“But I am not surprised! Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers. In the end they will get every bit of punishment their wicked deeds deserve.”
I read yesterday that bank tellers are trained not with counterfeit bills, but with real money to be able to discern a fraud. They become so familiar with the sight and feeling of the real thing that they instantly recognize what is false. That’s exactly why Christians need to be so familiar with God’s Word that they can instantly recognize a demon or a false prophet, no matter if they dress themselves up as God’s servants.
I’m both intrigued and repulsed when I watch real-life stories on television about people who used their guise as a minister to swindle people out of their life savings, or in the case of the BTK Killer, as a church leader while committing horrendous crimes. I ask myself, “How did those people not know that person was bad?” I’m sure that the more vulnerable the person and the fuzzier their doctrine, the more likely they are unaware of the truth. But then I ask myself a scarier question, “Is there anyone I know who may be a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing within a church context?”
Jesus warned his followers many times about demons, false prophets, and wolves in sheep’s clothing. He also taught them many times that he is the way, the truth, the life; the light of the world; the fulfillment of all the prophecies; and the good shepherd. He wanted his disciples to become so familiar with the one true God that they would instantly recognize what was false.
Have you ever recognized a false prophet or a false church servant? Perhaps you didn’t recognize them at first and you got hurt by someone like that. I’m sorry if you’ve suffered that way, and I hope you’re willing to give other true Christians the chance to minister to you again. And I hope you are willing to learn what is true and what is false. I’ve found that my ability to discern a false doctrine or teaching or servant has grown directly in proportion to the time I’ve spent in study of God’s Word. It takes effort to really dig in to the truth of God’s Word, but nothing else has changed my life for the better more.
How can you take action to grow in your discernment between the one true God and the enemy?
Copyright 2009
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