Let's pray. Oh, father, we do want to look into the face of your dear son. We do want your glory. To be displayed. You are a wonderful savior and we are here to worship you, father, I pray that you would teach us from your word. Show us great and mighty things. Open up our eyes to behold the wonders of your word. And may we worship you for what we see. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Turning your Bibles to Matthew chapter seven. As we continue our way through the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter seven and verse 15. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruits." Have you ever stopped and wondered Why do we hear so many accounts of people falling away? Why do we have memories in our minds of men and women that we called brother and sister, no longer walking on the narrow path? What happens? They began so well. And they were with us. It was so encouraging. They were running steady. They had their eyes fixed upon the goal. I mean, they were looking at the king and then something happened. And now we weep over them. Now it's a heartbreaking thing to discuss. What happened? Our Lord is telling us that there are two gates, two paths, two ways to end. And we looked at that. last week. The only right way is the narrow gate, the hard road, and to keep the company of the few, because that is the only way that leads to life. That is Christ's way, and all who follow him must come that way alone. But we must never forget that there is another gate, and another road, and another group. And there are paths from one to another. There are exits, if you will. There are ways for travelers to go from one road to another. All of us that were on the Broadway leading to destruction, we heard the call, we heard the gospel, we heard the message of truth. And what happened? We were urged to flee from this Broadway and we crossed over from one path to the other. We exited off from the broad road. But there are exits from the narrow path as well. Think of a statement like we hear from Paul. This is Colossians 4.14. Luke, the beloved physician, greets you as does Demas. Philemon 1.23-25, Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark. Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Paul here is commending and encouraging the saints in these cities to receive these men, to welcome these men, to greet these men as brothers. They're his fellow workers. They labored with him in the gospel. But then something happens. At the end of Paul's life, he writes these tragic words in 2 Timothy 4, 9. Do your best to come to me soon, for Demas, the same Demas that we just heard about twice, the same Demas who was a fellow worker of Paul, for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. What happened? Demas was walking on that road and he saw an exit and he got off to join the many. He left the hardship of the Christian life to enjoy the ease and the comfort of the broad and wide way. And what would possibly cause someone to leave the way that goes towards life to run towards destruction? There are temptations, brothers and sisters. There are many enemies along the way. And we talked about Satan and his demons. We mentioned the world and how it whispers for us to come back, right? We talked about the issue of indwelling sin and how it kicks and kicks against the goads, as we heard about, that screams, don't go the hard way. You don't have to suffer like this. But there is another enemy on this road. Jesus tells us this terrifying word that he only used a handful of times, beware. You see it there. Verse 15, beware of false prophets. Be alert, pay attention, be on guard, watch out. That's what he's saying. And you know what? Jesus said many things about the devil, but he never said, beware of the devil. He never said, beware of Caesar. Beware of the Roman government, this persecuting, God-hating, idol-worshiping power that had armies at their disposal. He never said, beware. of the Roman government. He never told people to beware of sickness, or germs, or injustice, or thieves, or thugs, or even the world itself. But he did tell them, beware of false prophets, beware of false doctrine, over and over again. His most often repeated phrase with the word, beware, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is the teaching, which is the doctrine. Beware, beware, beware. Enter by the narrow gate. This is the only way to enter into life. It's hard. It's narrow There are few but it leads to life, but he didn't leave them only with that command He didn't just say come on in There's another road that one leads to death. That's not how he stopped Our Lord felt it necessary to warn beware There is a danger as you seek to enter. There is a danger as you seek to walk this path. There are dangers, and you must strive to press on. There is a deadly enemy that you must know about, that you must be aware of, who will seek to lure you off the path that leads to life, and it is the false prophet." And we hear that term, false prophet. It's a common term, not just a term that exists within Christendom. That's a common term. And our world has known many false prophets. Texas had a very famous one. Heading back towards where some of our brethren live, Killeen Temple, Waco. What happened in Waco? David Koresh, remember him? The man who proclaimed himself the final prophet of the branch Davidians, which is an offshoot of the seventh day at Venice. You know what he taught his people? You know in Revelation 5, when the question in heaven is, who is worthy to take the scroll? Who can take it? And no one was found. You know what he taught his people? He was the one who was worthy. He was the lamb who was worthy to take the scroll. And he was supposed to usher in the apocalypse, opening it up and bringing the seals into fruition. So his people began to stockpile weapons because here comes the war, here comes the great Armageddon. And the government became aware of this great stockpiling. And then the news about pedophilia and child marriages began to get into the, ears of the authorities and they stormed it and over 80 people died in a hail of fire and bullets. False prophets. No shortage of maniacs. prophesying about the apocalypse, always using Revelation and Ezekiel and Daniel to foretell the end of the world, who proclaimed themselves the final prophet, the only one who knows, the only one who sees. Their church is the only true church. Everyone else is apostate, everyone else is wrong, but they are the ones who have it right. There's no shortage of that. Probably the most famous in our history, in the Americas, would be Jim Jones. You remember him? The man who proclaimed himself not only a prophet, not only the Messiah, but God himself, and over 900 people. I listened to what's called the death tape, which is the final meeting as Jim Jones is preaching to his people, over 900 men, women, and children to commit suicide. And you hear the screams of the babies as the parents are giving their children cyanide and Kool-Aid. And then you just hear silence. It's gut-wrenching, heartbreaking. False prophets abound in our world. But Jesus doesn't tell us to be aware of just any false prophets, because there are all kinds of false prophets. the apostate, the heretic, the maniac. No, he says beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Jesus doesn't say beware because it will be obvious. He says beware because it won't be. Our Lord tells us that these wolves, these false prophets won't look like wolves. They won't look like false prophets. They will look and sound like sheep. They will not resemble a threat. They will not resemble danger. They won't look like a predator in any way. You will not hear growls as they speak, but you will hear the bleeding and the baaing of sheep. The problem is that Many people have not understood this verse in that way. And primarily, I think it's because of verse 16. Verse 16 tells us what? You will know them by their fruits. You will recognize them by their fruits. So the thinking goes this way. How do we know the fruits? Beware of false teachers, why? Because they have bad fruit. Well, what is the bad fruit? And there are basically three ideas about what the bad fruit means. One, bad fruit means only false doctrine. So, the more obviously false the doctrine, the more this applies, is the thought. So when people start naming false prophets, here is from a very popular apologetic website, Christian Apologetic Research Ministry, CARM, right? Some of you know that. Examples of modern-day false prophets are Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, Charles Taze Russell, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mary Baker Eddy, Christian Science, et cetera. Amen, those are false prophets. Their doctrine is obviously off, wrong, filled with lies. The other thought is, no, it doesn't have to do with the doctrine, It's the sinful life. That's the fruit. What he's warning us to beware about is their lives. Not so much of what they say, it's their life that's the issue here. In fact, they may even be preaching the truth, but they're living such wickedly, such wickedness that they will devour you. Some of you know Conrad of Bayaway. He shared this sad account from his home in Zambia years ago. a Lusaka-based clergyman who in 2012 alone impregnated at least 10 women in his congregation, not off somewhere hidden, in his congregation. Well, surely this is a false prophet. But what makes him false? Well, look at his life. I mean, he's just blatantly impregnating women in his own church, 10 of them. The number grew to 20, by the way. There is another position which says it's not either or, but both and both doctrine and life. And Lord willing, next week, we're going to examine what this means by looking at the fruit and examining fruit and what all that means. But today, I just want us to focus on verse 15. the beware, the false prophets, what is the sheep in clothing, the ravenous wolves. Because how we understand this verse is absolutely going to impact how we look at the rest of this. So let's look at this closely. Think with me. False teachers who deny the Trinity, who say the Bible is not the word of God, who deny the existence of hell out loud, bold, and clear, even the newest Christian, even the youngest Christian, can automatically say, that's wrong. Right? Someone stood up and said, there is no Trinity, there is no God, the Bible is false. The youngest Christian here could say, that's wrong. False prophets who take other men's wives, who openly mishandle the money, who beat their children, they're selfish, self-centered, abusive, angry, Is that what Jesus is talking about here? Ask yourself. Does that look Christian? Does that sound Christian? Would anyone confuse that man, that teacher, that preacher with a sheep? No. The writing is on the wall. It's written all over the face. Brothers and sisters, Jesus is warning us about the danger of these false prophets, not because they stand out so boldly and preach heresy so loudly and live so wantonly. No, it's because they don't stand out. They're not the obvious heretic. They're not the blatant rejecter of Orthodox essential Christian doctrine. Who would need to be aware of them? This is not the guy who's living in open rebellion and blatant wickedness and unrepentant sin. Think of the snake. Texas has a lot of snakes. And the second most venomous snake in America, at least, is the coral snake, second only to the black mamba. This thing is terribly venomous. But if you look at it, bright yellow, bright red, beautiful thing. You don't want to touch it. Beautiful. Now, if you see that thing on a white floor, let's say it's slidding across your kitchen floor, God forbid, no one would need to tell you, watch out. Why? Because you could see it way across the room. It's obvious. It stands out. It's bold. It's bright. It's obviously dangerous. But take the rattlesnake, for example. A rattlesnake blends in seamlessly. The rattlesnake's color looks just like the ground, the dry grass, the rocks, the dead twigs. It looks like the ground. And unless somebody says, there is a rattlesnake in this area, you will literally step on them. In fact, the most common injury regarding snakes is from the rattlesnake. And it's because people step on them all the time. Why? Because they don't know they're there. And because they're not aware of their presence, there is no caution. That's the thrust of Jesus' warning here. They look like sheep, but inwardly, there is an enemy. On the inside, behind the scenes, you cannot tell by the eyes, you can't tell by appearances, even by listening to them. On the outside, everything looks good, everything lines up, but inwardly, there is a deadly ravenous, that word is like an insatiable hunger. It's an immediate seizing, it's a grasping, it's a terrible, hungry, whoa. Our Lord says, beware. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. But what of this word prophet? He says prophet, and now there are two major offices in the Old Testament. The priest and the prophet. And the priest would go to God on behalf of the people. The people would come and the priest would offer sacrifices, the priest would offer prayers, the priest would plead on behalf of the people, intercede on behalf of the people. But the prophet was a bit different. The prophet would come to the people on behalf of God. Priest goes to God on behalf of the people. Prophet goes to the people on behalf of God. They would tell future events. They would tell of the danger. of turning away from the Lord, call upon the people to love the Lord and to follow Him. This is from Jeremiah 26. You shall say to them, thus says the Lord, if you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you and to listen to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, then I will make this house like Shiloh and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth. That's what the prophet was to do. So is this our Lord warning us about prophets in that sense, the ones who tell the future? Maybe you've heard of Harold Camping. Anybody heard that name before? Harold Camping predicted that Judgment Day would occur on September 6th, 1994. Obviously didn't happen. He revised the date, September 29th, 1994. Didn't happen. October 2nd. 1994 2005 he predicted again false his final prediction was May 21st 2011 and then he changed that to October 21st 2011 and he died still having a follow-up Is that what our Lord is warning us against prophets who prophesy this stuff or like Benny Hinn or who said, the Lord also tells me to tell you, in the mid 90s, about 94, 95, you can tell when he said this thing, no later than that, God will destroy the homosexual community of America, but he will not destroy it with what many minds have thought him to be. He will destroy it with fire, and many will turn and be saved, and many will rebel and be destroyed. He said this in the 90s. First off, it's a terrible thing to make up on your own. God did not say that. Obviously, that's not the case. False prophets, wolves. Is that what our Lord is talking about by the word prophet? Well, we don't want to isolate the idea of prophet only to the people who tell the future, because the word he uses is someone who speaks the word of the Lord, but is in fact an imposter, acting as a wolf in sheep's clothing. So this is the idea of anyone who speaks falsely on behalf of God to others for the purpose of deception and destruction. In the New Testament, the terminology shifts. In the beginning, you start hearing about false prophets, and it moves into false teachers. In 2 Peter, chapter 2, the terms are actually interchanged. This is 2 Peter 2.1, but false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction." See that? False prophets, false teachers, one and the same. Because the word that is being used here is not someone who's telling the future, it's someone who is speaking the word of God, but inwardly. They're ravenous wolves. But even there, we don't want to limit this too strictly. This is not just people in an official capacity. And I want to do all of this because of the danger and make sure you are aware of the different forms that this comes in. This is not just your preachers. This is not just pastors, but anyone who speaks on behalf of God, anyone who says, thus saith the Lord, who would tell people what God says, what God demands, what God requires, what God wants, who are liars and deceivers, they would qualify. A false prophet does not have to stand in a pulpit. In fact, she can be holding a cup of coffee with scripture written on it, as you all talk about being wives and mothers as your children play in the other room. The false prophet doesn't have to be on TV. He can be the new guy who comes to your Bible study, who's so excited about the things of God, who always has questions, and everyone's so encouraged by them. This is why Jesus says, beware, because without this warning, you would never suspect them. So before we look at what they do, what do they want? What are they after? Why is Jesus warning us about them now? Why not earlier? He was talking about Pharisees and scribes, and you have heard it said, but I say unto you, wouldn't that have been a perfect time to hear about false prophets? Why now? What is the significance? Because remember what we read last week. Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide, and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many, for the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Beware of false prophets." There's a connection there, brothers and sisters. There is a connection. Because they are after your soul. They want to pull you away from entering into the narrow gate. They want to pull you off of the way that leads to life. All while making you think you're still on the path that leads to life. First John tells us that they are many of them. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God for many False prophets have gone out into the world. They're everywhere. They are everywhere. There are many of them, more than we would imagine. And many of them stand at the entrance of the narrow gate. And what are they saying? What is their sermon? What is the message? Widen the gate. We know there's only one way. Faith alone, in Christ alone. But that's too narrow. So what do they want? Let's just widen it just a little bit. But they would never just come out and say, Jesus plus works. Jesus plus baptism. Jesus plus activism. Jesus plus culture. Because that wouldn't be subtle. We would see it immediately. Subtlety is their strategy. Keep that in mind. Subtlety is their strategy. So they would seek to use the word of God to convince the traveler to enter the wide gate, all while thinking they're going through the narrow one. Remember the Galatians? Remember what was going on with the Galatians? What was the controversy? What was the issue there? Were those false prophets in Galatians saying, Jesus Christ can't save you? Were they saying, don't believe the gospel? No. They would have been noticed immediately. What were they saying? They were telling the Galatians, who were Gentiles and had not been circumcised, that if they really wanted a salvation that was real, they just need to be circumcised. That's all. Just one thing. Just circumcision. And after all, isn't circumcision in the Bible? Doesn't Genesis 17, nine, and God said to Abraham, as for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and that shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. So here are these new Christians. And here come these very wise, very learned, very biblical people. And they begin to confront the Galatians with the word. You need to be circumcised. They wanted to add to Christ, but not much, just one thing. It's an attempt to broaden the narrow gate. Just a fraction, just a hair. How did Paul respond? Galatians 3, oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? What happened? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this, did you receive the spirit by works or of the law? I'm sorry, did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish having begun by the spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh? Bewitched you. They didn't just come right out and say, add circumcision to the gospel. No, there was a bewitching. There was a beguiling. It was almost as though they cast a spell. That's what the word bewitch means. It's almost as though they blurred their vision so that they couldn't see. He continues in Galatians 5, for freedom Christ has set you free. Stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look, I Paul say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision, that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace. Do you see what happened? What were they doing? They were wolves in sheep's clothing saying, come on, just add a little bit, just add circumcision. And Paul saw exactly what it was. If you add this, you're severed from Christ. If you add this, you're spitting in the face of the gospel. If you add this, you are falling away. This cannot be done. And that's why he said in the beginning of Galatians, I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you with the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. That's the issue. They stand at the entrance and say, believe the gospel. It's just a different gospel. They will seek to do that very thing, bring you a different gospel. It's legalism, in other words. In Acts 15, but some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. That's what they told them. And you know what happened? It gained a following. In verse 5, But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, it is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses. These were Christians. It started with just some men, but they began to spread this and some believers latched onto it. And unless we forget how deadly these wolves in sheep clothing can be, remember who followed the teaching in Galatians. But when Peter, the apostle, the disciple, when Cephas, Peter, came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. Why? For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing who? The circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy." The point of this, this teaching by these wolves in sheep clothing, is convincing, it is powerful, it is damnable. And even Peter and Barnabas were misled. You see why Jesus is saying, beware? Beware. Beware. So what does this look like in our day? I mean, we're not talking to people who are saying be circumcised. Maybe it sounds something like this. You want to be a Christian? That's great. Following Jesus is essential, and in order to follow him, you have to know what he says. And if you want to know what he says, you have to have the right Bible translation. And you know there is only one Bible translation. the one that I use. What are they doing? Well, if you want to really be a Christian, you need Jesus plus the King James Version. What about a Christian dress code? For some men, they walk into a church and say, I want to follow Jesus, they're judged by what hangs in their closet. Well, you're a Christian, where's your tie? You're a Christian? Where's your suit? Oh, I get it. You're not really serious. When you get a suit, come talk to me. And it's not just the feeling. These things are actually written down in some churches. Some of you have heard of the Church of God in Christ. This is what is written in their manual for women. Holy women. are asked to refrain from makeup such as eye shadow, lipstick, colored fingernail polish, etc. Pants are not included in the dress code for holy women. You want to be a woman? That's fine. But if you want to be a holy woman, pants are not included. So what is this? Jesus plus dresses. Holy women. How can you be a real Christian without being holy? There's a holiness without which no one will see the Lord. If you really want to be holy, then you need to just adopt just a few things. Not many, we're not saying change everything about yourself, but holy women don't wear pants. Maybe you've heard of the Hebrew Roots Movement. Because there are Christians, and then there are Christians who really take their Christianity serious. And what they do is they begin to adopt the dietary laws of the Old Testament, and they celebrate the feasts, and they start doing all these things that are in the law because they take it serious. They don't say, Jesus, what? No, we call Him Yeshua. And you can tell who's really a Christian by the language they use when it comes to the name of Jesus. Because real Christians are serious about things like that. Good things, like abortion. Abortion is not a good thing, and stance against abortion is what I mean. There are Christians who will say, you're not a real Christian unless you join us in our fight, and why what they mean is something far more serious than you may have in your minds. The Abolish Human Abortion group says the evangelical churches in America have not failed to be pro-life, they have failed to be Christian. Why? Because they don't join them on a Sunday morning with picket signs outside of churches, not churches that advocate for abortion, but churches who do not go as far as they do. And I read their frequently asked question. And they're not going to come out and say, you're not a Christian unless you join us. But they say, unless you repent, you're living in unrepentant sin. And what repentance means is your fight, your holiness looks like ours. On the other side of the aisle, you have those who say, look, if you're not fighting against the treatment of illegal immigration and police brutality and women's rights and a host of other social justice issues, then you're not really a Christian. One of the main questions in 2018 was this, is social justice a gospel issue? And you know what many concluded? Yes. And what they mean by that is if you don't take our stance, then you're not really Christian. You don't really love Jesus. You're not really following the Bible. What is this? Widen the narrow gate. Just a little bit. Add just a few things. But it's more than just that. Because those are works. And someone may say, well, no, that's clear. You know, we're saved by grace. But what about the way you feel? Circumcision, that's too bold. But what about your feelings? You want to enter the narrow gate? How sorrowful are you? How sad are you over your sin? And the question is, how sorrowful do I need to be? Just a little more. You can't enter until you're truly sorrowful. So how sorrowful should you be? Just a little more. You need to feel more repentant because God will not save you until you do. You're really repentant? Where are your tears? No tears, no salvation. Where's your brokenness? Because that's how you know that you're really saved, that you really want Christ. So now the sinner is not sent to the cross to look to Jesus. He's not sent to the empty tomb for hope and assurance. It's not the blood of Christ. They're sent to the mirror. Look at yourself. How sad are you? How sorrowful are you? How much do you feel the weight of your sin? And if you don't feel it enough, then you cannot enter. There they are in front of a glass of the purest, most thirst-quenching water, and rather than being told to drink, they're being told, how thirsty do you feel? Examine your thirst. Inspect your thirst. C.H. Spurgeon said, to believe that you have sinned and that your soul is forfeited to the justice of God is a very proper thing, but it will not save. Salvation is not by our knowing our own ruin, but by fully grasping the deliverance provided in Christ Jesus. Others tell people, look, if you want to follow Christ, what you first need to do is stop cursing Stop smoking, stop drinking, stop this, stop that. And once you do all that, then you can enter. Sounds good on the surface until you begin to take this apart and realize what are they saying? They're adding to the gospel. They are preaching another gospel. They are putting works before faith. They are saying, do this so that you may earn And we are saved not by what we do, but by what Jesus Christ has already done. The narrow gate cannot be widened. If you're told to add something to the gospel before you enter the narrow gate and you find yourself inside, listen, dear friend, it is not that the narrow gate has become wider. It is the sad truth that you have entered the broad gate that leads to destruction while thinking you have entered the narrow gate." We know something about false prophets in the Old Testament. You know what we recognize? Their messages do not change. This was true during the time of Jehoshaphat, 1 Kings 22.6, then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said to them, Shall I go to battle against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain? And they said, go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king. What's the message of the false prophet? You'll win. You'll always win. Go on up, king. It's going to go great for you. First Kings 22, 12. And all the prophets prophesied so and said, go up to Ramoth Gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king. But they were lying. but that is the message that they always bring. There will always be success. There will always be victory. You are the head and not the tail, the leader, the front, not the back. You're wonderful. You're special. You're good all as well. Never judgment, never punishment, never defeat, never suffering, never discipline, never holiness. It's all up and up. Everything will go well for you. The time of Jeremiah, the same thing was true. This brother was out there preaching day after day, warning the people, turn from your sin. God's wrath is coming. Babylon is going to enslave you. Please listen. He was pleading. He is called the prophet of tears. He would weep and weep and weep over these people. And what were the false prophets saying while that was happening? At the very height of the wrath of God being at the door, his hand was on the knob to turn it and pour it upon the people. Do you know what the false prophets were saying? Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, you shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine. But I will give you a short peace in this place. During the time of Ezekiel, the same thing, the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her. when there was no peace, declares the Lord God. This is the norm. The false prophet prophesies peace. They preach peace. It's always peace. They have healed the wounds of my people lightly, saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. They give band-aids for heart attacks. Somebody has this. gut-wrenching pain, the nerves are screaming, something's wrong with you, something's wrong with you, and they start to feel it, and here comes the false prophet and say, would you like a muscle relaxer? Take as many as you want. Don't pay attention to that. Here, doesn't this feel better? And the people say, yes, it actually does. Isaiah 30 says, they are rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord. who say to the seers, do not see, and to the prophets, do not prophesy to us what is right. Speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, because the sinner doesn't want to be awakened from their sin. You know those pictures, and they show you two paths like a fork in the road, and one path, there's sun shining, and you see birds, and there's flowers, and it's all It looks really, really pleasant. And then there's that other one and it's like dark and you see like glowing eyes and there's wolves and lions. And you say, which one of these would you rather walk down? And obviously you would rather walk down the pleasant one. And that's what the false prophet does. points to the narrow road and says, who would want to walk down that? It's hard. But look, there's another way. You can still follow Christ, and it can be pleasant and joyful and happy, and it doesn't have to have hardship, and it doesn't have to have suffering, and you can just succeed, and you can just be victorious, and there's prosperity, and everything could go well, and God loves you. He's your father. He wouldn't want you to suffer. He wouldn't want you to go through this. Why would God? Jesus suffered for you. Why should you suffer? That's what they're after. To try to take you away from the road that is hard and say, let's just smooth it out some. Well, what's wrong with that? Because there's much to fear, right? I mean, isn't that what our Lord told us? Hell is awaiting those who are angry. Remember what he talked about? How anger is murder and lust looking is adultery with your heart. The kingdom of heaven is closed unless there's true faith in Christ, true repentance from evil, unless you are poor in spirit and mourn over your sin, unless you have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, there will be no entrance into the kingdom of God. The wrath of God is coming. The king of glory is angry with the wicked every day. There's a holiness without which no one will see the Lord. He's to be feared and worshipped and loved and there are dangers everywhere. There are spiritual foes. The world is after you. There are worldly wise men who try to take you away from the road that leads to life. Bad company that ruins good morals. Sin is an enemy. Selfishness is a constant threat. Our God is not to be mocked. Those who practice sin will perish. The day of judgment is approaching very soon. And at any moment, our Lord will return. And he's looking for those who love him, who trust him, who follow him. And all the rest will be crushed into powder. There is much to fear. There's much to be alert of. But yet they constantly say, just don't worry about that. And they were doing the same thing in the days of the apostles. Romans 16, I appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. Avoid them for such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. And by smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive. Jesus told us that the narrow gate has a hard road. There are hardships to following him. Persecution, trials, denying of self, picking up the cross, resisting those inward feelings, the battle for faith The writer of Hebrews says, consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted in your struggle against sin. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. It's not that bad. As hard as it gets, you're not shedding blood. But they tell you, don't worry about that. It's like the video game. And you can choose your level of difficulty. Easy, Medium, hard. Well, if they just went from hard to easy, that'd be too noticeable. So what are they? Medium, right? Nothing so blatant. Easy. Like C.S. Lewis said, the safest road to hell is the gradual one. So they will give you a portrayal of God that is not accurate. Like when you go to the carnival, to the zoo, and there are those people there that draw your picture. When they draw your picture, usually your legs are really small, and your head is really big, or you've got really big eyes. You know, it's a caricature. It's meant to be that way. And that's fine when it's us, but what they do, these false prophets, is they present God that way, where He is not the whole counsel of God. They emphasize one attribute over another, so God is loving, God is forgiving. God is merciful. Amen. But what about his justice? What about his holiness? What about his wrath? What about his discipline? What about that? So there's a. There's a caricature of God. And we hear it. Just say, Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart, wash me clean. I make you my Lord and my Savior. If you pray that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. What's wrong with that? He said, God. He said, Jesus. He said, Savior. He said, repent. He said, sin. But where's the cross? There's not a mention of the cross. Where's the wrath? Where's the resurrection? Where's anything about who Jesus really is? What Jesus? What does repentance mean? You see, it's not saying there is no wrath. It's just being left out. So much of their strategy is not what they say, but what they refrain from saying. In the holiness of God, R.C. Sproul talked about this woman who said, I get the feeling that for some reason my minister every Sunday morning is doing everything he can to conceal the true identity of God from the congregation. I come to church and I long to have an opportunity to worship, to have my soul experience reverence for God and adoration, but the God that I'm hearing about is a God that has been defanged. He's been tamed. Well, what does that do? If there's a God where He's not really holy, He doesn't really deal with judgment, He doesn't really punish, that's a lot easier to walk. That's pretty comfortable. I don't have to worry about sin because God doesn't really care about sin. He's just a loving Father who just excuses everything I do, and that's a lot easier. But remember which road is easy. They also soften sin. They won't say that sin is no big deal. They won't do that. But they'll talk in ways of we're all sinners. We all fall short. No one's righteous. No, not one. We all have faults. Well, what's wrong with that? Isn't it true? It is true. But notice what's missing. It leaves the traveler away from the hard road of repentance, of conviction, of plucking out eyes, of cutting off hands. The sinfulness of sin is absent, that it is a mockery of God, that is a robbery of His glory, that is a turning away from Him who is worthy of all and turning to worthless idols. It completely eliminates that and just makes it, we all mess up. We all make mistakes. None of us are perfect. That makes the road very smooth. but it also talks about sin like it's a sickness. You're not a drunkard, you're an alcoholic. And alcoholism is a condition that is to be pitied, not a sin to be repented of. It's not adultery, it's an affair. I'm not murdering you in my heart. No, no, no, I'm just excited. I'm just passionate about this. Sin is no longer sinful, it's a sickness. So they won't rebuke the person who is unrepentant or warn them of the imminent danger. No, what needs to happen to the one who's sick is to comfort them. They need to be listened to. They need to be understood. You need to know where they're coming from. You need to know their history. They've been through so much. It's not even their fault. It's their dad's fault. Because their dad left. It's their mom's fault. Their mom didn't love them. It's the government's fault. Because the government is unjust. It's the white man's fault. It's the black man's fault. It's the Mexican's fault. It's this man. It's that man. It's everyone else's fault. Except theirs. It's not my lust. She's wearing a modest clothing. I can wear what I want. The men have the problem. You've heard of ADD. Did you know that there is something now called ODD? It stands for oppositional defiant disorder. ODD is a condition in which a child displays an ongoing pattern of an angry or irritable mood, defiant or argumentative behavior, and vindictiveness toward people in authority. Treatment can help. but this condition can't be cured. Chronic can last for years or be lifelong. So when the child or when anyone is defiant and disrespectful to authority, it's not because they're in sin, it's because they have ODD. It's just personality. But did you see what happens When sin is no longer called sin, and it's just called sickness, it's just called personality, it's just tradition. Michelle and I, we were downtown in Georgetown, and we met this couple from Mississippi, married like 40-something years. And they said, listen, we gotta ask you, how are you a dark-skinned man and you a light-skinned woman, how are you just walking downtown? Because where we're from, you can't do that without carrying a weapon on you. 82% of the people in Mississippi call themselves Christians. How is it possible for 82% of people to be Christian and yet it be such a racist place where you can't walk down the street with your wife without a weapon because someone will harass you or violently attack you? You know how? Because racism is just the way we were brought up. It's not sin. It's tradition. And it makes it very smooth, very easy to walk down that road because you don't have to repent unless it's sin. I'm not harping on phones, okay? I have a phone too. But here's what tends to happen. We have our phones and we do this all the time. You walk into a room and you see like, seven people and everyone's just looking down at their phone. And we, you know, there's commentary made about that. But the idea is they're so focused here that they don't see what's happening around. That's what these false prophets do. They want you to be so tied to this world, to what's going on here. focused on this life, focused on this stuff, focused on yourself, on yourself, that you never look up to see that there is a God in heaven who is worthy to be worshiped. It's all here. It's all about you. It's all about how you feel, how you're treated. It's all about self. And that's why so many of their messages are self esteem and self advancement and self focused. Three of the top-selling books in Christianity today, Girl, Wash Your Face, Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be, The Road Back to You, A Journey to Self-Discovery, The Greatest You, Face Reality, Release Negativity, and Live Your Purpose. three selling books in Christianity. And what are they all about? Self, self, self. What is this? Like walking around, just focused on our phones. And the scripture is saying, look up, look up. There is a God that you must answer to. There is a gospel you must believe. Judgment day is around the corner. You're one breath away. Look up, look up. False prophet says, look, another video, another cartoon, another meme, another game, another thing, another thing, another thing, so that you're constantly looking at self. Brethren, it's all a distraction. It's all a distraction so that you will be devoured. Remember what he said, inwardly they're ravenous wolves. The point of all of it is that you will be devoured. They want your soul to be destroyed. They want you to be on the road that leads to destruction. That's what they're after. That's why Jesus in love says, beware, beware, beware. So how, how can we be aware? How can we be aware? And this is, We're at the end here. What's so diabolical about their preaching, their teaching, is that they use the scripture. They use the word of God to do this, just like the serpent in the wilderness with our Lord, but it is also written, and they are ministers of the evil one. So they use the right language, they use the right terminology, they use the right phrases, it all sounds so good. They're bringing the word, they're quoting the word. I heard this one man, Joseph Prince, oh, so deceptive, so dangerous, because so much of what he says sounds so right, so good. But if you don't listen carefully, If you don't listen closely, you will think this is true. This is right. This is good. I should follow this. Amen. Let me hear more and more and more. Wolves eat sheep. So how can you be protected? Like I said, next week, Lord willing, we will look at identifying the fruit and all of that. But here, how are you protected? The only way that you can be on guard against the lies that they tell is to know your Bibles for yourselves. You have to know the word. You have to. You cannot take my word for it. You cannot take your mother's word for it, your father's word for it. I'm not saying challenge them and just be skeptical. What I'm saying is you must be acquainted with the sacred writings. You must know the word for yourself. How can a young man keep his way pure by guarding it, Guarding it. Guarding it according to Your Word. I've hidden Your Word in my heart that I may not sin against You. This is the only way. We sang it. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look into His wonderful face. How? Jesus of Nazareth is not walking down the streets of Austin for you to look into His bearded face. That's not what it means. How do we look into the face of our Lord? It's here. It's here where you find Him, where you see Him talking to the leper. Here where you see Him praying to His Father. Here where you see Him rebuking the Pharisees, preaching the truth, standing up, weeping over Jerusalem, sweating drops of blood, suffering the wrath of God, rising victoriously, commanding His church. Here is where we see Him. And if you don't know the word, oh, these wolves will devour you. They will. Don't think that they won't, because even Peter was led astray. Even Barnabas was led astray. And if it wasn't for the grace of God, remember the warning that Jesus gives in Matthew 24, for false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. And if you are in Christ, you cannot lose your salvation. Thank God it is eternal. But here's what can happen. They can put such a yoke of slavery upon you, such a yoke of legalism. They can have you spinning three ways, looking here and there, thinking you have to dot all these I's and cross all these T's. You will feel that you cannot approach the Lord God unless you're doing this or that. They can make your life absolutely miserable and they can get into your house. And while you may be secure in Christ, Now your children are exposed. Now your spouse is exposed. You begin to recommend these false teachers to others, and now they are drawn away. Beware, beware, beware. Know your Bibles. It is only in the Word of God that you will know who He is, what He wants. Only here is where you will see His holiness. Here you will find His glory. Here you will behold His face. Here you will know what He wants, what He demands, what He says, what He would never say. Let there be not a single word in these pages that you don't know. If you have not read the Bible from cover to cover yet, make that your aim, Christian. Know your Bibles because every false prophet from Jim Jones to those who we don't even know, they use the Bible. They all use the Bible. The devil used the Bible. You must know it better than them because there's where you know God. If you know Him, if you love Him, if you are intimately known by Him, no one will be able to deceive you. I don't want you to be deceived. I want you to know the Word for yourselves. Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Fight against the lies with the truth. Because if they convince you that sin is a small thing, God is not really concerned with holiness. That Christianity does not really have to be hard. That doesn't end well. Beware of the false prophets who come to you. They're going to come to you. Father, thank you for the love of the warning of beware. And I pray, Lord, that we would not fall prey to the lies of these deceptive and cunning liars. I pray, Lord, that we would know your word, that we would know you, that we would be so so close to you that we could not be deceived. And I pray, Lord, that none, none who stand outside the gate that is narrow would be led astray, that would be kept back from entering because they think they need to add something else. Father, you have welcomed all to come in, repent, and believe. In Jesus' name, amen.