In one of his parables of the kingdom, Jesus spoke of the need for church leaders to guard their flocks from false doctrine. He compared his church to a field in which a man had sown good seed, “but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away” (Matt. 13:25). When the time for harvest came, instead of a good crop, weeds abounded and corrupted the yield. Jesus warned that this can happen among his people, so that if false teaching is unopposed, it infiltrates the church.

耶穌在他的一個天國比喻中談到教會領袖需要保護他們的羊群免受錯誤教義的影響。他將他的教會比作一塊田地，一個人在其中撒下了好種子，“及至人睡覺的時候，有仇敵來，將稗子撒在麥子裡，就走了。”（太13:25）。到了收割的時候，不但沒有好收成，反而雜草叢生，敗壞了那地。耶穌警告說，這種情況可能發生在他的子民中，因此，如果不反對錯誤的教導，它就會滲透到教會中。

The key moment in this parable occurred when the owner’s watchmen failed to guard the field against weed-bearing intruders. For this reason, the New Testament frequently exhorts church leaders to be on their guard against heresy. When Paul passed through Ephesus for the last time, he gathered the elders to warn them of their duty to guard the gospel in the church. The language he used shows how urgent the need is for doctrinal watchfulness: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.… Therefore be alert” (Acts 20:29–31). This was not a cheerful parting message! But it shows how seriously Paul took the danger of false teaching.

這個寓言中的關鍵時刻發生在主人的守望者未能保護田地免受雜草入侵者的侵害時。因此，新約聖經經常勸誡教會領袖要警惕異端。當保羅最後一次經過以弗所時，他聚集了長老們，警告他們有責任在教會中守護福音。他所使用的語言表明了教義警醒的需要是多麼迫切：“我知道我去之後，必有凶暴的豺狼，進入你們中間，不愛惜羊群。……所以你們應當警醒”（徒20：29-31）。這可不是什麼令人愉快的離別信息！但這表明保羅是多麼認真地對待錯誤教導的危險。