One of the things I did late this past week was develop a draft outline for a lesson in Chapter 14 of the Sermon on the Mount book I’ve been working on. Here is just a portion of the outline for Matthew 7:15…
Beware of false prophets (Matthew 7:15)
The Inner Character of False Prophets
- look beneath the sheep’s clothing
- they and their message will look safe and sound on the surface
- they will sound like they are declaring the Word of God
- they will look like a fellow citizen
- they will feel like caring, empathetic leaders and prophets
- look beneath the surface and past the obvious
- their Christianity is shallow and superficial
- they have a form of godliness (2 Timothy 3:5)
- their identity in Christ is only as a piece of clothing, not who they really are
- it is all an act, a cover
- they lack the character traits of kingdom citizens
- they do not personally feed on the Word
- their heart is in the broad way
- their focus, their motivation, and their agenda is self
- not Christ nor His kingdom nor His righteousness
- their true identity
- their doing and saying and appearing may seem right — but what is their being?
- wolves — greedy, predatory, and plundering
- “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18)
- self-promoters seeking a following by a flock of consumables (Acts 20:30)
- fierce waves of the sea (Jude 13), carrying along unguided ships
- unanchored and unattached (ungrounded and unrooted, but that’s a different metaphor!)
- restless and dissatisfied
- adrift
Here are two other posts of mine on the general subject: