Know Who You Are Following Pt. 2

2nd Peter 1-3

Last week we started a study on false leadership that is not only in the world today, but in our churches as well. We must know who we are following as Christians. Make sure your “call & election are true”. Meaning we need to make sure that the ones that we are following are bringing us closer to God and not leading us away and the only way you will know that is if you are in the Word of God. If you are not in the Word of God then you will fall for whatever comes your way. You are listening to man’s opinion on the Word of God rather than listening to the author of it. Christian leadership has to line up with the Word. It cannot go against the Word. If you are leading someone, which we are all called to do, make sure you are in the Word of God otherwise you are going to lead people down the wrong path.

In Acts 17 Paul was preaching to those in Berea wanted to make sure that Paul and Silas were preaching truth. So what did they do?

Acts 17:11b
“searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” - NKJ

Those who are “Discipling” you, you need to look into the Scripture for yourself and make sure what they are teaching you lines up with it. If it does not line up, then you need to find another leader to follow.

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
False leaders are cunning people. They introduce their doctrine quietly, they sneak up one people (not physically), they get in good with you then they begin to indoctrinate you with their teachings.

Matthew 7:15-20
“¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” – NKJ

Little by little they pull you away from the truth, before you know it you are down a road you are not supposed to be on and you do not even know it. You are lured away by what sounds good and now you are following someone who is leading you farther and farther from the truth.

I remember the Wile E. Coyote cartoons where the coyote would look out for the top of the hill and start looking at the sheep as a meal, they would change into lamb chops and steaks and he is licking his lips in starvation. He buys a sheep costume from the Acme Co. and he puts it on and starts to mingle in with the herd of sheep. Unnoticed. Unannounced. He slips into the middle of the flock and begins to take with him various sheep. He thinks he is unnoticed until Ralph the Sheep dog steps in and chases him away.

This is an illustration as to how false teachers work. They are like the wolf on the inside, but the outside they are disguised as a sheep. They look Christian, they may even talk Christian, but they have an agenda and they will keep trying over and over until they are either ran off by the sheepdog or until they get their marked prey. You do not need a sheep dog in your life….you need to have a shepherd. The only Shepherd that will never steer you wrong.

John 10:11
“¹¹I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” – NIV

John 10:14
“¹⁴I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me” – NIV

Be in the Word! His sheep knows his voice. When you hear another voice that is not of God you will know it, if you are in the Word of God. There are false religions that being thrown out everywhere. I believe that people fall for it hook line and sinker is because they are not biblically knowledgeable. They are not growing in the knowledge of Christ every day. Just to give you an example, where I used to live there was a Kingdom Hall down the street (Jehova’s Witness). They would come to my door and I would talk to them. In a kind manner. I wasn’t rude or anything. They always travel in pairs. There is one who is the “leader” and the other one is in training. I had two come to my door and he let the one who was in training do the talking first. He began to witness to me and when he was done I began to talk to him about the Truth. As I was talking to him, I could see it in his eyes that he was questioning what he was talking about after hearing what I was saying. The “leader” recognized this and he jumped in and said they were sorry to bother me and they left. I have other encounters as well in my lifetime by different religions and I have noticed something. They go after the ones who have very little or none biblical knowledge. They go after the ones who are the weakest in their faith. Sounds just like a wolf don’t it. It is usually the weakest of the flock that gets picked off first.

At the end of Peters 2^nd Epistle he says this:
2nd Peter 3:17-18
“¹⁷Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” – NIV

Why do we need to grow in our knowledge of Christ? So we are not carried off by wolves in sheeps clothing! Get into the Word.

Secret Heresies

2nd Peter 2:1-2
“ ¹But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” – NIV

“But there were also lying prophets among the people then, just as there will be lying religious teachers among you. They'll smuggle in destructive divisions, pitting you against each other—biting the hand of the One who gave them a chance to have their lives back! They've put themselves on a fast downhill slide to destruction, but not before they recruit a crowd of mixed-up followers who can't tell right from wrong.
They give the way of truth a bad name. They're only out for themselves. They'll say anything, anything, that sounds good to exploit you.” – The MSG

These false leaders that come into the church are not going to openly display their agenda. They do it in secret, because the Shepherd is on the lookout and if it is done in open they will be ran off.

What does this word heresy mean anyways? This word heresy in the Greek means – “dissensions arising from diversity of opinions and aims”. Look at this in Galatians:

Galatians 2:3-5
“³Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. ⁴This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. ⁵We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.” – NIV

This issue that Paul was facing an issue that arose in the church. It was a religious issue. These Judaizers were saying that Gentile converts should be circumcised and obey the law of Moses. These were religious do and don’ts. This was a matter not of Christ, but a matter of opinion.

Acts 15:5
“ ⁵Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." – NIV

The Pharisees were religious men who on the outside they looked ok…and that is all they cared about…that they looked the part, but on the inside they were like the “ravenous wolves”. This is what happens in churches. Because of differences of opinions dissension starts to stir up and rather than work towards the common goal, which is to make disciples, these false leaders begin to stir up division in the church. They go to this person or that person and before you know it people are being led astray.

Proverbs 6:16-19
“¹⁶ There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: ¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, ¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, ¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” - NIV

Remember, we will know them by their fruits. What they are displaying is what they really are. If they do not display an attitude of Christ, the love of Christ, the forgiveness of Christ and so forth, then what are they displaying? This is ultimately about following leaders who will lead us towards God and into a deeper relationship with God. A couple of weeks ago I read a story about a violinists who was asked how did she become so good at playing. She responded, “Planned neglect”. Maybe we ought to examine our lives and see what is in the way of us getting closer to God and maybe removing those things or people from our lives. Listen, a bad tree cannot bear good fruit and a good tree cannot bear bad fruit. I didn’t say it, God did. Know who you are following. 

Deny the Lord Who Bought Them Out

2nd Peter 2:1b
“…even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them…”
We know that when we were bought and paid for by the Blood of Jesus Christ. We know that He was crucified for our sin.

1st Corinthians 6:20
“²⁰you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” – NIV
So how would someone deny the Lord who bought them? There are many ways that people can deny God. They can just deny His existence, they can Deny Christ’s deity, they can say Jesus never existed. Those are the obvious ways people deny God. But what about denying God without saying anything, but denying God by our actions?

Let me explain. If we believe in God, we say there is a God, we say that we are saved, should not our actions line up with what we say?

1st John 3:7-10
“⁷Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. ⁸He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. ⁹No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. ¹⁰This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” – NIV

When we get saved our actions need to line up with the Word of God. Now I am not talking about slipping up from time to time. But those who live in complete disobedience to the Word of God, not adhering to God’s way of living. Those that have been bought by the Blood of Christ, but deny it by their actions.
We are called to be Spirit led Christians. Allowing God to lead our lives the way He wants it to be lead.

Romans 8:12-16
“¹²Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. ¹³For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, ¹⁴because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.” – NIV

If we are Spirit led & we are Children of God, shouldn’t we act like a child of God then? When you act like a child of God then people will know that God is real.

Matthew 5:14-16
“¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” - NIV

Do people praise God because of the leader that is in your life? Or do they turn from God?

Matthew 7:15; 20
“¹⁵"Watch out for false prophets…..²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” – NIV

Jesus goes on to say:
Matthew 7:24-27
“²⁴Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” – NIV

Take your Bible….lift it up. This is what you are to build your relationship with God with. It starts here. This is the solid foundation that Christ is talking about. If you follow this, you will not follow false leaders. Know who you are following.