Sheep or wolves

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

SHEEP OR WOLVES

Or 

GOOD OR BAD TREES

Matt 7:15-20

15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

NIV

And boy do we have a bunch of them. We can be certain those who preach for the gratification of self and their own fame and fortune fit this category of false prophets in sheep’s clothing.  This is not to put any judgement on the local pastors of churches who serve their congregations from the heart. They know who we are, they visit with us, they pray for us, they make hospital visits, among so many other ways in which they serve. These are those who Paul takes about who deserve double honor. But those who would fleece the flock so to speak, to gather thousands upon thousands of followers which then fill their coffers with much gold and have no clue who we are would be the ones we should watch out for. With the advent of multimedia it has become much easier for these false prophets to gain support for their lavish lifestyle. Their deceptive feel good and prosperity messages has fooled too many believers. Jesus warns about them and gives us the standard by which we can use to see the truth about them. Good trees bear good fruit, bad trees cannot. Although this is not a judgement on every tele-evangelist, or preacher who garners thousands of followers, it would be good to examine the type of fruit they bear. It might be one thing for a preacher to say they love us, but how can they if they do not know us? These churches that grow to the point of having to engage multi pastors for each and every age group might well be missing the mark as well. Programs after programs serve to an extent the physical needs of the congregation, but who provides the spiritual food necessary to sustain life? It is not about programs or numbers, but we are to look for those pastors who bear good fruit to bring the truths of God in both their lives and their messages. This again is not an endorsement of every local pastor, but we are to search out those who do produce the good fruit in they lives. These are the ones who we can say are not false prophets. We need to be careful to who we listen to. The false prophets appear on the outside to be sheep, good loving believers, but inwardly they are indeed ferocious wolves feeding their own appetites for fame and fortune. Jesus is the greatest example for the true sheep as he is the Lamb of God. He is the example we should look for in finding a shepherd for our spiritual growth. True we have the Spirit, and we learn from him, as he leads us into all truth. But at the same time we are admonished to not forsake the assembling of ourselves. We do need the local church, the local community of believers for we are also admonished to build each other up until we all reach the unity of faith.

1 Thess 5:11

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

NIV

There is much to be said about being together as believers, and this behavior can only be done in the local community. Mega churches have tried the small group model and some might have certain successes, but we have also seen many abandon that model for some other in order to achieve greater growth. The point is we should be careful, looking at the fruit of the tree. We should be aware if we are seeing a sheep or a wolf.