THE SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE ~ EXPOSING HYPOCRISY ~ Part 37
She walked into Bible study carrying her bejeweled Joyce Meyers’ Bible cover, coffee cup, and tote bag filled with only God knows what other JM novelties. She hugged me with sincere exuberance on our first encounter, just for my “allowing her to come into my home for Bible study.” I had no idea what she had heard or what she was expecting, but it was easy to love this woman in an instant. Her charisma was contagious. So hungry for truth, she drank up the teaching that morning as I can only imagine the followers of Jim Jones drank the Kool-Aid of the cultist’s lies. During one of her many questions that diverted that week’s lesson into a detoured discussion on true biblical Christianity, she blurted out her plans for that upcoming weekend. She was heading to a Joyce Meyer conference the next morning. I blurted out: “Please don’t go. Stay home!” After spending a couple of hours with the girls in Bible study and then lunch that lasted all afternoon, she cancelled her plans.
I poured my life into this woman for years, a discipleship relationship that led to us being the very best of friends. Sadly, one day she turned away from me, no longer wanting to be friends or hear the truth. Shocked, I sought her forgiveness for anything I may have done to offend her; I sent her countless letters telling her how much I loved her pleading with her to talk to me to no avail.
My friend experienced horrific heartache over the years we were apart—one specific heartache I knew all too well—the loss of a child. This child I, too, had grown to love. Receiving this news while in prison, my spirit grieved with her. After I was released, I saw her in the grocery store one day and made a beeline to where she stood, completely unaware I was working there. Hugging her tightly, I told her that I loved her, was so sorry for her deep loss, and that I was praying for her. Her heart was beating so rapidly, I thought it might pop out of her chest, but she did not linger to talk.
Five years later, “out of the blue”, she re-connected with me on Facebook, telling me our times together were some of the best times she ever had in her life, and that she would really like to talk to me at some point in the future. I was overjoyed! We never got that chance, for she died suddenly a little over a month ago. I was devastated not knowing if she really knew the great Shepherd of the sheep. I pray that I still get that opportunity to talk to her “in the future”.
Another friend threw down a gauntlet with me a few weeks ago. “You like the teaching of John MacArthur. I don’t m-e-a-n to be offensive, but what gives people like John MacArthur the authority to tell someone like Beth Moore to ‘Go home’ anyways?” I explained to my dear friend that all authority belongs to God, and that the man of God who preaches God’s Word stands upon that authority alone. Having sat under Pastor John’s teaching for literally three plus decades, I have no doubt in saying he would never claim the authority from which he speaks as his own. As we shall see, telling a false teacher to ‘go home’ is nothing compared to what God is telling them even today. When God begins a sentence to someone with “Woe,” that person will wish he or she could simply, ‘Go home!’
Yesterday, I received a comment on a Facebook post tinged with subtle undertones of rebuke to stop judging the teaching of certain men who only claim to speak the truth of God’s Word. It said, “Let’s not worry about what others are doing, and just preach the truth.” Sigh! Yes, exactly…the truth must be preached! While I have no doubt there were good intentions behind this gentle nudge, error must be exposed. Why? Because we are all sheep. ‘Sheeple’ is what we are. God said as much when He likened us to sheep who need a Shepherd throughout the Old and New Testaments. We need the Good Shepherd because of those hungry wolves disguised as sheep whose sole objective in life is to prey on the weakest of the sheep and lead the flock of God astray. And whether we want to admit it or not, we all are weak, frail, finite beings likened to grass that withers, flowers that fade…and sheep. Only the Word of our God stands forever. It alone is our plumbline against which we can measure the ideologies of men to be certain they align with the righteousness of God.
1 Corinthians 12:2 says: You know that when you were pagans (heathen, Gentiles, unbelievers), you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. 2 Corinthians 11:3—But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness (cunning subtlety, a specious or false wisdom, trickery), your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
Led astray is to lead away or carry away especially those who are led off to trial, prison, or punishment.
Ephesians 4, talking about the Church, the pillar and support of the Truth, equips us to become mature in Christ so that: As a result, we are not longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ. (Vss. 13-14)
Carried about is to be driven in doubt and hesitation; to be led away now to this opinion, now to that opinion.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves,” Jesus said in Matthew 7:15. Beware means to be on the alert. Who? Just the shepherds? We are all to be aware, but especially shepherds who lead their flocks. It is the responsibility of discerning believers and shepherds, alike, to identify false teaching and false teachers. Why? Why? Why? Because the ways of deceit are subtle. Ravenous wolves inside, false prophets don the garb of a good shepherd to deceive, devour, and ultimately destroy the sheep. See also Acts 20:28-29 where Paul uses the same word to warn about savage wolves who would come in among the church at Ephesus “not sparing the flock.” Even from among them men would arise, speaking perverse (distorted, twisted) things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, they were to be on the alert!
In Matthew 16:6, Jesus told His disciples to watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. There are many like warnings throughout Scripture. Sometimes, Romans 16:17 is used against those who are sounding the warning sirens of discernment. They are accused of being the ones who are causing divisions and creating obstacles in the church. But look at the verse. Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. Is it divisive or loving to point out the error of false teaching? Within this love-filled greeting by Paul to the church at Rome, Paul gives this warning. He is telling the church to watch out for teaching that undermines the truth of Christianity. Just as Mother and Father watch out that their toddler does not put something harmful into her mouth as she explores her new world, so do those mature, discerning believers watch out for those who are new to the faith and don’t know better. They do so only as they have learned to stay close to the Word for wisdom so that they are not led astray.
False teachers are to be avoided. How can a new believer avoid a false teacher if they don’t know who they are? 2 John 10 says that false teachers are not even to be welcomed into the home of a believer…or given a greeting! Verse 11 says, “for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.” In the days when hospitality was a vital aspect of life for travelers, these false teachers, intent on destroying the very foundations of Christianity, were not to be associated with in any way. Christians were not to even give the appearance of supporting false teaching by housing a heretic who was just passing through an area. That which dishonors Christ and destroys people should not be considered lightly. According to 1 Timothy 5:19-20, false teachers who persist in error should not only be avoided but rebuked publicly.
Finally, Ephesians 5:11 calls us to expose error. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Expose is the word elegcho which means to: Censure them; show them to be wrong.
To what extent? Are believers to go around just exposing every single error that comes out of the mouth of anyone who claims to be a believer? No. There are things that should be taken into consideration. How serious is the error? Is it meant to deceive? Is the ministry of this false teacher growing or how big is his circle of influence? How long has this one been putting forth his or her error? Is the error of a certain false teacher affecting those under your stewardship?
Isaiah 53:6—All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the wrongdoing of us all to fall on Him. Psalm 100:3—Know that the LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
I read a book early in my Christian walk by Phillip Keller entitled A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. I highly recommend it if you have never read it. You can download a free PDF on several sites online. He says, “…it is no mere whim on God’s part to call us sheep. Our behavior patterns and life habits are so much like that of sheep it is well nigh embarrassing” (page 65). How so?
Sheep are totally dependent upon their shepherd for their every need! Sheep require more care than any other class of livestock. The meticulous care provided by the shepherd involves endless attention. He feeds them, waters them, and provides shelter and protection from their enemies. Sheep that follow a good shepherd want for nothing.
Sheep stray. Dogs have an incredible ability to find their way home, but not sheep. Sheep can wander far from home. They tend to wander and go astray, unable to find their way home to the sheepfold even when it is within sight! As the hymn writer says, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.” The Good Shepherd will always find His wandering sheep and bring them home, if they are truly His.
Sheep are timid, defenseless creatures. They are unintelligent in that they don’t learn from their mistakes but often repeat them. Sheep have nothing with which to defend themselves—no quills like porcupines, scent like a skunk, claws, horns, or razor-sharp teeth. They are totally unable to defend themselves against attacks. Especially vulnerable are the lambs. Daily shepherds of old put their lives at risk to protect their sheep. Jesus is the ultimate Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep.
Sheep can easily drown. If their wool gets wet enough, they can easily sink to the bottom of a stream. If sheep get onto their backs, they cannot get themselves back up. They will kick and bleat until the shepherd hears their cries who will come running to set them on their feet again.
Sheep have poorly developed instincts to warn them of the threat of potential danger. They can eat themselves right into a briar patch or to the edge of a cliff totally unaware. But the shepherd tenderly searches for his sheep and carries it to safety on his shoulder, wrapping it in his long cloak.
Sheep are easily frightened and become easily confused. In confusion, they have been known to follow one another as they plunge blindly off a cliff.
Sheep need the touch of their shepherd daily. They answer his call with a rub against his leg waiting for a pat of personal attention. This, to them, is better than food. The shepherd knows that only satisfied sheep eat, drink, and get fat, fulfilling their purpose. They only answer to the shepherd’s call, except when they are sick.
Sheep won’t lie down while they are hungry, nor will they drink from fast-flowing streams. A shepherd leads…because sheep cannot be driven. The sheep hear the shepherd’s voice, and they willingly follow. If a sheep does wander off, the shepherd will leave the sheep in the care of his helpers and search for the lost animal.
We, like sheep, have a strong tendency to go astray as we follow after the lusts of our flesh, the lust of our eyes, pursuing the pride of life. Our futile attempts at self-helps and standing on our own self-righteousness lead us away from the Shepherd. It is our nature to drift away from Him (Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. — Hebrews 2:1). When we drift, we can get lost, even forgetting how to get back to God. When we turn away from God and back to the world, we will find ourselves confronted by numerous enemies who will attack us in many ways.
All people—sheeple—spiritually blind and lost in their sin, need a shepherd. We are easily led astray by others to our own destruction. It is the inherent pride in man that makes this hard to admit to ourselves. Jesus warned those who did not believe in Him, “I did tell you, but you do not believe…you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:25-28)
The Good Shepherd will take care of His own. But what will happen to the bad shepherds? We do not have to guess.
Jeremiah 23:1-2—“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the LORD.”
We must remember that Israel was to be a theocracy. A theocracy is a form of government that is led by God or by a person or persons who claim to rule by divine authority. Israel was to have been a theocracy, but they rejected God’s rule over them, and God gave them what they wanted instead—human kings. They wanted to be ruled like the nations around them. (1 Samuel 8:4-9) In the context of Jeremiah 23:1-2, ‘shepherds’ referred to false leaders—including kings, political leaders, business leaders, military leaders, education leaders, and spiritual leaders.
God’s flock was scattered—which God attributes to poor leadership. Rather than tending to His people like good shepherds who cared for their sheep, the leaders were harming them. Because they had not attended to His people, in judgment He would tend to them.
Listen to some of the other verses in this chapter. How much of it do you see taking place in the name of ‘religion’ today? Do you hear echoes of Babylon?
A loving God has always warned His people beforehand of coming judgment. Men like Noah rose up to preach repentance and judgment to come for 120 years before the flood. All the prophets of old warned of sure judgment to come…judgment that, in fact, came.
Jeremiah 23:16-18—Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the LORD. They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You will have peace”’; and as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, they say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’ “But who has stood in the council of the LORD, that he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened?” God told his people not to listen to the false prophets. But it was those who despised Him who listened. These false prophets were not speaking God’s Word but their own words. Giving people empty hopes from invented prophecies of their own imagination were just empty words from windbags. How did the people believe these lies? One, because they wanted to hear positive messages; and two, because they did not know their God. It is the heart of false prophecy to give false hope. Our culture says, “Just follow your heart” as its supreme wisdom for living. The Bible says there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 14:12) We cannot trust our heart’s wisdom to steer us right unless what is in our heart aligns with God’s wisdom.
The false prophets didn’t believe judgment was coming, but verses 18-20 tells us that God had already unleashed a violent whirlwind of judgment that would not be turned back. When judgment came, they would know it was from God.
In the New Testament, future warnings of judgment of the false prophets included 1 Thessalonians 5:3—While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. In the final days before Jesus’ return, men will heap upon themselves men who will tickle their ears telling them ‘positive, uplifting’ messages rather than messages of ‘doom and gloom’. And 2 Timothy 4:3-4—For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
Jeremiah 23:20b-22—In the last days you will clearly understand it. “I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.” Instead of preaching the hard truths of repentance, the false prophets run to tell the people what they want to hear for their own popularity. They run with the finish line of their own agenda in sight. On judgment day, they will finally understand the truth, but it will be too late.
Jeremiah 23:25-32—“I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other. Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish the people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.
Leaders are held responsible for those entrusted to their care and will be accountable to God for that stewardship. In the passages I didn’t quote, Jeremiah contrasts the corrupt leaders of his day with the coming Messiah, the perfect Shepherd King who would come from David’s line to reign over Israel.
Jeremiah was so overwhelmed because of the Lord and His Word that he felt as though he were staggering under the burden God had given him, unlike the false prophets who flippantly played fast and loose with God’s Word and altered it to please their audiences. One reason the nation became so corrupt was because of false prophecy. The audience of the false prophets was large because they made the people believe that all was well. Jeremiah’s message was unpopular because it showed the people their sin and its consequences. God’s man stands in the council of the Lord to see and hear His Word. Regardless of how hard the message, he delivers whatever message he receives from the Lord for His people. People mocked Jeremiah and his God because it seemed that he brought nothing but God’s sad news of condemnation—but it was the truth. If they had accepted it, they would have to repent and turn to God. It was their pride and self-love that precluded them from doing so. They said they loved God, but the god they loved above all else was ‘the god of me, myself, and I’.
It is easy to see from this passage that just like today, the people were more focused on experiences rather than hearing the Word of God. They craved what made their flesh feel good, not what was beneficial for their spiritual good. They would pay for rejecting God’s Word, but the false shepherds would pay even more dearly. In the next posts we will look at Ezekiel 34 and then delve into Matthew 23.
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