BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS - Matthew 7:15
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
In this passage, Christ commands us to beware of false prophets. In the next verse, we are told how we are to recognize a sheep from a wolf. Christ tells us that we will know them by their fruits. If we look at the fruits of a man, we should easily discern whether they are dedicating their life to the Lord or whether they are dedicating their life unto themselves.
There are people all around you who may have smooth words, but the doctrine of their mouth will lead to destruction. If you are focused upon the words of an individual, you could easily be led astray. In this passage, Christ is showing us the importance of being vigilant and making sure that we stay on the narrow path.
Your talk talks and your walk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks.
Put another way, you can tell more about a man by the fruit of his life than you can about the words that he speaks. Remember that our adversary the devil is a liar. Satan loves to use lies to deceive you into wondering off of the narrow path that God has for you. These false prophets that you face are simply tools of Satan to cause you to doubt the ways of God and once you start doubting, you become an easier pray.
When Eve was in the Garden, Satan came to her in the image of a serpent. Satan was like a wolf, seeking ways that he could destroy man and the perfect relationship that man had with God. Eve focused upon the words of Satan and quickly found herself doubting God. Because of her doubt, she sinned and quickly found herself full of guilt and shame and she eventually lost her ability to live in the garden.
We understand by scripture that Satan had been kicked out of heaven. If Eve had started to study the walk of the serpent, God would have revealed to her the fruit of the serpent and enlightened her on how she should not follow the serpent to her own destruction. Remember, Eve had a perfect relationship with God, all she had to do was ask God and God could have revealed to her the trap that she was about to walk into.
Nonetheless, Eve liked what she heard and as a result, she walked into a trap of Satan and was destroyed. Eve was destroyed because she took her eyes off of God and put them upon herself. She did not choose to examine the history of the serpent and instead took for granted the words that he spoke. Eve lost more than you and I will ever have because she failed to be careful about the smooth words of the deceiver.
All around you there are scorners and scoffers of the perfect way of God. God has a perfect plan for your life, but you are the one who must be careful that you are not deceived by those who appear to be serving God but in reality are serving Satan. These individuals would take great offense that they are not serving God, but the fruits of their life should reveal the truth.
You shall know them by their fruits. If you are going to walk the narrow path of the ways of God, you must be vigilant to ensure that you are not deceived by the false prophets. You must take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God. You must take the time to talk to God in prayer and ask HIM to reveal to you the fruit of those whom are instructing you.