Whenever Jesus begins by saying “Beware” it’s best you sit up and listen. Beware means to be on guard; to get your attention. “Beware” means a warning is about to be spoken. Ignore it at your own risk. One occasion was the sermon on the mount. Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15).

Beware! Pay attention. Be on the lookout. In this case, for false prophets. To put it into modern understanding, beware of false pastors, false teachers, false preachers and false speakers. Beware of anyone who would mislead you, aggrieve you, or deceive you about the clear truth of God’s revealed Word. Have nothing to do with them if you know what’s good for you.

The imagery Jesus gives for a false prophet is provocative. He calls them “ravenous wolves.” Not just wolves, but ravenous wolves. If you’ve ever seen a wolf, they’re intimidating creatures: long legs, deep chest, pointed ears, and menacing fangs. If you happen to encounter a ravenous wolf up close and personal, beware! A ferocious, starving animal wants to eat you for lunch. Likewise, false prophets will destroy your faith and eat your soul.  

Fortunately, Jesus gives us a clear way to identify a false prophet. “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” (Matt. 7:16). Jesus shifts the imagery from animals to plants. He uses the imagery of a wild, ravenous animal to express the danger of a false prophet (v.15). Then he uses fruit-bearing plants and trees to readily identify a false prophet and their false teaching (v.16).

It’s a profound, simple strategy. Take a piece of fruit and study it carefully. Likewise, study the vines and branches upon which the fruit grows. When you know the fruit and the plant upon which the fruit grows, you can tell the difference between weeds and fruit-bearing plants. You know the weeds to pull, the vines to cut, and the imposters to cull.

In other words, the way you know something false is by first studying the real thing. To know what a grape is not you must know what a grape is. You don’t study the imposter, you study the real thing. If you know what a grape vine looks like and what grapes look like, you won’t be fooled into cultivating a bunch of pigweed or buckthorn, thinking you’ll grow grapes. You know those weeds produce nothing but cockleburs and thorns and are good for nothing but kindling.

Therefore, to recognize a false prophet or Christian imposter, you study the Word of God. You learn the Word of God. You analyze, recognize, and memorize the Word of God. What it says. What it gives. What it means. And how it lives. Indeed, it lives as the abiding, active, and authoritative Word of God, so that when you learn how to analyze, recognize, and memorize it, detecting what is false becomes all the easier.  The power of God’s Word is the foundation of our faith.

So, if a pastor, preacher, teacher, or claimed Christian speaker comes along with a golden tongue, and is declaring what sounds like words of wisdom, but something just doesn’t seem quite right, you can analyze those words. If they’re contrary to the revealed Word of God in the Scriptures, you know that, at a minimum, the words are false, or worse, the person is a false prophet. What is more, if someone claims to be a Christian leader but the fruit of their life doesn’t match up with the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) in either their assertions or their actions, you know they, too, are a false prophet.

If they repent and correct the false teaching, well and good. Misspeaking and unintentionally offering misinformation can certainly happen. But clarification and correction should swiftly follow. However, if someone persists in false teaching and bad fruit, we must flee from them and hold to the truth of God’s Word. When Jesus says “beware,” we need to sit up and listen.

BEWARE is where we started. Beware of false prophets and false teaching. But BELIEVE is where we will end. Believe the power of God’s Word. Believe not only how it protects, corrects, and directs, but believe how it bespeaks you righteous. Believe how it declares you forgiven. Believe how it proclaims you beloved. Believe how God has baptismally wrapped you into His life by water and His powerful Word.

BELIEVE the Word of God was made flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, to bring you life and salvation. Believe Jesus Christ gives you hope and courage in a chaotic world. Believe that Jesus Christ - crucified, dead, and risen again - comes to you as the great life completer, fear deleter, and death defeater!

Beware and believe, in Jesus’ name.