Beware Matthew 7:15-20

Introduction

Last week we looked at Jesus’ warning about false paths, and how many people try to take the broad road to heaven, but there is only one way to heaven and that is the narrow way, Jesus Christ.

Tonight we are going to look at Christs warning about false teachers. False teachers lead you down false paths, which give false hope, which leads to eternal separation from God.

Remember false prophets weren’t new to Israel

Deut. 13:1-5-turn

To take us on a short survey of the New Testament teachings on false prophets, we can look at Christs warning in Matthew 24:23–26 “23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.”

Paul warned many times in his letter, but lets look at 2 Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-15 - Turn

Peter warned us against false prophets in 2 Peter 2, John warned against them in both 1 & 2 John, Jude wanted to write them a letter about the common salvation but instead wrote his 25 verse book on false prophets. The closer we get to the return of Christ the more and more we will see false prophets step on the scene.

Tonight we are going to look at three principles Christ taught in this portion of the sermon.

False teachers will try to deceive you vs. 15

You’ll notice Jesus starts this warning with the word “Beware”

Beware- Literally, to restrain or guard one's self from. Hence, to regard with caution; to restrain one's self from anything that may be dangerous, injurious or improper; to avoid; to take care; followed by of before the thing that is to be avoided.

Jesus is literally telling the to guard themselves from false prophets

He then tells about there deception

They come to you dressed as a sheep

They come in to the church and act like they are one of God’s people.

They say and do the right things.

They do everything they can to get into the fold, and be accepted by God’s people. After they are accepted into the fold it doesn’t take long for them to destroy the church from the inside out.

Think about the church at Ephesus

Paul founded it on his third missionary journey, and stayed in Ephesus for around three years.

The influence of the church led to many churches staring in the area, which we learned about in Revelation 2-3.

After that time in Ephesus, Paul went to Europe and spent somewhere between 3-9 months and then went back to Philippi, then to Miletus where Paul called the elders of the church of Ephesus for the final time and look at the warning he gave them in Acts 20:28–30 “28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. 29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”

Within three years Paul wrote in a letter to the church at Ephesus, urging them to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and warned them to be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

He also had to write a letter to the church at Colossae warning them against the gnostics.

We must be careful that we don’t allow wolves dressed as sheep to come in and deceive us.

False teachers can be found out vs. 16-18

Jesus tells us how to test whether a teacher is a true teacher of the Word or a false teacher.

Their fruits

He then gives an illustration of the fruit test he is speaking of

Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes?

Do men gather figs from a thistle?

The obvious answer is no, Grapes come from grapevines and not thorn bushes, and figs come from fig trees and not thistles.

In verse 17 Jesus gives an obvious point to drive home what he is trying to get across to his disciples.

Good trees produce good fruit. All good fruit comes from good trees

Corrupt trees produce evil fruit. All evil fruit comes from corrupt trees.

In the same lesson, Jesus is telling them that good teaching comes from good prophets, while false teaching comes from false prophets.

Arthur Pink said “False prophets are to be found in the circles of the most orthodox, and they pretend to have a fervant love for souls, yet they fatally delude multitudes concerning the way of salvation. The pulpit, platform, and pamphlet hucksters have wantonly lowered the standard of divine holiness and so adulterated the Gospel in order to make it palatable to the carnal mind”

There are two practical ways we can see a true teacher versus a false teacher

The doctrinal test asks, Do their teachings line up with the gospel of Jesus Christ that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone?

One commentator wrote it this way “It asks whether they avoid the deadly mathematics of false teachers that add to the Bible, subtract from the person and work of Christ, multiply the requirements of salvation, and divide the people of God by a divisive and destructive spirit.”

The practical test asks, Are they someone who believes that under grace the law has no power over us or are they legalists who believe that there is more to salvation than the gospel? It asks whether they throw off all constraint to the extreme or seek to shackle us with legalistic obligations that are suffocating

If we watch people closely we will see whether or not they are true prophets through there doctrine and there practice.

False teachers will be destroyed vs. 19-20

Jesus tells them that every tree that doesn’t bring forth good fruit will be hewn or cut down and thrown into the fire

Galatians 1:8–9 “8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”

One commentator said this “Many may deceive for a time, but words and deeds eventually reveal where the heart lies. … No one evades God’s justice forever. Bad trees, trees that bear no fruit, are cut down and thrown into the fire (7:19). But it is not enough to examine others. We must watch ourselves as well.”

False prophets are on the broad way that will lead to their destruction and we must be careful that we discern who is true and who is false.

Jesus ends this portion by telling us we will know them by their fruit.

Conclusion

As believers we must be discerners. If someone is teaching or preaching something contrary to the word of God and the Gospel they are false teachers and we must detect that and not listen to them any more. But we can be good fruit detectors if we don’t know what we are looking for which means we must be in the word of God so that we can discern true and false prophets.