“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”
Acts 20:29-31

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MAY 15, 2025

Paul cautioned the elders at Ephesus to walk circumspectly. He warned of external threats in the form of savage wolves who would attack the flock that God so dearly loves. They would infiltrate and wreak havoc amid the people of God. Shepherds must be ready to defend the sheep against predators. Elders must be able to recognize false teaching and repudiate it.

It must have been sobering for these elders to hear from Paul that from among their number would be those who seek their own prestige at the expense of God’s own children, and faithfulness to God’s word.

Yet no one is immune to these influences. We must examine ourselves honestly, and we must evaluate teaching in light of Jesus’ teaching. There is an enemy who is deadly serious about derailing the church of God. We do not live in fear, but we do live in awareness. Paul went to considerable effort to make the disciples cognizant of the danger of losing vigilance.

Personally, I do not like to think about the possibility of deception, harm, or false teaching within the ministry of Wheaton Bible Church. Listening to teaching and preaching here has consistently been an encouragement to my walk with the Lord. But no church is immune to attack from within or from without. My yardstick for measuring what we teach and how we live must be the word of God itself.

In a society polarized between conservative and liberal viewpoints, politics has become a threat to unity within the church. People of God have the freedom to hold political opinions, but the expression of these positions within the church is a delicate issue. Moral issues that are clearly spoken to by the word of God should be forthrightly addressed from the pulpit. But the fact of the matter is, my brothers and sisters in Christ have a range of perspectives on politics, which I should respect and can even learn from.

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Why was Paul so persistent in warning the elders about threats from within and from without the church during his time in Ephesus?
  • If you hear something preached or taught at church that seems contrary to the word of God, what is your proper response?
  • What threats to the welfare of the people of God, if any, have you encountered from inside or outside the church?

Church Reading Plan: Numbers 24; Psalm 66-67