The Quality of Kingdom Leaders (Part 2)

When it comes to deciding who is humanity’s most dangerous leaders, there is quite a number of contestants

One of the most dangerous leaders was a man by the name of Gaius, Julius Caesar - who was the third emperor of Rome. And though you my have heard of his name, you have probably heard of him more often by his nickname, Caligula. For Caligula Which is a name that means, “little soldier’s boot. Caligula was a barbaric leader who justified his barbarism with his belief that everyone around him was a corrupt cheat. He ended up becoming a drug addict, who in his fits of rage ended up becoming so barbaric, that he was often called a beast with a face of human! In fact, historians can’t find a single story or citation that refers to him as being any kind of normal human! He was often described as: “insane emperor who was self-absorbed, short-tempered, and killed on a whim.” And they said this of him, because during the four short years that he reigned he not only forced political rivals to commit suicide, But he was well known for rape, incest, and murdering people is sick and twisted ways: including feeding them to animals. And consequently, because he was such a dangerous leader, he was assassinated by his own guards.

But... as dangerous as Caligula was, there was another leader who was even more dangerous, who ruled the Hunnic Empire from A.D. 434-453, In fact, he was so dangerous his nickname was: “The Scourge of God.” After seizing power for himself by killing his older brother, Attila The Hun went on to expand his empire into Germany, the Balkans, and Russia, through a cruel and bloody conquest. His armies would roll in upon horseback like a scourge, Screaming with a savage blood-curdling scream, as they slashed and hacked their victims to death. For example one attack, which more of an ethnic cleansing, the Huns killed 20,000 people including the women and children! And why? Not because the people posed a threat, But because he wanted to instill fear in anyone who might oppose him! And consequently, because he was such a dangerous leader, he was assassinated by his very own wife!

But... as dangerous as Attila the Hun was, there was another leader who was even more dangerous. For in the 13th century a man named Genghis Khan was responsible for killing 2/3rd’s of Northern China’s population! In his conquest, he was known cruel and twisted barbaric acts, most of which I can’t describe with children in the room. But… needless to say, one of those barbaric acts resulted 1 out of 200 people today being related to him... And consequently, because he was such a dangerous leader, he was, we are told, killed with a poisonous arrow.

Now, we would stop there, but in a list of dangerous leaders, one has to include the most well know of them all. Which was a man named Adolph Hitler. For he was a man so evil, that during the his Third Reich, the Nazi killing machine murdered millions of people! Which included: 6 million Jews - which came out to 1 out of every 3 Jews on the planet And five million non-Jews, which included Poles, Czechs, gypsies, gays, religious deviants, and many, many others. And consequently, in total, under this dangerous leader’s reign 11 million people’s lives were suddenly ripped away from them by the Nazi Killing Machine!

And so, though Hitler was a monstrous leader who the Allies banded together to stop, he too, was not the most dangerous of human leaders For the most dangerous of human leaders do far more than carry out cruel and barbaric acts of violence. They do far more merely conquer nations and subjugate their people. For the truth is, the most dangerous of human leaders are those who destroy men’s souls. And consequently, because they are so dangerous, we find Jesus in our passage this morning, going to war against their dangerous, soul-destroying activity.

And so, if we are going to join Jesus in this war-effort, we too are going to have go to war against these dangerous leaders, And we so, for 3 reasons.

We must go to war against false teachers because they:

1. Conceal
2. Close
3. Corrupt

The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Matthew 23:11-12 ESV

What would you say about a coach that never corrects? Or a teacher who never takes off points for wrong answers? Or… how about this? a doctor who never diagnosis? Pretty crummy coach... Pretty terrible teacher... Pretty deadly doctor... Right?

Ok - one more. What about a Christian who doesn’t call out dangerous false teachers? And I’m not just talking about calling out false teaching. I’m talking about calling out false teachers. We are talking by name! By organization!

“Well preacher, I just don’t think that’s a very Christian thing to do.” Ya? Then please explain to me why CHRIST is doing JUST that in Matthew chapter 23. And not only does He do it here. But He does it all throughout Matthew’s Gospel! and the rest of the gospels for that matter. And as Christians… which is a term that simply means: “LITTLE CHRISTS” And so why wouldn’t we little Christ’s imitate Christ in this matter? Because make no mistake, to be a Christian means to imitate Christ!

Look what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11.

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV

Did Paul call out false teachers by name? Or did Paul stick to preaching positivity? Did he avoid the controversy that comes by calling out false teachers by name? Well, if you’ve read the Bible at all, then you know that answer. Have you ever heard of the “super apostles” before? it’s cheeky name that Paul gave some false teachers as he berates them for their false teaching What about Jude? What does he call the false teachers he was dealing with who were leading people into sinful sexual lifestyles? He calls them “clouds without water.” And he goes on to say that God is going to Damn them to hell for being false teachers, so don’t follow them! and the fact is, every book in the New Testament, BAR ONE, warns against false teaching or false teachers. The only one that doesn’t is Philemon - which is one chapter long.

“Yeah, but Zach, you’re not an apostle and you definitely not Jesus.” Right. I’m absolutely not But I thought we just said that as Christians - little Christs - we are supposed to imitate Christ? Because I seem to remember something about a whip and tables being overturned back in Matthew 21. Seems like Jesus responded with some pretty direct righteous indignation to these people on more than one occasion... He called them “white-washed tombs!” John the Baptist called them a “brood of vipers!” and yet, as a little Christ, you’re telling me it is wrong to imitate Him when false teachers come a knocking? That we should just be positive, encouraging, K-loving Christians?

In response to this, many of our “highly respected” evangelical leaders will tell you: “Zach, you’re not Jesus, and anger is too dangerous of an emotion for you to wield.” “So put put the anger down - cuz you’re gonna hurt yourself and somebody else.” and in response to that I say: Yeah… maybe... But not maybe not. Because if I imitate Christ’s righteous anger and attitude toward’s false teachers, the Bible tells me I’m actually helping people not harming them.

Look, I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night. I realize that anger is a very dangerous emotion. But why on earth have we as Christians deluded ourselves into thinking “love” is any more safe of an emotion?!

Do you want some homework assignment for this week? Go home and write up all the sins you can think of, and start categorizing them under sins of anger VS sins of love.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately, so think with me for a second: Why do we steal? Not because we are angry, We steal because we love possessions!

Why do we lie and tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear? Because we LOVE the praise of man instead of the praise of God

Look, don’t get me wrong, we definitely can sin with our anger, We absolutely can and it’s effects are often DEVASTATING! But... do you realize And hear me when I say this, the SIN that lies behind the sin of anger is actually the sin of love. For it the love of self that pridefully causes us to use our anger in a un-Christlike way.

So of you think you have an anger problem.... You don’t. Ok, you do... BUT What you really have is A INORDINATE LOVE PROBLEM which manifests itself with unrighteous anger.

Why do I often respond with impatient anger to my children when they frustrate me? Because they are interfering with the thing I love - ME and so I respond in unrighteous anger.

Why do I sometimes respond with impatient anger when a church member complains, bickers, gossips, gripes, and acts more like a goat than a sheep? Not because their sin slanders the name of Christ and divides Christ’s body, But because it interferes with the thing I love - which is myself! And so I respond with unrighteous anger.

And so, wrongful loves are so much greater a danger than wrongful anger. And yet, as creatures made in the image of God we are to love what He loves and hate what He hates! And, as Christians, we have been given the power of the Holy Spirit of God living WITHIN US to do just that. and so we must respond to false teachers with righteous indignation by refuting them and warning others about them.

There’s one more concern we need to deal with here when it comes to this, And it often comes in the form of a question. And that question is: “Yeah, but who are you to say who is and isn’t a false teacher?” “Are you really so naive to think you have all of your doctrine figured out, MR JUDGY?”

What do we say that? Because I can promise you that if you start doing the “little Christ” thing and call out false teachers by name, you’re going to be asked that. So what do we say?

Just tell them that as Christians: we do not reject the realities of ontological truth and thus embrace an epistemological, deconstructionists hermeneutic of contextualized truth being relative to the individual. Like what are they gonna say that? Checkmate, right? Maybe in a philosophy class But what do we tell normal human beings?

OK, think with me here. The person who says: “who are you to judge them and say they are dangerous, I know them - They’re such a nice person!” What do they have to do in order to say that? THE VERY THING THEY SAY YOU SHOULDN’T DO! which was JUDGING Which is simply making a determination!

Stick with me here for a moment. One of us judges the teacher we are discussing as good and the other judges the teacher as bad. and so we are both doing the exact same thing - which is, judging whether the teacher is good or bad! Except, I was just hypocritically told not to judge, because “Hey buddy, who are you to judge! You don’t have the cornerstone on truth!” But evidently they do, because they have judged that false teacher to be a good and nice enough guy, Which is the absolute WRONG basis by which to judge someone!

Do you see how much our culture’s way of thinking has invaded the church?

I don’t like Relavistim, It’s stupid, unbiblical nonsense that hurts God’s people and those we are called to reach. So let’s kill it... with... fire.

The question isn’t: “Who are you to judge?” BUT, “What is the right judgement?” Are they teaching truth or are they teaching false hood and leading people away from Christ. And if they are teaching false, According to GOD’S WORD - not my personal opinion. Then I must humbly (as verse 12 mentions), warn others of them.

Isaiah 24:2 (ESV) And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest

As a pastor, why am I not out there on the front lines zealously fighting for this political issue, that social issue, or other things like that? Because I’ve got way bigger fish to fry! I’m fighting for the souls of men! Because they are so people many out there, proclaiming to be priests of God who are actually priests of Satan! And as Isaiah says, the people will follow their priests! They will follow their spiritual leaders And if their spiritual leaders are leading them into falsehood, what they are really doing, Jesus says: is closing heaven’s door in their faces, barring them from entering. Which leads us to our second point.

We must go to war against false teachers because they:

1. Conceal

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

Matthew 23:13 ESV

The reason these false teachers kept people out of the kingdom was because they weren’t even in it themselves. and we know that because over and over throughout Jesus’s ministry there they were denying the truth of God and turning people away from it. How so? First, as we’ve seen several times, by denying the authority of God’s Word, by relying upon man’s thoughts instead.

They denied the clear and obvious meaning of God’s Word, and instead read their man-made philosophies into it. Does that happen today?

They denied that Jesus was the Messianic Son of God, despite all the evidence in the Bible and in front of their eyes. Does that happen today?

They also denied salvation by grace through faith, and instead made salvation about self-righteous works. Does that happen today?

A couple of weeks ago we talked about the man-made philosophies problem, So let’s focus on the other two today.

How many cults are there now that reject the deity of Christ? Almost too many to count. From Mormonism, to Jehovah’s witnesses, to Islam even, to the many, many others, we are surrounded by them! And yet, years back I read that Baptists are one of their primary sources of converts.... Heart breaking... Which makes me wonder if anyone in their church warned them about those dangerous false teachers.

How about the false gospels? My goodness... Too many to count. And we could go after the low hanging fruit here of liberal protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Islam, deviant evangelism, or legalistic conservative Christianity. But let’s aim a little closer to home, shall we?

How many evangelical churches present a gospel that is completely devoid of the bad news? A gospel completely of the coming return of Christ and the judgment of God’s wrath that follows? How many churches, evangelical churches, don’t talk about sin, And the closest they ever get is referring to it as “mistakes.” And why? Because they are too busy tickling ears, going on and on and on about their life-stories, that culminate in some cheesy gospel-less fortune cookie take away.

I need to tell you this, if a pastor does not preach the bad news WITH the good news, they are NOT preaching the gospel, and are a false teacher whom you MUST warn others about.

Why on earth would I hear or need the good news of salvation without knowing the bad news of my coming damnation without that salvation? The answer is, I WOULDN’T! Which is precisely why these false teachers change the gospel from: Repent for kingdom of heaven is at hand,” Into: “God loves and has a perfect plan for you life - so just ADD Jesus!”

Instead of talking about the need for sinners to repent and turn from our sin to Christ for our righteousness, we hear about mistakes and shared brokenness. How it’s: “OK to not be OK around here.” Cuz “God loves you just the way you are.”

No, HE DOESN’T! Which is WHY CHRIST had to die for us miserable, sinful wretches in order to change us into something He can love and accept! And once we’ve turned in repentance to Him for salvation, it’s NOT OK TO NOT BE OK! So, if you’re sinning - STOP Fight it! Kill your sin!

Practically then: Are you a thief? PUT OFF STEALING and start putting on giving! Are you a critical, grumbling, Israelite complainer? Put that off by encouraging and being thankful for all the blessings you have!

Look, when you come to Christ, you do not have to clean yourself up, You come as you are, BUT YOU COME knowing and wanting to change from what you are, which is to become CHRIST-LIKE! And to do that, you have to repent and turn from your sin to CHRIST and imitate Him as a LITTLE CHRIST

We are surrounded by people who are slamming the door of salvation shut in people’s faces. And what’s sad, is those who have the saving message of salvation are often more scared of offending someone than they are of seeing that person to go hell! and while so many stand there unwilling to lift a finger to even help someone enter the door of salvation, Satan’s missionaries are HARD at work not just shutting the door of salvation, but actively seeking those they may corrupt! Which leads us to our last point.

We must go to war against false teachers because they:

Look with me at verse 14. And I’ll give a second to find it...

Well, the truth is, for probably most of you, you’re gonna be looking for a long time, cuz most modern Bible’s don’t have a verse 14. And why not? Well, because it’s not in the earliest manuscripts, And that’s most likely because some scribe was looking at Mark 12 or Luke 20, and pulled the content from those verses over because they thought it fit well. But, even though it’s true, it’s most likely not original to Matthew’s Gospel, so we aren’t addressing it here. If we ever get to Mark or Luke, then we will though. And, just one reminder, Bible wasn’t written with chapters and verses, Chapters weren’t added until around 1100 AD And verses not until around 1500 AD. Anyways, onto verse 15.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

Matthew 23:15 ESV

As one pastor I ready put it, “these are not leaders, but misleaders!” And though they have much ZEAL, it is as the Apostle Paul says in the book of Romans, ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE. and now you know why they say: “The path to hell is laid with good intentions.” Because good intentions without knowledge, is not good intensions, it’s demonic intentions as Jesus tells us here.

Because that’s precisely what they are: They are hells missionaries because their zeal lacks the saving truth of the gospel! and yet, how many times with Christians justify a bad teacher because, “but look at how much they care about people!” “Look at all they do for them!” “You can’t seriously tell me they aren’t serving God!”

Well, you’re right, I can’t - but Jesus can. And that’s exactly what He’s telling us here. It doesn’t matter how many food shelves you run It doesn’t matter how many homeless people you house It doesn’t even matter how many people raise their hands to “accept Jesus” - if that Jesus is a false Jesus, and that accepting is a FALSE ACCEPTING! Don’t get me started on the prosperity gospel this morning, because we don’t have time.

But look, the fact is, zeal doesn’t matter! Good intentions don’t even matter - and that’s if I even granted that those exist in the first place outside the new birth. TRUTH matters! and if a teacher is false about the truth, they are a false teacher and are to be marked and avoided! Because Satan has his missionaries, who are sadly often harder at work than Christians are! And in his missionary endeavors, he absolutely will do much good if means the ends are much evil.

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 ESV

The sad result of hells missionaries is, as verse 15 says, they find converts who become twice as much a child of hell as they are. Which is so often the case.

The sermon we find here in Matthew 23 is Jesus’s final sermon. In Matthew 5, we find His first sermon - the sermon on the mount, where he talks about what it takes to be blessed. and here, in His final sermon, he warns about what leads to woes of judgment being pronounced upon you.

He didn’t spend it talking about loving one another, Caring for one another, or serving one another, No. He spent it warning people about false teachers, and He did it by name! Right in front of them actually! and why? Because it’s an essential part of the gospel.

And so, if we are going to be “little Christs” we too are going to have follow in His footsteps and bring the gospel to the world by calling our error and those who preach it, in order to point people to the one and only saving gospel message of Jesus Christ!

Do you realize that every single one of here is a Christian because someone brought us the saving gospel message of Jesus? It’s true. None of us are self-made Christians. And whether you were raised by imperfect parents who brought you it, or raised in an imperfect church that preached it, BE HUMBLE AND BE THANKFUL! You’re not better than anyone else!

And, if you’re a part of our church, continue recognizing you’re in a very imperfect church with a VERY imperfect pastor, BUT, BE THANKFUL that by God’s grace you’re in a church where you hear the gospel message of salvation! You aren’t being led into damning error but life saving truth! And out of that thanks join with us as we endeavor to follow our Master’s great commission, which is to:

Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

May we do this out of remembrance of Christ, who went from heaven to earth, to live in order to die, in order to save us by the grace of God.

Let us pray

This is the manuscript the sermon was preached from, so the recording may differ in places.