The True and False: A Short Sermon (Delivered to Seminarians) on Micah 3:5-8

Introduction:

Deceit does a lot of damage. It can sow relational doubt, rend families apart, provoke war and much else besides. Most tragically though, deceit can work spiritual death. The words of our text for this morning, Micah 3:5-8, castigate a group of deceivers stirring up trouble in Ancient Israel — a cadre of false prophets. Micah’s targets and their historical distance from us may lead us to be skeptical of their contemporary significance. But however historically remote these words may be, they are God’s, and I pray that by considering them together this morning, He will grant us a fresh appreciation for their enduring import. False religious teachers — “false prophets” — continue to labor in our own day, and that still to spiritually calamitous effect and so, this old text serves as a warning for us even today, cautioning and exhorting us to beware falsehood and embrace truth.

I. False Prophets Are Dangers to Our Souls (v. 5)

In Micah 3, starting in verse 5, we read, “The word of the Lord concerning the prophets, who lead my people astray.” The false prophets, “lead astray.” A whole lot is packed into that simple phrase, which really sums up a tragic history of religious deception. The phrase, “lead astray,” crops up frequently in the Old Testament. Sometimes it describes prophets who were believed to have issued their pronouncements via demonic influence; at other points it describes prophets who’d failed to give the people of Israel the whole truth about their sin and their urgent need for repentance. As an example of the latter, in Lamentations 2:14 we read, “your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions, they have not exposed your iniquity [emphasis mine] to restore your fortunes.” Such prophets told the people what they wanted to hear, rather than what they needed to hear. The false prophets of Micah’s day were evidently guilty of related sins.

A vivid cinematic portrayal of what being “lead astray” looks like comes to us in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The creature Gollum knows his way around Middle Earth better than Frodo and Sam, and Frodo — given the bond that the Ring has preternaturally established between himself and Gollum — naively trusts this depraved wretch to guide him safely to Mount Doom. Having gained his trust, with cunning and deception Gollum slowly leads Frodo into the trap of Shelob’s Lair. People often trust religious leaders in ways they would never trust others. Crediting them with spiritual wisdom and a measure of holiness, they think to themselves, “they really know their way around the religious landscape; they can guide me and maybe even give me a word straight from God.” The people of Israel went to the prophets to hear a word from God, but they were often fed destructive lies instead. But the prophets of Micah’s day weren’t leading people astray just for the fun of it — Micah spotlights the economic interest that was at play in the prophets’ deception. The prophets were tailoring their prophecies according to their own greeds.

We have an image of the prophets biting their teeth and saying, “peace” to some, but declaring war against those who don’t put anything into their mouths. In other words, Israelites who could pay the fee got sweet words in return — “God is on your side” — while those who couldn’t or wouldn’t got portents. Imagine that: spinning God’s word for a profit. Unfortunately, we know all too well that many people are in religion for money. I’m sure you can think of some popular preachers whom you suspect are not primarily occupied with edifying the body of Christ, but with building their own mini-empires. These preachers all play a similar tune, enticing their listeners with feel-good messages and promises of success so that they can rake in the cash. One recent example is that of Terry Millender, a pastor who extorted his congregants out of 1.7 million dollars in an investment scheme. One of the women victimized by the scheme described him as, “a very bad pastor, a very good conman.” False prophets are incredibly dangerous to our souls. By God’s grace, we need to steer clear.

We’ve briefly looked at the destructive activities of the false prophets described by our text — they lead people astray from God, often for their own personal enrichment and our harm. But how does God feel about false prophets? How does He view them and intend to respond? Well, as you might expect, God is not pleased; God promises to judge false prophets.

II. False Prophets Will Be Judged (vv. 6-7)

With poetic verve, Micah envisions God’s coming judgment against these false prophets. Starting in verse 6-7, we read: 

“Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them. The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God.”

Micah declares that the false prophets, who pride themselves on their spiritual insight, will have it stripped away by God. This word-picture powerfully conveys God’s righteous anger against those who claim to speak his word, but who are only giving utterance to their own vain and self-serving ideas.

The book of Revelation gives a comprehensive picture of the final judgment. Among the judged and condemned are the devil, the antichrist, and the false prophet, a character who leads those bearing the mark of the beast astray, leveraging all manner of religious deception so that people believe lies rather than God’s truth. From Old Testament to New God’s attitude towards spiritual falsehood is uniform: He never wavers in His hatred of it.

If this is to be the fate for all that’s false, if there is to be a day of judgment, how should we respond? Well, most basically we need to steer clear of spiritual falsehood, we need to be on guard against it. But it’s not enough just to avoid falsehood, we need truth in its place.

III. Embrace Truth (v. 8)

In verse 8 — the climax of the passage — Micah contrasts his own prophetic ministry with that of the false prophets. He writes, “But I am filled with the Spirit of God.” True prophets, true teachers, are emboldened and empowered by God, because truth comes from God, who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). What is the truth Micah was empowered to speak? The truth of, “sin and transgression.” One of the marks of true prophets is that they convict us of our sin. They don’t hesitate to point out our backsliding or rebellion against God; they give us the hard truth and call us back to God.

The slogan for Buckley’s Cough Syrup is that, “it tastes awful and it works.” God’s truth can often upset us, especially when it touches upon our secret sins and brings them into the light. It can taste awful sometimes, but we need it. Deeply embedding ourselves in Christian community is one of the most powerful ways that we can expose our hearts to God’s truth. The truthful witness of a brother or sister to the sin in our lives can spur us on to repentance and to renewed and reinvigorated fellowship with the Lord and one another. Sitting under the Word of God faithfully preached can prick our hearts, as the Spirit convicts us of sin and encourages our hearts with the knowledge of Christ’s forgiveness. We need gospel truth in a world rife with deception.

IV. Believe in Jesus, The Truth Perfectly Embodied

In his gospel, the Apostle John tells us that Jesus was, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He never watered down the truth for the sake of grace, nor vice-versa. He always told the truth in love, that people might turn from their sins and put their faith in Him. He cried out, “repent! Turn from your sin and believe the good news!” 

Jesus said, “I have come to bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:37). Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the very embodiment of truth and the incarnate antithesis of falsehood. In looking at Jesus we see truth. Let us encourage one another always to look to Jesus.

Conclusion:

We’ve seen the danger that false prophets pose to our souls. We need to be on guard against falsehood. Moreover, we’ve seen that God hates spiritual falsehood, words that mislead His people and keep them from a knowledge of the truth. We need the truth, we need to heed it, we need to be reminded of it — even when it’s hard. Jesus came to bear witness to the truth, and through faith in Him, and staying close to Him with the Spirit’s aid, we can effectively guard ourselves against the enemy’s lies. May God empower us to discern true from false.

In Jesus’ name,

AMEN.