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“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Matthew 7:15

Throughout the Bible—in both the Old and New Testaments—we are warned about false teachers and deceptive teaching. For example, Ezekiel and Jeremiah cautioned the Israelites of “prophets” going around proclaiming that their words were from God. But these charlatans were merely speaking messages and visions of their own imaginations (Ezekiel 13:9 and Jeremiah 23:16). To the early Church, Peter, John, and Paul all warned believers to be aware that false doctrines were spreading among them. And even from our very origin in the Garden, the slithering Enemy twisted God’s word to entice Adam and Eve away from life-giving Truth.

Today, dear sisters, it is no different.

All you have to do is turn on the TV or listen to radio and podcast programming, and you’ll find “Christian” teachers, often with Bible in hand, making pronouncements that suit our first-world desires. Out-of-context Scripture verses are peppered throughout the message, splashed up on jumbotron screens for emphasis. Passionate words and songs create frenzied emotions that bring listeners to a place where the message makes sense to itchy ears and inherently wicked hearts (Jeremiah 17:9). Surely, those stadium-size crowds of hand-raising, fervent listeners—with their own Bibles in hand—can’t all be wrong, can they?

During Jesus’ own ministry, He told His disciples to watch out for false teachers, emphasizing how, despite the way they seem, they are ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). And, right now, they still are among us in many of the most popular ministries around our country. So, how do we know the true teachers from the false? How can we pull off the wool to reveal the fangs?

The good news is that we don’t have to familiarize ourselves with every onscreen teacher or popular cult. Just like those professionals who specialize in identifying counterfeit money, to recognize the fake, we must simply know the real. We must, as Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:17-18: be on guard and grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Read, study, and meditate on God’s Word. Understand who Jesus is—the second Person of the Triune God who came to earth as 100% God and 100% man—and what He did on the cross for our salvation.

Don’t accept the counterfeit—no matter how good it may feel. Know the Truth. Stand firm. And let’s keep the wool from being pulled over our eyes.

“Lord, You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Help me know Your Word to be discerning of false teaching.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life