Matthew 7:15-18
Behavior and Belief (Luke 6:43,44)
— Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Matthew 7:21-23
“I Never Knew You” (Luke 13:25-27)
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:24-27
Build on a Firm Foundation (Luke 6:47-49)
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”
There has always been a need for the church of Christ to be discerning and acutely so. In Jesus time the very Pharisees that were charged with guiding the people were the false prophets and ravening wolves. And through the ages, both before Christ and after these individuals have sought to co- exist with the sheep of God for no other reason than to make gain of them. To profit themselves at the church expense. Shame on them, but also shame on us, for we have been warned by Christ of these people. For lack of study in God’s Word and prayer, we have fallen prey and even support these individuals with our tithe and offerings.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. What are the fruits of a false prophet? What are the fruits of a true prophet? Let’s compare. A true prophet ( or teacher) of God is one who exalts the work of the Cross, disavows works of the flesh, teaches repentance, faith and the critical importance of having a relationship with Jesus Christ. There’s no salesmanship or polished talk in his voice, just humility, instruction and kindness. It’s seems like one of the signs of a false prophet is the desire to have a bigger, grandeur church. I have been through several church expansions and the “feel” of them is vastly different. The experience I had with one pastor was the church was splitting at the seams, having 5 services over the weekend and teachings through the week people were getting saved and the church was growing. The building program was generously provide for with men from the congregation voluntaring there time to help build the church along with the hired company. Many times larger than the previous church but because of all the volunteer labor the financial impact on the church was minimal.
The other experience was with a pastor who barely filled the church each of the two services. He indebted his house and several elders to get the funds so that the mortgage company would broker the loan. The monthly mortgage was more than the congregation could bare and the church was larger than the pastor could fill. Eventually the pastor left. Several pastors thereafter tried but failed to make a go of it. Rather than waiting on God to build His church and see to the provision of it this pastor sought the glory for himself. Once the church was built the pastor took man’s route, as opposed teaching the scriptures and became very educated in church fund raising and in the techniques of moving the crowd, yet despite his eloquence the church ultimately fail.
A common message that unites these glory seekers is the “selling” of the church on a bigger building because we can bring in more people to hear the teaching of God’s Word and be saved. A good question to ask is in the last six months how many new people have come to Christ and is the church growing? And growth is not always the indicator of true teaching. There are many mega churches that give more a raa, raa message, a watered down version of God’s Word. Move of a motivational, feel good message rather than the full Gospel message.
No teaching on sin, repentance, Holy living, faith, etc.
The church becomes more a social club rather than the Holy Temple of God. These pastors have mastered the art of persuasion quite well, the only problem with a church club is the people are generally poor givers. There are always those who give and some generously, but in general the motive is wrong. Much like the rich ruler that gave abundantly compared to the widows mite. However in the parable the widows mite was more because she gave from her lack, not from her abundance and Jesus took note. These churches will soon fail or remain a social club. After all, when every cent counts you do not want to preach a message about repentance and sin and offend anyone. In Revelations only 3 out of 7 churches did Jesus approve of, the rest had been compromised or sold out. That’s 43% percent out of a 100%, less than half. It sure be just the opposite or higher.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Give a man enough time behind the pulpit and his fruit will be evident. If it’s good fruit the church will grow. My old pastor use to say healthy sheep produce more healthy sheep. People talk, invite friends and share the Gospel when the sheep are properly taught for the Gospel is exciting and fulfilling. However if the Gospel is diluted, meaning that only the easy topics are preached and sin and repentance the consequences of sin are not then the church can still grow especially if the pastor is charismatic the only problem is people will not become spiritually healthy or whole. Will the congregation recognize the deception? I often have thought that these pastors trap cater to those seeking messages that make them feel good about themselves, like a pep talk, they really do not have the heart for the truth. Therefore all manner of deception and compromise will fill their lives and affect their families. The present consequences can range from just a normal worldly life to a life filled with grief and pain. However eternally speaking none escape the consequences of ignoring the gospel message of repentance and faith in Christ. The consequences for the pastor will be severe. For those that truly hunger for Christ I believe that the Holy Spirit will guide them, those that are His Bride, from these churches and bring them to churches that have pastor/teachers that are first true to Him. I know in my early years of faith, I lead my family to several churches before I found one that reverenced God.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
What people claim compared to what actually happened under their ministry can be as different as day and night.
I have had prophesy over me that have come true and some that have not, and have learned to put more weight into my Bible studies and prayer time than prophecy. It’s more anchoring for me. Others may have a different experience and that’s fine provided that they are growing in their faith. The part that seems scary is more for the prophet/ teacher. Seeming to believe that they are doing the will of God only to find out in the end that they were never in relationship with the Lord. Not sure how you can do this. I can feel when I’m in need of time with the Lord, so how can you do all this ministry they are claiming and not feel the need of Christ unless you truly are a charlatan. Selling out your soul to greed and fame, meaning that everything you do is a parade with carefully coordinated props ( fake healings) that seemingly give credence their “ministry.” There have been many in our time that are now to my knowledge no longer around. T.V evangelist, some very famous and loved by many, and “ healers” such as Benny Hen that had huge following. And as mentioned this all trickles down to local churches that preach feel good messages. Paul exhorts and warns Timothy in 2Timothy 4:2-4
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine ( feel good messages don’t fit into Paul’s instructions)
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;( or ears that want to hear what they want to hear rather than being challenged with the truth)
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
And people will tithe to keep these men and women in the pulpit. I pity their day before God, wanting messages that charm and entertain rather than messages that challenge and edify.
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:“
As God divided the Red Sea for Israel so Christ divides humanity between those who heed His words and those that don’t. Those that heed His words are wise and those that don’t are foolish. The term foolish has several definitions, some more offensive than others, but none of the definitions are good. Stupid, idiotic, mindless, unintelligent etc., yet there are many “intelligent” people who do not have reverence for God. Jesus would call them foolish because they are building their house, their life, on the sands of this world and no matter how smart or successful you are, without faith eternity with Christ is lost. To not realize that our lives here are only temporary is foolish. Thus the riches man to the poorest man at best has 85 good years. To ignore Christ’s words, words that usher eternity into your soul, is a risk I would not want to take. The wisdom of man has never found common ground with the wisdom of the Eternal God, so you and I must decide whom to follow.
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
The “rock” that Christ is alluding to is Himself, God Incarnate. “And great was the fall of it” translates to a ruined life, as He has said what good is it if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Again Jesus message divides people, not because He seeks to be divisive, for His whole life is about restoring us back to God. However this union with God only happens if we heed His words.
Christ shares another parable, equally as concerning and extremely applicable.
Luke 12:16-21
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Christ ends this parable very interestingly. The man isn’t a fool because he’s rich, He’s a fool because he is only rich in this life and not rich toward God. He, at the expense of his soul, ignored the true treasures. As a business man he should have seen the value in ‘an eternal treasure over a temporal one. Wise in this world but foolish in the treasures that pertain to eternal life, he sacrificed his soul for the comfort of his flesh. The greatest treasures cannot be bought with man’s wealth, they are of far greater value. They were bought by the very life and blood of the Savior Himself. Faith, truth, sanctification, glorification, peace, etc., became ours and these riches far exceed what one can buy and own here. To pursue what you can’t retain, to forfeit what you can’t lose is beyond foolishness, and here’s the crux of it, there is nothing like our dealing with money to prove what we believe. It clearly demarcates our life. May God help us to have the attitude of a steward and not that of an owner, for there is truly only One Owner. Amen..
Father,
Thank you for this study, help us to be wise sons and daughters and discern between truth and error. Let us stay very close to you so by knowing you we can easily can sense the spirit of deception and thwart its attempt. As we continue in the study of your Word let your wisdom adorn us.
Move Forward in His Grace – Arthur