Beware Of Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing

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After a conversation at lunch this week about the bestselling book The Shack, I was thinking of writing about “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” I wasn’t sure I would write something however until just a few hours later a pastor told me what has happened recently at one of the oldest churches in our area. The senior pastor has been dismissed for adopting a “universalist” position such as that suggested in The Shack. When I heard that, I knew immediately I had to write this article.

CC Image courtesy of Sean MacEntee on Flickr

Perhaps you have no idea what “universalism” means. In a nutshell, it is the heresy that ALL are saved, whether they believe in Jesus or not. Salvation is universal. In the words of another author, “love wins” – that is, love conquers all and it doesn’t matter what a person believes or if they trust in Christ.

To learn more on this subject, see these articles I wrote:

• Six Reasons all Roads DON’T Lead to Heaven

• Five Questions for Those Who Think That Many Roads Lead to Heaven

I grieve for that church nearby, for the pastor who has been drawn into this heresy and for so many who are being subtly influenced by universalism.

Apparently he and others disregarded Jesus clear warning: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15 ESV)

Let me be clear, we are not talking about a side issue, a non-essential. I would not be concerned if the issues were small theological issues, such as end times theology, or the mode of baptism or whether a church should have elders or deacons or some other structure.

Instead, we are talking about the very heart of the Christian faith: the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for the payment of our sins, and the necessity of receiving salvation through faith in Christ.

We are talking about the very essence of Christianity.

In the verse above Jesus gave clear teachings about wolves in sheep’s clothing:

01.“Beware”

To beware means to be on the alert, to be vigilant, and to watch out. Jesus is telling us to be active, not passive, regarding false teaching.

If you are not on the alert for false doctrine and false teachers, you are not obeying Jesus instruction.

2 Timothy 2:15 instructs us to, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

02. “…of false prophets”

We are to beware of “false prophets.” What are false prophets? False prophets are those who look like prophets—they are nice guys, they are persuasive, they are clever, they seem spiritual and holy.

The problem is that while they are in sheep’s clothing and seem harmless, they disseminate false teaching and are inwardly “ravenous wolves.”

Jesus teaching is quite clear. However, when Christians ignore His warning, and read the writings and listen to the teachings of the false prophets of our day, they become deceived—sometimes in subtle ways and other times in big ways.

Are you being deceived?

But Jesus wasn’t finished. He goes on with an even stronger warning:

“You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16-23)

Many Christians have bought the lie that it is wrong to judge. They quote the first part of this chapter in the book of Matthew, “Judge not lest you be judged.” (Matthew 7:1) The problem is that people stop there and don’t study the rest of Jesus’ teaching in this chapter.

In the first verse Jesus is talking about being judgmental. But here and elsewhere the Bible clearly tells us to be discerning or judging. Two times in this short passage above He tells us we will “recognize them by their fruits” (v. 16 & 23).

A mature Christian is a discerning Christian—not judgmental but discerning.

A mature Christian is a discerning Christian—not judgmental but discerning. | CLICK TO TWEET

But Jesus wasn’t done yet. He got even more serious. The passage continues with the strongest warning imaginable:  

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (v. 21-23)

Wow, this passage blows me away. It clearly points out that not everyone will enter heaven, not even everyone who says to Him “Lord, Lord.” This is the diametric opposite of the teaching of universalism.

Even more vividly, it says some who will not enter heaven are those who seem to “prophesy” in His name, and “cast our demons” and do many “mighty works.” What will Jesus have to say to them? “I never knew you: depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (v. 23)

These are the “false prophets” Jesus was talking about who are inwardly ferocious wolves. They look really good—they have an appealing message, they draw people in, they seem to have a great ministry. But beneath all of this is a denial of essential doctrines of the Christian faith.

Are you being vigilant and discerning or are you being drawn in?

Are you being vigilant and discerning or are you being drawn in? | CLICK TO TWEET

Finally, let me give you two recent examples of “wolves in sheep’s clothing” to beware of:

01. Love Wins by Rob Bell

I strongly suggest you read Albert Mohler’s review of Rob Bell’s book, Love Wins titled “We Have Seen All This Before: Rob Bell and the (Re)Emergence of Liberal Theology”

He points out in his review that Rob Bell has nothing new, it is simply an old heresy packaged cleverly for modern readers and a new generation. Mohler writes:

Bell clearly prefers inclusivism, the belief that Christ is saving humanity through means other than the Gospel, including other religions. But he mixes up his story along the way, appearing to argue for outright universalism on some pages, but backing off of a full affirmation. He rejects the belief that conscious faith in Christ is necessary for salvation, but he never clearly lands on a specific account of what he does believe.

02. The Shack by Paul Young

This novel has sold over 20 million copies making it one of the best selling Christian publisher books of all time. Why am I concerned about something so popular? Because Jesus warned, “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke 6:26 KJV)

Randy Alcorn wrote a very helpful, balanced review of the book. I recommend you follow this link and read all of it, and other helpful reviews he references.

Alcorn expresses his concerns about various issues including the author’s universalism. Here are just two paragraphs:

I once saw someone who calls himself a “Christian universalist” defending his position that all will be saved. This universalist recommended a book that everybody should read: The Shack. Now, I don’t believe in guilt by association. Some unorthodox people have liked some of my books. I’m just saying that since this guy was defending universalism when he recommended The Shack, he, at least, understood it to be on his side.

I don’t think Paul Young would necessarily appreciate that. On the other hand, it would have been very easy for Paul, by changing the wording of a few sentences here and there, to shut the door on universalism. He could have had God articulate the biblical and orthodox viewpoint of historic Christianity, that salvation comes in believing in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross on our behalf, and that to not accept God’s gift of eternal life in Christ is to invite an eternity in Hell. Paul hasn’t chosen to make that clear, which he could by revising future editions of The Shack. But though he’s been aware of these concerns for a long time (I first shared these with him when The Shack had sold probably one hundredth of the copies it has now sold), as far as I know he has never made the changes he could so easily have made.

Some might think this universalist slant in The Shack is no big deal. I disagree. It is huge—the very center of our faith is the need for personally receiving Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, both these books are several years old and some might suggest that I am “too late into the game.” However, we’re continuing to see devastating fallout, such as the pastor above who had to be released by his church due to the influence of “Christian universalism.”

So, this is still a very relevant topic today! Beware of false teachers—wolves in sheep’s clothing!

Note: There are many ministries I can enthusiastically endorse. For a list, see my Recommended Resources page.

What If God Eliminated All Suffering?

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Recently I was listening to a prominent scientist who said he has a hard time believing in God because if there is a God, he can’t understand why He allows pain and suffering. If God is God wouldn’t He just get rid of it? So the scientist figured.

CC Image courtesy of Tony Alter on Flickr

He wasn’t mocking God, but it was clear that he thought he knew much better than God what was right for the universe!

He got me thinking a little differently about the question of suffering.

It is not unusual for people to struggle with this issue. It is probably the biggest struggle that people have with God. My former classmate at Moody Bible Institute, Bart Ehrman, says that this issue caused him to lose his faith.

So in this article, I would like to imagine with you what things would be like if God did what that scientist suggested—what if God eliminated all suffering? What would be the implications?

First, let’s consider where pain and suffering come from. If we are to think of eliminating it, we should think about where it is coming from.

Suffering seems to come from 3 sources:

01. Accidents: vehicle collisions, people falling, injuries from knives, electrocutions, swallowing toxic substances, fires, etc.

02. Natural causes or “acts of God”: earthquakes, tsunamis, lightening, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, diseases, ageing, viruses, plagues, etc.

03. People on people: By this I mean suffering that is intentionally inflicted on other people (and sometimes even inflicted on themselves). This includes wars, genocide, pogroms, murders, assaults, abuse (emotional, verbal, mental, physical, spiritual), rape, infidelity, divorce, molestation, torture and so on.

Though hard to quantify, and I cannot find any research on this subject, my estimate would be that causes of suffering are:

01. Accidents: 10%

02. Natural causes or “acts of God”: 40%

03. People on people: 50%

These are just my estimates—you can estimate whatever you like. (If you can find any research, I would love to see it.)

Now, let’s consider what it would take to eliminate each of these:

01. Accidents:

In order to eliminate suffering via accidents, God would have to suspend laws of physics and nature—no gravity so that no one could fall out a window or down a staircase, no laws of inertia so that if cars hit head-on there would be no harmful impact, no fire or heat that could burn, no electricity that could electrocute.

Of course a world without the laws of physics and nature would not be the world we live in—it would be a paradise, something like, well…heaven. Good News: God has already promised heaven for those who receive Salvation through Jesus Christ.

02. Natural causes or “Acts of God”:

Again, God would have to suspend the laws and forces of nature—eliminate wind or air so there could be no storms, eliminate fire, eliminate tectonic plates that can grind and shake, and so on.

He would also have to eliminate diseases and ageing, which again He has already promised to eventually do. It might not be soon enough for our liking, but eventually He will do so.

Side note 1: Scripture tells us why He is waiting: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise [to return] as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)

Side Note 2: It is interesting that because some think suffering shouldn’t exist if there is a God, they retreat to Atheistic Naturalism which by implication says that all is natural and therefore there is nothing really bad about anything that happens. Thus there is no bad in a tsunami when humans are washed out to sea. In fact there is potentially great good, because the fish got lots of extra food from drowned humans. That’s warped, but it is the outgrowth of a purely naturalistic viewpoint.

03. People on people:

Of course to eliminate all the evil done by people on people God would have to make them into robots or eliminate people altogether.

But there are obvious problems with both of these:

• Make us robots—This alternative would be to make us so that we only choose to do nice things. The problem with that is no one wants to be a zombie. Or, if you do, there are drugs you can take which will render you a vegetable.

• Eliminate people—Well, I guess that would take care of the problem. But that is like cutting off your legs so you won’t run into anything or fall down.

So you see, it doesn’t make much sense to eliminate the causes of suffering in the world.

But someone might suggest that if God were good, He would just suspend pain. The problem with ending pain is the same as with the problem of leprosy: when people can’t feel pain because of leprosy, they lose digits and limbs because they injure them but cannot feel it.

What is the purpose of physical pain? To cause us to pull back; avoid injury by turning another way. Pain is actually our friend because it helps keep us from further injuring ourselves. Without physical pain we would be in serious danger of worse injury.

There is a similar purpose in all other pain: emotional and spiritual. What is the purpose of suffering? It can serve to turn us to the eternal spiritual healing that comes from God.

In salvation from our sins through the sacrifice of Christ, we have ultimate healing of our sins and the promise of heaven, which will be the end of all pain and suffering.

Unfortunately, many people waste their pain. Rather than turning to the Solution, they turn away from God and to their own devices, and thus live without ultimate and eternal hope. They reject the eventual healing of heaven that comes as a gift when we receive Jesus Christ as Savior from sins and Lord of our lives.

Unfortunately, many people waste their pain. | CLICK TO TWEET

The only way to overcome all the evil of this world, from all 3 sources, is to receive eternal healing through Jesus Christ.

If you’d like to receive him, read my article on Salvation to find out how. I sure hope that you will.

Here are some of my other articles that might help in this arena:

• How to Handle the Death of a Loved One

• 3 Trees that Explain Suffering

• What Does God Owe Me?

What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?

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In the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” James Stewart portrays George Bailey, a man who lived his life sacrificing for others. One desperate Christmas Eve, he is contemplating suicide. An angel (Clarence) appears and shows him what the world would have been like without the good that resulted from his life. His gloom turns to gratitude and his life is saved.

CC Image courtesy of Tom Margie on Flickr

In a similar way let’s consider what the world would be like if Jesus had never been born.

Mel Trotter (1870-1940) was an abusive alcoholic who swore he wouldn’t drink again after finding his only child dead one day. Yet two hours later he was drunk again. He even sold his shoes to buy a drink.

Believing he was responsible for the death, he decided to end his life.

Drunk, broke and shoeless in the snow, he heard about the love of Jesus for sinners at The Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. He became a Christian there, gave up alcohol and went on to lead a rescue mission himself.  Subsequently, he helped start 67 more missions. Jesus Christ has transformed thousands of alcoholics on skid row through his ministry.

Take away Jesus and you have the suicide of a miserable drunk.With Jesus you have a transformed life that helped multitudes!

A few years ago D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe wrote a book titled What if Jesus Had Never Been Born. It is a tremendous volume and the foundation for this blog.

Here are 6 amazing changes that have occurred because of Jesus Christ and would not if Jesus had never been born:

1. The Poor have Hope

Prior to Christ, organized charity was virtually nonexistent.

But in Matthew 25:37-40, Jesus taught that when we help the poor we are serving Christ Himself. Thus, charitable organizations such as the following came as a result of obedience to Christ’s teaching:

• The Salvation Army

• The Red Cross

• YMCA & YWCA

• World Vision

• Samaritan’s Purse

• Food for the Hungry

• Compassion International

If Jesus had never been born, the poor would be far worse off. Also, there is a good chance many more would be poor as we will see in the point 5 below.

2. Education is Available for the Masses

Prior to Christ, only the wealthy were educated. But Scripture teaches us to study and learn: see 2 Timothy 2:15 for example.

In the early 1900’s illiteracy was rampant in pagan nations, while Protestant countries had a vastly higher rate of literacy.

Almost every one of the first 123 colleges and universities in the US has Christian origins. This includes Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and so on. Christians started universities mostly to train Christian ministers.

Around the world, Christian missionaries were and still are the ones who take languages that are only spoken and turn them into written languages. They do this to share the Bible and the message of Christ.

Take away Jesus and you have a world with far less knowledge and education.

3.Human Life is Valued

Jesus taught that children should be welcomed and blessed. See Matthew 19:13-15.

In ancient Rome, children were the property of their fathers and they could:

• Sell them

• Divorce them

• Abandon them to die

Many Christians found these abandoned babies and raised them. Christian orphanages were founded to care for children.

In a similar way because of Christ other “worthless” lives have been valued:

• Slaves (abolitionist movements were typically led by Christians)

• The elderly, who were often abandoned

• Gladiators, who were killed for sport

• Women, who were treated like simply a possession

Without Jesus, there is a good chance that you and I would be

• Abandoned at birth

• A slave

• Living in desperate poverty and hunger

• Killed for sport or pleasure

4.The United States Exists

Former Governor and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren said in 1954:

“I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses… Whether we look to the first Charter of Virginia … or to the Charter of New England… or to the Charter of Massachusetts Bay… or to the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut… the same objective is present; a Christian land governed by Christian perspectives.”

If Jesus had not been born, the United States might not have been born.

5.Prosperity Has Flourished

Third world countries have belief systems rooted in superstition and false religions that devalue initiative and have led to impoverished conditions.

Christianity teaches, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10b)

John Chamberlain wrote in The Roots of Capitalism, “Christianity tends to create a capitalistic mode of life whenever siege conditions do not prevail.”

Take away Jesus and you take away the prosperity that so much of the world enjoys.

6.Lives are Dramatically Changed

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

There are multiplied thousands of life stories like Mel Trotter’s story cited at the beginning of this article. Click HERE to watch or HERE to read more stories of lives changed by Jesus.

Am I suggesting that Christians are always perfect followers of Christ? Heavens no. Jesus doesn’t make our behavior perfect, but He does make it a lot better than it would be without Him in our lives.

Furthermore, if you belong to Christ, you have an incredible eternal inheritance that you would not have if He had not been born. For example:

• There would be no forgiveness from our sin. (Isaiah 53)

• We would not have eternal life. (John 3:16)

If you are not sure you have forgiveness from your sins and eternal life, please let me show you how to HERE.

I have only touched briefly on the incredible impact of Christ. For over 200 pages of information and documentation, see the wonderful book What if Jesus Had Never Been Born. It also covers the impact of Jesus on

• civil liberties

• science

• the family

• health and medicine

• morality

• arts and music

Christ has astoundingly impacted our world! Thank God Jesus was born.

If you liked this article, you might also like this article about Christ’s resurrection: Four Powerful Proof Jesus Lives