Sermon
Religion - The False And The True
November 6-7, 1999
Pastor Donald Sheley

Let's take our Bibles. We have just a few moments to be together. We've had a wonderful service. We're finishing up our series in the Sermon on the Mount. We're in Matthew's gospel chapter 7, and we're going to speak today concerning the warning of Christ found in verse 15. You remember last Lord's Day we said that when we came to verse 12, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets", that we suggested that with these words Jesus had finished His Sermon on the Mount. Now it's time to give the invitation for those of His listeners to respond, and Jesus does this with four different warnings. 

Number one; we talked about it last Lord's Day, He said there is a narrow way that leads to life and there is a broad way that leads to destruction. Two ways. Today He says there is the true message and the true messenger, and there is the false message and the false messenger. Make sure you know the difference. Next Lord's Day, should Jesus tarry and we have the joy of being together for worship again, we're going to tackle what I think possibly are the most solemn verses of Scripture. It's in Matthew 7:21. Listen, "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!'" There we have two kinds of followers, the true and the false.

 The following Sunday, which will bring us pretty close to Thanksgiving, we want to take Jesus' last warning when He says, some will build on sand, the sands of time, and others will build their life on the rock, the rock of ages. And that will conclude our study of the Sermon on the Mount. But look at verse 15, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly then are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thronbushes 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. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them." Beware of false prophets. The true and the false have always existed side by side. The genuine and the counterfeit have been confusing to the multitudes since the beginning of human history. And to know the difference is absolutely essential in the making of decisions that affect life here and now and life eternal.

Jesus is coming to the close of His sermon and He's preached the truth, the genuine words of eternal life, words that transform if we'll let them transform our lives. And after giving the invitation to enter the narrow way, Jesus warns that not everyone who claims to belong to God and to speak for Him actually does so. Jesus says in effect; as you strive to enter that narrow gate and walk that narrow way that leads to life and peace and heaven, beware of those who would mislead you. Now Paul gave a similar warning. Go with me to 2 Corinthians 11:13 and here's Paul's warning to that Corinthian church, he says to them; For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. Last Lord's Day Solomon warned that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. 

Now Jesus just prior to His closing moments and before going to the cross gave a lecture, a discourse. You might join with me there in Matthew 24. And in this discourse Christ is talking about the things that will happen at the end of time, and of course, the appearing of the Son of Man in glory. And Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives shortly before the Passover and He was asked, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" and He replied, "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. " Now here's the thing that fascinates me about this discourse; Jesus takes the issue of false prophets and it bore so heavy upon His heart and His mind that He references it three different times in the same sermon. 

In your Matthew passage 24 look at verse 5; "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many." Look at verse 11; "Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many." And He's still preaching the same sermon and He comes to verse 24; "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. " And so here the closing words of Jesus, the issue is false prophets, and I can only conclude that the reason why He did this is because most likely one of the prominent things that will be observable and is observable at the end of time, is the rise of many false teachers and many false prophets. It's it the field of religion. Jesus said beware.

Now John also warns and says that many deceivers have gone out into the world, and Paul writes to the Romans, the Christians in Rome, and he also warns them of people that will come in and cause dissentions teaching things contrary to the Scriptures. Then we go to Acts chapter 20 and we will begin reading at verse 29. But here is the setting. Paul is on his way back to Jerusalem and as he journeys to Jerusalem he is sailing down the eastern shores of what we now call Turkey, and he knows the boat is going to be stopping for a while so when it stops he sends his men in to Ephesus and says, I want you to bring the elders out here on the sea shore with me and I've got some closing words I want to give them. This is going to be the last time I will ever see them, and so I want to tell them what's on my heart. 

And look at what he tells them, verse 29; "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves." Therefore be on the alert. And Paul was right, when you read church history you'll find that only a few years later that those false teachers had come in and absolutely destroyed the church and the congregation of Ephesus, and it existed no longer. It was a thing that Paul worried about intensely. When I'm gone they'll come.

Go with me to 2 Peter chapter 2, and here again this whole subject of false prophets. In fact, folks, if we took time to read all the passages in the New Testament in the warning against false prophets, it's immense. Now Peter takes this entire chapter, chapter 2, and he talks about false prophets. Look at what he says; 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. 

Move down to verses 18 and 19; For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. The entire chapter Peter warns concerning the false prophet. Now Jesus said, I want you to beware of false prophets. He said they'll come dressed like shepherds, but inside they're ravenous wolves.

Let me give you some historical background. In the times of Christ and even in prior times, Old Testament times, if you were a shepherd you wore a shepherd's garment and that was a garment made out of the wool from the sheep, your flock. If you were a prophet you dressed in most likely camel's hair or goat hair, and they always turned it to the inside where the body was always being irritated by the bristles of the goat, and they did this as a way of saying that their task in life was bristly, and their task was miserable because they were being assigned by God to say things that people didn't want to hear. Their task was a hard one, and it was. You follow the life of true prophet and he was mocked, beat, put in prison, and even in the book of Hebrews is says some of them were even sawn in two. In fact, Isaiah, the laid him down and took an old wooden saw and cut him right through the belly button. I mean you paid a price for being a prophet, and so what Jesus is saying is this, people will come to you dressed like shepherds, but inside they're ravenous wolves. 

Now the wolf was the most natural and common enemy of the flock in Jesus' day, but it's interesting in the original Greek the word for ravenous is an interesting one. It's swindler, and Jesus was saying they may act like true shepherds, but inside their heart is a heart that will swindle and deceive and cheat and kill. They're swindlers. They're ravenous wolves. You beware of them. Now He says, by their fruits you're going to know them. So what we have to do we say, what was the characteristic of false prophets. And I'll quickly give them to you. If we went back into the Old Testament, and we'll find this in the New Testament, that there were certain characteristics that were obvious in almost every false prophet. First of all, he always said what people wanted to hear. That's how he got his crowd. That's interesting. In fact, in Jeremiah the old false prophet Hananiah would run around the country saying, peace, peace, peace! And what he was inferring is that everything is all right. There's going to be no problem, and here comes old Jeremiah and says that guy's a liar because God says the Babylonians are coming and we're going to be made servant of the Babylonians. That's truth. And when you read what the people did, they just threw old Jeremiah in the pit. They didn't want to hear what he had to say. They wanted to hear what they wanted to hear that made them feel good. 

Now that's fascinating to me because one of the trends in evangelical churches today is just be positive, say what people want, don't ever injure the visitor, don't ever offend the sinner. Just say the positive thing. And when you go there you never hear the preacher say, listen, if you live on in your sin and die in your sin, you'll go to hell. You never hear him say that because people don't want to hear that. You know we're built that way, aren't we? Most of us really don't like to hear the truth. We'd rather hear flattering words. You know sometimes my wife, on occasions, will sit me down and say, now Don, it's time you and I got honest with each other. And I know this could be painful, and I'd like to run, but I've learned that what she has to say is for my good. And if I'll listen she'll be honest with me and tell me the truth, and I can correct something that needs to be corrected. Right? But isn't it true? Most of us would rather hear flattering words than some times honest things that really penetrate us deep. And that's true religiously, and you'll find that the marks of a false prophet, and it's true when you follow their lives throughout the Old Testament they will say what people want to hear. Secondly, the mark of a false prophet is that they're very interested in money. 

Old Micah 3:11 says the priests preach for hire and the prophets prophesy for money. And false teachers seemingly always have a bend towards money. I went home the other night and turned on the religious television station, and the first guy that came on, I didn't even get seated, and he just starting his sermon. Now look at folks you all be at ease because he said, I didn't come here for your money. I flew in on my private jet and I'm loaded so just sit there and I'm going to preach you a sermon. I mean he pulled his colors. Told the congregation - I'm a false prophet just want you to know it. Money's the issue. And I thought to myself then sitting there by the thousands people who will swallow that.

It wasn't an hour or so later and this fellow comes on and says, folks, I've got special water from Russia. If you'll just send in your money I'll send you this water from Russia. Who wants water from Russia? And I thought to myself foolish people. But you notice what old Peter said, false prophets make merchandise out of their congregations. Money is always an issue, and when you find that, it's time you just say the caution lights are blinking.

We had a wonderful experience. I am going to give you the positive side. Your pastors and I went to the Radisson Hotel on Friday by invitation, as Leighton has told you. We had the joy of hearing Charles Stanley. You may not agree with everything, but I'll tell you, I admire that man as truly a man of God. I just do. If there's one man of God on television, he has to be it. And old Dr. Charles told us, he said, you know when I started, And I'll put these out, I don't have the exact words, but he said when I started my ministry I had to wrestle with this issue of money because everything that was connected with television is you know send me your money, send me your money. And he said that, so I was praying and God made it very clear to me, don't you ever ask for one copper penny. And he said I wrestled that through in my prayer and said God that's hard. How do you carry on ministry and it grow and you not have the financial resources? And God said you don't ask for a penny and I'll take care of it.

 If you've noticed he's been on for years, never asked for a penny, and yet to my knowledge he's the only ministry that touches every nation on the face of the globe today. Every nation. As he stood there, there was a brokenness about him and I felt that so intensely, a brokenness, and I'll tell you because it's public, he told us. It's public knowledge. He said you know folks seven years ago my wife walked up to me and said I don't want to be married to you anymore. And he said she filed for divorce and it became the frontlines on the Atlanta Bulletin. I know this to be a fact. I know the other inside story. Some of his family turned around and said, Dad, if you can't keep your family together, get out of the ministry. His denomination said get out. And here's a man deeply in love with God and he didn't want this. He never wanted this and he spent days in his prayer. He said, and I got this from another source, he said there were times I just could hardly make it to the pulpit because my heart was aching so deeply. Everybody, thousands of people walked out in his church, he has ten or thirteen thousand members, but thousands walked out on him. And he's going through this difficult terrible struggle, but he's doing it on his knees. 

Dr. Stanley said my family is back together. And these, I know this to be a fact, he was wrestling over a church. God gave him a beautiful new church site and now it's filled to capacity, and he said the other day, he said we had a need in our ministry. We needed a new place because our ministry had grown so large, the In Touch ministry, and he said we just couldn't keep up with the orders. We just didn't have space. So he said we were praying and God gave us this building but they wanted 2.7 million and he said I felt that we only should pay 2 million. He said that's what God told me. Just pay 2 million, and he said everybody else wanted. He said no, no. And we don't have the money we're going to wait till God sends it in. so he went to prayer the other day. He saying God, You know our need. And he no longer gets up from his prayer, lifts up the phone and a man somewhere calls him and says, Dr. Stanley? Yes. He said God's put you on my mind and my heart. What do you need? Dr. Stanley said, well sir, he said we're contemplating making a decision here about moving to a larger place. He said how much do you need? He said I think if I have 2 million they'll take that and that'll buy it. He said I'm writing you a check today. You'll have it in the mail. So he went down, they took the 2 million, we have our new quarters. Because that's the way God does things.

What I'm saying is this, if God is behind it and God is our source, the issue of money never has to become an issue. I understand that because I told God when I went into the ministry, I said, God, I'm not going to be Your beggar boy. If You think I'm going stand up and beg people for money, You better get somebody else because I'm out. I'll go drive a taxi the rest of my life. I won't do that. I won't cheapen my King, and I stand here after 40 years and tell you God has never let us down. You folks who know me know that we never put any pressure, financial, never will. Never. I get on my knees when the need is there and God supplies. Today our bills are all paid, the contracts are current, and we have money in the bank. All praise to God. And you'll find that false preachers, those, you say but every preacher that asks for money, is he false? That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying when the money becomes the issue. 

And lastly, it's what he preaches. You want to listen intensely and if you don't know what he preaches ask for his books, because when you read his books it will amaze you. You learn what his theology is. And you know I can't take time because it's one o'clock. I can't tell you what I think are some of the terrible heresies that are being preached under the name of evangelicalism. We've got heresy right in the front door of the evangelical church. Not here, but I mean it's making its inroads. You say well now Pastor, if Jesus said beware, is there something, is there someway I can know if something is wrong or if it's right or if the preacher is honest or if he's dishonest. Is there some way I can know? Yes! Go with me to the Bible, 1 John 2:18. And I mean this is so good. This is so clear. 

I'll read this then I'm done, because it'll say just exactly what I want to say. Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. Verse 20, But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. Now move right down to 27. I'm doing this because, not that I want to leave out verses, I just don't have time. Notice 27, But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. It's the same thing that Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. When we come to Christ He places His wonderful spirit within us and we have the mind of Christ. And what John is saying, that's the anointing that the true believer has, and that anointing is the presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, and because of that if we stay close to Jesus and close to His Bible, when we hear false doctrine immediately something inside of us begins to say there's something wrong. 

I had a lady bring a book to me the other day and she said, Pastor, it was given to me and something just said this is wrong; I read a few pages. I picked it up flipped through 4 pages and said throw the thing in the garbage. It's useless. It's not biblical. What she was saying is my own spirit just collided with the spirit of that thing. I had a man who set right over here last night in our service. He's from another church. He came up and he said you know Pastor, I'm glad you touched upon that because he said in our church they hired a teacher that's telling us everybody's going to go to heaven. Whatever you believe. You can be a Buddhist. You can be a Hindu. You can do anything you want to just so your good, you're going to get to heaven. He said, and I sat there the other night and I said dear God why does my preacher allow this kind of false teaching? He said something is inside me was just jarring. He said now I understand. 

The anointing, the spirit of God that He places within us, if we stay close to Christ and close to the Book, you will know when it's wrong because the spirit of God will warn you. You'll know and that's when you back away. Beware Jesus said because there are a lot of people out there that would like to mislead you. Let's pray.

Lord Jesus thank you for Your Word and thank you for Your precious Spirit that dwells within us that You tell us to beware and then Your gave us the capacity, Your Holy Spirit, to warn us. May we as a people stay close to You dear Jesus, and close to Your word and You will protect us from heresy. Thank you and everybody said, amen.