Beware of Wolf!

 The world bulges at the seams with liars, con-artists, and crooks, and the religious world is no exception. In fact, the religious can be some of the worst offenders. So when it comes to pastors and preachers, how do we avoid getting swindled and deceived? How do we determine which ones are Godly, and which are not?

1 John 4:1 cautions us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 Thes. 5:21 adds, “Test [prove, scrutinize, examine] all things; hold fast what is good.”

Our Savior Jesus Christ warned: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Mat. 7:15-18).

“You will know them by their fruits.” So simple, yet so easy to overlook. What fruits must we learn to spot?

If we continue reading where we left off, we get our first clue: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Mat. 7:21-23).

Lawlessness — disobedience to God and His Word — is bad fruit that He will not tolerate. Calling oneself a Christian or a “follower of Christ” doesn’t make it so. Any liar or crook can do that, and many do. Anyone can pretend to do miracles, and many do. Anyone can claim to be doing God’s will or His work, and many do. But do they sincerely strive to obey God and live by His Word? That’s the test.

The prophet Samuel’s rebuke of King Saul is a good reminder for us, also: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king” (1 Sam. 15:22-24).

God takes obedience seriously!

Have you ever known of pastors and preachers committing adultery? How about lying, cheating, and stealing from their congregations? How many teach that God’s laws are abolished and that we can do whatever we wish as long as we accept Jesus?

Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Mat. 5:17-19).

As we can see, and as Timothy Griffith pointed out in a previous post, God’s laws are as immutable as the laws that govern the universe. God’s law is a reflection of who He is, and shows us how to be like Him. “Whoever therefore breaks” it “and teaches men so” is a false teacher and a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is practicing lawlessness.

These, then, are the first two signs of a wolf in sheep’s clothing: breaking God’s law and teaching others to break it. But we’re only getting started. God’s Word has a lot more to tell us!

Let’s turn to 2 Pet. 2:1-3, where, in the KJV, we find, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”

“Make merchandise of you.” Boy, does that open a can of worms! How many pastors and evangelists have you seen enrich themselves off the backs of their followers? One could write encyclopedias about it!

Infamous cult leader L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, once said, “If you want to get rich, start a religion.” And so, of course, he did just that. Countless televangelists possess the same motivation, and bring on themselves well-deserved mockery and condemnation from outsiders.

US President Harry Truman commented, “An honest public servant can’t become rich in politics. He can only attain greatness and satisfaction by service.” The implication, of course, is that those who get rich in politics are crooks.

If this is true of public servants, then how much more is it true of God’s servants! God holds His servants to a high standard. Crooks and charlatans who get rich off the backs of His people cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of, just as we read 2 Pet. 2.

Continuing in the same vein, the Apostle Paul condemned those “who suppose that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Tim. 6:5). Those who suppose that God’s path is the path to earthly riches have wrong motives. As Yeshua/Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Mat. 6:24; Luke 16:13).

God repeats this message over and over in both Old and New Testaments. In Ezek. 34:1-3, God condemned the shepherds of His people who sought their own gain: “And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD to the shepherds: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.’”’”

Has any pastor you know grown wealthy off of tithes and offerings? Does he have a private jet, live in a lavish mansion, and earn a six-figure income (or more), all paid for by fleecing the flock of God? Even in the midst of luxury, does he still have his hand out, continually begging for and demanding more money?

When a pastor is in it for the money, he doesn’t truly care about the flock of God. He is a hireling.

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep” (John 10:11-13).

Here’s what the prophet Isaiah wrote: “His watchmen are blind, they are all ignorant; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yes, they are greedy dogs which never have enough. And they are shepherds who cannot understand; they all look to their own way, every one for his own gain, from his own territory” (Isa. 56:10-11).

Is your pastor a hireling, or does he dedicate himself to serving God’s people?

Does he teach whatever the church headquarters tells him to teach, even if it contradicts his own beliefs, or does he teach God’s Word to the best of his ability and understanding?

Does he allow wickedness and wicked men to creep into the congregation, or does he protect the flock?

A hireling is a coward, and God’s Word tells us that cowards will end up in the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8; Mark 8:38). God expects each of His servants to stand up for the truth, even if our friends, spouse, parents, or children mock us and hate us for it (Ex. 23:2; Luke 14:26). Even if it costs us our lives.

As a modern paraphrase goes, “Stand up for what’s right, even if it means standing alone.” You see, if we stand up for what’s right at any cost, we will never truly stand alone. God will stand with those who stand with Him.

It’s not just money that leads wicked men into positions of power among God’s people, though. Power, fame, and glory are powerful motivators as well.

Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees for, in similar fashion, loving “the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’” (Mat. 23:6-7).

Of all men who have ever lived, Yeshua/Jesus had a right to praise and glory. Instead of seeking it, He said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him” (John 7:16-18).

When looking at any pastor or teacher, we ought to ask, “Does he seek the glory of God, or his own glory?” Does he point you to God and His Word, or to himself?

Those who seek their own glory are not fit to lead God’s people. Those who seek power are generally the least fit to hold it. If given power anyway, they become dictators and tyrants.

In Ezek. 34:4-6, God condemns the tyrants among His people: “The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

Lest anyone dismiss the point being made, we read again in Zech. 11:15-17, “And the LORD said to me, ‘Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces. Woe to the worthless shepherd, who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye; his arm shall completely wither, and his right eye shall be totally blinded.’”

God will not let the wicked go unpunished! To the shepherds who fail to protect and feed His flock, who instead enrich themselves off His people and oppress them, God says, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand” (Ezek. 34:10).

Does your pastor demand that you obey and follow him, or does he encourage you to study God’s Word on your own and to prove all things?

Is he more interested in rubbing shoulders with the rich and powerful, or does he devote his time and energy to serving his congregation?

No true servant of God has ever sought his own glory, but the glory of God. No true servant of God has ever led people to himself, but directed them to God.

John the Baptist encapsulated the spirit of all true servants of God when he said of Yeshua/Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

Moses, too, did not exalt himself, but humbled himself and directed the people to God. In Ex. 16:7, he told the children of Israel, “And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?”

The Apostle Paul really drove this point home. He rebuked the Corinthian congregation, saying, “Let no one boast in men” (1 Cor. 3:21). He explained, “For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase” (1 Cor. 3:3-7).

Paul plainly told the Corinthians that he was nothing, but God is everything! He added, “Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Cor. 1:13).

In the same vein, we read in Psa. 146:3, “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.” Do not trust in any man, but only in God!

No prophet of God ever has or ever will draw you to himself, but only to God. Anyone who draws people to himself is a false prophet, a liar, and a blasphemer. Anyone who claims that the path to salvation leads through him is an antichrist who puts himself in the place of God, for only through Jesus Christ can anyone be saved (Acts 4:12).

Putting a man in the place of God is idolatry. Believing that the path to salvation leads through any man (or group of men) other than Jesus Christ is idolatry.

Now that we’ve seen how God’s Word tells us to distinguish the sheep from the wolves in sheep’s clothing, and the hirelings from the shepherds, what things were notably missing from the list?

Here are some things the Bible does NOT tell us to ask about anyone:

• Who baptized and laid hands on him?

• Who ordained him?

• What organization is he part of?

• What theological seminary did he go to?

• Did he go to Ambassador College?

Not only does the Bible nowhere tell us to use these tests, but they’re the product of our carnal human nature and are utterly contrary to Scripture!

It’s the very sort of boasting in men that the Apostle Paul condemned in 1 Cor. 1 and 3, as we already saw.

There’s another illustration of this in the Book of Numbers. Moses, wearied by Israel’s complaining, had reached a breaking point and begged for relief. “So the LORD said to Moses: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone” (Num. 11:16-17).

Moses did as God commanded, and gathered the leaders of Israel. Then we read, “But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, ‘Moses my lord, forbid them!’ Then Moses said to him, ‘Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!’” (Num. 11:26-29).

Moses didn’t care about protecting his position. He didn’t care how the men got the Holy Spirit. He just wanted all of God’s people to have a proper relationship with their Creator and to be filled with His Spirit.

There’s a similar story in the gospels. In Luke 9:49-50, we read, “Now John answered and said, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side.’”

There is no man-made organization that anyone has to join. There is no line of succession for ordained teachers and pastors. The path to salvation is not by men or through men, but only through Jesus Christ.

Remember, our Savior told us “by their fruits you will know them,” not by their church pedigree or their line of succession. Not by what theological seminary they went to. Not by who baptized them or ordained them.

It’s just about who obeys God and teaches others to do the same, versus who doesn’t. That’s it. That’s the test.