{"id":1003,"date":"2025-09-27T12:34:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T12:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/?p=1003"},"modified":"2025-09-28T07:53:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-28T07:53:32","slug":"wolves-in-sheeps-clothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/?p=1003","title":{"rendered":"Wolves in sheep\u2019s clothing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a grievous thing to watch truth and error walking side by side, light and darkness mingled in the same field. Yet the Lord Himself told us it would be so.\u00a0\u201cLet both grow together until the harvest\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(Matthew 13:30). The wheat and the tares\u2014true sons of the Kingdom and those who only appear to be\u2014will grow together until the end. It is not ours to rip up the field, but to walk carefully in it, discerning the difference and holding fast to the Light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus never spoke lightly of hypocrisy. He spoke directly to those who wore religion like a cloak but were void of the Spirit. \u201cWoe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!\u201d<\/em> He said, \u201cfor ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 23:23). Outward righteousness meant nothing to Him if the heart was far from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul asked the Corinthian church a sobering question: \u201cWhat fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?\u201d<\/em> (2 Corinthians 6:14). When people try to blend true devotion to Christ with a self-serving, worldly spirit, it becomes a lie in disguise\u2014a form of godliness, but void of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ought to test the fruit, not the label. \u201cBeware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep\u2019s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 7:15\u201316). Not everything that carries the name \u201cChristian\u201d is born of Christ. Some things wear His name but deny His nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And we must not forget what Jesus said about honoring the Word of God above the traditions of men. In Mark 7, He rebuked those who set aside the commandment to honor father and mother, justifying themselves with religious customs. \u201cFull well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition\u201d<\/em> (Mark 7:9). The test of sincerity often lies close to home\u2014how we treat those God has placed in our daily lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul echoed the same when he wrote, \u201cBut if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel\u201d<\/em> (1 Timothy 5:8). Real godliness begins not on a platform, but around the table, in the quiet acts of love and honor at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spirit of self-righteousness is the great enemy of the Gospel. Jesus said of some, \u201cThey loved the praise of men more than the praise of God\u201d<\/em> (John 12:43). And Paul, looking ahead to our day, warned that \u201cmen shall be lovers of their own selves… having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away\u201d<\/em> (2 Timothy 3:2,5).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-glory wears many disguises, but it always reveals its true face in time. It will speak the language of faith but draw the eyes of others toward man, not Christ. It will mimic the Spirit, but leave no fruit of the Spirit behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we watch\u2014not with suspicion, but with sober discernment. We hold fast the truth. And we keep our eyes on Jesus, the true Light, that we might reflect Him faithfully even in a world full of confusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a grievous thing to watch truth and error walking side by side, light and darkness mingled in the same field. Yet the Lord Himself told us it would be so.\u00a0\u201cLet both grow together until the harvest\u201d\u00a0(Matthew 13:30). The wheat and the tares\u2014true sons of the Kingdom and those who only appear to be\u2014will grow together until the end. It is not ours to rip up the field, but to walk carefully in it, discerning the difference and holding fast to the Light. Jesus never spoke lightly of hypocrisy. He spoke directly to those who wore religion like a cloak but were void of the Spirit. \u201cWoe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!\u201d He said, \u201cfor ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith\u201d (Matthew 23:23). Outward righteousness meant nothing to Him if the heart was far from God. Paul asked the Corinthian church a sobering question: \u201cWhat fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?\u201d (2 Corinthians 6:14). When people try to blend true devotion to Christ with a self-serving, worldly spirit, it becomes a lie in disguise\u2014a form of godliness, but void of power. We ought to test the fruit, not the label. \u201cBeware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep\u2019s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits\u201d (Matthew 7:15\u201316). Not everything that carries the name \u201cChristian\u201d is born of Christ. Some things wear His name but deny His Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-religion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1003"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1014,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003\/revisions\/1014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enslin.vanblerk.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}