Would you turn with me to 2 Corinthians
chapter 11. I've entitled the message that
I'd like to attempt to bring tonight. False apostles. And I want to bring this message
in a way that's edifying. Not just tearing people down,
but I want to preach the gospel in preaching this message. I
have known men and I've recognized men who it seems like the main
part of their ministry is exposing that which is false and they
almost glory in it and make a righteousness of it. Now, I don't want to do
that. I want to do this in the spirit of meekness. I want to
do it by the spirit of God. But I want you and I to have
some discernment regarding what a false apostle is. Now, you noticed in that passage
of scripture, I read where the Lord said, enter ye in at the
straight gate. For broad is the gate and wide
is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be that go in
there at, but straight is the gate. And narrow is the way that
leads to life, and few there be that find it." And what's
the next thing he said? Beware of false prophets. Beware of false prophets. And I want to know, I want to
have some understanding as to what the message of the true
prophet is and what the message of the false prophet is. In verse three of Second Corinthians,
chapter three, Paul said, I fear. Less by any means. As the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtlety, through his deception, so your
minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that's in Christ. Now, look down in verse 13. Here
are the fellows who the Lord who the Lord exposes, these are
the ones who are used to corrupt people from the simplicity that's
in Christ. Verse 13, for such are false
apostles. Deceitful workers, that word
deceitful is where we get the word bait from. When you go fishing,
you disguise the hook, don't you? The fish is not going to
bite a hook. Fish have got better sense than
that. You put bait on it to make it look good. It looks good.
It looks appealing. And that is what a false prophet
does. He's a deceitful worker. Next, it says, transforming themselves
into the apostles of Christ. And this is no marvel. For Satan
himself is transformed into an angel of light. That's a scary
proposition, isn't it? Satan is transformed into an
angel of light. Therefore, it's no great thing
if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness. Now, I think the word Paul used
here is very interesting. There's a lot of other words
I think he could have used. He could have used ministers
of grace or ministers of faith or ministers of the atonement
or ministers of regeneration or any other good scriptural
word that describes some aspect of salvation. But the word God
the Holy Spirit used to inspire Paul in exposing these men is
they come as ministers of righteousness. I don't suppose that there is
a more important word in all of the word of God than this
word righteousness. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel, for it's the power of God and the salvation to everyone
that believe it, to the Jew first and also to the Greek, for therein
in the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed. Now, I want
to have some discernment. some understanding from the Scriptures
being taught by the Lord Himself about this thing of righteousness. What does it mean? These men
come as ministers of righteousness. They use scriptural words like
righteousness. Paul said, by good words, good
words like righteousness and fair speeches, plausible arguments
that seem to make sense. They deceive the hearts of the
simple. Turn with me for a moment to
Acts, Chapter 20. Now, part of the responsibility
of the shepherd is to look out for wolves. Acts, Chapter 20. Verse 28. Paul says to the Ephesian
elders, take heed, therefore, unto yourselves. and to all the
flock over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed
the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves
enter in among you, not sparing the flock, also of your own selves
shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples
after them. Therefore watch And remember
that by the space of three years. I cease not to warn everyone
night and day with tears. Now, do you hear what he said
every day for three years, every day, night and day, I never cease
to warn you about this. Now, if you read through the
New Testament. Every book, every epistle, with
the exception of the letter to Philemon, has specific references
to warnings concerning false apostles and false prophets. And the reason we need to be
warned is false prophets resemble the true. The arch false prophet
is Balaam. He's mentioned three times in
the New Testament. And he's the arch false prophet. And do you
realize that if you read what he said, you won't find one single
thing you disagree with? Not one statement. Read it. Read
number 22 through 24 this week and you'll find you agree with
everything he says. He didn't say anything you disagree
with. It was all right. Well, how can
you know he's a false prophet if you agree with everything
he says? It's what he didn't say. It's what he left out. If I tell you tomorrow at 2 p.m.,
a man is going to come to your house. And lo and behold, at
2 p.m., that man shows up at your house. I told you the truth,
didn't I? Just like he said he would. But
what if I failed to tell you he was coming there to murder
you? Now, what I said was true. But did I give you what you needed?
No, I withheld the information that was truly necessary. And that's a false prophet. It
may be that everything he says is true and scriptural, but he
holds back that which is necessary. Now, listen to this real carefully.
If I believe the message of the false prophet, I will not be
saved. Now, remember, these men are
deceptive. They don't come up to us and
say, hello, I'm a false prophet. I've got a message that if you
believe it, you'll be damned forever. No, they don't do that
in any way. They come in a very deceptive
manner. And if I believe their message,
I will not be saved. If I follow a false prophet,
I will follow that false prophet into hell. No one has ever been
saved by the message of a false prophet. Now, let me show you
that scripture. Turn to Romans 10. Romans 10. Verse 13. For whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord, shall be saved. Now see, we see the issue
being spoken of here is salvation. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him
in whom they've not believed? And how should they believe in
him? In whom they've not heard. And how should they hear? without a preacher. And how shall
they preach except they be sent? Now, this one who calls upon
the name of the Lord and is saved is one who has heard a preacher
that God has sent. And if God hasn't sent him, there's
no salvation. Turn to 2 Peter chapter 3. Peter says in verse 15, in account
that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation. You know,
anybody that he is longsuffering toward, he saves. Look at verse
nine, the Lord is not slack concerning his promises, some may count
slackness, but is longsuffering to usward. Not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Anybody he's
long-suffering for, he's not willing for him to perish. If
he's not willing for you to perish, you know what? You won't perish.
God's will must be done. Now, his long-suffering is salvation. Now, let's go on reading. Verse
15. Even as our beloved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom
given unto him, hath written unto you, as also in all his
epistles, speaking in them of these things, these things of
salvation, in which are some things hard to be understood."
And who's going to deny that? There's a lot of things that
are hard to be understood. We believe them, but as far as understanding
them, do you understand the Trinity? Do you understand how God never
had a beginning? Do you understand eternal union with the Lord Jesus
Christ? Those things are hard to understand, aren't they? Which they that are unlearned
and unstable rest or twist as they do also the other scriptures. What? Unto their own destruction. Their own. Destruction, damnation. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing
you know these things before, beware, lest you also, being
led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness,
but grow in grace in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. To Him be glory, both now and
forever. Amen. Now, no one is saved by the message
of a false prophet. But you know, the Lord did say,
and I'm thankful for this, The Lord said, you shall know them
by their fruits. Now, he said to his people, you
shall know them. You can recognize them. You can
understand who they are by their fruits. Now, by that, he means,
first of all, you shall know them by their doctrine. You'll
know them by their doctrine. You can know if someone's preaching
the doctrine of Christ and the doctrine of God. Look over in
John chapter seven for just a moment. I want to show you this. John
chapter 7, verse 16, Jesus answered him and said, My doctrine is
not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will,
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether
I speak of myself. And let me make a comment before
I go on to verse 18. Anybody who's willing to do God's
will, God's not going to let him be deceived. He will not
allow them to be deceived by a false prophet. Now, if I believe
the message of a false prophet, there's something in me that
demonstrates an unwillingness to do his will. You see, believing
false doctrine is sin. It's not just an intellectual
problem. It's sin. If any man will do his will,
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether
I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory,
but he that seeketh his glory that sent him. The same is true,
and no unrighteousness is in him. Now, in that which is true,
all glory goes to God in every aspect. You should know them
by the fruits. Secondly, you should know them by their converts.
You should know them by the people who listen to them. If anybody
wants to know what I really believe, ask Rich Bird, he can tell you.
He's been listening to me for 20, I don't know how long, a
long time, 29 years, something like that. If anybody, don't
ask me. You know, when they asked the
Lord of his doctrine, he said, why are you asking me? Ask him
to hurt me. That'll tell you. If you want to find out what
a preacher believes, don't ask him. Ask the people that hear
him. There you'll find out what that
man really believes. If you're just asking him, he
might tell you what you want to hear. That happens quite often. Ask
the people who hear them. You shall know them by their
fruits. You shall know them by their converts. Thirdly, you
shall know them by their lives. You shall know them by their
lives. If I can't say, follow me, follow me as I follow Christ. I have no business preaching.
You should know them by their lives. Now, back in the second
Corinthians chapter 11. This is let me emphasize, this
is such an important subject, like I said, I want to bring
it in a way that's edifying. I want to preach the gospel in
this. But don't look at this as, well, this is just one of
those negative messages. No, it's not. It's a message of critical
importance. I want to understand and be able
to know if what I'm hearing is the truth. Now, in verse four
of Second Corinthians, chapter 11, Paul said, For if he that
cometh. And he's talking about these
false prophets. He preaches another Jesus. whom we've not preached. Or if you receive another spirit.
Which you've not received. Or another gospel. Which you've
not accepted. You might well bear with. Notice the word hymn is in italics. It was placed there by the translators,
and I think if anything, it kind of confuses what he's saying. What he's saying to the Corinthians
is You're listening to these fellas. You're listening to these
fellas preaching another Jesus, another gospel, and having another
spirit, and you're bearing with them, and this is what was scaring
him about the Corinthians. You're listening to these fellas.
Now, you bear with them, bear with me. You give me the same
courtesy you give them. Listen to what I am saying. Verse 5, For I suppose I was
not a wit behind the very chiefest apostles. I'm not a wit behind. I'm not in the least bit inferior
to any of these super apostles, regardless of their claims. Now,
these men came claiming to be the apostles of Christ. And he
said, I'm not behind one of them. Verse six, but though I be rude
in speech. I'm not an orator, I'm not an
eloquent speaker, you know, Paul saying these fellows are better
speakers than me. They grab your attention more. I realize that. There's a whole
lot of fellows who are a lot better speaker than I am. I realize
that. Anybody that speaks, you know, there's a whole lot of
people who are more effective communicators than you are. I realize I might
be rude in speech. I might not be the greatest speaker
in the world, but not in knowledge. You see, I know what I'm saying. I know whom I believe. And I
know the truth. And I know that I'm speaking
as a spokesman of the Lord God. And my speech, Paul says, might
not be up to snuff with some of these other fellows that come,
these super apostles. But I know what I'm preaching
because I know whom I have believed. And when I preach, I preach what
I know. I know that the Bible is the
word of God. I know that men are dead in sins. I know that. I know that salvation
is of the Lord. I know the blood of Christ saves. I'm speaking what I know. I might be rude in speech, but
not in knowledge. But we've been made thoroughly,
throughly made manifest among you in all things. What you see is what you get,
is what he's saying. What you see is what you get.
I'm not deceptive. What you see is what you get.
Verse 7, he says, Have I committed an offense in abasing myself
that you might be exalted because I preached to you the gospel
of God Freely? Have I offended you because I
didn't take support from you, he says to the Corinthians? I
robbed other churches, taking wages of them to do you service.
Paul was very careful not to take a dime from these people.
And other churches supported him, the churches of Macedonia,
so he could preach the gospel to these people. And verse 9,
when I was present with you and wanted, I was in need, I was
chargeable to no man. I didn't ask you for a thing.
For that which was lacking to me, the brethren which came from
Macedonia supplied me. And in all things, I've kept
myself from being burdensome to you. And so will I keep myself. Now, the super apostles were
accusing Paul of being in it for the money. Paul says, let's
look at the facts. I didn't take a dime from you.
Not one time at any time. Verse 10, as the truth of Christ
is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions
of Achaia. I can say with a clear conscience,
I'm not in this for the money. Verse 11, wherefore, because
I love you not. God knows the false apostles accused Paul of
not loving him. He was seeking to draw men after
himself and make a following after himself. They were accusing
him, you know, as a man is so he thinks others to be. That's
what was going on. As a man is, so he thinks others
to be. This is what these false apostles were doing, and this
is what they were accusing Paul of doing. Verse 12, But what
I do that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which
desire occasion, that wherein they glory, they may be found
even as we. I want you to see that these
men are not what they claim to be. For such are false Apostles
False Apostle. Now, what was an apostle? The
word is a very simple word. It means sent one. That's all
it means. Christ is called the apostle
and high priest of our profession. He's the one sent of God, the
sent one. Now, there were 12 apostles.
in the scripture. Now, the word is sometimes used
with reference to other men, but the scripture, it's not referring
to this special apostolic office that Paul had. Remember, there
were 12 apostles of the Lamb in the book of Revelation, not
13, not 14, not 15. There were 12 apostles of the
Lamb. There are only 12 apostles. Now, these apostles were men
who were taught the gospel by the Lord himself. I was taught the gospel by the
Lord, but it was through a man. It was through Brother Henry
Mahan. That's how I learned the gospel. I was taught through
a man. If you learn the gospel, you've
been taught through a man. That's the way the Lord works.
But these apostles, Paul, you go on reading in 2 Corinthians
12, he talks about how he was brought up into the third heavens.
And the Lord spoke directly to him and taught him the gospel.
That's where he Had the understanding that he had, the Lord taught
him the gospel. Now, that's what an apostle is.
Now, these fellows were claiming to be apostles. Paul says they're
false apostles. God never sent them, but they
were claiming to be apostles. No doubt wanting a following
and wanting money. Now, look what Paul says about
them, for such are false apostles, deceitful workers. Deceitful. And like I said, that's
where we get the word bait from. When you want to catch a fish
with a hook, you want to trick the fish, don't you? You don't try to get
him to bite the hook. He's got better sense than that.
You put something over that hook to where he can't see that hook
to where it's very appealing. It's something he wants to eat.
This is bait. Such are deceitful workers. They masquerade as the apostles
of Christ. I'm of Christ. Christ sent me.
God told me to do this. God inspired this. I'm of Christ. How many times did the Lord say,
many shall say, I'm of Christ. I'm Christ. Don't say I am Christ,
but I'm of Christ. He sent me. I've got his word. They masquerade as the apostles
of Christ. Verse 14, and this is no marvel.
For Satan himself, the devil, The God of this world. The Prince of the power of the
air. The accuser of the brethren.
The serpent. The wicked one. The tempter. Apollyon. All the different names
the Bible gives him. He's a real being. And he is
transformed into an angel of light. He doesn't come in darkness. He comes as an angel of light. Light as to how God can save
you. Light as to how God can accept
you. The thing about His light is it's wrong light. It's darkness
in reality. It may seem light. It may seem
plausible. But in reality, it's nothing
more than darkness because His light as to how God will accept
you has something to do with it being dependent upon you.
Always. That's darkness. Now, four questions,
think about this. This is the message that's preached
in our day, for the most part, this is an accurate representation.
God loves everybody. Christ died for everybody. God
wants everybody to be saved and the Holy Spirit is calling everybody. Now, that is an accurate representation
of what's being preached most places. The state Judas. And Peter, Judas
was damned. He's not in heaven. He's in hell
right now. You all agree with that, the
Lord called him the child of, I can't remember what the, child
of wrath, but I can't remember exactly what the name was, but
we know he was not saved. Peter, we know he was saved.
Now, if God wanted the salvation of Judas and Peter, because he
wants everybody to be saved. And Peter saved and Judas is
not saved. You know what that means? That
means it wasn't God's will that saved either one of them. It
was what Peter did that Judas failed to do. If God loved them
equally, if he loved Judas and he loved Peter, then what did
the love of God do for either one of them? Nothing. It's what
Peter did that Judas didn't do. If Christ died for both of them,
if he shed his blood for both of them, what's the blood of
Christ have to do with salvation? If Christ died for Judah's sins
and Christ died for Peter's sins and Peter's in heaven and Judah's
in hell, that means the difference is what Peter did, Peter's works. If God the Holy Spirit is calling
both of them and Peter's saved and Judah's not, what's the Holy
Spirit have to do with salvation? Nothing. A false prophet will
always have some aspect of salvation somewhere dependent upon you. He'll come as light. Here's how
you can be saved. Here's how you can be accepted.
Here's how your sins can be forgiven. And somewhere it's going to be
dependent upon you. This is darkness masquerading
as light. Now look in verse 15. Therefore,
It's no great thing. This is nothing we should be
surprised about. If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers
of righteousness. And there's the word that the
Holy Spirit inspires Paul to use to describe Satan's ministers,
this is the word he selects ministers of righteousness. Now. The Bible uses this word a lot. The righteousness of God. Same
word that Satan's ministers use. Same word. Righteousness. But
there's a completely different meaning. So what you and I must
understand is what the Bible means by this word righteousness. Now, let's go back to the simplicity
that's in Christ, the singleness, the onlyness that's in Christ.
And that's what Satan tries to corrupt us from, the simplicity,
the singleness, the onlyness of Christ. In Psalm 71, verse
16, David said, I have made mention of thy righteousness. Same word,
thy righteousness, even thine only. Why? Because his righteousness
is the only righteousness there is. If you want to know what
righteousness is, it's the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
the only righteousness there is. And to have an understanding
of what the Bible means by this word, I have to know what the
Bible means by sin and what the Bible has to say about men. 1
John 3, 4 says sin is the transgression of the law. Sin is the transgression,
the breaking of God's holy law. Now, let me show you a scripture
in Romans chapter three, which you turn with. Let's turn to
Psalm 14. This psalm is quoted twice in
the book of Psalms, pretty much the same way. But let's just
look at Psalm 14. Verse two, the Lord looked down
from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any
that did understand and seek God. They are all gone aside. They are all together become
filthy. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. Now, Paul quotes this in Romans
chapter three. Would you turn there? Romans chapter three. Verse 10. As it is written in
Psalm 14 and Psalm 53, as it is written, there is none righteous.
No, not one. There's none that understands.
There's none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way. They are together, become unprofitable.
There is none that doeth good. No, not one. What then is righteousness
if there are no righteous men? Well, there is one righteous
man, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the very righteousness
of God, the one who is called Jehovah Tzidkenu, the Lord, our
righteousness, Jehovah Jesus. Do you want to know what righteousness
is? It's who righteousness is. Jesus Christ, the Lord. He only is righteousness. Now, do you want to know what
the Bible means by righteousness? The Bible means Jesus Christ
only. The simplicity that's in Christ. You know, angels could be called
righteous, but they're never called righteousness. Whatever
they have is derived from him. He only is the righteousness
of God. He is the Lord our righteousness. I love the fact that he is named
in Jeremiah 23, 6, Jehovah's Akenu. This is the name wherewith
he shall be called, Jehovah's Akenu, the Lord our righteousness. And then Jeremiah 33, 16 says
this is the name wherewith she shall be called. Every believer,
this is the name wherewith she shall be called, the Lord Jehovah,
our righteousness. I got the same name he does.
You see, there is only one righteousness. The righteousness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. What does the Bible mean by righteousness?
Jesus Christ. Who is the righteous man before
God? Jesus Christ and nobody else. Christ himself is the only
righteousness of his people. Either he is my righteousness
or I have none at all. Righteousness. Now, it is only
as I am nothing but sin in and of myself that He only is my
righteousness before God. If I can claim anything above
that, He is not my only righteousness before God. But it is only as
I am nothing but sin before God, that he is my righteousness. Now, this thing of simplicity.
I've got a simple view of man. I've got a very simple view of
man. You know, people say man is such a complex being. I mean, he can do such terrible
things. He can commit such crimes of
just horrible, evil, wicked things. And yet he can do so many good
things, too, and he can he can invent so many things and can
do so many helpful things. Man is such a complex creature,
not according to Scripture, not according to Scripture. He's
not complex. He's simple. Nothing but sin. That's it. Nothing else. Now, if you have
a simple view of man. That what he is in and of himself
is nothing but sin. You'll have this simple view
of righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only righteousness that the believer possesses. It's only as I have
no righteousness that Christ is my righteousness before God. Now, Satan will use righteousness. This is a favorite word of his.
He will even use words like imputed righteousness. and imparted righteousness. But if those words are used as
an adjective, they're deceptive. They're wrong. Because an adjective
is a qualifier. If there's only one righteousness,
it needs no adjective to distinguish it or compare it to some other
kind of righteousness. There's only one righteousness,
the righteousness of Christ. Now, that righteousness, his
righteousness is imputed. Imputation is always used as
a verb, never as an adjective. His righteousness is imparted
in the new birth, but it's his righteousness. There is only
one righteousness. And may the Lord always keep
us right here in the simplicity, the onlyness of Christ. That is, there's not even there's
there's not two things to make a choice between the two. There's
only one righteousness. I love it this way. I don't I
don't have to make a choice. I don't want to make a choice
because I'm afraid I'll make the wrong choice. There's only one righteousness
is and Satan will come masquerading this word. Here's how you can
be righteous. Here's how you can be righteous. If you do this,
if you do that, you'll be righteous. The only righteousness there
is, is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the Lord. He is my righteousness
before God. Now, the only way that can be
understood is the gospel. How can his righteousness be mine
to where I'm actually the righteousness of God, how can that be? I'll
tell you exactly how it can be. My sin was imputed to him by
God. It became his sin so that he
actually became guilty of that sin. That's why God put him to
death. God saw that he was guilty. The wages of sin is death. And the wrath of God came upon
him because he was guilty. My sin became his sin. Now, can I explain all the intricacies
behind that? Of course not. But this is what
God did. This is the work of God. My sin
became His sin. And just as truly as my sin became
His sin, His righteousness becomes my righteousness. So that I am
the very righteousness of God. That's the heritage of every
believer. Now, the false prophet. Somewhere
he's going to balk at that. He's going to take you somewhere
else. This is the key word to understanding
what a false prophet is. It's the word righteousness.
And let's close with first John, chapter four. I read this a lot and I, by the
grace of God, I continue to read a lot. I love this. Herein is
our verse 17, first John, chapter four, verse 17. Herein is our
love made perfect that we may have boldness, confidence in
the day of judgment. Now, before we go on reading,
you think about what he just said. Can you imagine standing
before a thrice holy God and having boldness on judgment day? Boldness, cheerful confidence,
not being afraid, knowing you're going to be justified. Now, how
in the world can somebody reach that state to where they have
boldness on the day of judgment? Well, here's how. Because as
He is. Well, how is He? He is the very righteousness
of God, isn't He? He is righteousness. As he is, so are we in this world. May the Lord give us a discerning
ear that we might know the difference between that which is of God
and that which is of Satan. And the key is understanding
something about what the Bible means. by this word, righteousness. It means nothing less than Jesus
Christ Himself. He is the only righteousness. There He is. Let's pray.