye,” you get a sense of where this is going. In other words, “Take care of your own walk first, and then offer Biblical truth to others.” Then followed by “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.” In other words, if they do not receive it, and reject truth, move on.”

Jesus is saying “Don’t offer God’s truth to those who just laugh at it.” The problem is, how do you tell who is a dog or pig? At least in the spiritual sense, some people who seem the furthest from the Kingdom of God readily receive the Gospel. On the other hand others who seem as if “they would be good Christians,” reject the truth of God and proclaim their own righteousness.

The answer is found in the individual’s response to God’s truth. If an individual hears the truth and rejects it, or mocks it, you have your answer. If someone is scoffing at, or mocking God’s truth, move on.  This interpretation is in accordance with Matthew 10. Jesus sent His disciples out bearing the Gospel, and told them that if  they are received, great! However, if they were rejected, and thus the Gospel, they were to move on and shake the dust from the town off their feet.  

We must offer people God’s truth. However, if God’s truth is ridiculed we must also realize the only thing happening is that God’s truth is being trampled by dogs. Shake the dust off and move on.

Judging Others is a Slippery Slope

“Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. ³ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 7

This passage may be one of the most misunderstood texts in the Bible. You frequently hear people that are caught in adultery, or some other sin, try to use this passage to defend themselves.  Going to the other extreme, many judgmental and legalistic Christians pretend it does not exist.

Jesus is not saying that we can’t call sin “sin”. He is not saying that we cannot hold others accountable for their sin. That view point would pretty much contradict the entire Bible. Galatians 6 instructs us that we are to even to go those stuck in sin and try to gently restore them. (Gal 6:1)

So what is this passage teaching about judging others?  Let’s look at three things Jesus instructs us on when it comes to judging others:

1.      Take care of your own relationship with God. “First take the log out of your own eye.” No one ever commits their lives to Christ without having many areas in  which they need to grow. The top priority for all disciples of Jesus is to examine their own lives in light of scripture, and then change as necessary to conform their lives to Christ.

2.      Avoid hypocrisy.  The most judgmental Christians are often the ones that are stuck in perpetual immaturity. They have confessed Christ for years but don’t have much to show for it. These people often like to find flaws in others to make themselves feel better about their own relationship, or lack thereof, with Christ.  

3.      If you are to judge, remember that the same standard of judgment you use on others is going to be applied to you. That means if you judge someone by external appearances, for example, you are going to have to stand next to that same measuring stick. If you judge the inside by the outside, then you will be measured in the same way.

Judgment is a slippery slope, and it is hard to engage in it without taking a fall yourself.  Going outside of what is obvious sin and judging by external appearance is bound to come back to you.