Jan 15, 2025 2 min read

(Matthew 7:15-16) Watch out for false prophets (teachers, preachers). By their fruit you will recognize them.

Christian leaders in the past were usually rooted in a sphere of accountability of a local community and under qualified church elders. People who listened to their teaching/preaching, knew their families, and how they lived their daily lives.

Today, however, this is no longer true; everything has changed. Because of the rise of large independent churches and organizations, advanced transportation (especially airplanes), and expansive communications (multiple television channels, podcasts, bookstores, social media, YouTube etc), there are thousands of false Christian teachers/preachers traveling through our communities, and broadcasting their teaching on social media with hardly any accountability.

This is a major problem for Christians in our modern world, because we do not know how these teachers/preachers actually live, what Jesus called the “fruit of their lives.” Knowing how they live is the primary way we know or discern false prophets/teachers.

Please be alert and cautious of false teachers/prophets/preachers. Be careful to follow Jesus’ warning: Look out for false Christian leaders, whose lifestyle does not match what they teach/preach. Do not be spiritually naive.

There are many so-called Christian preachers who live ungodly, deceiving, and secret lifestyles. They preach for money. They practice sexually immorality. They are unfaithful to their marriages. They are manipulators. They lack integrity. They damage the understanding of Christians and the church among the unbelieving.

Simply because someone is a good speaker (entertainer), do not dismiss their significant behavioral sin. This includes admiring so-called Christian musicians, who are often living ungodly lives.

How we live our lives for God is so much more important than how well we speak or sing.

In the end, we will be judged by God for the fruit of our lives, not how good our sermons or songs are. What matters is how we live, not what we say we believe. How we live is actually what we truly believe. I am not talking about religious legalism or moral perfection. I am emphasizing that we must assimilate truth into our inner lives and worldview.

Remember, even Satan appears like an angel of light.

Pray for spiritual discernment, for we are witnessing an escalation of deception outside and inside the church. Lord, we pray that you will expose all evil.

Let’s seek for truth and righteousness in every area of our lives, privately and publicly. As Jesus said in Luke 6:46-49, “Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but do not do what I say (obeying the truth)?”