I was recently reading Matthew 7, when verse 15 popped out at me. “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
You know what hit me? If I don’t know God for myself, it will be so easy to be deceived by the false prophets. If I can’t see through the fake outer covering, I can be swept away by things that are contrary to God’s word. I want to know that I am following God’s word and not the words of a false prophet. How can I be sure?
Let’s look at this concept from the lens of another relationship. I love my husband. I want to spend time with him. I want to know everything about him – his favorite foods, his favorite pastimes, his favorite music. I could ask his closest friends, and they could probably tell me everything I want to know, or I could spend time with him myself to find out.
My relationship with God works the same – I could learn quite a bit about God by listening to others, but I need to know Him for myself. That’s why I should be spending time with Him, so that when those false prophets try to deceive me, I know Him and His word, not just what I have been told about Him.
What does it really matter how I know about God, as long as I know about him, right? Think about someone that you know well. Are there small things that you see that others might not notice because they don’t know the person as well. Are there certain mannerisms that this person uses that tell you things that their words are not saying? Are there certain phrases this person says that give you inside information? You know this person so well that you hear what their words are not saying. You haven’t just learned about them from someone else, you truly know this person so well that you see the thoughts and emotions they can easily hide from those who do not know them.
We are living in an unprecedented time in our nation. We can find information in abundance with just a few clicks. Some of it is completely true and valid. Some of it is skewed and misrepresented. It is easy to be deceived by false prophets if we don’t know the truth. It is so easy to be deceived by what others say when it sounds good, even though it is not. God’s truth is God’s truth. No matter how we try to rationalize and justify it, we can’t make it true if God says it isn’t.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to listen to the teachings of others. In fact, as Christians, it is so important that we come together and learn from one another. It’s not okay to take the word of others as gospel truth. It is the responsibility of each of us to search scriptures for ourselves so that we recognize those false prophets and are able to refute their teachings with God’s truth.
With Eyes on the Cross 