More Tips to Unmask a Predator among the Flock

In my first post, I stated that disguised wolves will always prey on the sheep. It’s their nature. That’s why they pretend to be sheep in the first place.Jesus, our Good Shepherd, gives us a second way to spot hidden wolves in Matthew 7.

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 thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. (Matthew 7:15-17 NIV)

Watch out for Bad Fruit

I’ve never traveled to Ecuador or Columbia. But if I see bananas hanging among the leaves, I know it’s at a banana tree. The fruit makes identifying the tree simple.

According to Jesus, a bad tree will always start to produce bad fruit. For a false teacher, the “bad fruit” shows up in three ways:

• The effect of the teaching on the followers.
• Damage done to the non-Christians who are watching.
• Hidden sin which, over time, becomes evident in the wolf’s own life.

First, let’s look at the type of fruit which ripens in the lives of the wolf’s followers.

The Fruit Produced in the Lives of Christians

A good Bible teacher who loves the Lord always draws people toward Jesus. A wolf doesn’t. So what kind of “spiritual fruit” grows in the believers who listen?

Are the Christians under the preacher’s care:

• Growing more generous, merciful and compassionate toward hurting people?
• Becoming more Christ-like?
• Repenting of their sin under the Holy Spirit’s conviction?
• Surrendering their lives and dreams to Jesus?

Or are the Christians under his teaching:

1. Becoming more greedy?
2. Acting more self-centered?
3. Starting to believe they can make God do whatever they want?

 

Twisting God’s Arm

The God I serve can’t be manipulated.

Need proof? Read the Gospels. The Pharisees kept trying to discredit Jesus using trick questions. But whenever Christ’s enemies came against Him, Christ’s brilliant answers always destroyed their arguments and made them look foolish.

We can’t outwit the Almighty. God is like the grandfather who turned to his 4-year-old grandson and asked if he had been playing in the pond again. When the little boy said no, his grandfather remarked that his shirt cuffs were wet.

Immediately the little boy hid his hands behind his back.

That’s how transparent we are to the Trinity.

Bad Fruit in Non-Christians’ Lives

Corruption and greed are easily spotted by people outside the church. They see the hypocrisy. It drives them away from repenting and getting saved. They become highly resistant to ever coming to Christ.

In my eyes, that’s very bad fruit indeed.

 ² Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. (2 Peter 2:2 NIV)

Christians who sin or treat people badly are a major reason why unbelievers aren’t entering the kingdom of light.

Why Does God Allow Wolves?

Frankly, I don’t understand why God allows false teachers to prosper among His people. But He does.

if I had been the Almighty, I’d have struck every false prophet with lightning for leading my people astray. But God doesn’t  Instead, the false and true teachers stand side by side and each believer chooses who to follow.

Wolves will Reap the Fruit of their Deeds

Wolves are often given years to repent.

Some never do.

Sooner or later God’s judgment comes. People reap a bad harvest from the corrupt seeds they’ve sown. Hidden sins are exposed. Hypocrisy is revealed, and the whole world finally sees the wolf’s bad fruit clearly.

This is the Holy Spirit’s doing, not man’s. There are two other characteristics of wolves that I haven’t yet mentioned.

• They are often filled with pride.
• They have no fear of God.

Too late, the wolf learns that the Good Shepherd is not someone you want to mess with.

Trusting God in the Midst of Wolves

I grieve every time the church gets dragged through a slime pit.

Yet I know Jesus is in control.

Our Lord has a purpose for allowing false teachers, though I don’t understand it

But I trust Him anyway.

This image was downloaded from Pixabay.com. The wolf and sheep were merged together in Photoshop by a German contributor who logged in as SarahRichterArt.

Resources:

Here’s a link to my earlier post, Detecting a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (Part 1).