Beware of the false prophets, who come
to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew
7:15
This saying is not a new one, but few
people today heed this warning. There are MANY people, religions,
televangelists, and others who look so good and innocent on the
outside, but their motives are anything but innocent. Innocents get
taken, eaten alive by this brood of vipers, as Jesus called them. The
admission of sin into personal private lives is subtle. It all looks
so innocent. Satan does lure some by appealing to their anger and
rage, making ugly look desirable. Then there is the bait...the thing
that looks like it will satisfy our hunger for fun, for love, for
attention. It looks like the real thing, and the next thing we know,
we are dangling on the hook and being filleted, and have no idea what
just happened! Ravenous wolves will kill and eat, leaving the carcass
for others to feed on in their wake.
It happens to the best of us. Solomon
in all his wisdom was taken in by his wives. What is one idol set up
for his wife from wherever going to hurt? Or ten? Or a hundred? This
guy knew what God said about worship of any other gods. So they were
for his wives and not himself. What could that hurt? It cost him
God's approval, and the kingdom after him was split apart, eventually
leading to civil war and total destruction. God doesn't allow us to
toy in sin because we do not see the hidden danger. Eve looked at the
fruit and saw that it was good. It was pleasing to the eye. But there
was the hidden danger that God had warned about. She heard what the
consequences would be, but the outward appearance deceived her into
thinking it was safe. And we know the consequences of that decision.
This passage continues to describe the
fruit that comes is directly related to the tree it comes from. You
don't get grapes from an apple tree. If the tree is sinful, the fruit
will be sinful. We can't expect to get goodness from something evil.
This is not to say that God can't turn your life around after sin. He
is in that business. But the temptation to run with that idea and not
heed warnings to avoid sin, to not eat of it, is a trick of Satan in
our lives as well. This one drink with the people from work won't
hurt anything, we may think. This one desire for the attention of
that guy...what will that hurt. Then our appetites change, the
desires intensify whether met or unmet, and we start down a road that
we never dreamed we would take. I am appalled at some thoughts that
run through my head some days. I am amazed at how naive I have been
about people and their motives. I see the pain of some who were
caught in the net and wonder how they were even swimming in that
ocean when they got snagged. We are a sorry lot.
In the study Follow Me by David Platt,
we find him contemplating the following verses of Jesus sending
people away who thought they were doing right by God and Jesus says
He never knew. They were practitioners of lawlessness. They put on a
godly show, but they were not followers of the testaments, old or
new. They had no desire to know God's law, but wanted to be leaders,
prophets, miracle workers. Their lives were ravenous for everything
but God. He is talking about false prophets. Many of those guys you
see on Christian tv stations will be standing in this judgment, I
fear. Some are caught and just keep going, and a few repent and are
forgiven. It is a good barometer of a man's commitment to God to see
what he does when caught in sin. Does he mourn over his sin or
justify it? Does he resign or step aside, make himself accountable to
others in authority over him? Or does he leave the ministry with that
woman he's having an affair with? What appetite was he feeding? Was
he danging the bait, or was he caught on the lure? Repentance is
actually a beautiful thing. Getting worn down by sin and sick of the
consequences and crawling back for some consolation is not. Mourning
how your sin has besmirched the name of God and harmed others is
repentance. Whining about how it took away your happiness is not.
Truly coming to God with a broken heart and broken will, that he will
not despise.
Are you a wolf, or do you at least
smell something funny when that over-sized sheep comes in your
direction? We need to be wary of evil. It lurks in the most
unexpected places. When something doesn't seem right, but we can't
put our finger on it, it is a warning from God. Accept the warning,
put up a guard against Satan's deceiving ways, and expect a battle
for your heart to follow. If we see the storm clouds brewing, take in
the lawn furniture and hunker down instead of going on a hike in an
open field. Follow Jesus back into the fold for the duration and He
will let us out when it is safe to venture out again. Don't think you
can weather it. You are a sheep and you are no match for a tornado.
Or for a wolf.
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