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.

耶稣在他的一个天国比喻中谈到教会领袖需要保护他们的羊群免受错误教义的影响。他将他的教会比作一块田地，一个人在其中撒下了好种子，“及至人睡觉的时候，有仇敌来，将稗子撒在麦子里，就走了。”（太13:25）。到了收割的时候，不但没有好收成，反而杂草丛生，败坏了那地。耶稣警告说，这种情况可能发生在他的子民中，因此，如果不反对错误的教导，它就会渗透到教会中。

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.

这个寓言中的关键时刻发生在主人的守望者未能保护田地免受杂草入侵者的侵害时。因此，新约圣经经常劝诫教会领袖要警惕异端。当保罗最后一次经过以弗所时，他聚集了长老们，警告他们有责任在教会中守护福音。他所使用的语言表明了教义警醒的需要是多么迫切：“我知道我去之后，必有凶暴的豺狼，进入你们中间，不爱惜羊群。……所以你们应当警醒”（徒20：29-31）。这可不是什么令人愉快的离别信息！但这表明保罗是多么认真地对待错误教导的危险。