WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
Battling an enemy who wants to destroy you can be difficult. But battling an unseen enemy, someone who seems to be your friend and on your side, can be harder yet. Satan lies and blinds, as we have seen in the last 2 blogs. He also infiltrates. His emissaries appear to be Christians, or at least moral people who share our values and beliefs. Satan is an “angel of light” and his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
These people seem to share our values, support what we support and oppose what we oppose. They join our churches, applaud our causes and share most of what we believe. But not all of it. From the inside they spread lies of the enemy, doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1). Jesus says they are like wolves in sheep clothing (Matthew 7:15). Even though they may seem sincere in their faith, their end is to lead people to destruction (Acts 20:30).
Everything, and that means EVERYthing we believe, must be supported by God’s Word. Don’t be fooled by those who have credentials as pastors or evangelists, authors or well-known speakers. If they teach anything at all that is contrary to what you have been taught or to what the Bible says, rejects them and their teaching. They may seem godly, have a winning personality, be kind and complementary and have done any number of things to win your trust. But if they deviate from God’s Word don’t believe what they say.
A true believer who may have some wrong beliefs will be open to correction by God’s Word. But if they are not then don’t believe it. God’s Spirit will sound an alarm inside you if something doesn’t seem or sound just ‘right.’ Go with that warning of the Spirit! Don’t ignore it or you, too, can be deceived, blinded and believe a lie.
Actually these people are more dangerous than atheists who vocally oppose the church because they are harder to spot. A good counterfeit needs to look as much like the real deal as possible, and so do those Satan places among us. Just because they say many true things doesn’t mean their errors aren’t dangerous. Even if someone only put a little bit of rat poison in your favorite soup, would you drink it? Ask God to give you wisdom and discernment (Philippians 1:9) for yourself. Ask Him help you speak truth to those you know who have been taken in by a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Know God’s Word and stick to it and it alone!
Philippians 1:9-10 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
Please let me know if there are topics you would like to see addressed in a blog. I really welcome your suggestions! jerry@schmoyer.net
By Rev. Dr. Jerry Schmoyer © Copyright 2019 Christian Training Organization. https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/