by Dub McClish<\/p>\n
As our Lord drew the Sermon on the Mount to a close, He gave the following warning: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them<\/em>” (Matthew 7:15-16). Do we still need this warning?<\/p>\n It is presently easier to find protectors of wolves among the sheep than to find those who will expose them. In fact, it is the common thing nowadays for the false teacher to be praised, endorsed, supported, and welcomed, while one who would correctly identify him as a wolf is treated as the wolf should be treated. How different from the Lord’s is the attitude of many brethren on this matter. We are not left to wonder how the apostolic church dealt with false teachers: They were watched for and when discovered, they were marked, avoided, silenced, shunned, rejected refused endorsement, and “delivered to Satan” (Acts. 20:29-31; Romans 16:17-18; I Timothy 1:19-20; Titus 1:10-11, 14; 3:10; II John 9-11).<\/p>\n Now there may be some “witch-hunters,” “alarmists,” and those who “play God” among us (as defenders of false teachers are wont to accuse), but I doubt it. (If there are, the wolves vastly outnumber them.) These and similar appellations are smoke-screen words designed to mitigate the exposures of the false teachers and their errors without their having to answer them or repent of them. Such terms are intended to intimidate and silence those who expose the false teacher. They are employed to create prejudice against those who stand for the Truth, and they are a favorite ploy of the liberals. (Ironically, false teachers who claim to abhor “name-calling” and “labeling” don’t mind doing it themselves when they are being exposed.)<\/p>\n I know of no one who enjoys exposing sin or error of any kind in a brother or sister. I certainly do not. I would much rather always be able to commend and praise and never have to criticize or reprove. However, one is not really a Gospel preacher (or a true follower of Christ, whatever his work in the kingdom) who shrinks in cowardice from this necessary task. If it makes me a “witch-hunter” or an “alarmist” to warn brethren of a “wolf” among the “flock” (or “flocks”), then I am such with Heaven’s blessing. If I am such a one, then what shall we call the Lord and His apostles who commanded and practiced this responsibility? If exposing false teachers is to “play God,” I would rather do that than “play the devil” by refusing the Lord’s mandate to do so. If one would be great in the Master’s eyes, he must be faithful to the charge to identify and expose false teachers, even if they are dear friends or even relatives.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Dub McClish As our Lord drew the Sermon on the Mount to a close, He gave the following warning: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:15-16). Do we still need this warning? It is presently easier…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[478],"class_list":["post-90193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-false-teachers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":93836,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/false-teachers\/","url_meta":{"origin":90193,"position":0},"title":"False Teachers","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier In II Peter, we learn what is at stake. If we do not take Peter's instruction to heart, we will drift back into corruption. When we return to the beginning of II Peter 2, we discover that the situation is even more precarious. We are not growing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51956,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-giving-a-warning-about-a-false-teacher-be-gossip\/","url_meta":{"origin":90193,"position":1},"title":"Can giving a warning about a false teacher be gossip?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading\u00a0an article written by someone on your website about the subject of gossip. Gossip was condemned by the person who wrote the article. But, what about if you're exposing a false teacher, whether they're well known by others or not? I believe that we should raise awareness\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50421,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/reaction-to-heresy\/","url_meta":{"origin":90193,"position":2},"title":"Reaction to Heresy","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Irven Lee via Truth Magazine, December 3, 1970 \"Heresy must needs come\" (I Corinthians 11: 19). Paul said, \"I know this,\" when he warned the elders that wolves would enter the flock (Acts 20:29-32). Peter said, \"There shall be false teachers among you\" (II Peter 2:1-3). John said, \"Many\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87315,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/refutation-by-ridicule\/","url_meta":{"origin":90193,"position":3},"title":"Refutation by Ridicule","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by R. Andrew Parker via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 17 No. 1, 31 March 1991 \"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40037,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-i-go-wrong-following-benny-hinn-joel-olsteen-j-d-jakes-or-joyce-meyer\/","url_meta":{"origin":90193,"position":4},"title":"Will I go wrong following Benny Hinn, Joel Olsteen, J.D. Jakes, or Joyce Meyer?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi there, Three days ago I was browsing around YouTube and found Benny Hinn exposed, as well as Joel Osteen. This really scared me since many people follow them. Also, from time to time, some Christians watch them on TV. Do all these people who listen to them and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89345,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/protectors-of-the-flock\/","url_meta":{"origin":90193,"position":5},"title":"Protectors of the Flock","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jerry C. Brewer When Luke penned Paul's last words to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20, the Holy Spirit guided his hand in selecting a single word that graphically sums up and illustrates the work of elders. That word is, poimaino. According to McClintock and Strong, this word means,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90193\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}