The Worthless Fruit of False Prophets (Watch Out For Wolves)

Introduction to the topic

The need for discernment in the church is real, and this message I think is a timely one. Complacency in our communities can sometimes be very costly. We’ll be discussing today the topic of False Teachers among the church.

We face an enemy who hates the truth vehemently. We live in a time and culture where secular society and its many counter Christian worldviews are continually messaged to us. Television, radio, our computer screens both at home and at work, website advertisements, email, snail mail, text messaging, news headlines, music, podcasts…and on and on the list goes. Folks, if you think the world isn’t getting its messaging to you by any and every possible means, it’s time for a wake up call this morning. If you think you’re safe from the world’s influences because the literature you’re reading, or the music group you’re listening to came with a “Christian” classification, you need to hear Jesus’s words this morning…BEWARE OF WOLVES! They’re closer than you might think.

Introduction to the text

Speaker: the Lord Jesus

Audience: Large crowds from Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, and many from large cities beyond the Jordan river. ch. 4.23-5.2. This was a mixed group of both Jews and Gentiles. They were following Jesus as his fame had been spreading as a result of many healings and exorcisms he had done. In short, Jesus’s popularity was growing quickly.

Setting: On a mountain or a high hill probably just North of the Sea of Galilee. This is why this large consecutive teaching of Jesus is referred to as the sermon on the Mount. You can read these teachings of Jesus in your Bibles in Matthew’s gospel from chapters 5 -7.

Matthew 7:13–20 ESV

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

A Gate to Seek

Two Gates - Two Destinations

vv.13-14 -- Jesus is speaking during His sermon on the Mount and in this passage, He begins with an imperative to “enter” by a specific gate, and avoid another. There are two gates and thus two destinations to which each lead.

What are some characteristics about these two gates?

First of all we see they are of different widths. - wide vs. narrow

Certainly a wide door would be much more easily visible and recognizable. But Jesus insists those who would follow His exhortation should enter though the other gate…the narrow one.

Second, they are found at the end of different paths. - easy vs. hard

Which gate is at the end of the easy path? The wide one. And at the end of the hard, or difficult path? The narrow gate through which Jesus says we’re to enter. Now the paths to these two gates are metaphorically referring to people’s lives.

But wait a minute…didn’t Jesus say it was going to be easy to follow him?

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on his followers.

Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).

In this passage, Jesus is telling those burdened and weighed down with the weight of responsibility the law brings to bear upon a sinner in dealing with sin in their lives that they need not carry that burden. Jesus offers rest for the soul.

Church, Jesus is saying his yoke is easy because He is the one who would bear the load! He is the one carrying the burden!

But Jesus didn’t say the life of His disciples would be a walk down an easy road. On the contrary, He says in John 16 that they would face immense trouble in the world on account of their devotion to Him, but that they should find and enjoy peace in Him.

So take upon yourselves the yoke of Jesus, and STOP working to achieve unattainable righteousness through obedience to the law (trusting in your own efforts)! Rest in the knowledge that Christ has born the burden of the cross to accomplish the work of salvation for all who come to Him!

Third, they differ by the number of travelers who pass through them - many vs. few

It makes sense, does it not, that the gate which is widest would be the one most suited to fit the largest number of travelers. Thus we see as you would expect, the wide gate receives many while only a few travel through the narrow gate.

Finally, they differ by the destinations to which they provide entry. - destruction vs. life (hell/heaven)

It is a fair question to ask when you read v.13, where exactly does this gate lead which Jesus is exhorting us to enter? I would argue the destination itself is the Kingdom of Heaven and that life is the eternal effect which those who pass through this gate experience forever. Let me explain.

Kingdom teaching in Matthew’s gospel:

The term “kingdom of heaven” occurs 32 times in Matthew’s gospel account. If you add other occurrences such as, Kingdom of God, or my Father’s Kingdom, there are 22 additional usages. 54 total.

Mark — 20 ; Luke — 46 ; John — 5

Matthew is very concerned with the theme of the Kingdom! Furthermore, I think we can rightly infer from v.21, that Jesus has this in mind when he’s referring to the narrow gate and its destination.

So if the narrow gate leads to heaven, what do we say about the wide gate? We know from our text that it’s effect is destruction, just as the effect of narrow gate is life. Perhaps Matthew 10.28 can shed some light on that.

Matthew 10:28 (ESV)

28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

So we conclude then that the two gates Jesus speaks of lead to eternal life in heaven and eternal destruction in hell respectively.

One Way Gates

These gates are similar to an access control point or Entry Control Point. You’ve seen these right; if you drive through one way and you see spikes in the ground, what happens when you drive over them? They depress into the ground so you can go safely over. But what happens if once you’ve crossed over you decide you made a wrong decision and want to put your vehicle in reverse and back out? You’re tires will not survive! You won’t get very far.

Note: the narrow gate must be found. (v14)

Matthew 7:14 (ESV)

14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

And this begs the question doesn’t it? Question: Why, wouldn’t more people be diligently concerned with finding the narrow gate? The gate which leads to eternal life! Lift your eyes up to vv.7-8.

Matthew 7:7–8 ESV

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

It seems like one reason many people aren’t finding the narrow gate…the gate which is the very entrance into God’s heavenly kingdom…is perhaps because there aren’t many who are actually seeking to find it.

But that can’t be right! The world is filled with all sorts of religious seekers and those wanting to understand the meaning of life…

Those who do not seek to enter the kingdom of heaven (v21) by the narrow gate will have no choice but to enter the place to which the wide gate leads. A place of destruction (13), fire (19), and away from the presence of the King, Jesus (23).

Matthew 5:20 ESV

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

What did Jesus say when he was teaching his disciples how to pray? Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! This lines up with seeking the will of God. His righteousness.

So, beloved, pray that the Spirit gives you grace to seek the righteousness of the one true God, and His kingdom.

A Warning to Heed

Following Jesus’s exhortation to his listeners to enter by the narrow gate at the end of the hard path, rather than the wide gate at the end of the easy path, He provides another exhortation. “Beware of false prophets!”, he warns. Look at verse 15.

Matthew 7:15 ESV

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

What is a false prophet?

What is a false prophet? Does the Bible give us any clues as to the identity of these individuals Jesus is warning his followers about?

Perhaps it would be helpful at first to say what a prophet is. 2Pet1.21 says,

2 Peter 1:21 ESV

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

So prophets then speak what God wanted to communicate to a given audience. God used the prophet as a means to proclaim His divine words. The writer of Hebrews also says the same in chapter one, that God spoke through prophets to communicate to His people.

Simply put, a prophet in any sense is someone who claims to be speaking as a messenger of God.

The prophet’s claim is, “God has given me a message directly which He wants me to pass along to you, audience. So listen up! Listen to me, because if you don’t, you’re ignoring God, who gave me the message!”

So if a true prophet is functioning as God’s mouthpiece, what can we infer about false prophets? They are imposters! They make the same claims about their words being divinely inspired and sourced, but have not in fact been commissioned by God to proclaim or teach the message they propagate.

And just to be clear about how serious an offense this was, all you have to do is look at what God prescribed as the penalty for this violation in the Old Covenant.

Deuteronomy 18:20 ESV

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’

In fact earlier in chapter 13 Scripture tells us if someone who claimed to be a prophet or dreamer predicted something, and what they said came true, but they urged the people to follow after other gods and not the LORD, that person was to be put to death for inciting rebellion against the LORD!

Deuteronomy 13:1–5 ESV

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

ψευδοπροφήτης (pseudoprophētēs). n. masc. false prophet. Designates a person whose prophetic role is illegitimate or used for deception.

Aaron C. Fenlason, “Prophets,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).

But why the warning? A warning implies grave danger to the one who does not heed the warning. We see from the passage in Deuteronomy we just looked at that the false prophets themselves surely have something to beware of, namely God’s wrath against them for speaking to people in His name, what He did not commission them to speak. That makes sense. But why the warning to the disciples? Put another way, why must Christians be on guard against false teachers?

The apostle Peter likens false prophets from the Old Testament with false teachers.

2 Peter 2:1 ESV

1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.

Matthew 23:13 ESV

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.

Think of it…these hypocritical religious leaders not only fail to enter into the kingdom of heaven themselves according to Jesus, but they block entry to others! It’s as if they’ve taken on the task of concealing the narrow door. They hate the door. They don’t only hate the door, they hate the sheep who would enter though it were it not for their heretical teaching. They are wolves!

Matthew 24:11 ESV

11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

Matthew 24:24 ESV

24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

So Christian, you need to beware of false teachers and their teachings because of the danger of being led astray! Now I don’t mean that if you truly belong to Christ, that you are susceptible to losing the salvation which is yours in Him. But we must all be on guard against false doctrines. These can have dreadful effects such as loss of our assurance, confusion, loss of our faithful witness to Christ, etc. it could have the effect of rendering our Christian service degraded or even ineffective.

And for those who don’t yet know the Lord, false teachers can act like blind guides…leading you in the opposite direction of the narrow gate, and straight down the middle of the easy and wide path to hell! Beware of Wolves.

Quickly, here are a few teachings which we as a church need to be on guard against.

Go with the flow! -‌ Secularism

Do whatever works for you - Pragmatism

Live your best life now! - Health and Wealth gospel

Do what makes you happy! - Hedonism

Live your truth! You, do you…Be who you are… - Relativism

— Individual feelings and preferences are exalted above objective truth, and it’s the ultimate sin to tell someone their worldview is WRONG. Unless of course that person believes in the exclusivity of Jesus for salvation! (Interesting?) LGBT+ movement.

Critical Theory/ Intersectionality

— The systematic dynamics of oppressor and oppressed groups of people within the church destroy the unifying message of the Gospel of Jesus. This worldview tears apart and divides.

Carnal Christianity — Jesus is my Savior but not my Lord

Or how about this one: Carnal Christianity - You’ve seen this right? Some of you sitting here this morning might be in this boat even now. The Carnal “Christian” says to Jesus, “Lord, I’ll gladly accept your forgiveness. I’ll take the salvation you offer. By all means, punch my ticket so I don’t have to worry about eternal damnation! But don’t you DARE ask me to serve you with my life! You see, Lord, I love my life the way it is. I’m comfortable in my sinful indulgences. I’m just fleshly….and I think I’ll just stay that way for now. So Jesus, punch my ticket to heaven, and then stay out of my business.” Ladies and gentlemen, this type of attitude is foreign to the one who has experienced genuine saving grace from God through faith in Jesus’s work! Don’t for a moment allow yourself to think you’ve got your eternal destination ticket punched to heaven if when you examine your heart, you find this kind of attitude about serving Jesus. This saying that Jesus can be your Savior, but not your Lord is foreign to the gospel! Church, don’t be led astray!

Jesus then employs the imagery of sheep and wolves.

Sheep and Wolves

Firstly, we need to recognize that the presence of sheep and shepherding was a very commonly occuring scene in the culture of Jesus day. Perhaps the most famous OT Scripture which describes the Great Shepherd is Ps.23.

Psalm 23:1–3 ESV

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Sheep are people

Sheep need led.

Did you know the word pastor in Greek means shepherd? One of the primary functions of a pastor is to ensure the Christians in his congregation (flock) are walking in righteousness.

Sheep need fed

feeding on sound doctrine. Biblical teaching. Right interpretation of God’s Word!

Sheep need protection

As we know from David’s account to Saul in 1 Sam, without the presence of a shepherd, the sheep are vulnerable to attack!

1 Samuel 17:34–35 ESV

34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.

We don’t need to wonder about the identity of the wolves because the text says it explicitely. The wolves are false teachers.

John 10:12 ESV

12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

Wolves kill sheep

So, that’s the bad news. False teachers exist. They come disguised as sheep. And their goal is to scatter the flock and render them either excluded from the kingdom altogether, or to neutralize them; rendering them ineffective for kingdom use.

How are we to respond to this knowledge? That brings us to the next main point.

Distinguish Between the Fruit

Two Kinds of Trees - Two Kinds of Fruit

In v.16, Jesus mentions grapes and figs. These are clearly examples of good fruits! The question in v.16 is clearly meant to be rhetorical due to its absurd nature. Jesus asks whether these good fruits should be expected to be found on thorn trees and thistles. Of course not! Try going out into a briar patch to find ingredients for a fruit salad, and all you’ll have for your effort will be bloodied hands and legs!

So what does Jesus mean by emphasizing what ought to be an obvious fact that only fruit trees (or vines respectively) are good for producing useful fruit?

Jesus is making the point that the type of fruit one expects to find corresponds to the type of tree or vine on which it is growing.

Now I want to take just a minute and comment on a translation decision.

Concerning the terms “diseased” and “healthy” (σαπρόv) in vv. 17-18

The Greek word which the ESV translates as “diseased” modifying tree, has a sense of useless or worthless. Good for nothing. When used of fruit or meat, it could mean rotten…not fit for consumption. Possibly even in this case, harmful. I think this makes the most sense in this text based on Jesus’s usage of the word.

Church, as followers of Jesus we need to be very familiar with good fruit! But what does Jesus mean by fruit in this passage? Does he mean we need to be grape or fig connoisseurs? (Red, Green, seedless, dried grapes, raisins, prunes) Are we to understand that all false teachers are going to keep bowls of rotten bananas and apples on their kitchen tables? Clearly Jesus is using metaphorical language here. He does this in two ways in vv. 15-20. First by contrasting Sheep and Wolves. Next by describing two distinctly different kinds of trees and their fruits. So let’s look at these and understand what Jesus is teaching us here.

Good trees and Worthless trees

The Bible uses the word fruit in a variety of ways and contexts. Here are a few of them.

God’s command to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply

The success of nations in growing and becoming thriving societies

The results of one’s labors (often in terms of harvest)

fruit of the womb (physical children)

fruitfulness often describes ontological prosperity. Ie: when a city or a land, or family is doing very well it is described as fruitful.

The outcome of a particular action (Is.27.9) — fruit of atonement

Trees = people — Fruit = works

In this metaphor, Jesus is describing the works in a person’s life. The two trees in the passage are referring to two types of people and the fruits are the works which each type of person does.

Distinguish between the good and the bad

There is an inherent responsibility for Christians to know how to distinguish between fruit which comes from the Holy Spirit (good fruit), and the bad fruit of the flesh which flows out of the sinful and fallen will of mankind. Look at v.16. Immediately after Jesus warns his followers of the presence of dangerous wolves disguised among them, he tells them how to recognize them. It implies his followers have the ability to do that.

In Galatians 5, Paul describes the works (or fruit) of the flesh as evident. Obvious! They are able to be recognized. Then he lists many.

Galatians 5:19–21 ESV

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Truth: Someone claiming to be a Christian whose life is characterized by any of the above, if they are imploring you to listen to them because they have the right interpretation, or they have a word from the Lord…church, Beware! They are wolves.

Counterfeit Money

But it can be a little overwhelming to think that we must possess a working knowledge of every kind of false teaching out there in order to be able to recognize it when a false teacher starts proclaim a false gospel. If this is the task of Christians, we might all need to quit our jobs just to study all the competing worldviews our society is presently inundated with! Is that what our Lord expects from us?

Do you know what is the best way to detect counterfeit money? By being intimately familiar the the genuine article! If you are a Christian, then praise God! You have the Holy Spirit living within you. And the Spirit of God produces fruits in accordance with the will of God. Listen to the next part of the verse in Galatians 5:

Galatians 5:22–24 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Folks, not only does the Spirit indwell Christ’s people, but the very same Spirit has inspired the Biblical authors. God has preserved His word so that we might know Him through it!

A King to Know

Now having worked out what the trees and the fruit stand for, in vv. 17-18 we see this: Healthy trees (Christians) produce good fruit and worthless trees (anyone not having the life-giving Spirit; non-Christians) produce bad fruit, the end of which is death. See Rom 6.21 and Rom 7.5.

Romans 6:21 ESV

21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

Romans 7:5 ESV

5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

Or you can just read v.19.

Matthew 7:19 ESV

19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Now if you were reading Matthew from the beginning and you get to this verse, you might think you’re experiencing some deja vu because John the Baptist used pretty near the exact same verbiage as this in chapter 3, when addressing the religious leaders. He warns them to bear fruit in keeping with repentance, and stop relying on their ethnic heritage for their eternal security.

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matthew 3:7–10, ESV)

Produce Good Fruit

Beloved, if your life is not producing good fruit (or doing good works), you should not expect entrance into the kingdom. Now, hear me carefully, I am not saying we are saved because of our works. We maintain as it says in Ephesians that we are saved by grace alone through faith in the work of Jesus! However, Scripture is clear. Everyone whose life does not produce the fruit of good works by the Spirit is in danger of hellfire! Your fruit is rotten, spoiled, putrid to the Father.

If we aren’t connected to Jesus, the Vine through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are not capable of producing fruit which is pleasing to God. All efforts to achieve righteousness done apart from reliance on the Son of God are worthless!

Conversely, if we are connected to the True Vine it is not possible that our fruit is bad! The Spirit works in us to produce fruits of righteousness which are pleasing to God.

Conclusion

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

In John 14, Jesus in responding to a question from one of His disciples says,

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus proclaims His exclusivity. You see, He is the way to the narrow gate. He is the very gate itself. He is Source of life on the other side of the gate. And He is the truth. What should be our response to the knowledge that false teachers are in our midst? Their works are evident to us because we have known the genuine article. Rather, He has known us. He is very Word of God. The Logos of the Father. He is truth. And you can know Him today.

As we close today my exhortation is simply this.

To the Christian — There is a critical need for discernment within the church because Scripture tells us not all who are gathered with the flock are sheep. Look to Jesus! He has given us His word and His Spirit so that we might be equipped to recognize false teaching when we see it.

And to the Unbeliever here today — Look to Jesus! STOP relying on your works. Don’t come to the end of your life just to realize you had been trudging along on the wide and easy path which leads to hell. Don’t allow false teachers to pull you away from the eternal privilege of knowing the King and enjoying Him in His kingdom forever.

We all must Look to Jesus, the Good Shepherd to lead us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake!

Let’s pray