Leprosy, today called Hansen's disease after the man who discovered its root cause, is not a rotting infection as it was thought from biblical times to the early 2oth century, nor are the horrible outward physical deformities directly imposed by the infection. The research of doctor and missionary Paul Brand as well as others has proven that the disfigurement associated with Hansen's disease results solely from the destruction of the body's warning system of pain. As such the disease causes a complete numbness to the extremities as well as to the ears, eyes and nose. The devastation that follows comes from unnoticed trauma to the affected areas which can be as subtle as washing one's face and hands with water that is too hot or walking on surfaces that are too warm on a hot summer day. Or from gripping a hoe too tightly while working in the fields or even from wearing one's shoes too snugly or from stepping on sharp objects without notice. Ultimately, great trauma is done to the hands, feet and face causing them to become mere stumps. Dr. Brand calls the disease a "painless hell," and it truly is.
The unfortunate man that Jesus met in Matthew 8:1-3 as He came down from the mountain had not been able to feel for years. His body was mutilated from head to toe and was foul and rotting. We can hardly imagine the humiliation and isolation of a leper's life [see Leviticus 13:45]. He was ostracized from society and had to assume a disheveled appearance. And then there was the ultimate degradation, having to cry "Unclean! Unclean!" whenever he came in range of the normal population. Lepers were typically beggars as there was little else they could do. Josephus, the famous Jewish historian, summed it up by saying that lepers were treated "as if they were, in effect, dead men."
In addition to this, it was thought that those who had leprosy had contracted it because of some great personal sin. People jumped to this erroneous conclusion because in past history such people as Miriam, King Uzziah, and Gehazi had been judged with leprosy. In reality, however, the plight of the leper more illustrated the effect of sin than it portrayed its root cause as the leper was not any more or less sinful than anyone else.
Moreover, now that the microbiology and pathophysiology of leprosy has been fully elucidated [a slow, progressive infection of the peripheral neural tissue by a bacterium in the tuberculosis family, Mycobacterium leprae] we now see the leper as a parable of sin -- an outward and visible sign of innermost corruption. The leper is the physical illustration of the heart of every human being! If for a moment we could see a visible incarnation of ourselves apart from the cleansing work of Christ, we would see ourselves as the walking dead -- forms dead in their trespasses and sins -- forms trying to cover themselves with filthy rags.
Christ meeting the leper as he descended the mount was no chance encounter. It was divinely orchestrated and choreographed. "When He came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him." A vast throng had attended His teaching, and now they descended the slope together, having heard the greatest sermon ever preached. What a magnificent scene it must have been. But then something startling happened, for Matthew adds, "A man with leprosy came and knelt before Him." No doubt the din of the descending multitude was considerable, but above it, persistent and clear, was heard "Unclean! Unclean!" The leper steadily made his way to Jesus as the people fell back on either side, fearing contamination. Perhaps some cursed him, but he kept coming until he was almost to Jesus, crying the refrain of his pitiful life -- "Unclean! Unclean!" Then the Master was face to face with foul, decaying leper, "covered with leprosy" from head to toe.
Here we see the first and fundamental qualification for obtaining the healing touch of Jesus -- an awareness of one's condition. The poor man not only said he was unclean -- he knew he was. Moreover, he saw himself as perfectly hopeless. There was nothing he could do to help himself. Everyone else had probably given up on him too. His many years of illness probably meant that even some, if not most, in his family had ceased praying for him. He was painfully aware of his condition, and in this he exemplified the blessed spiritual awareness found in the very first words of Christ's great sermon: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted" [Matthew 5:3, 4].
The man had spent years mourning his condition. The pitiful refrain, "Unclean! Unclean!" had shaped his whole psyche and no doubt that very theological truth had permeated his heart as well. He acknowledged there was nothing within him that would commend him to God. He was thus in the perfect posture to receive grace! God does not come to the self-sufficient, those who think they have no need or imagine that they can make it own their own. He comes to the bankrupt in spirit, those who mourn their condition. It is entirely possible and even probable that the leper had been sitting beyond the range of the crowd and had been galvanized by Jesus' opening words and His masterful argument that followed. The Holy Spirit caused the truth to pierce his heart and brought him to Jesus as his only hope.
This, too, is the only way that we can come to Christ -- saying, "Unclean! Unclean!" If we come saying, "only partially unclean" or "50% clean," He will not receive us.
We see the second qualification in the first sentence of verse 2: "A man with leprosy came and knelt before him." We see here worshipful submission. The word translated "knelt" takes us into the leper's heart. According to R. Kent Hughes, the basic meaning of the work in early Greek literature was "to kiss," as in kissing the earth as one lay prostrate before the gods. Luke goes further, telling us "he fell on his face" [5:12] which enhances the picture. He worshiped Christ as the only possible source of his healing. The lesson is clear. Christ's healing does not come with casual, irreverent acknowledgment. It comes as we bow before Him in realization that He is our only hope.
The third factor in obtaining the healing touch of Christ is faith. The leper demonstrated remarkable faith as he came and knelt before Christ then said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." In the original, Mark indicates that he said this several times. Consider the significance of his statement, "You can make me clean." He believed that Jesus could save even him. Often when a person is under the conviction of sin, he secretly fears that he is beyond God's grace. But not the leper.
As the leper lay at Jesus' feet before the multitude, Jesus looked at the leper in a way that the man had never been looked at before. Mark 1:41 says that Jesus was "moved with compassion." Jesus felt the man's pain. Then came the sublime apex of the encounter: "Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man." Perhaps it had been twenty or even thirty years since the leper had been touched by a non-leprous hand. But Christ reached out and touched him. Moreover, the Greek implies more than a casual touch but more like "to take hold of." So at the very least, Christ firmly placed His hand on the leper if He did not embrace him outright. How beautiful Christ is! He did not have to do that. He could have just spoken a word or simply willed the healing. But He chose to lay His hands on the poor man right there in front of the multitude. No doubt the onlookers were appalled and the disciples were likely shocked. Jesus was now ceremonially unclean -- and who knew if He, himself, would not contract the disease.
Why would Jesus do this? Jesus' touch showed that He identified with this man. His touch showed in a literal, tangible way that He was with him, that He understood. But beside the human reasons, there was also an overshadowing theological reason. The touch of Jesus' pure hand on the rotting flesh of the leper was a parable of the Incarnation. In the Incarnation, Jesus took on our flesh, then became sin for us, though He Himself never sinned. Jesus took on our flesh, our sins and our filth. "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God" [2 Corinthians 5:21]. Jesus lay hold of our flesh and touch us and healed us.
The leper's healing was dramatic. "Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' He said. 'Be clean.' Immediately he was cured of his leprosy." The cleansing was instantaneous. Moreover, it was not some unverifiable case of a mysterious backache or headache going away or of hearing being restored. Everyone saw it -- the face, the brows, the eyelashes, the nose, the ears were all immediately restored. The claw-like hands and the stubs the man called feet were completely whole. No doubt the whole crowd erupted in cheers as the realization of what had just happened set in! We can only guess how the leper reacted. He no longer had to cry out, "Unclean! Unclean!" but more likely changed his refrain to "I'm clean! I'm clean!" And this is what God can do for us as well in a mere split second of belief.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Entering the Kingdom
Sadly, it is really quite easy to accorded the status of an evangelical Christian without actually being spiritually regenerate. The process is essentially cultural. That is, if you can display certain cultural traits, you will be accepted.
First, one must develop the requisite vocabulary. Words like fellowship, brother, sister, amen, hallelujah, et. al. Use these words with just the right inflections and you are in. Second, one should emulate certain social conventions. It is most effective to share similar attitudes about alcohol and tobacco, modesty in dress, etc. If you show the appropriate likes and dislikes [with an emphasis on the dislikes], one can likely pass as a Christian. And now that so many evangelicals have aligned their lifestyles with the secular culture's materialism, pleasure-seeking, entertainment, economics and fads, it has greatly facilitated the ease with which one can assume the social conventions of the faithful.
Third, it is best if one has the right heritage. If one's parents are respectable Christians, or even better, full-time Christian workers, it will be almost a given that this person is a believer. This is especially true if this person affects some civilities associated with a godly heritage, such as attending evening and midweek services and tithing. Often the desires of overly anxious parents to see their children become believers has contributed to the heritage = salvation delusion and as a result multitudes of unregenerate evangelicals are comfortably ensconced in their churches. And no one questions the authenticity of their faith!
The question is, why would anyone willfully take up the so-called "narrow way" apart from actually being "born-again?" For too many it is the path of least resistance. To do otherwise would impair comfortable family and social relationships. And over the past thirty years there has evolved quite an excellent repertoire of Christian media ... music, movies, books, children's literature and DVDs and even artwork. Being born-again can be quite profitable. Jesus saves, but He also sells!
We should not discount the fact that the Biblical lifestyle is a good way to live. Families that subscribe to it tend to be happier and healthier and stay together longer. It is not all that surprising that Christianity, being so wholesome, would attract a number of people who would practice its lifestyle without knowing its inner reality. The human race has an incredible capacity for self-delusion. It was none other than wise King Solomon himself who commented on "those who are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not cleansed of their filth" [Proverbs 30:12].
So it is that Jesus anticipated the problem of false profession by those in the church and dealt with it at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. His was a driving warning against being sidetracked from the true faith. In vv. 13-20 He warned of the dangers that come from the outside and now in vv. 21-27 He warns us of the dangers that come from ourselves.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" [Matthew 7:21-23].
Jesus holds up the example of people who give a spectacular profession of belief as they stand before Him, but they will be rejected on the day of judgment. John Stott notes that this confession is remarkable on four points. First, it is polite. They address Christ as "Lord." Even today that is a courteous, tolerant way to refer to Christ. Second, the confession is orthodox. The word "Lord" [kurios] can mean "Sir," but it is also a divine title. Third, the confession is fervent. And finally, the confession is public. So what is wrong with it? Nothing! But there is a problem. Correct orthodox belief will not give us eternal life. This is not to say that correct belief is not necessary for salvation -- it is. Paul makes that clear in Romans 10:9, 10: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
A man who refuses to say "Lord, Lord" will never enter the kingdom of heaven. All true believers say, "Lord, Lord." But not all who say "Lord, Lord" are true believers! Intellectual orthodoxy does not necessarily indicate saving faith. We can be absolutely correct in our belief about Christ's nature and person, His substitutionary atonement, His resurrection, and His return, and we may have even fought against heretics, and yet not be truly saved.
Furthermore, zeal and fervency do not bring eternal life. And lastly, remarkable works do not bring eternal life. Prophesying, preaching, teaching and healing do not prove anything. Balaam gave an accurate message but was a hireling and a sinner. Saul was used by God when he was under the spirit of prophecy, but he himself was lost. Fervent proclamation of the truth does not prove spiritual reality. Jesus warned specifically about this later in Matthew [24:24], "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect -- if that were possible." So in other words, a man may be able to do great things and get great results, but that says absolutely nothing about his salvation.
How can this be? Note that Jesus says that "he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" will enter the kingdom of heaven. Multitudes of religious people, evangelicals included, are lost because they do not do God's will. Is Christ now referring to salvation by works? No. In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is referring to the Beatitudes and the deep ethical, spiritual obedience found in God's kingdom. He is referring to a heart obedience that is not only on the surface but permeates our inner being. "The will of my Father" indicates the character and the conduct of the kingdom of God.
The way to test ourselves is to look below the surface. Scary I know, but we must look to see if our lives conform to the character of the kingdom -- the Beautiful Attitudes of the kingdom of God. Are we poor in spirit? Are we meek? Do we have that positive quality of strength in saying, "Yes, we are sinners. No matter what others do to us, will we stand up for truth and for God and for others?" Do we have merciful spirits? Are we compassionate to those who are hurting and lost and in physical need? Do we forgive or do we hold grudges? This is what Jesus is saying.
We all know the story about the house built on the rock and house that was built on the sand. We also know that the houses are metaphors for two men's religious lives. The houses, the lives, looked exactly the same. In our day that translates to they both have 3 bedrooms, hardwood floors, open kitchen with granite countertops, heat and air conditioning, shuttered windows, freshly painted walls and nicely landscaped yards. So it is with the edifices of their lives -- they look the same. The two men attend the same church, sing the same songs, send their children to the same schools. But one has been wise, and the other has been a fool [the Greek word used here is moro, from which we get moron]. The wise man excavated down to the bedrock and grounded his house upon it. The foolish man built the seemingly identical house upon sand. The foundation of one man's life is solid, and that of the other is nonexistent.
If we heed Jesus' soul-penetrating words, if we measure ourselves by His standards, if we evaluate our ethics by His ethics, if we strain after the Sermon's great teaching in prayer and piety, we are building upon the rock. The foolish man is shallow in his thinking and lays a shallow foundation on the sand. He cannot be troubled with thinking things through. He is concerned with having a house [life] that simply looks nice. It looks like his church friend's life, but it is all outward, it is all style, all fluff. It is not our cultural distinctions that save us. It is not our evangelical civilities. It is not our Christian experience. It is not our heritage. It is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is so profound and growing that is produces His character, the character of His kingdom, in our lives. It is not just on the surface, though it can and ought to be seen. This is both radical and the difference between life and death.
Jesus says that the storms will reveal whether we have the true foundation or not. According to R. Kent Hughes, His primary reference here is to the final judgment because in the Old Testament and elsewhere in Hebrew writings the storm serves as a symbol for God's judgment [see, for example, Ezekiel 13:11]. The storm can also refer to the difficulties of life. Sometimes a gracious, dark, hurling storm hits the house on the sand, and its owner finds out that he is lacking. How tragic to find this out only in the final judgment. Many will cry, "Lord, Lord" from beneath the rubble of their life's house, and He will say, "I never knew you." There is probably nothing more tragic.
Note that Jesus believed in Heaven and Hell ... so much so that He spoke twice as much about Hell than about Heaven ... and He came to deliver us from Hell. He desperately wants us to take note of our lives and where they are going.
And then "When Jesus had finished with these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes" [Matthew 7:28, 29].
First, one must develop the requisite vocabulary. Words like fellowship, brother, sister, amen, hallelujah, et. al. Use these words with just the right inflections and you are in. Second, one should emulate certain social conventions. It is most effective to share similar attitudes about alcohol and tobacco, modesty in dress, etc. If you show the appropriate likes and dislikes [with an emphasis on the dislikes], one can likely pass as a Christian. And now that so many evangelicals have aligned their lifestyles with the secular culture's materialism, pleasure-seeking, entertainment, economics and fads, it has greatly facilitated the ease with which one can assume the social conventions of the faithful.
Third, it is best if one has the right heritage. If one's parents are respectable Christians, or even better, full-time Christian workers, it will be almost a given that this person is a believer. This is especially true if this person affects some civilities associated with a godly heritage, such as attending evening and midweek services and tithing. Often the desires of overly anxious parents to see their children become believers has contributed to the heritage = salvation delusion and as a result multitudes of unregenerate evangelicals are comfortably ensconced in their churches. And no one questions the authenticity of their faith!
The question is, why would anyone willfully take up the so-called "narrow way" apart from actually being "born-again?" For too many it is the path of least resistance. To do otherwise would impair comfortable family and social relationships. And over the past thirty years there has evolved quite an excellent repertoire of Christian media ... music, movies, books, children's literature and DVDs and even artwork. Being born-again can be quite profitable. Jesus saves, but He also sells!
We should not discount the fact that the Biblical lifestyle is a good way to live. Families that subscribe to it tend to be happier and healthier and stay together longer. It is not all that surprising that Christianity, being so wholesome, would attract a number of people who would practice its lifestyle without knowing its inner reality. The human race has an incredible capacity for self-delusion. It was none other than wise King Solomon himself who commented on "those who are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not cleansed of their filth" [Proverbs 30:12].
So it is that Jesus anticipated the problem of false profession by those in the church and dealt with it at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. His was a driving warning against being sidetracked from the true faith. In vv. 13-20 He warned of the dangers that come from the outside and now in vv. 21-27 He warns us of the dangers that come from ourselves.
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" [Matthew 7:21-23].
Jesus holds up the example of people who give a spectacular profession of belief as they stand before Him, but they will be rejected on the day of judgment. John Stott notes that this confession is remarkable on four points. First, it is polite. They address Christ as "Lord." Even today that is a courteous, tolerant way to refer to Christ. Second, the confession is orthodox. The word "Lord" [kurios] can mean "Sir," but it is also a divine title. Third, the confession is fervent. And finally, the confession is public. So what is wrong with it? Nothing! But there is a problem. Correct orthodox belief will not give us eternal life. This is not to say that correct belief is not necessary for salvation -- it is. Paul makes that clear in Romans 10:9, 10: "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
A man who refuses to say "Lord, Lord" will never enter the kingdom of heaven. All true believers say, "Lord, Lord." But not all who say "Lord, Lord" are true believers! Intellectual orthodoxy does not necessarily indicate saving faith. We can be absolutely correct in our belief about Christ's nature and person, His substitutionary atonement, His resurrection, and His return, and we may have even fought against heretics, and yet not be truly saved.
Furthermore, zeal and fervency do not bring eternal life. And lastly, remarkable works do not bring eternal life. Prophesying, preaching, teaching and healing do not prove anything. Balaam gave an accurate message but was a hireling and a sinner. Saul was used by God when he was under the spirit of prophecy, but he himself was lost. Fervent proclamation of the truth does not prove spiritual reality. Jesus warned specifically about this later in Matthew [24:24], "For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect -- if that were possible." So in other words, a man may be able to do great things and get great results, but that says absolutely nothing about his salvation.
How can this be? Note that Jesus says that "he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" will enter the kingdom of heaven. Multitudes of religious people, evangelicals included, are lost because they do not do God's will. Is Christ now referring to salvation by works? No. In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is referring to the Beatitudes and the deep ethical, spiritual obedience found in God's kingdom. He is referring to a heart obedience that is not only on the surface but permeates our inner being. "The will of my Father" indicates the character and the conduct of the kingdom of God.
The way to test ourselves is to look below the surface. Scary I know, but we must look to see if our lives conform to the character of the kingdom -- the Beautiful Attitudes of the kingdom of God. Are we poor in spirit? Are we meek? Do we have that positive quality of strength in saying, "Yes, we are sinners. No matter what others do to us, will we stand up for truth and for God and for others?" Do we have merciful spirits? Are we compassionate to those who are hurting and lost and in physical need? Do we forgive or do we hold grudges? This is what Jesus is saying.
We all know the story about the house built on the rock and house that was built on the sand. We also know that the houses are metaphors for two men's religious lives. The houses, the lives, looked exactly the same. In our day that translates to they both have 3 bedrooms, hardwood floors, open kitchen with granite countertops, heat and air conditioning, shuttered windows, freshly painted walls and nicely landscaped yards. So it is with the edifices of their lives -- they look the same. The two men attend the same church, sing the same songs, send their children to the same schools. But one has been wise, and the other has been a fool [the Greek word used here is moro, from which we get moron]. The wise man excavated down to the bedrock and grounded his house upon it. The foolish man built the seemingly identical house upon sand. The foundation of one man's life is solid, and that of the other is nonexistent.
If we heed Jesus' soul-penetrating words, if we measure ourselves by His standards, if we evaluate our ethics by His ethics, if we strain after the Sermon's great teaching in prayer and piety, we are building upon the rock. The foolish man is shallow in his thinking and lays a shallow foundation on the sand. He cannot be troubled with thinking things through. He is concerned with having a house [life] that simply looks nice. It looks like his church friend's life, but it is all outward, it is all style, all fluff. It is not our cultural distinctions that save us. It is not our evangelical civilities. It is not our Christian experience. It is not our heritage. It is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is so profound and growing that is produces His character, the character of His kingdom, in our lives. It is not just on the surface, though it can and ought to be seen. This is both radical and the difference between life and death.
Jesus says that the storms will reveal whether we have the true foundation or not. According to R. Kent Hughes, His primary reference here is to the final judgment because in the Old Testament and elsewhere in Hebrew writings the storm serves as a symbol for God's judgment [see, for example, Ezekiel 13:11]. The storm can also refer to the difficulties of life. Sometimes a gracious, dark, hurling storm hits the house on the sand, and its owner finds out that he is lacking. How tragic to find this out only in the final judgment. Many will cry, "Lord, Lord" from beneath the rubble of their life's house, and He will say, "I never knew you." There is probably nothing more tragic.
Note that Jesus believed in Heaven and Hell ... so much so that He spoke twice as much about Hell than about Heaven ... and He came to deliver us from Hell. He desperately wants us to take note of our lives and where they are going.
And then "When Jesus had finished with these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes" [Matthew 7:28, 29].
Friday, May 13, 2011
Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” Matthew 7:15-20
Jesus seems to be crystal clear in his statement here. False preachers have and will come. We see them throughout our culture and our churches are continually assaulted by them. So we need to be prepared and we need to pray for our churches and their leadership that we will not come under the spell of false teachers.
Note that Jesus tells us in v. 15 that the false prophets are those who “come to you in sheep’s clothing.” In other words, they look just like sheep. These false teachers are not your standard heretics. The ones Jesus describes here are the ones’ whose teachings are extremely subtle. The ones’ whose messages that lack the narrow gate that Jesus referred to in the immediately preceding text. The false teacher may not say anything overtly untrue but the problem is often more in what he will not say. He says many right things, but he also leaves out some indispensable points of belief. And that is what makes him so very dangerous. His preaching also has another telltale characteristic – he says nothing that is offensive to the natural man. His message comforts and soothes and never warns of judgment. He wants everyone to speak well of him. He is like the false prophets in Jeremiah’s time of whom the prophet said, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace” [Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11]. They speak, according to Isaiah, “smooth things” and “prophesy illusions” [Isaiah 30:10]. There is nothing to make anyone uneasy, but rather only things that make people feel good, content and falsely assured. They characterize anyone who preaches otherwise as negative.
The result of such preachers’ work is disastrous. Jesus says they are “ferocious wolves” – a horrific title. They are a shepherd’s and the Shepherd’s – worst nightmare. They would destroy every sheep in the flock if undetected. But Jesus gave us a way to discern the true v. the false teacher when he opened and closed his warning with “By their fruit you will recognize them.” Kent Hughes notes that the word for “recognize” [also translated as “know”, epignosis] means an exact or full knowledge of. One’s fruits provide an exact, unerring knowledge of what one really is. The teacher’s fruit is evident in two categories – what he says [his doctrine] and how he lives [his moral life].
There are certain doctrinal flaws common to the false teachers. First, the false teacher avoids speaking on things such as the holiness, righteousness, justice and wrath of God. He doesn’t usually overtly deny these characteristics but he just fails to ever mention them. Any exposition of these truths would be disconcerting, especially to the nonbelievers in the audience; so he avoids them, and thus keeps his people ignorant of these essential doctrines. On the contrary, his main emphasis is the love of God, which he fails to keep in balance with God’s justice and judgment. And as a corollary, he avoids at all costs preaching or teaching about God’s final judgment. The most recent of many examples of this is Rob Bell and his new book, Love Wins.
The false teachers also fail to emphasize the fallenness and depravity of mankind. The truth that man is sinful to the very core of his being and that he cannot save himself is consciously avoided. Instead, he tries to build men up trying vainly to make them see their potential. You won’t hear him use the word sin in his preaching. Prophets like this actually reject the Biblical assessment of man’s predicament. We preach what we believe. If we do not preach it, we don’t believe it.
And lastly, false prophets de-emphasize the substitutionary death and atonement of Christ. They may talk about Christ’s death on the cross, but they do not believe in the vicarious, substitutionary atonement. They may sentimentalize it, they may sing about it, but the do not truly believe it, because they do not believe they or we are bad enough to require it. Christ is more an example whom we should follow rather our true savior.
So much for the test of what they teach … there is also the test of how they live – the moral test. And it is here that we really get to the heart of the matter. The controlling realization here is that being a true Christian means there has been a radical change in the depth of the person through the grace of God. There is an incredibly deep connection between what comes out of us and what we are. As Jesus said, the essence of the tree determines the fruit that it produces. False teachers encourage us to try to make ourselves Christians by adding something to our lives instead of becoming something new, and somehow it never ends up quite ringing true. A wolf can wear a sheep’s clothing but it cannot grow a sheep’s coat. It is possible to subscribe to the qualities of the Beatitudes, and yet never truly own them from within. Appearances can only be kept for so long. Time will eventually reveal the true nature of the fruit. Sooner or later we will know where a man stands.
True believers have been radically altered, and though they are far from perfection and often stumble and may even backslide, they do manifest the character of God’s kingdom. There is a true ring to their poverty of spirit, their thirst after righteousness, their mercy, and their peacemaking. They also will show the fruit of the Spirit as Paul described in Galatians 5:22, 23 – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Lastly, I think Jesus includes this here as a gentle warning to each of us as well. We should not be superficial about our own lives either. Sheep, is the fleece we are wearing really ours? Did we really grow it, or is it just a uniform? Trees, what kind of fruit are we bearing? Is the fruit really ours? Does it really come from the life within, or is it just so many ornaments? The destinies of our souls depend on our answers.
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