Theological term
False Prophet
6 sermons · All terms
The Solicitation to Apostasy
Deuteronomy 13 confronts Israel with three escalating scenarios of solicitation to apostasy: the false prophet, the intimate family member or friend, and the corrupt city given over to idolatry. In each case the text demands not tolerance but purging, because defection from the living and true God constitutes treason against the theocratic covenant order. The chapter's severity is inseparable from its mercy: faithful execution of justice removes the cause of divine wrath and secures the covenant blessings sworn to the fathers. The passage presses the hearer to examine whether fidelity to God holds firm against both miraculous signs that lead astray and the subtler pull of intimate relationships.
The First Missionary Journey, Part 2
Acts 13:4–12 records the opening episode of Paul and Barnabas's first missionary journey: their arrival in Cyprus, their preaching in the synagogues of Salamis, and the dramatic confrontation at Paphos with Bar-Jesus, a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet who attempted to prevent the proconsul Sergius Paulus from hearing the gospel. The sermon examines three movements — the journey to Cyprus, the arrival at Salamis, and the confrontation at Paphos — with extended attention to Paul's Spirit-empowered rebuke of Elymas and the resulting judgment miracle. Central to the exposition is the insistence that the Word of God preached is the irreplaceable means of salvation, that Satan's primary strategy is to obstruct its reception, and that divine sovereignty rather than human merit accounts for every conversion, including that of a powerful Roman official.
Warning of Antichrist
What does the term 'antichrist' in 1 John 2:18–23 actually mean, and why is the popular question 'Who is the Antichrist?' the wrong question to ask? This exposition argues that John is not pointing to a single future eschatological figure but to a multitude of false teachers who deny that Jesus is the Christ and that He came in the flesh — teachers who have already appeared in every generation of the last hour, the entire era between Christ's two Advents. The remedy against antichrist is not prophetic speculation but deep, Spirit-illumined knowledge of the true Christ: His identity as the eternal Son, His unity with the Father, and the Trinitarian relations that ground saving faith. The sermon closes with a direct call to confess Christ, study His person rigorously, and stand ready for His return.
The Rejection of the True Prophet of God
1 Kings 22:1–28 presents a confrontation between Ahab, king of Israel, and Micaiah, the lone true prophet of Yahweh, whose faithful message Ahab despises precisely because it refuses to flatter him. The sermon traces Ahab's long pattern of rejecting God's word, his assembly of 400 pliable false prophets, and the fearless integrity of Micaiah, who declares he is in bondage to whatever Yahweh speaks regardless of the cost. Micaiah's heavenly throne-room vision is interpreted anthropomorphically — not as God counselling with creatures, but as a gracious revelation of Ahab's spiritual situation before the battle. The passage calls hearers to prize the unvarnished truth of God's Word over any message tailored to felt needs, and to pray for and support faithful preachers who will not compromise under pressure.
The Contest at Carmel
The contest on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18 is not merely a dramatic episode from Israel's monarchic period — it is a confrontation between the living God of Israel and the futility of every false god. Elijah's challenge to a compromised people, 'How long will you falter between two opinions?', exposes the recurring temptation to blend true religion with idolatry, whether in ancient Israel's Baalism or in the subtler syncretism of today. The sermon traces the theological case for why Baal attracted Israelite worship — royal sanction, tradition, relevance to felt needs, and sensual appeal — before showing how God's consuming fire rendered that attraction indefensible. The application presses toward total allegiance: no halting between God and money, God and self, God and any competing lord.
Seduction to Idolatry
Deuteronomy 13 confronts Israel — and the church — with three escalating scenarios of seduction to idolatry: the false prophet who performs genuine signs and wonders, the intimate family member who whispers in private, and the city that has given itself wholly over to apostasy. The sermon argues that the severity of the prescribed penalties is not barbarism but proportionate justice rooted in the holiness, jealousy, and justice of the God who redeemed Israel by sovereign grace — and that the New Testament, far from softening this standard, intensifies it in passages such as Galatians 1:8-9 and 1 Corinthians 16:22. Throughout, the preacher insists that the church today does not wield the civil sword, but must nonetheless take with utmost seriousness the danger of idolatry in all its forms — including the subtlest idol of self — and find refuge from it only in the cross of Christ.