![]() ![]() Many have been duped into believing a false gospel. Many people today are looking for signs and wonders. The apostle Paul does not mince his words when denouncing false teachers and doctrines: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” Such false teachers were accursed in Paul’s day and we should take heed of this serious warning as well. They are usually independent and therefore, not accountable to anyone. They are often self-proclaimed, self-sent prophets who are not part of a church community. What is a false prophet?įalse prophets are messengers sent by someone other than God who preach a message that is not from God. The prophets often referred to the Scriptures to remind the people what would happen if they refused to obey God. They would often repeat what Moses had said. Some Old Testament prophets didn’t announce anything futuristic. Most Old testament prophets were not an Isaiah who prophesied things about Jesus to a T 700 years earlier. A prophet is not necessarily someone who predicts the future or has visions or revelations from the Lord. In short, a prophet of God is a messenger sent by God to deliver a message of God. These false Christs are evil spirits sent out into the world to deceive and destroy us. In the last days, false messiahs will deceive people by performing great signs and wonders. Jesus warns that those who perform miracles are not necessarily from God. This verse also contains warnings against false prophets. There are many deceptive preachers and teachers in our midst today therefore, it’s more important than ever before to carefully consider both the source and the content of a teaching before we accept it as truth. We are to compare what we see and hear to the truths of the gospel. John warns us here not to blindly accept all spiritual claims. Christ gives us a very concrete and practical guideline for our discernment: We will know them by their fruits. Over the years there has been an explosion of erroneous doctrines, false prophets and unbiblical teachings which have flooded Christianity as a whole. They will destroy your soul to get what they want. These false prophets are looking to take advantage of you. Their appearance is deceptive and their effect is deadly. Christ warns that false prophets will appear innocent and harmless, they will come to you in sheep’s clothing but they are ravenous wolves. This warning is more needed today than ever before. In this verse, Jesus issues a serious warning to beware of false prophets. Many people today are being deceived for lack of knowledge, because they have rejected the truth of God’s Word, and adhere to a doctrine, that is not founded on the Bible. The warning that was given to Israel needs to be obeyed by believers today, for many are being led astray by a false gospel which is taught by deceptive preachers and teachers. A mature Christian can stand against lies and deceit. A mature believer is not tricked by false teaching. God wants us to become mature Christians so that we lose our gullibility, and become able to discern truth from falsehood. As Christians, we are to study God’s Word and judge all teaching by what the Scriptures say. ![]() Any believer who studies the Bible carefully will spot a counterfeit and will be able to identify false doctrine. The most effective way to guard ourselves against deceptive teachers and false doctrine is to know the truth. Jesus warned us against being gullible believers. They are changing the application and interpretation of God’s Word to make their doctrines more appealing and more suitable to the world today. Some believers and churches today are altering the Scriptures to fit their own needs and desires. Jesus warned us that false prophets and teachers will come and will attempt to deceive even the elect. They can be deceivers who seem adept and have novel ideas that sound correct, but they are only deceptions of the truth. We must never forget, there are deceivers all around people who will cheat us out of the truth. We are to develop knowledge of sound doctrine so that we do not fall prey to false gospels and false teachers. There is no longer any reason for Christians to be ignorant about the things of God. Today, thanks to past teachers, writers and technology, we are incredibly blessed to have a large variety of Bible study resources at our fingertips: free Bible versions in different languages maps Bible commentaries Bible reading plans Word studies devotionals cross references sermons and audio Bibles. On September 19, 2021, Pastor Eric warned Christians to beware of false prophets, false teachers and false gospels. ![]()
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