JUDGING THE PROPHETS

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Understanding important truths from the Bible….

JUDGING THE PROPHETS

Deuteronomy 13:1-3; 18:15, 20-22;  Galatians 1:6-9; II Peter 2:1 NKJV 

“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

² and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’

³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy18

¹⁵ “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,

²⁰ But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ ²¹ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’—

²² when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. 

God has given preachers and prophets to the church throughout its history.  And there is a sense in which none in the church have more authority nor are to be more respected.  Therefore to judge a prophet sounds presumptuous.  Yet God, very early in the life of the organized church, gives His people the responsibility of “judging prophets”. 

In Deuteronomy 13 and 18 the rules governing this responsibility are given to Israel.  They are there for Israel as the church and not for some special instruction to rulers.  It is the peoples’ responsibility to hear or forebear a prophet’s message. 

In Deuteronomy 13:1-3 there are three important principles for people and prophets.

A.     No miracle can authenticate idolatry or false teaching.  Vss. 2-3

B.     False prophets are sent to test believers, Vs. 3 “For the Lord your God is testing you.”

C.     Believers are identified as those who love God. 

 Additional information is given in Deuteronomy 18 to complete the requirements for prophets.

a.       A prophet is to speak only that which the Lord gives him in his prophecies.  He has the responsibility to add nothing of his own commentary.

b.      Any prophecy which has information concerning the future must furnish a control.  That control is an event that is a fulfillment of the forecast of the prophet.  If he cannot do this he spoke “presumptuously” and no one was required to recognize him.

It is with this information we come to the New Testament.  II Peter 2:1 states the inevitability of the false teacher in the church.  After he finishes describing their activity and identifying them he states a controlling fact of false teachers.  They always act according to their nature.

II Peter 2:22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.” 

Paul, in Galatians 1:6-9, gives two additional truths about false teachers in the church.

A.     Vs. 7  They distort the Gospel of Christ.  That is to change into something of an opposite nature.  Paul, in Vs. 6 is astonished that has happened to Galatians and that so easily.

B.     Vss. 8-9  The message authenticates the messenger -  never the messenger the message.  The works, reputation, and accomplishments should never cause the believer to receive a false gospel.  Gulls eating -even miraculously eating locust- cannot make Mormonism true.

Application:

1.       The gospel message is to be received with charity always remembering the messenger is an earthen vessel.

2.      Credentials cannot make a false messenger acceptable.