False Teachers - Know them by their Fruit

Matthew 7: 15-17 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mark 7: 21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,  Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

In our world today, there are many many teachers and preachers providing programming on the radio, TV, and through the internet. There are books coming out constantly that claim to be from the Lord. How do we know which Bible teacher or preacher to trust? We are told that in order to recognize a counterfeit, one must be thoroughly familiar with the authentic and in that way we will be able to distinguish the true teachers from the false. I have found though, that the false teachers also proclaim some truth mixed in with their deceptions. So it can be quite a challenge sometimes to differentiate between the true and false teacher. I am not going to name any names in this blog post but I want to explore what to look for. What does the Bible say about this? How can we know and what should we be looking for? Jesus says in Matthew 7 that false prophets come in sheeps clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves. This means that they are very deceptive - they really do look like good people whom we could trust - BUT they are not. Jesus also says  - Ye shall know them by their fruits - This means that it's not so much who they say they are but their actions ( their fruits) will make it obvious for whom they are working ( either for the Lord or for satan)  Jesus says a good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Evil fruit is that which Jesus mentions in Mark 7 -evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness
SO, look at the life of the person who is claiming to be God's messenger - what kinds of things are they doing when they think no one is watching? What kind of life are they promoting?

Let's look at some more characteristic of false prophets and false teachers as described in the Bible:

* deception - ( shall deceive many - Matthew 24)
* sign and wonders - ( shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, - Mark 13)
* destructive, untrue doctrines - (who privily shall bring in damnable heresies - 2 Peter)
* in word or action they deny the Lord; ( denying the Lord that bought them,  2 Peter)
* they are popular and are held in high regard by many people ; ( all men shall speak well of you! Luke 6)
*does not confess Jesus is not from God - ( confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God 1 John )

As I read through this list, what I see over and over again is that the false teacher lies. He lives a lie and speaks a lie but all the while tries to have people believe that he is a true Christian. He pretends to be a true preacher of the gospel.

Heavenly Father, You teach us in Your Word to be careful of the false teachers among us. We ask that you give us wisdom to discern and to know who is of the truth and who is deceiving us, and help us to not follow those destructive teachers. Protect us Father.  In Jesus Name we ask, Amen

God's Way verses Satan's Alternatives....

Have you ever considered how satan tries to make people believe that his ideas are good alternatives to God's true ways?
Take for example marriage. God says marriage is to be between one man and one woman.
Satan suggests sinful alternatives such as homosexual and lesbian relationships.
God's way is to save sex for after the wedding. Satan's sinful alternative is to not wait for marriage. Satan's way is fornication - sex with whoever you choose, the if it feels good then do it attitude.
God's way is to love your spouse deeply and dearly. Satan's way is lust and pornography.
God's way is for a couple to begin sharing a home together after marriage. Satan's way is for a couple to shack up together and then give the excuse that you need to try it out first before making any real decisions.
 God's ways are best because His way  provides protection from foolish choices that lead to unnecessary heartache and failure.
God's plan is for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Satan's sinful plan is for people to fill up on alchol, drugs and abusive substances.
God's plan is for women to be modest in the way they dress and to not be sensual and flirting in character. Satan's way is for women to wear the skimpy, the tight, the short, the low tops and to show skin inappropriately and to attract attention to your body.

Now let us examine another one of satan's counterfeits, one that is more difficult to understand.
 The one true holy God is a trinity. He is Father, Son ( Jesus) and Holy Spirit - three in One. Not three Gods but One God in three distinct persons. Just as God has three persons so Satan also tries to copy a trinity for himself  and it is displayed quite clearly Revelation.  So if you study the book of Revelation 12, satan is depicted as a great red dragon. Then in Revelation 13 the beast comes on the scene which is the Antichrist. It says that the dragon which is satan gives his power to the beast.  Then thirdly, also in chapter 13 another beast comes onto the scene which is a false prophet. The false prophet then makes the people on the earth worship the Antichrist. In order to be able to make any business transactions that is buy or sell anything, people are required to obtain a number in either their right hand or their forehead. Without this number people will not be allowed to do business. Revelation 13: 18 tells us what that number will be 666. -¹⁸Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
However, we who are Christians must be prepared to never accept this mark 666 as no one who does will enter the kingdom of Heaven.
To be sure there are many more of satan's counterfeits that we could discuss. Perhaps one comes to your mind even as you read this.