How to Spot Hidden Wolves
Our Good Shepherd has given us a clear way to recognize “sheep” who are wolves in disguise.
Even while pretending to be part of the Lord’s flock, they can be detected by a discerning Christian.
Why?
Because a wolf will always prey on the sheep.
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3 NIV)
A wolf always acts destructively toward the sheep. Even a beautiful outer fleece can’t hide the wolf’s true nature forever.
Let’s look at one place in Christianity where wolves often prowl.
The Prosperity Gospel-True or False?
The Prosperity Gospel is the idea that God’s whole goal for us is to be rich and happy in this life. Prosperity teachers use certain verses to imply that if you give money to God, He must supernaturally increase your earthly wealth.
Okay. Ignore for a moment all the clear scriptural teachings against greed or allowing riches to become an idol. (1 Timothy 6:10, Mark 7:21-23, Luke 12:15 and Matthew 6:24).
To find out if this is a wolfish scheme, ask yourself one simple question.
Who benefits?
Only the Wolf Benefits
If the prosperity teaching is true—that God is 100% obligated to increase our earthly wealth if we give money generously to Him—giving to any Christian cause should trigger this worldly “financial blessing.”
Here are some great Christian Charities.
- Lifewater International sets up life-saving water projects in the poorest villages.
- Sponsor a disadvantaged child through Compassion International.
- Give to the Mercy Ships, which perform badly needed surgery on impoverished, desperate people
- Provide hope to the persecuted church world-wide, by giving to Open Doors.
- Support the work of a local rescue mission, homeless shelter or pregnancy life care center.
There are endless Christian charities which do great good around the world. Yet these teachers never suggest giving money to any other ministry.
Remember, a wolf who teaches the Prosperity Gospel will always prey on the sheep.
So what ministry does the wolf encourage the Christians under his care to give to?
Only his.
The more the wolf stirs up his followers’ greed, the more money they will send—to him.
Something Else a Wolf Will Never Do
A wolf will also never encourage people to start reading the Bible every day. Why? Because it’s the most common way God speaks to us. When we start reading the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit begins to open our eyes to divine truth.
Instead the wolf will keep his flock munching only a few key verses, complete with his own interpretation.
A Christian reading the gospels will hear words from Jesus like “sacrifice” “become a servant” and “lay down your life for one another.” Wolves who pretend to be sheep don’t preach this —unless their followers’ sacrifice helps them personally. They certainly don’t model this type of behavior for the sheep.
Disguised wolves take—they don’t give.
False Teachers
False teachers promise the sheep great wealth. But who receives all the money? And who are the ones getting their bank accounts emptied?
Obviously, this isn’t the only scam disguised wolves will run on God’s people. Hidden wolves attack from many different directions.
So as believers, we all need good spiritual discernment.
Fortunately, the Holy Spirit gives us an easy way to sharpen our ability to detect false teaching.
Detecting Counterfeit Money
Agents in Canada are trained to detect counterfeit bills by becoming very familiar with genuine Canadian bills. Real currency has certain characteristics and features that are hard for the forgers to duplicate. One key element? Fake bills often “feel wrong” because real money is printed on a special cotton-based paper.
Christians can detect wolves in the same way.
After years of reading the Bible, false teachings often jar me, because they don’t agree with the Word of God. I might not know why, but most false teaching “feels wrong.” It may take me a while to see what the error is.
Often I ask the Lord to open my eyes and help me understand why.
And He does.
So, what about you—what sharpens your spiritual discernment?
This image came from Pixabay.com. This wolf-sheep hybrid image was created by German contributor “SarahRichterArt.”
Resources and Additional Notes:
Let me make a disclaimer: a Christ-loving preacher might be mistaken in what he or she teaches, but still be a loving sheep in the Lord’s flock.
Wolves are detected because of the hidden evil motives within their hearts and yes, wolves can sometimes be women.
Here are two articles by Tim Challies on the principles of Christian discernment and detecting false Canadian bills.
