100 Days on Jesus’ Sermon Mount (Day 83)

Jesus said, “Be on your guard against false prophets, who come to you dressed like sheep, but on the inside are ravenous wolves.”

— Matthew 7:15 (USC)

There have been, are, and will remain many false ‘Christs’ (antichrists).

The key is, personally speaking, not to be one or become one, for it is a fearful thing to come so close to the living Saviour, eternal Lord, and King of kings with so much potential to run astray.

To be propagators of the living God, and have the potential to run astray — whilst holding a position in his Church — that is a terrible thought!

As a leader in his Church I must hold my position(s) ever so lightly, whilst clinging to him with all my daily awareness.

This is the truth: we all — all Christian leaders, all servants of the living God — have the potential to be ravenous wolves! The day we have no fear for that eventuality is the day we are so dangerously close to becoming one.

We live and serve our King with due diligence only because we are constantly and uniformly allowing the Holy Spirit to crucify our flesh — that desire to want to come first and to replace Christ on the altar.

Who are the false prophets we need to be most vary of? Our selves.

Aligning with the key verses 1–5 of this chapter, we must readily sling out of our own eye that enormous beam so we might see clearly enough to see the heresy in another’s eye. But the fact is we must be so busy in our own beam removal that there will be little opportunity to scrape the fleck from theirs.

***

There is the responsibility to stand for Christ, however, being his Spirit’s agent, and advocate for the flock.

As a leader in his Church — as a good shepherd in keeping with the Good Shepherd — we have the solemn duty of protecting the sheep of his pasture. Our human duty is to extend this role to the universal church.

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Not everyone can be trusted who leads our way,

And some may verily lead us astray,

So let’s be on guard by showing we care,

We need to be God’s helper everywhere.

***

QUESTIONS in REVIEW:

1.     The inner reflection of our own depravity — whilst not being a popular concept in this day — is helpful in keeping us faithful to God’s purpose. What strategies do you have in place to ensure you don’t become a false prophet?

2.     What will you do if you become aware that you or someone you know is entrapped in something sinister, supposedly in God’s name?

© 2015 S. J. Wickham.

Note: USC version is Under the Southern Cross, The New Testament in Australian English (2014). This translation was painstakingly developed by Dr Richard Moore, a NT Greek scholar, over nearly thirty years.