In the children’s story Little Red Riding Hood, the antagonist is a wolf that is posing as Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother. Riding Hood’s heart is in the right place. She wants to help her grandma, who was home ill. She is suspicious, and her questions finally expose him. There are a lot of wolves in sheep’s clothing in the church. They look innocent, but underneath they are dangerous.
Titus 1:16
“They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
Avoid These People
Paul has a lot of experience dealing with deceitful people. He has been burned more times that he wants to recount. As he instructs Titus in the church’s leadership, he tells him to avoid those people who profess to know God, but their actions tell you differently. Their deeds are so detestable that they deny God exists. They are worthless because their words and attitude disqualifies them. The tricky part is that they usually have most people fooled.
Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
The most dangerous people in the church aren’t the pastors who deceive but the lay members who have excellent reputations but are as mean as it gets underneath the surface. As long as you are on their good side, everything is mostly okay. There can be occasional flare-ups, but you don’t press the situation because you are afraid of getting worse. To those they don’t like, they are absolutely brutal.
Remain Faithful to Jesus
Sadly these people often drag good families down with them. Young Christians are especially susceptible to these detestable people. If there is a positive in dealing with these people, it’s that God sees everything they do, and He will take care of them. All we need to do is remain faithful to following Jesus. We may get a few bruises, but we will survive.