‘ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. ‘ Matthew 7:15-20
We are moving into some heavy theology in the Sermon on the Mount. When you study the Bible, you will find that the Apostle Paul wrote to the early church about false prophets in the church. He defended the Gospel with every breath of his saved life. We’ll dig into what Jesus said about false prophets.
This is one post of a series that I have been working on about the Sermon on the Mount. This link will bring you the previous post:
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
To get the total weight of this scripture, we need to rewind a couple of verses when Jesus says, “Narrow is the gate…” referring to the only way to heaven is through believing in and following the ways of Jesus.
The “false prophets” are anyone who will say there are other ways of getting to heaven other than through Jesus.
‘Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ‘ John 14:6
The grace of God is a gift to anyone who accepts it. But it comes with the belief and following of the one He sent.
Jesus was just done feeding the multitudes, and they wanted to force Him to be their King but not to change their lives; they wanted Him to overthrow their oppressors, the religious leaders, and the Roman occupation. He got in the boat with His disciples, and the crowd followed Him.
“When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”” John 6:25-29 NIV
When we focus on the positive or negative nature of our circumstances and look at whether we are in or out of God’s favor because of these things, we are not looking at it correctly. God calls us to be grateful in ALL circumstances.
His blessing on this earth is beyond measure, with the natural systems in place to provide us with food to eat and the resources that He has given us to create a world for us to live in. It’s mind-boggling to me.
And this is simply what is called “common” grace.
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:44-45 NIV
If you search your heart, you know deep inside that there is more than we see with our eyes. He has placed this longing into our hearts. The question that only we can answer for ourselves is whether we will believe in the One He sent for us.
When the early church first started, it wasn’t long before “false prophets” entered the church to pervert the message of salvation through Christ alone.
The “false prophets” seem to care about us, but they are there to fleece us. They appear in many different ways with promises they can not keep.
You’ll hear them say things like:
“Your faith isn’t strong enough for you to be healed.” This one breaks my heart. Many people want to be healed from their physical ailments. But it doesn’t stop the “false prophets” from taking every penny this person has, only to blame them for not having enough faith.
“Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:6-10 NIV
God allowed a weakness (ailment) in Paul’s life to give us this incredible revelation, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
False prophets will have you focus on the shortcomings of others instead of having you focus on changing your flaws. Doing this creates disunity. And there is one thing that God wants more than anything else in His church, and that is unity.
Not the kind of unity that says for us to be united, you need to believe it the way I believe it. There are far too many things that we do this with, such as Praise and Worship preference, Bible versions, what people wear, etc.
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
It doesn’t take long before you start to hear of the “false prophets” and what they are really up to. You see them in their mansions, not that being financially successful is sinful on its own, but when it is espoused that everyone can achieve this if only they believe they can, it is a false message.
Or they are found to be outed in an affair while they are married. Again, people sin, I get it, but when you couple it with constantly pointing the dirty end of the stick at others for doing what they were caught doing.
For the believer, the best defense against the false prophets is a firm understanding of God’s scripture. It is essential to be able to discern a wrong message. And through studying the Word of God and being under an excellent Bible-teaching pastor, you will not fall for a false message.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NIV
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your Word and Your promise.
I am grateful for Your grace, mercy, and forgiveness. I pray that You give me the discernment to tell the difference between a true and a false message. And I pray that You give the ability to help others to discern the truth.
I am thankful for Your gift of grace through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I pray that You give me the courage to bring all my challenges, struggles, and questions to the foot of the cross.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!!
