Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. (Matthew 7:15 NIV)
We’re His sheep and the Good Shepherd has given us clear ways to recognize a wolf in disguise. Even while pretending to be part of the Lord’s flock, this predator’s motives are quite different.
A wolf always preys 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… (2 Peter 2:1-3 NIV)
A wolf is always greedy and destructive toward the sheep. Even a beautiful outer fleece can’t hide the wolf’s true nature forever.
Let’s look at one place 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 on earth. Prosperity teachers use certain verses to imply that if you give money to God, He has to supernaturally increase your earthly wealth.
Okay. For a moment let’s ignore all the scriptural teachings against greed or setting up money as an idol. (Luke 12:13-15, 1 Timothy 6:10 and Matthew 6:24).
To find out if this is a wolfish scheme, ask yourself one question.
Who benefits?
Only the Wolf Benefits
If the prosperity gospel 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 financial blessing. So why not invest money in:
- Feeding starving children in Africa?
- Digging wells to supply a poor village with clean water?
- Providing free surgery to people in third world countries via the Mercy Ships?
- Helping courageous believers smuggle Bibles and aid to persecuted Christians?
- Giving money to the local homeless shelter?
There are 100s of great ministries out there. Yet prosperity teachers never suggest giving somewhere else.
A wolf always preys on the sheep.
So what ministry does this leader encourage believers who listen 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 Jesus speaks to us. When we start reading the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to the lies we believe.
Instead the wolf will teach his flock only a few key verses, complete with his own interpretation.
Wolf Detection 101
A Christian reading the Gospels hears words from Jesus like “sacrifice,” “be a servant” and “lay down your life for one another.”
Wolves pretending to be sheep don’t preach this—unless their followers’ sacrifices help them personally. They certainly don’t model this type of behavior for the sheep.
A disguised wolf always takes—he doesn’t give.
Hidden wolves attack Christ’s church in other ways too. As believers, we all need help to discern lies form God’s truth.
Fortunately, there’s a second way to detect false teaching.
My Spiritual Point
Agents are trained to detect counterfeit bills by intensively studying genuine dollars. Real currency has certain characteristics and features that are hard for the forgers to duplicate. One key element? A fake U.S. dollar bill often ‘feels wrong’ because our money is printed on special, cotton based paper.
Believers can detect disguised wolves in the same way.
After years of reading the Bible, false teaching often jars me, because it doesn’t align with the Word of God. It may take me a while to find the error, but most false teaching ‘feels wrong.’ Even if I don’t know why. When I pray, Jesus often reveals the hidden lie, which I couldn’t see on my own.
We serve the Spirit of truth and life’s too short.
Let’s not follow wolves.
I downloaded the images from Pixabay.com. The disguised wolf leading the sheep and the wolf pack images both were generated by AI.
Resources and Additional Notes:
Yes, wolves can sometimes be women teachers too.
Let me make one disclaimer: a Christ-loving preacher might be mistaken in what he or she believes and teaches, but still be a sincere shepherd of the Lord’s flock. Wolves are unmasked because of the hidden evil motives within their hearts.
Here are two articles on the principles of Christian discernment and detecting false Canadian bills.
