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During Jeremiah’s time as prophet, Israel had progressed deeply into sin. Jeremiah chapter five lists their injustice, hypocrisy, idolatry, and adultery. At the close of chapter five, Jeremiah identified the underlying cause of the people’s condition in verse 31: false prophets and priests. This passage from Jeremiah 5 and 6 records the character of the false prophets and priests present in Jeremiah’s day, who fostered and furthered the spiritual decline of Israel.

Since Jeremiah described clearly the failures of his day, we can use it in our day to identify the false leaders among us and avoid the pitfalls that beset Israel. In this passage, Jeremiah identified six characteristics of false prophets and leaders. They aptly describe our era and its dangers.

First, they gained popularity by the declaration of a false message. When they said, “God said,” they lied. They spoke their own messages. They prophesied falsely. When the priests failed to correct the prophets, the priests gained support from the prophets for their lavish, wicked lifestyle. Worse yet, the people loved it that way.

This centuries old course of action repeats itself today. False prophets abound with their messages of deceit filled with fallacies. Their fallacies have made void previously sacred doctrines like the doctrines of salvation, the sinfulness of humanity, the authority of the Scriptures, and the nature of God. This gives only a short list of the favorable things they proclaim to please church leaders and people. Their disregard for truth has made their preaching a sham.

In similar fashion to Jeremiah’s day, pastors and church leaders promote and defend the erroneous beliefs of the false prophets for financial gain. They gain authority by the influence of human effort. Sadly, like Jeremiah’s day, we approve and applaud them. Scores of people find satisfaction and security in fallacies. In fact, many cannot discern the difference between the false and the true.

Furthermore, many who call themselves followers of Christ do not want to hear the truth. Instead, they want to hear stories and exciting things. They dislike messages on sin and the great doctrinal truths of Scripture. They have an aversion to sermons on the Lord Jesus and the holiness of God and His demands upon them. To satisfy their desires they heap to themselves teachers who will make them feel good. Their ignorant endorsements further encourage the false prophets to continue their sinful ways. The people love it that way. (See 2 Timothy 4.3-4.)

Second, the shameful practices of Israel’s leaders resulted in the people viewing God's word to them with derision. (See Jeremiah 6.10.) When God spoke to them through His prophets, they rebelled against Him and departed from His word without fear of Him. Every level of society, rich and poor, defied God at every turn. His warnings fell upon deaf ears and hard hearts. They rejected His word to them. They had no interest or desire for it. It was a reproach to them. They traded God's word for that of the false prophets and priests. This brought a dearth of the knowledge of God. Doubt and unbelief followed.

In our day, we reflect the same attitude in a different fashion. Instead of reliance upon God's word to instruct and guide us in life, we have replaced it with books, retreats, and seminars. With glowing promises, they urge us to buy their publications and attend their meetings. The false leaders of today offer the solutions to all of life’s problems through these means. Without exception, when people consult me with problems in their lives, they ask me for a recommendation of a good book that will help them.

I remember a friend of mine who related his experience in this vein. As a young man new to the realities of life in Christ, he went to the one whom God had used to introduce him to these realities and asked him for a good book on them. After some deliberation, the man’s teacher wisely replied, “I recommend a book that usually comes in a black leather cover entitled, “The Holy Bible.”

No mere writings of man can replace the Bible, God's word to humanity. In it, He has provided all that we need for life and godliness. Further, His words are alive. The writings of Godly men and women can provide help to us. Yet, nothing can replace God's word. God has not promised to authenticate man’s writings, but He has given the Holy Spirit to illuminate our minds to understand His word and its role in our lives. As disciples of Christ, we must return to God's word and let the Holy Spirit instruct and edify us that we may grow.

Verse 13 or this text identifies a third characteristic of the false prophet, desire for possessions. They sought money and the positions of prominence associated with it. Their unbounded indulgences of the flesh drove them to dishonest gain. Ultimately, their sin infected the whole nation, from the poorest to the richest, so that covetousness contaminated their whole society. No one denied his or her selfish interests.

As in Jeremiah’s day, this characteristic helps identify false prophets. No doubt, you have observed preachers on television and heard them on the radio, who have distinction in the professing church of today. Have you noticed how many of them urge you to prove your devotion to God by sending money to them? I find it revealing that they insist upon money; no other demonstration of devotion will suffice, e.g., service or volunteer work. Further, these false teachers implore people to give money to them, not the local church or other Christ honoring ministry. Such lies and deceits have become a common spectacle and a blight on the church today.

A fourth characteristic marked the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day, dereliction of duty. Verse 14 of Jeremiah 6 talks about healing the hurt of God's people slightly. This phrase describes a condition where someone has a broken bone out of joint and piercing through the flesh. Rather than taking the time, effort, and pain to set the bone straight for its healing, they merely wrap it. They put a band-aid on the injury, so to speak. Instead of really fixing the hurt, they just patch it up and hope it heals a little.

God used this picture to describe the spiritual condition of His people. Then God accused the false prophets and priests of saying, “Peace, peace,” when no peace existed. The priests and prophets attempted to cover up the true failures by proclaiming that everything was ok. God said that despite the declarations of Israel’s leaders no peace existed. These leaders had fixed the problems only slightly.

In addition to this text, Scripture records other places where God warned the leaders of Israel of their similar failures to address the true problems of His people. In Jeremiah 23, God likens the false prophets and priests to shepherds who scatter and destroy their sheep. Furthermore, in Ezekiel 34, God described them as shepherds who fed and cared for themselves, but left the diseased and broken sheep without care.

Today, false prophets, pastors, and teachers act in the same fashion. They proclaim the same message: “Peace, peace. Everything is ok. It’s just wonderful.” By avoiding the emphasis upon sound doctrine, God's people have become spiritually sick and malformed. Seldom do you hear a preacher over television or radio point out sin and call for repentance and reformation of life in conformity to God's demands. They heal the wounds of God's people only slightly. As in Jeremiah’s day, this deceit fails to minister to the real hurts of God's people. They provide false help and hope.

The fifth characteristic reveals how far the false leaders had fallen from God. When God chastised them for their sinful acts, they responded with defiance of guilt from their sinful behavior. They experienced no shame for their sins. In fact, when their behavior failed to bring satisfactory results, they felt no disappointment or perplexity for their failures. Neither did these false prophets and priests sense any humiliation that could lead to repentance. They did not even blush.

Sadly, this same attitude, which permeates many false prophets and teachers today, helps to identify them. They indulge their fleshly appetites for money and possessions. They act as if they deserve them. They even attempt to defend their practices with Scripture. When discovered in their sin, they immediately excuse their sinful behavior and make allowances for it. They deflect shame for their actions and reveal a disinterest in correction and repentance. Ultimately, they defend themselves with the mantra, “The ends justify the means,” as if stated spiritual aims can justify evil practices. They do not.

Finally, the false prophets and priests of Jeremiah’s day showed their true colors by a denial of God's ways. In verses 16 and 17, God instructed them through Jeremiah to return to the old ways and walk in them. Further, He set watchmen to warn them to hearken to God's directions. However, they rejected them and refused to walk in them. In addition, they rebuffed the calls of God's watchmen.

In our day, popular television and radio teachers prefer the world’s methods to God's ways. In their pursuit for crowds, they adopt worldly schemes that contradict God's word. They teach that our new day demands conformity to its mores in order to reach the populace of today. They reject the old ways of God and replace them with new tactics from business and politics. Calls for reform from Godly leaders to return to Biblical mandates go unheeded.

You might be tempted to say, “Well, now, that is Old Testament. That doesn’t have anything to do with us.” To a certain extent that is true. It is Old Testament, and God was dealing specifically with the sins of Israel and of Judah at the time. He pointed out how the priests and the prophets had failed their responsibilities. The kings had their hand in it, too. They set up the groves, the high places, and the idols to worship and did not seek after God.

Nevertheless, God has not changed. Although this prophecy pertains specifically to a time in the history of Israel, it gives us a glimpse into the heart and mind of God. He views the pastors and church leaders of our day just as He did then. He will not going to put up with the foolishness that is going on presently in the Church. He is the same today as He was back then. He is not winking at the pastors and the spiritual leaders of our day who abuse the sheep.

There is coming a day when God will hold accountable the false prophets and leaders of our day for their sins. They have led people astray and have refused to repent of their sinful behavior. They have not healed the hurts of God's people, and He will judge them. He will raise up shepherds who will feed the sheep and not themselves, who will heal the hurts of people fully. They will take care of believers and seek after the lost, too.

The church today desperately needs revival. I remember a few years ago talking with a pastor who talked blithely about revival. He said, “I have read a couple of books on revival, and isn’t it interesting?” Then he asked me the question. “Why do you think we don’t see revival?”

I looked him right in the eye and said, “It is because the pastors of our day don’t have enough courage to stand up for the truth.” He turned his head a little bit and moved the discussion to another topic. It takes some sacrifice to stand up for the truth. Many do not want to do that today. They want the easy life style, popularity, prestige, and adulation.

There is coming a day when God will remove the false prophets and pastors. He will install true shepherds in their places. I pray for the day when God will do that.