Beware of the False Prophets

The believer of today needs to be informed that there may be, in the churches, various workers corrupted and distanced from the truth, as teachers of the law of God, in the days of Jesus. Jesus warns, here, that not every person who professes Christ is a true believer and that today, not every evangelical writer, missionary, pastor, evangelist, teacher, deacon and other workers are what they say they are.

These workers "on the outside seem righteous to men" (Mt 23:28). They appear "clothed like sheep" (Mt 7.15). They can even have a message firmly based on the Word of God and expose high standards of righteousness. They can seem sincerely committed to the work of God and his kingdom, show great interest in the salvation of the lost and profess love to all people. They will appear to be great ministers of God, renowned spiritual leaders, anointed by the Holy Spirit. They can perform miracles, have great success and multitudes of followers.

However, these men are similar to the false prophets of antiquity and the Pharisees of the NT. Far from the crowds, in their lives in particular, the Pharisees gave themselves over to "prey and iniquity" (Mt 23.25), "full of the bones of the dead and of all uncleanness" (Mt 23.27), "full of hypocrisy and iniquity "(Mt 23.28). His life in intimacy is marked by carnal greed, immorality, adultery, greed and satisfaction of his egoistic desires.

In two ways, these impostors achieve a position of influence in the church:

• Some false teachers and preachers begin their ministry with sincerity, truthfulness, purity and genuine faith in Christ. Later, because of his pride and immoral desires, his personal dedication and love for Christ slowly disappear. Consequently, they turn away from the kingdom of God and become instruments of Satan, disguised as ministers of justice.

• Other false teachers and preachers were never true believers. In the service of Satan, they are in the church from the beginning of their activities. Satan takes advantage of his ability and influence and promotes his success. The strategy of the enemy is to place them in positions of influence to undermine the authentic work of Christ.

Fourteen times in the Gospels, Jesus warned the disciples of deceitful leaders. In other places, the believer is exhorted to test teachers, preachers and leaders of the church (1Thes 5.21, 1 Jn 4). The following are steps to prove false teachers or false prophets:

(1) To discern the character of the person. Do you have a persevering life of prayer and manifest a sincere and pure devotion to God? Love sinners, hate evil and love justice and speak against sin (Mt 23, Lk 3,18-20).

(2) To discern the motives people. The true Christian leader will seek to do four things: (a) the honor of Christ; (B) the realization of church sanctification; (C) save the lost; and (d) proclaim and defend the gospel of Christ and his apostles.

(3) Consider the fruits of life and the message people. The fruits of false preachers commonly consist of followers who do not obey the whole Word of God.

(4) To discern the extent to which the person is based on the Scripture. This is a fundamental point. She believes and teaches that the original writings of the OT and the NT are fully inspired by God, and that we must observe all of her teachings. Otherwise, we can be sure that such a person and his message do not come from God.

(5) Finally, check the integrity of the person as the Lord money. Does it reject large sums for itself, administer all financial affairs with integrity and responsibility, and seek to do God's work according to NT standards for Christian workers? .

In spite of everything that the faithful believer comes to do to evaluate the life and work of such people, there will be no false teachers in the churches, who, with the help of Satan, hide until God unmasks them and reveal what they really are.