This study was first taught on August 2, 2011

Topic: Beware of False Prophets: How to Identify Them (2.1)

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Background
Last week, we began to study how to identify false prophets/ministers. We thus reviewed the Lord’s first comment about false prophets, “which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves”. We noted that merely looking at a person will not reveal who they really are, hence, the need to probe deeper into the private lives and tactics of false prophets.

The first thing we observed was that the false prophets “come to you”. They search out their victims, who are; (i) spiritually weak, (ii) unwilling to grow in the things of God, (iii) making excuses for their immaturity though they have been ‘born again’ for a long time, and, (iv) are never able to come to the knowledge of Christ, though they are always learning.

Secondly, we saw that false prophets “come to you in sheep’s clothing”. They are masters of disguise and deception. They have an appearance of godliness, but they refuse and refute the power of God which is able to make them so—they de-emphasize the Holy Spirit, and downgrade the word of God, while emphasizing unholy spirits and elevating prophecy, dreams, visions, etc. The revelations they have may look like it is of God, but such revelations are contrary to the word of God. Their revelations agree only with their private interpretation of scripture. They are good at warming their way into people’s hearts, because they say what they know people want to hear. They display ostentation and worldly living, which ensnares the man who is engrossed in worldliness and carnality. They focus on: outward appearance rather than the inner man; what you can get on earth rather than what you can become in heaven; and, they talk about Christians being heavenly conscious, but earthly useless! Beware!

Finally, we saw that though false prophets “come to you in sheep’s clothing … inwardly they are ravening wolves”. They seek to scatter the flock of God, destroy the faith of believers, and consign them permanently to hell! They are evil and wicked people. They are hypocrites who are more concerned with public image and mass acceptance, titles and benefits of spiritual office, rather than in serving God. Their messages are of worldly concerns, thus confining a person’s faith to worldly things rather than on God.

Scripture Text(s)
Matthew 7:16, 20
Tonight, we shall be looking at the second comment the Lord made about false prophets. May the Holy Spirit continue to help us to identify false prophets, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Lord tells us that we can identify false prophets by their fruits. That is, we can know if a person is a false prophet by examining or investigating the fruit, the outflow, or the manifestation of their lives and ministry.
Galatians 5:16-23; Romans 8:5-9, 14; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16; Romans 6:19-21; Philippians 3:18-19; 2 Peter 2:10; Matthew 16:21-23; Revelation 2:20-21, 14; Numbers 31:16.

Conclusion
False prophets, being masters of disguise and deception, cannot be easily identified by their appearance, but they can be identified by the outcome of the life they are living in private, and the fruit of their ministry. What flows out of the life of a false prophet is fleshly, carnal, worldly, and sensual. The false prophet has nothing to do with the Spirit of God, even though he may mouth it. He is never led by the Spirit of God, but by his sinful nature (the flesh). He is moved by what he sees than by what God is saying. The Spirit of God is in fact not in him, and he is an enemy of God and of the cross of Christ. He loves the things of the world and his messages are of the things that are pleasing to the flesh. The false prophet takes pride in his achievements, his position, title, affluence, wealth, connections, contacts, etc.

The false prophet hates the message of holiness, and never encourages you to live so. If he ever speaks about holiness, it is in the context of man’s strength and not God’s grace. He would rather encourage you to live as you like, which includes committing fornication and adultery, and engaging in idolatry. He is a bold-faced unrepentant sinner, and is among the throng of motivational speakers whose belly is their god; and everything they do culminate in money—how you can make money for yourself, how much you are going to pay him for ministering to you, etc. The false prophet’s life is essentially a life of worldliness!

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