Jer. 23:9-15, False Prophets and Teachers (2)

We are considering the false prophets in the days of Jeremiah.  What were they like?  What would be their end?

·       23:11-15: The prophets and priests were “profane.”  This means to be outside the temple, outside the sacred place (cf. Ex. 42:20).  They were not preaching what was consistent with the LORD whose dwelling was in the Holy of Holies.  We might say their preaching was “secular” rather than “sacred.,  or better, it was “common” rather than “holy.” They claimed that what was ordinary or common was godliness.  This had been seen in the prophets of the Northern Kingdom, and now it was brought into the religion of Judah.  This is the “adultery” the passage says was present: a mixing of worldly philosophy with the word of God.  Paul referred to heresy in his day as profane and old wives’ fables (1 Tim. 4:7) and profane, idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge (I Tim. 6:20; cf. 2 Tim. 2:16).  The writer of Hebrews called Esau profane for having sold his birthright for a pot of stew (Heb. 12:16).  In other words, he considered the birthright something ordinary, not of any value, whereas in God’s plan the one who had the birthright from Isaac was chosen and holy to the LORD.  This is what heresy does: it forsakes the word of God’s grace which can make you a sanctified, set-apart child of God (Ac. 20:32) and substitutes a self-exalting message of works which makes Christianity common, like every other religion. In the following note how the message of God’s grace is joined to profane, idle babblings and thus emptied of the grace of God.

o   We have seen in the Church, where the lust of the flesh is combined with Christianity: God loves me and therefore wants me to feel good.  I have been around parts of the Christian community where there is more concern with people’s physical healing than the salvation message. 

o   We have seen where the lust of the eyes is mixed with Christianity: God loves me and wants me to prosper materially.  The evidence of a person’s godliness is thus seen in the abundance of earthly possessions.

o   We have seen where the pride of life is mixed with Christianity where personal testimony has to do with personal accomplishments, bigger numbers in the church, self-promotion through writing of books and promotions of programs, self-hope approaches to the Christian life, and judgmentalism in preaching. 

o   In the case of Jeremiah, the message of the false prophets was “peace, peace.”  Jeremiah’s message was impending judgment, give yourselves up to the Babylonians and you can save your life.  That message was offensive to the king and his princes who saw it as unpatriotic and insubordination.  But the problem was: Jeremiah preached the truth!  The other prophets preached a people-friendly message.  They gave people with basic sinful inclinations a message that made them feel better.  Problem was: it was a lie!