Sermon
Wolves In Sheep's Clothing
August 28-29, 1999
Pastor Leighton Sheley

Reading from Matthew 7 verses 15 and following, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Now this passage is a continuation of the invitation that Jesus began in verse 13, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Jesus is calling His listeners to make a decision. Enter, He commands. And He describes the way and the door through which we are to enter as being narrow. Jesus then warns us that there are those who would like to deceive us and mislead us away from the truth and towards a lie. Just as there is a misleading way and a misleading gate there are also misleading preachers and teachers who promote that way and that gate. Jesus declares not all who claim to belong to Him actually do, and warns us to watch out for false prophets. Jesus teaches us about the deceivers and the deceived. "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 

False prophets are nothing new. Ever since God sent true prophets Satan has provided counterfeits. Let me ask you a question concerning counterfeiting. Have you ever heard of a counterfeit three dollar bill? It doesn't make any sense, does it? Because a real three dollar bill doesn't exist. Satan counterfeits that which is real. Let me ask you another question regarding counterfeiting. What sense would it make to try to counterfeit United States currency using pink paper and a red crayon? It wouldn't make any sense at all, would it? It wouldn't take an expert to identify the counterfeit.

My departed adopted uncle Fred Coleman, a pastor in London, would tell stories and I would remember some of the stories, and one that he told was about a dinner party with Winston Churchill. One of the guests in attendance was the Scotland Yard Inspector of Currencies. He was the one that would identify the most difficult counterfeiting cases, and one of the ladies asked him at that dinner party, she said, you must look at an awful lot of counterfeit bills. He said, well, madam, actually I spend most of my time studying the real thing, that way a counterfeit is easy to spot. I think there's a lesson of all of us there. There is a place for us to study the counterfeit religions that are permeating through our society, but we really to make our primary focus studying the real thing. 

Now a logical question is, what is it that distinguishes a counterfeit prophet from the real one? God provides us an answer as recorded in Jeremiah 14:14, Then the Lord said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. In Jeremiah 5:31 God says, The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. Now what God was saying is that these false priests were ruling by their authority not by the authority given by God. Well what does that mean? Well what that means is when they didn't like the rules and the guidelines that God provided, they rewrote them. 

We often have people come to us and say; Pastor, you know, I'd like to do such and such, and I think it's in the gray area. And we'll look to the Bible and say, well, actually it's not gray it's black and you shouldn't be doing it. This is what the Bible says. And some of those people will go to some other pastor in some other church and they will keep looking for some priest, some prophet, some pastor who will give them the answer that they're looking for. That priest or prophet, if they're not speaking out of the word of God, is speaking by their own authority and on the Day of Judgment it's going to be revealed how much authority they have; none. 

Now false prophets, their whole purpose is to get us off of this narrow path that Jesus is speaking of, and it doesn't matter if they push us off the left side or the right side, as long as they can push us off the path. Well what are the two sides of the path? One of them is legalism, the other one license. Legalism and license. They can cause us to err by drawing us into legalism and demanding behavior from us that the Scriptures specifically do not require. 

The Pharisees were guilty of this. Jesus described them in Matthew 23:4, They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Well what are these heavy loads that Jesus is speaking of here? Well, they're the rules and the regulations created by men not God. False prophets place rules and regulations on men that are not found in God's word. What's the other side of the narrow path? License. False prophets can push us into license. Jude 1:4 says, For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, show change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. They change the grace of our God into a license for immorality to push us off that narrow path. False prophets are more than wrong they are dangerous. Both Peter and Jude call them unreasoning animals. Jesus called them wolves.

In Palestine wolves were the most common enemies of sheep. They would roam hills and valleys looking for a sheep that had strayed away from the shepherd, and when they found it they would quickly attack it and devour it. Even a fully matured healthy sheep was no match and was defenseless against a wolf. A sheep's only defense was found in staying close to its shepherd. Scriptures refer to believers as the sheep of His pasture. Wolves are known for being merciless and ferocious, ravenous as it's found in many translations, ferocious in the NIV is from harpax which is translated swindler, and it refers metaphorically to those who deceitfully and mercilessly ravage a person of their money and possessions. 

In the Didache, one of the earliest Christian writings, false prophets were referred to as christemporos which means Christ merchants. I think most everyone here has had some opportunity to experience a Christ merchant, perhaps while surfing the television. You'll come across a face and it will say something along the lines of, if you'll send in such and such an amount of money, then we're going to send you this anointed handkerchief or this vial of oil from the Middle East, or whatever it is they're trying to sell that day. In the dark days of church history certain profiteering church leaders would claim to shorten the purgatory of a loved one if a certain sum would be donated to them. It was an excellent system for transferring wealth into the pockets of church leaders, false prophets, but it was based upon deception. There is no reference to purgatory in the Scriptures. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, man is destined to die once and then the judgment. As Jesus hung on the cross that day He said to the penitent sinner this day you will be with Me in paradise; this day. 

Luke 23:43. And Jesus speaks about wolves coming in sheep's clothing. Shepherds would most likely wear clothes made from the wool of the flocks that they tended. This woolen clothing is the sheep's clothing of which Jesus speaks. False prophets do not deceive the flock by impersonating sheep, but rather by impersonating the shepherd who wears sheep's clothing in the form of his wool garments. My wife said I should say that twice. False prophets do not deceive the flock by impersonating sheep, but rather by impersonating the shepherd who wears sheep's clothing in the form of his wool garments. False prophets will naturally be attracted to the perceived power, prestige, and potential profit of leadership. 

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:13, For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. Now you see the apostles were men of authority in the church and these false prophets would masquerade as though they had this authority of apostles so that they could profiteer on the prestige and power. And after warning us about false prophets Jesus goes on to explain how we can identify them. He says that we will know them by their fruit. Matthew 7:16 and following, By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 

Now a fruit tree might be beautify. It might be decorative. It might offer shade in the summer, but it's not judged by what it looks like but rather by what it produces. A number of years back I used to enjoy having a pot of tea in the evenings, and I liked my tea with lemon and honey. My wife would sometimes send me to the grocery store and I'd have to go buy lemons, thirty-three cents. I started thinking to myself, you know, if I had a lemon tree; so I went and I bought this tree and the label said lemon. It was mislabeled. I don't know what it was producing, but it wasn't lemons. I know lemons. That tree got cut down and used in the fireplace. 

Some false prophets are easy to identify. You can take one quick look at their fruit and you know that the tree is bad, but others are harder to identify. You know it is possible for grape vines to be intertwined with thorn bushes or figs to be stuck on thistles, and it's only with very close inspection that you can reveal the deception. The Apostle John tells us, 1 John 4:1, Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the sprits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. John tells us to test their spirit. Jesus says we will know them by their fruit.

Galatians 5:22 says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. You know, such behavior can be maintained for a period of time by the unregenerate, but John Calvin said nothing is more difficult to counterfeit than virtue. Eventually the mask will fail. A few verses ago we studied Jesus' directions concerning making quick judgments, and His instructions apply here as well. You see, good trees can have bad seasons and not every piece of fruit that comes from even the finest of trees is perfect. 

When I was a child I used to look forward to mom or dad coming home with those green seedless grapes, not the other kinds, just the green seedless kind. And I would sit there maybe for an hour, which really wasn't trivial in my case, eating grape after grape and enjoying each and every one. But there was a practice I had then and it still exists today. It is very rare that I will eat every grape form a bunch. I will always leave one or two or three or more behind. Why? Well, because once I've gotten the best ones and enjoyed them, then I see these grapes that are shriveled or they got that ugly scab on them. You know the brown scab? Or the skin has been split. I don't know who's been there. 

Each and every one of us no matter what level of maturity we may attain in Christ sometimes produces bad fruit. We miss the mark. We sin. We're not perfect. Only Christ is perfect. A few bad grapes do not necessarily mean that the tree is bad. Determining that the tree is bad takes time, and we must not be quick to judge, but we must always be aware. Ultimately God will judge. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 

Verses 21 and following, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Jesus now moves from the deceivers to the deceived, to the self- deceived. Jesus is not speaking about pagans or to pagans here. He's speaking about people who are obviously devoted religiously. Lord was a common title of respect, but the fact that they referred to Jesus as Lord, Lord indicates that they know who He is, and they've made a profession of faith in Him. And the lists of accomplishments that they give identify them as particularly fervent religious workers, and what Jesus is saying is that not every one who professes Me to be Lord, not even everyone who is busy in religious work, is going to heaven. 

You know there is a danger of being too busy in religious work. Look at the list that these many provide here. They say we were prophesying and casting out demons and performing miracles. A modern translation might be I sing in the choir, I'm an usher, I'm an elder, I'm a… Busy. You know there is a big difference between busyness and business.

Pastor Rick Miller is a great storyteller and we will enjoy him tonight. One of the stories he told a while back is related to him before he was in the ministry. He was a foreman on a job site and there was an ambiguity that they couldn't figure out. There was this man on the worksite. I'll call him George, it's not his real name, and everybody thought, man, this George is the hardest working guy on the force and yet all of the workers were handed work orders and when they'd finish off the word order they'd sign it off and they would hand it in. Georges's work orders were always the smallest stack. And so they couldn't figure out why everybody thought George was working so hard, but his work orders were so few. 

So they sent Pastor Rick out to try to figure out what was taking place. And this is what was taking place. George would get to the work site, he'd pick up his tools, he'd pick up some materials, and he'd start walking, and he'd just keep on walking. He'd just walk around and around and around and around the worksite. And everybody said, there goes George, working. And somebody'd say George, can you help me. Sure, be happy to. How can I… Hey, you're looking good. How's the wife. What do you need? Terrific. Is it done? Excellent. I got to get going. Good to talk with you. Pick it up and he'd start walking. He was busy, but it wasn't business. 

Jesus said at a very young age, I must be about my Father's business. We are called to be about the Father's business. We are not called to be busy. Some people confuse busy with business. Luke 10:38 and following, As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." 

You know, there're going to be far too many severely disappointed people who stand before the Judgment Seat who've made the mistake of confusing busyness with business. I've seen a picture of me as a toddler helping my dad to mow the lawn. This was back in the push mowers, before electricity maybe. You had to push the mower, okay? And so there's the mower and then there's the handle coming up and dad's holding the handle. And you know they had one of those cross handles about half way down, and I was holding on to that. Only it was more like eye level to me because I was small. And so I was helping daddy mow the lawn. Actually he was probably just trying to make sure I stayed out of trouble or he might have been trying to develop a work ethic in me, but I really think that his primary motivation was he wanted to enjoy those moments together and build a relationship with me. 

He didn't need me to mow the lawn. In fact, I probably got in his way. Now think about this. If dad didn't need me to accomplish his plan, how much does God need me to accomplish His plan? God created everything in seven days. What kind of contribution can I make? You know, if God is allowing you to participate in His work, it's probably not because your efforts are all that impressive or essential to accomplishing His goal. It's rather probably that He wants to enjoy building the relationship with you, allowing you to work with Him. 

You know some people think of God as such a taskmaster; when really what He wants is to sit down and talk with us, have relationship with us. Well, what is it that He wants to talk with us about? Well maybe it's about the improvements that He'd like to make in us. You see He's changing us. He's transforming us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Sometimes we don't want to sit and talk with the Lord because we know what He wants to talk about, and we don't want to change. God might be saying something like, George, I want to talk with you about that issue; you know the one. And we respond like, yeah, Lord I know about that one, but I'm really busy right now. In fact, I'm doing Your work. Can it wait? Well George, you know, we're working on a schedule here. Well, yeah, listen; can't we just kind of overlook that issue? I mean, it isn't hurting anyone; in fact, I'm the only one who knows about it. Well George, I know about it and it hurts me. And so we try to excuse ourselves from talking with God by keeping ourselves busy doing what we think is His work. 

You know, God's primary interest is not what we accomplish for Him. It's what He accomplishes in us and through us. That is such an important understanding I need to say it again. God's primary interest is not in what we accomplish for Him, but rather what He accomplishes in us and through us. I never knew you, does not mean that Jesus was unaware of their identity. To know was a Hebrew idiom that represented intimate relations at various levels. It was used in Genesis chapter 4 to speak of the relationship between Adam and Eve. Adam knew Eve and the result was a child. It spoke of the relationship between God and His chosen people, His children. And Jesus said in John 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Depart from me, is a declaration of final judgment to hell. And Jesus uses this phrase in Matthew 24:41 which reads, "Then will he say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Now it's important for us to understand this phrase, practice lawlessness. In the Greek it's in the present participle which indicates a continuous, recurring, habitual, perpetual action or behavior. It's not the occasional sin which besets us all, but the continuation of sin as in a lifestyle. The continual habitual practice of lawlessness and true salvation are mutually exclusive.

Jesus said, Luke 6:46, "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? And in this passage He says, only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven. You know some national polls in recent years have suggested that over half of Americans believe that they are born again Christians. I'd like to propose to you that most of them are self-deceived, because if more that half of this nation were truly born again Christians, how would you explain the deplorable condition of our nation? You know when they stand in the voting booth they're not representing Christ, they're representing their pocketbook; and when they're at work they're not representing Christ, they're representing the corporate culture. Their integrity is lacking. Their dedication to Christ and to His kingdom is incomplete. The church is not what they are, but rather what they do on Sunday. Christ is not the root of their life; He's just a limb. He's not the constitution; He's just an amendment. He's not the subject of their life book; He's just an appendix.

What is it that can make a person think that they're saved when they're really not? Well, it's because they can have a misunderstanding, a false teaching, a false doctrine of the assurance of salvation. Some people have been taught and believe that the only thing that's necessary for salvation to take place is that they walk down an isle or they raise their hand or they say a certain prayer, and that's it. That's not what the Bible says. Romans 8:16, The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. It's not the statement of some preacher that certifies our salvation, it's the Holy Spirit that certifies our salvation. For if you live according to the sinful nature you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will live because those who are lead by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Not only are we called to recognize our sins and confess our sins, but we're also called to repent or turn away from our sins. After the accusers had been sent away Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery, your sins are forgiven. Go, and do not continue in your sin. You know, some people have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, but rejected Him as Lord. They've accepted His forgiveness, but they've rejected His command for them to leave their sinful ways. 

1 Corinthians was written to a church, Christians, people who thought themselves Christians and this is what it says in chapter 6 verses 9 and following. Do you now know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Rather than turn from their wicked ways the Corinthians instead chose to misuse the grace of God as a license to continue in their sin. You know God not only saves us out of the destination of sin, but He also saves us out of the dominion of sin. It's not that we cannot sin, it's that we should not continue in sin. Sin should not have such power over us. 

True salvation is more than an event or a decision. The decision is only the first step in a journey and there are so many who never take the second or subsequent steps. There're some who have made a profession of faith in Jesus at some point in their life, but if you were to look at their lives, you wouldn't find one bit of fruit to evidence the reality of what they think has taken place. These are the unfruitful seed Jesus speaks of in His parable as recorded in Matthew chapter 13. "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

I'd like to invite you to bow your heads, close your eyes. This passage is found in 2 Peter chapter 1. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self- control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Lord there are no sweeter words that we will ever hear in all of our existence than the words welcome thou good and faithful servant. And there are no more distressing words that any man or woman can hear than depart from me for I never knew you. Lord the path is narrow and we are feeble, and we are so easily deceived. We are like sheep. Protect us we pray good Savior, good Shepherd. Guide us along the narrow path through the narrow gate. Thank you Lord for Your patience and forbearance with us when we fail as each and every one of us do every single day. Thank you that Your mercies are new every morning. Thank you that we can confess our sin and You're faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank you for Your Holy Spirit which confirms our salvation and guides us and leads us into truth and teaches us. Help us as we go forth from this place, Lord, to be transformed by the work of Your Spirit in our lives. Help us to be fruitful in this garden that You have placed us, wherever it might be. Thank you Lord in Jesus' name we pray and together we say, amen. God bless you.