The greatest human dangers to Christ’s people are the wolves in sheep’s clothing who promote lawlessness against God among them in subtle, hard to spot ways.

Hirelings are basically in a different category than wolves in sheep’s clothing.  Though self-interest characterizes both the wolf in sheep’s clothing and the hireling, and though there are often some other notable similarities between the two, there are also notable distinctions between the wolf in sheep’s clothing and the hireling.  

Jesus implied this in what He said in John 10:12-13: “But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.  The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.”

A wolf is anyone with an evil agenda on the prowl.  Wolves are not always in sheep’s clothing- at least from the standpoint of the professing Christian who possesses some Bible knowledge and is concerned about what the Bible says to any notable degree.  Examples of blatant wolves would be Communist revolutionaries, recruiters for Socialist movements, and missionaries of religions where Jesus Christ’s deity is blatantly denied.  

There are of course many wolves who are cult leaders and/or in the service of cult leaders who look a little bit like sheep to the one examining them by the Bible- yet their sheep outfit isn’t very convincing due to something that is rather obviously off in their doctrine and/or their outward manner of living.  However, personal bias, lack of Bible knowledge, and previous reception of deceitful teachings can make these to seem to have a full sheep costume on in the eyes of some.  Likewise, the same poor discernment might cause one to not discern a faithful shepherd in the service of the Chief Shepherd as being authentic.  

However, the epitome of a wolf in sheep’s clothing is someone who looks and sounds the part of a genuine shepherd of Christ (even to one with an overall good knowledge of the Bible as well as a notable amount of spiritual discernment).  

As a general rule, the thing that distinguishes the hireling from the wolf is that the hireling isn’t really on the prowl.  He is rather content to do his service he has been hired to do, take his pay from those who have hired him, and go home.  The hireling is not looking to infiltrate other groups or send others to do so- unless of course he has been hired by a wolf and doing such happens to be part of his job.  

This is a key reason why a faithful shepherd of Christ doesn’t have to contend against all of the false churches in his area (besides inevitably hitting at the falsehood in them as he labors to faithfully preach the whole counsel of God to his congregation).  At the same time, even if the faithful shepherd doesn’t face much opposition from local churches, he will still inevitably have to contend with wolves on the prowl from longer distances and wolves rising up from within his own group.

The Apostle Paul thus testified to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:26-31: “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.  For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.  Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.”

Hirelings are reflections of the specific group which has hired them.  In order to be such, they will often compromise personal convictions (for worse or for better- but much more likely for worse).  The hireling may be convinced that Christmas is a corrupt holiday which isn’t Biblical and it isn’t good to celebrate.  Yet he would be very, very unlikely to tell his congregation this and thereby risk his job.

Wolves have their own agenda and they seek to make the groups they begin, or the groups which they infiltrate, a reflection of their own self-seeking vision.  They thus seek to exercise power which the hireling, as long as he remains in the hireling category, isn’t seeking.  The wolf however may yet employ the tactic of deference to others in conniving attempts to maintain and/or gain power, money, and/or influence over the long-term.   

The true shepherd of Christ, once persuaded Christmas isn’t good and right to celebrate, will not hold back in order to keep his position and the perks associated therewith.  Yet the wolf in sheep’s clothing, if he thought it was a chance to look better before some and attack certain in the congregation he wanted out anyways, or if he just personally found Christmas distasteful, would preach against Christmas (and likely sound like a true shepherd of Christ in doing so).  

Consider a group of faithful Christian sheep who need a leader and don’t think any among them is fitting yet for the task.  In such a situation a hireling, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and a truly fitting shepherd of the flock might all be candidates for the job.  The hireling won’t call himself a hireling, the wolf in sheep’s clothing won’t call himself a wolf, and the fitting shepherd may not be able to distinguish himself from the hireling or the wolf at first- since they all look the part.  

This can be all the more confusing since a true shepherd of Christ will warn about wolves in sheep’s clothing; while the wolf in sheep’s clothing will also warn about wolves in sheep’s clothing (including the faithful shepherd of Christ among that number- a true shepherd of Christ would attempt to deliver the wolf’s prey out of his mouth).  The hireling may also warn of wolves in sheep’s clothing- yet he will typically be much quicker to get away from direct confrontation than the wolf and the faithful shepherd of Christ.  

The wolf in sheep’s clothing sees other wolves in a similar way to how the faithful shepherd of Christ sees him (as well as other wolves).  Both have the will to fight with wolves who threaten the work they are involved in.  Therefore, they can look very similar sometimes.  The wolf in sheep’s clothing, at his core, is fighting other wolves as competition for prey.  The faithful shepherd of Christ fights with wolves in faithfulness to His Master- like David fought the lion and the bear away from his father’s sheep in order to properly honor his father.  

The hireling though will prove he’s a hireling by tolerating the wolf as he attacks or by running away (he calls such toleration things like “love” and “patience”; he calls the running away things like “resigning for the sake of peace.”)  

However, even the hireling may occasionally fight off a very weak lone wolf or contend with wolves when he is sure that his congregation is fully behind him.  In those cases though, the wolves or wolf probably would have been chased away even without his compromised, self-preserving shepherding.  

Hearing a church leader say that he doesn’t endorse sin and false doctrine which are prevailing right within his own church is basically an admission that he is a hireling.   

A true shepherd of Christ will not tolerate sin nor false doctrine within his own church.  

The hireling may flatter himself that at least the people actively corrupting the church didn’t get their wicked ideas directly from him.  

A wolf in sheep’s clothing is actually much more likely to confront sin and false doctrine than a hireling- when such are not part of his own brand of acceptable sin and/or false doctrine.  

Like the hireling, the wolf in sheep’s clothing may also have sin behind closed doors which he knows he will lose his congregation over if it is exposed- yet the wolf in sheep’s clothing is much more likely to attack one who finds him out; and is much less likely to willingly step down if he is caught.  

Both the wolf in sheep’s clothing and the hireling, though the very direction of their life puts them each in sin, are likely to clean up their lives morally in many ways that they may not have otherwise or go to greater lengths than the average person to ensure their sins in private don’t get brought out into the public eye.

The hireling may very well not be available beyond his scheduled office hours (except for obvious emergencies- of course dealing with those is part of his job)- unless an appointment is booked well in advance.  Like a faithful shepherd of Christ, the wolf in sheep’s clothing often has much greater availability than the hireling.  Unlike the faithful shepherd of Christ, the wolf will prioritize his availability according to who is already most useful to him or who is a greater prospect to be more useful to him.  Yet that is not something which others are likely to discern- except maybe over much time.  

Unlike a true shepherd of Christ, a wolf in sheep’s clothing may just forget about the least in his group and let them go since they are not important to his agenda anymore.  He also may work to force out, or at least be content to let go, those whom he perceives aren’t that easy to manipulate and are stronger candidates to discern him and call him out as the deceiver that he is.  The faithful shepherd of Christ values everyone highly and doesn’t need to worry about being discerned and called out as a deceiver since he walks in honesty and possesses integrity.

The hireling and the true shepherd of Christ can seem very much the same when there is a dedicated core group of people in the church.  A skilled hireling can often preach just as well, if not notably better than a true shepherd of Christ- especially since the hireling is usually a polished speaker (his livelihood depends on this; and if he wasn’t good at this he probably would have already sought another profession).  Both the hireling and true shepherd will appreciate a dedicated core group in a church and hate to see it broken up.  To the faithful shepherd, the unity of the sheep in following the Chief Shepherd is paramount for His Master’s sake.  To the hireling, the unity of the sheep is his security.  Yet to the hireling, if the sheep have to get off the Chief Shepherd’s path some to maintain their unity, the hireling can bear with that and adapt to that -as long as it is safe for him.  

The wolf in sheep’s clothing on the other hand might be happy to see the core group of the church cast out and gone with the wind if he sees them as limiting the fulfillment of his hunger for control (and I mean increased control well beyond the Biblical boundaries of a faithful shepherd) and/or if he sees the core group as limiting his opportunities for recognition and advancement.

Wolves are much more likely to seek to make their church or their churches a family dynasty than hirelings are.  If the hireling wants any chance to establish a family dynasty in his church, he must keep in line with the core group, however they stray from Biblical truth.  However, even this is usually unrealistic for the hireling.  

A faithful shepherd of Christ, as long as he remains such (and I’d bet this issue has been a key factor in some falling away) will do his best to see any offspring he has neutrally and not work to hinder more qualified people from succeeding him.

In most cases, both the hireling and the wolf in sheep’s clothing rely on a wholesome (looking) photogenic family.  Though the faithful shepherd of Christ may have this also, he certainly does not need it.  His credentials are in his own character, though obviously how a man has handled any responsibility over others which he has had matters.  

The hireling and the wolf in sheep’s clothing may each attempt to sweep a chaotic and/or scandalous disorderly home or notoriously unfaithful past under the rug.  

There is such a thing as hirelings without jobs, wolves without prey, and faithful shepherds without current assignments in terms of directly overseeing others.  I also think that in such cases the hirelings and the wolves in sheep’s clothing are much more likely to remain among church environments.  This sets them up better for eventually being hired or for obtaining prey.  

The faithful shepherd of Christ won’t compromise in fellowship nor is he reliant on external validation.  

Beware then of assuming that there are no lone ranger Christians; and don’t assume that someone is not walking right because they are currently not part of a church.  

There are actually many good reasons and bad reasons both for currently being part of a church and for not currently being part of a church.  

Sometimes a leader’ decision in an hour of crisis will determine whether he becomes a faithful shepherd or a hireling.  This may not have been clear to anyone before, including himself, until a major trial came.  

If he passes the test, yet the church makes a bad decision concerning him, he may end up leading a small group that meets in a house or some other more informal environment- while the church which rejected him finds a hireling to replace him.

Yet if the same man continues to stay faithful, he may eventually end up as a lone ranger Christian with no people to directly oversee in the service of the Chief Shepherd.  

And if he continues to stay faithful even further down the road, maybe he will eventually join a group surrendered to walk in the light of God’s Word.  Perhaps he will join as the group’s overseer, perhaps as an assistant elder, or perhaps as a member not in a leadership position at all.

No one is born a God-ordained Christian leader; and no one who becomes such is guaranteed to remain such- though the reasons for such fluctuation can be various.  There can be righteous reasons and unrighteous reasons for this fluctuation.  

The leaders who apparently don’t get this are exceedingly more likely to be hirelings or wolves in sheep’s clothing than faithful shepherds.  Not receiving this self-evident truth is a strong indicator of an entitlement mentality which is inconsistent with the mindset which a true shepherd of Christ must have.

In closing, here are are some real life illustrations of a hireling, a wolf without sheep’s clothing, and a wolf in sheep’s clothing in action:

I know a woman who is especially notable as a spiritual wolf without sheep’s clothing.  She has openly declared war on God’s throne.  She is an anarchist, a feminist, and a Jezebel who can’t stand being told no and constantly tries to tell others not to regard God-ordained authority.  Of course, she is a hypocrite since expects others to keep the rules in her own home.  She will even use the Bible when it suits her, yet she doesn’t claim it as her authority; and it is obvious that her instruction is contrary to the Bible.  I don’t think she even professes to be a Christian at all now.  She is just a wolf.

I know a man who fits the definition of a hireling perfectly.  He came from a Bible college (like almost all hirelings), he claims to love Jesus and the Bible, he can be quite informative, and he has an outwardly pleasant personality.  I’ve never known of him going out of his way to get followers for himself.  He can even sound open to improving on or correcting the knowledge he obtained at Bible school.  Authentic Christians might find it pleasant and edifying to have a conversation with him.  He is a career pastor who has for a long time, and to this day in his old age, sold himself to churches.  I have also seen him wilt like a flower in the hot sun when he found himself in a situation when he might have, and should have, stood in the way of a pack of wolves attacking a God-ordained authority.  He immediately turned and agreed with the wolves and vilified those whom the wolves were attacking alongside them.  He continued afterwards to be a paid pastor with no apparent shame at all.  It seems he will also compromise light he has on Biblical doctrine for a paid position in a church (which I would bet he would label as “promoting Christian unity” or something along the same lines).  As good as he looks and can sound to those without sharp discernment who also haven’t seen him under fire, he is really just a hireling.

I’ll also note here that I’ve known at least one church leader, probably a few more, that I wouldn’t dare label a true shepherd of Christ, a hireling, a wolf , or a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  God knows what they are.  

Yet remember the hireling, the wolf in sheep’s clothing, and even the wolf all “mean well” (in the estimation of many- especially upon first meeting them).

I know another guy who went to your typical unconditional eternal security, once saved, always saved Baptist Bible colleges.  He saw through the Baptist indoctrination he was exposed to and also rejected almost all of the other isms which corrupt the realm of Conservative Christianity where the Bible is claimed as authoritative and no other writings are admitted to be on the same level.  

He rejected nonsense tongues, Judaizing, Reformed Theology/Calvinism, Pacifism (as well as the errors in Bible interpretation which lead to Pacifism and many other unbiblical doctrines).  His household and his church look as pure as can be.  It’s hard to fault him for anything visible related to these.  He can preach and teach the Bible better than probably everyone else I’ve ever known.  You could listen through most of his sermons, not be able to righteously find fault in much or anything that he says, and his sermons would overall do anyone who listened and took heed to them a lot of good.  

Yet what you don’t see can hurt you.  

Though most people who oppose him do so for bad reasons, there are a few things that can be found out about him which demonstrate that he should not be followed.  Despite rejecting Dispensationalist doctrine, he won’t stand against the Christ-hating, murderous nation of modern Israel, he still admires at least one wicked eternal security Baptist preacher from his past, and he holds to a view of church which effectively leads to the conclusion that everyone ought to move out to his church (though he usually won’t come right out and say that, he basically did at least once that I know of).  

By the way: The first two things which I mentioned are not things which you’re going to find out about him unless you ask him directly or pay very close attention to him over time.

Moreover, when he is confronted Biblically about these things, he acts just like the wicked people who oppose him for the right things that he teaches.  He then resorts to slander and deceit to defend himself.  

He has also, due to the extremely rural location of his church and its lack of a missionary mentality, almost neutralized the witness of those in his church (who I believe for the most part moved there for what is right about the church and his teaching).  These also, at least very many of them, possibly don’t have the discernment to see through his handful of errors and his deceit.  He is also able to hide his true character from them (I doubt that most of them there even know how he reacts when he is refuted privately in the handful of things in which he is off- he is able to keep it from their eyes).  

As a result of all this, he is also bringing unrighteous division between Christ’s true sheep- since those walking in the light of God’s who have seen through him are thereby put at odds with those doing the same who honestly have not seen through him.  

Since he speaks and acts so much like a true shepherd of Christ ought to act, yet he clings to darkness, he is not a valid under-shepherd in the service of the Chief Shepherd.  He is rather a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  

Don’t call specific Christian leaders hirelings and wolves in sheep’s clothing lightly.  If you are wrong, you are not only guilty of slander, but you are also giving cover to those who really are such.  Remember “the boy who cried wolf.”  

Calling someone a hireling or a wolf in sheep’s clothing is an implicit statement that those sitting under their authority and teaching ought to get away from them.  Yet it’s incredible that even some who rightfully admit that their own spiritual leaders are hirelings or wolves in sheep’s clothing still don’t flee from them.

Aaron’s email is: [email protected]

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR FRONT PAGE FOR ALL THE STUDIES

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR 3RD WORLD MISSION TO THE IMPOVERISHED