The Fruit of Deed

Jesus taught that there will be some people who will claim to be sheep (believers in Jesus) but inwardly they are wolves (deceivers). They profess the truths of the Gospel and the Christian faith, but they live lifestyles that do not reflect those who follow Christ. They manipulate followers in Christ and do so to benefit themselves in various ways and eventually they corrupt the message of the Gospel. At the root of all this deception is spiritual and personal pride.

The apostles were confronted with this type of fruit in individuals who resisted the genuine work of the Gospel and the evidence of this was their pride and personal arrogance. Instead of being motivated by the love for Christ flowing out of a pure heart, these individuals pursued their own desires and the end result was division and eventually false teaching. This type of pride will always produce spiritual destruction and it must be confronted and exposed as such.The book of Acts records that on Paul’s first missionary journey, he and Barnabas traveled to the Island of Cyprus and went to a city on the western side of the island called Paphos. This city was the seat of the Roman Government on the Island of Cyprus and was also a center for the worship of the Aphrodite goddess Venus.

The city was full of idol and occult worship and also had the temple of Venus located there. She was called the Queen of Paphos, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It was here that Paul and Barnabas met two very different people – Sergius Paulus, the Roman provincial governor and Elymas (Bar-Jesus), a Jewish sorcerer. When Sergius Paulus, heard of the Gospel message that Paul and Barnabas were preaching, he wanted to hear more about Jesus Christ. Sergius Paulus was a man whose heart was open to the Lord and he asked Paul and Barnabas to meet with him and explain the Gospel. Elymas on the other hand, was a man whose heart was closed and he tried to prevent Sergius Paulus from hearing the Gospel.

Elymas appears to have been a man with some spiritual influence and for whatever personal, corrupt reason, he tried to resist the Gospel and turn Sergius Paulus away from faith in Christ. When the apostle Paul saw what Elymas was attempting to do – “Then Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him (Elymas) and said ‘O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time’. And immediately a dark mist fell on him and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the Proconsul (Sergius Paulus) believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord” – Acts 13:9-12.

The apostle Paul and Barnabas confronted a man who was a deceiver Elymas), a fraud and by so doing they were able to lead another man (Sergius Paulus), to faith in Christ. One man’s desire was to hinder the Gospel and the other man’s desire was a hunger to hear the Gospel. This is an example where both the proclamation and the defense of the Gospel were both necessary tools that the Lord used to bring someone to genuine faith in Christ.Another example of the apostles proclaiming and defending the Gospel is found in Acts 20. Paul had visited the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor earlier on his third missionary trip and had taught and established new believers in Christ in this city. He remained there for approximately three years proclaiming and teaching these new converts.

The city of Ephesus was an tourist attraction in the Roman Empire and it had numerous temples dedicated to gods and goddesses. As a consequence of this, it was also a city of gross immorality. Later, when Paul was returning to Jerusalem from travelling in areas of Asia Minor, he returned for a short time to visit the believers living in Ephesus. Paul warned the Ephesian believers that men would come from within and from outside the church and would attempt to pervert the Gospel and bring division among them.Paul told the pastors and elders of this church at Ephesus – “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves (deceivers) will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears” – Act 20:28-31.

The apostle Paul warned these church leaders that men would: rise up – speak perverse things – and draw away disciples after themselves. These false Christians leaders were not interested in pointing people to Christ, but instead they were drawing people to themselves for personal gain or power. The apostle Paul warned the church with “tears” regarding this potential deception adding that he “knows” that this deception process will take place. We know that later a group of professing Christians called Nicolaitans infiltrated the Ephesian church. These Nicolaitans were followers of a man named Nicolas. Irenaeus (125-202) the 2nd century church father stated that Nicolas was one of the six deacons referred to in Acts chapter 6. He was a false believer who later became the leader of this movement. The Nicolaitans professed Christ but they also embraced the immoral lifestyle and the belief system of the Ephesian city and the goddess Diana. They essentially taught that a person can follow Christ but also practice living in sin with no correction necessary.

This group had significant impact on the churches in Asia Minor especially in the church at Pergamos, which was a city north of Ephesus. From the book of Revelation 2:6, we know that the church at Ephesus was commended for rejecting this false teaching.It is important to understand that only Jesus Christ deserves disciples. For the Christian there is no final human leader except for the Lord Jesus Christ. The followers of Christ are not masters to one another. Instead, we are members of the same body with one head – Jesus Christ – I Corinthians 12.

The Bible teaches that when people exalt and follow human leaders, they have sunk into wrong thinking – I Corinthians 3:3 -7, 23. Jesus said in John 7:18 – “He that speaks of himself seeks his own glory”. No believer in Jesus has an inside track to God; no special prayer relationship; no degree of special information from God. No one has any access to the God the Father except through Jesus Christ and in Him all believers are freely welcomed to God’s throne of grace. Those who covet money, who are immoral, manipulate, double talk and exploit, reveal their real inner motivations which are not to serve Christ but rather to serve self. These individuals, regardless of what they profess, are false leaders and need to be exposed and rejected.

The early church apostolic leadership understood this and provided warnings regarding these types of false leaders who opposed the genuine work of the Gospel – I John 4:1-6; II Peter 2:1-22; I Timothy 4:1-16; Galatians 1:6-10; II John 7-11; Jude 1-25; II Corinthians 11:1-4, 13-15.“Now I urge you brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ , but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the simple” – Romans 16:17,18.