Take heed

Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. – Acts 20.28-31

Take heed. Beware. Don’t let down your guard. Be sober. Be vigilant. Walk circumspectly. Don’t be deceived. Search the scriptures.

These warnings and others are notice of how important it is to be careful in our daily walk.

Paul is in the middle of his farewell address to the Ephesians. He loves these people and simply cannot leave without warning them of the future. But his warnings are not just for them. We still face what he calls ravenous wolves and the bad thing is that the ones he warns about are wolves that come from among us.

It is clear that Paul is warning about false teachers who creep into the church. Paul warns about them. Peter warns about them. Jude warns about them. They creep into the church under the guise of caring. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

What to we do? We watch. We examine. We don’t take what teachers say for granted. We are to be good Bereans who search the scriptures to make sure teachers are teaching the truth.