November 4, 2009
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Fighting for Faith: Wolves in Sheep's Clothing
They're the reason why you left the church.
"They" sounded Christian. They knew Bible verses. They raised their hands or knelt at just the right time in church. And then, when you or your friend or the church trusted them, they ran off with the offering...or the secretary...or the innocence of half the congregation.
Is there any way to detect these false Christians? To minimize their impact before they hurt trusting people in the church and drive people away? What do you think?
Comments (31)
I imagine there are very concrete ways to tell. "From the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" It can be seen in how they behave the rest of the time. (tho there are times where everyone behaves badly). Scripture says in Romans "The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are children of God" I think can be seen beyond our actions and reflected in what our heart says. Maybe not tho. I think we should know the difference so we aren't fooled, but sometimes that's just not possible because some people play the part really well. I don't know.
Is a false prophet and a false Christian the same thing? I don't believe there is any way to know what people are going to do. Plus, who would leave their church due to someone's behavior?
There will continue to be false Christians, tares in the Church, wolves in sheep's clothing. There are warnings about this throughout the NT, so we shouldn't be surprised at it. But we're to be discerning. We must pray for shepherds who love God and the flock, who are rooted in the Word of God and therefore will guard the Gospel, care for and nurture the flock, be jealous for them and discipline as necessary. (See esp. II TIm 2 & 3.) And we can't use the wolves in sheep's clothing as a convenient excuse not to affiliate w/ a church body.
We also have to remember that any of us could fall into sin any time like many of these others have (we could be the embezzler or the adulterer in a blink of an eye). If we look at someone else's behavior and point fingers at them and say, "I would never do that," we are being quite naive. We must take heed lest we fall...
Maybe if they saved the money they spent on all the elaborate churches, built homeless shelters instead, and met in their homes or considerably less expensive places - people would have more to contemplate before leaving.
@naphtali_deer - There are definitely things you can say you wouldn't do. It is not normal to kill people or be a pedo. But pointing out something that is wrong is a good idea. Once you identify the problem, you can attempt to correct it.
"My sheep know my voice." -Jesus
When you are living by the Spirit, when you truly KNOW God, and not just ABOUT, you should be able to recognize Him in the other person. When your faith, your relationship with Him is sincere, you should be able to see the sincerity in others. One of those "it takes on to know one" sort of situations, methinks.
I usually detected them in the false smiles, false hugs, and false promises. I also distinctly remember being appalled at a youth conference when they were playing number games and forcing us to do street evangelism. I think it was partially the way my parents raised me and partially just God that allowed me to see past all the crap at an early age. Sadly, this led to some bitterness by the time I went to a Christian college, especially after a public high school experience. And in line with your other post about the need to question beliefs, while I was glad I could be open about my faith at that college, at the same time, I felt like it was a very closed, exclusive environment, and the politics within the staff-led, student government were ridiculous. And I have a very smart mouth. So by senior year, I think I was on their not-so-safe list...
I think I should just be me and to heck with them. They can be nice to me if they want to but don't expect me to trust someone who hasn't earned it by loving me.
it can be tricky when they say christian things, but you can tell them by their actions. after all, "faith without works is dead" and "they will know you by your love".
It's not always easy. Even the disciples had no idea about Judas until the very end.
why does it matter if people are driven away? I never understand people of various religions who lament those they've "lost." Does it effect how you worship at all? Does it weaken your belief? If either of these occurs, I'd question your own relationship with faith and not the choices of others.
I don't care how many or how few believe what I do. I don't. I look at it as a minor form of oppression to do so.
I don't know...thats a very good question though. I have often thought the same thing since we had a well respected sunday school teacher run off with a man other than her husband.
It's so true. We'll all sit in the same building and listen to the same message that's being preached. Maybe it isn't even really our job to try and filter them out or try to deliberate who they are. I remember Greg Laurie did a sermon about hypocrisy. He pretty much said at the end of the message that it's not really our job to try and decide who is and isn't a real Christian. Our job is to decide whether we ourselves are real Christians and to make sure that we in fact are. There'll be a day when we'll be separated. A day where the real ones will be separated from the fake or the pretending ones.
Hire an ugly secretary.
Thing is -- what if they're not "false Christians"? What if they have been Christians for much of their lives, with obvious Spiritual fruit, but due to their circumstances and/or lack of coping with them they do spiteful, destructive things to everyone around them?
A "true" Christian can be every bit as much of a jackass as a "false" one -- believe me when I tell you. Saying "well, their commitment must not have been genuine" rings a little false.
Even "true Christians", in a church, are still people -- therefore fallible. "They" are "us".
@ShimmerBodyCream - I disagree. I mean, I think it would take a LOT for most people to be murderers or whatever, but every evil action has a path that led up to it and every path starts with just one step. I think that's why we're urged in Psalm 1 to not set a FOOT on the path of wickedness. God's way of saying, "just don't even go there!" If we persist down a path of wickedness, we can get to any number of ugly places. We are all people. People are equally capable of great good and great evil. To think you're immune to bad choices is dangerous.
~V
Spotting the wolves... *sigh* It'd be nice if they all just glowed neon green right before they did something horrible, wouldn't it?
~V
False Christians is just as big a problem as hypocritical and jackass theocractic Christian zealots and extremists. The only way to detect false agents is to make sure you know what the hell you are doing. Just keep an eye out. But not too much. We do not need Big Brother to go against Big Brother..or else what is the point???
Billy Graham is a heretic from hell. He preaches that Jesus is not the only way to salvation.
@TheMarriedFreshman - So you think you could progressively step into sin to end up being a child rapist. Well good for you, but you are wrong in the fact that you think everyone is "susceptible." No way would I ever screw a kid.
I think if you spend enough time with someone they will eventually show by word or deed who they really are. However from time to time I'm sure we will miss the signs. Reminds me of the verses about the wheat and the tares growing up together. In the end they will lose much more than they gain by their deceit.
I blame human nature and its inability to listen.
I think sometimes people don't even know that their not a Christian- have just been raised under a label but no power/realness behind it, but they don't realize anything else. Sometimes harm is done unintentionally obviously. A lot of times great harm can be done unintentionally, not maliciously, unfortunately I think.
ps. You are always on so late! Always on at like 1 am! Ha ha! Must be a night person- as I am too though I suppose.
"You will know them by their fruits"
Whenever one wishes to be able to identify a fake the best way to do that is to know the real thing inside and out. Surround yourself with Godly men and women the ones who speak, live, love, and breathe Christ. The ones whose lives bear fruit and whose conversation is consistently drawing and pointing others to God. Get to know the real thing and the fake will be more obvious. Also, learn to trust the spirit of God inside you. If you have a bad feeling about someone explore that instead of ignoring it. Don't be afraid to ask that those in positions of power in the church are willing to be accountable to the congregation.
@ShimmerBodyCream - @TheMarriedFreshman - Mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, I can see the truth that "anyone can fall into sin"--people tend to be overconfident. Thinking, for example, that 'I won't sleep with her, even if we're both naked" is pretty dumb, ha. BUT on the other hand, I've been too paranoid myself. And some churches have odd rules that seem to create more of an atmosphere of fear rather than of safety. Saying, for example "Never be alone in a room with a child" makes it seem like everyone who works with children is a potential rapist, and that's just not fair.
It's an interesting sub-topic to address sometime.
@GreekPhysique - Well yeah, I can see that point. I guess the difference is assuming people WILL choose the wrong path if given the opportunity and merely knowing that people COULD choose the wrong path. Assumption vs. Reality, IMO. The first has blame and fear-mongering all over it. The second is a stance of humility which opens up a better capability to love and, again IMO, a better "immunity" to self-righteous judgments.
Thank you much for the support!
And I think it's easy to detect these people, but they prey on very impressionable people who will believe whatever they say. That's just my opinion though
Thank you
I don't think so. There are precautions you have to take with everyone, but there's no way you can expect the unexpected. I met my abuser through my church youth group. How was anyone supposed to know?
Love always
@overly_toasted_bread - I wholeheartedly agree.
You can't look to people as the basis of your faith, because all of us automatically fall short--none of us are perfect. Focus on the only Perfect One--it's about a relationship between Him and you. The end. How others live out their faith or falter in that should not have a basis for our own.
All the other atrocious things that without fail happen or will happen to some degree in every church, whether amongst leadership or the congregation, should pale in comparison. Sadly, it's to be expected, really. And yes, I think your intuition should, if not initially than over time, reveal the wolves in your mind. At least, it has proven so for me...
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