Christian Living
Christianity is experiencing an epidemic; the widespread and expanding appearance of false prophets. They are popping up from different ends of the earth with false doctrines.
“Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”
Matthew 24:11 NKJV
Doctrines that are careully crafted to appeal to people’s emotions. Doctrines that strategically target issues people deal with on a daily basis. Doctrines of men.
“And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. ”
Matthew 15:9 NKJV
That’s exactly how the devil operates- by touching most sensitive spots in our lives and twisting the Truth of the Word of God (with doctrines of men), making them seem like the Truth but losing its potency.
Who is a false prophet?
Anyone who falsely claims;
- the gift of prophecy
- divine inspiration
- to speak for God
anyone who makes any of these claims for evil ends.
Matthew 7 speaks of false prophets..
“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. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:15-20 NKJV.
False prophets;
- Are pretentious
- Exhibit false humility
- Are enemies disguised as friends
- Never have good intentions
- Are manipulative -emotionally, spiritually, physically.
- Are dangerous
- Are false teachers (so they can teach too).
False doctrines…
Obviously false prophets live a lie; they teach one thing but practice another.
Reading Matthew 7 again, we see also that they operate from a false foundation, their source is not the Word of God. Grapes don’t come from thornbushes neither do figs come from thistles.
False prophets don’t know the Word, they don’t have the Word and they don’t live the Word.
The tricky thing about false doctrines is they never really come across as false at first impression. They are lies subtly twisted and intertwined with the truth. In fact, they many times appear as doctrinal truths but they are not.
What is the truth?
- The Truth is the Word!
- Jesus Christ is the Word
- The Truth is Jesus Christ.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 NKJV.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” John 1:1-2. NKJV.
“The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” Psalms 119:160 NKJV.
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:17 NKJV.
How to know the Truth…
With so many false prophets and doctrines floating around, people generally want to know the truth. But how do we know the truth?
Using Himself as an example, Jesus tells us how:
“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is Another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from Man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the Works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me….But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” John 5:31-36, 38-40 NKJV
We see 4 possible witnesses to the Truth from John 5:
- Oneself
- Man
- Works
- The Word
According to Jesus, it is useless attempting to bear witness of oneself. Even Jesus would not bear witness of Himself. Meaning it is not enough to believe in oneself alone….that you have the Truth.
It is also not very important how much witness another man bears of you. Meaning you can have thousands of people saying ‘you are the real deal’, ‘you are anointed and edifying’, etc, etc but that alone still isn’t a witness to the Truth.
“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
Luke 6:26 NKJV
The next witness to the truth according to Jesus are Works. Works here would mean manifestations of the Spirit.
At some point, John the Baptist wasn’t sure if Jesus was The Truth. Yes, Jesus had a crowd following Him around and John may have heard of miracles, but Jesus wouldn’t be the first to do these things. Many others have appeared claiming to be the Messiah. John just wanted to be sure.
Christ sent John a message to educate him on how to recognize the Truth;
“Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
Luke 7:22 NKJV
- The blind see
- The lame walk
- The lepers are cleansed
- The deaf hear
- The dead are raised
- The poor are reached.
Jesus could do all these miracles and more because God was with Him.
“how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38 NKJV
Guess who else can do these miracles also? False prophets inspired by the devil.
“For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Mark 13:22 NKJV
Now, this is where false prophets pull a lot of stunts in an attempt to portray themselves as the Truth. Miracles, signs and wonders are great but alone, they do not adequately witness to the Truth. They are so spectacular and appealing to onlookers who usually become too awed to look out for the next witness.
The next witness to the Truth is the Word.
I am not talking about trickles of the Word. Not about quoting only John 3:16. Not about sparingly using the Word to buttress a teaching or sermon. Not about rationing the Word in church service. But about making the Word the mainstay of an entire ministry. …About teaching and living the Word because the Word abides in you…..about living a life that testifies of Jesus as The Lord.
When we have Jesus, we have the Word living in us. With consistent use and practice, the Word pours out of us in no small measure.
“For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.” John 3:34 NKJV
So, miracles alone are not enough. Another man’s witness alone is not enough. Works are good, but alone they don’t make a complete witness. Sparingly using the Word is Not it.
The Word has to be at the centre of every miracle, every manifestation, every attestation and every conviction.
Indeed it is not very difficult to identify false doctrines and false prophets if we let the Word abide in us and we walk by the Spirit.
Look out for a pattern;
“in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility”
Titus 2:7 NKJV
The Bible allows for children to be gullible and vulnerable. Children in Christ are those who have just been born again.
“That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” Ephesians 4:14 NKJV.
It is a tragedy when someone who is not a baby Christian falls for the tricks of false prophets.
More than ever before, Christians must remain sensitive and plugged to the right source, the Truth, the Word.
