The Proof Is In The Pudding
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference:
Context
Context
Last week, we had the board out here on stage and we discussed the two different gates that we have before us. One gate was wide and opened up to a very broad path, while the other was a very narrow gate that opened up to just as narrow of a path. That path was very difficult to travel and Jesus said that very few would choose to walk that path.
On the other hand, He said that many would choose to go through the wide gate and travel down the broad path. Among those who traveled down the broad path, we looked at four different groups of people. There are more, perhaps many more, distinct groups that travel that path, but for the sake of time we only mentioned four: The Convicted, The Confused, The Cantankerous, and the Con-Artist.
It is that last group that will be the focus of our message today, because it was that group that Jesus decided to hone in on.
In the very next verse from where we left off last week, Jesus says:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
Let’s Pray…
Content
Content
The Deception They Use
The Deception They Use
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
False prophets are not new. We read about them all the way back into Moses’s writings of the Old Testament. All the way throughout the Old Testament, Israel dealt with false prophets who rose against the people and tried to persuade them against God.
1 “If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,
2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’
3 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.
4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.
5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
Jeremiah the prophet dealt with them during his day probably as much as anyone. God told Jeremiah:
14 And the Lord said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.
Even during Jesus’ day this was a point of conversation between Him and His disciples:
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
All throughout the New Testament we are warned against false prophets as well. Luke, Paul, John, and Peter all gave warnings against these false teachers. John provides one of the clearest of these examples when he says:
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
False prophets have been around forever… they will continue to be around until the very end. This means that Jesus’s warning here is not some far off, distant thing that does not concern us, but rather a warning against a very real danger that is present amongst us today. There are false prophets within the church today, and we must be very careful not to be deceived by them.
The worst part, is that these false teachers are actually applauded and rewarded for their lies and deceit. There will always be those who are mad at God about something. Maybe they are mad at God because He didn’t answer a prayer the way they wanted Him to, or maybe something happened in the church that pushed them away from God, or maybe they simply like their life of sin and don’t like the fact that the Bible condemns their actions. Regardless of why, there has always been, and will always be, certain people who are ready to turn their backs on truth and seek out alternative means of doing life.
So when these false teachers get up and speak from a platform that sin is ok, that God’s love will overlook our imperfections, or that Jesus is not enough, they applaud them for it. These individuals are cherry picking certain verses from Scripture even, to sometimes further their cause. They will use God’s own word against the church to deceive the masses. This is why Jesus said:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
They are liars and deceivers. They present themselves as advocates of good, but inside they are pure evil.
The worst part about it is that these false teachers know full well what they are doing, and the destruction that they are causing, but they carry on anyway. They know that many of their followers are being deceived of the truths of God’s word, but they carry on anyway. They know that all of those whom they persuade to turn against God are going to wind up in hell, but they carry on anyway.
In other words, their deception is completely intentional. They know what they are doing and the consequences of what they are doing, but they do it anyway. They know that many of those who are immature in their beliefs will be persuaded to follow them, so they prey on them. They prey on the children, because they know that usually it is the children that are unlearned in the Scriptures. They prey on those who lean on momma and daddy’s beliefs, because they know that these people have never read and studied the Scriptures for themselves.
Do you know who that sounds like? These false prophets are truly servants of Satan.
Satan preys on the weak:
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Satan is a liar and a deceiver:
44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Satan presents himself as an angel of light, though he is indeed the prince of darkness:
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
These perpetrators are just like their true master. They lie, they deceive, they prey on the weak, and they do it all in the name of justice, and some even in the name of God.
But Jesus is very clear in this text. These individuals are not His prophets. These individuals are not in His kingdom. Do not trust them. Do not follow them. Stand on the truth of God’s Word and call a lie what it is.
The deception they use…
The Deeds They Perform
The Deeds They Perform
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Knowing how dangerous these individuals are, Jesus did not leave us emptyhanded when it come to finding them out. Here in these verses, Jesus instructs us on how we are to know a false teacher from a God-called one. The answer: You will know them by their fruits.
Twice, Jesus makes this same statement, which only adds emphasis to its validity. He says it verse 16, and then again in verse 20.
The fruit they bear is referring to their actions. Jesus is using an analogy of a fruit tree, something that everyone would have been familiar with, to paint this picture.
It is a pretty straightforward explanation: good trees bear good fruit, and bad trees bear bad fruit. He reemphasizes this by saying that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree tree bear good fruit.
In other words, the proof is in the pudding so to speak. These false teachers will be very persuasive with their words. They will use Scripture. They will use logic and reason. They will use plans and methods. They will use the failures of others. They will use whatever they can use to make their case and persuade others to follow them, but Jesus says that regardless of what they say, actions speak louder than words.
See, when a person surrenders their life to Jesus and truly believes in Him as their Savior, they are transformed on the inside. The receive a new heart from God. It is a heart that is determined to know God and live according to His will. It is a heart that despises sin. It is a heart that loves God and loves others.
This cannot be mimicked. Someone might be able to fake it to a point, but sooner or later, their true selves will shine through. You can’t love your enemies unless God has put that kind of love in you. You cannot refrain from the things of the world unless God has taken those desires away from you. You cannot live in the will of God unless God has put that will in your heart to obey. It is impossible.
Furthermore, and most importantly, you cannot know God unless there is first a relationship with God. The truths of Scripture, all of which reveal something about God unto us, are spiritually discerned.
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
This means that anyone can read this Book, but only those who have the Spirit of God dwelling inside of them can truly understood the spiritual truths embedded within its pages. One can read its pages, understand it from a logical standpoint, but only a true Christian can understand the spiritual nature of it.
This means that a false teacher might be able to put on a good show, but if you watch closely enough, you will be able to see their true character. The truth will find them out eventually.
It comes down to an issue of character. What is this person’s true character like?
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
Thorns and thistles was the curse that God placed upon Adam and Eve when they were kicked out of the Garden. They always represent sin and judgment. If a person is truly a false teacher, they will still be drawn to sin and the things of this world, instead of to God. What is their true character?
The Damage They Cause
The Damage They Cause
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
These verses are some of the most sobering verses in all of Scripture. They force one to step back and take an honest look at themselves. They force one to challenge the status quo, to make an honest evaluation of where they stand with God. Why? Because of two major truths:
Many will be deceived
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Heaven is exclusive. This is one of the lies that many false teachers today are spreading. Some of them say that everyone is going to heaven. Some of them say that regardless of how you have lived your life, that you are going to make it. They stress the love of God over everything else and that because God loves you so much, there is no way He would ever condemn you to hell. Heaven is all-inclusive, they say.
Therein lies the wolf in sheep’s clothing. It sure does sound good, and I am sure that helps many of those who wrapped up in the sins of this world sleep better at night. The problem is… it simply isn’t true. Heaven is exclusive. Jesus Himself tells us right here in this verse that “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Not everyone who sung amazing grace is going to make it in. Not everyone that went to church is going to make it in. Not everyone who served in the church is going to make it in. Matter of fact, in the very next verse, He says that the number of those who don’t make it in will be “many”.
Listen to me! It is imperative that you read your Bible and know what it says. It is essential that you understand the truths of salvation. It is absolutely necessary that you surrender your heart to Christ and believe in Him alone as the means of your admittance into heaven. If you don’t know your Bible, you will be deceived by these false teachers. They are skilled at deception, and don’t think for a second that you are above being deceived.
Tell the story of getting shanked by Julie as a kid.
We all get tricked sometimes. We all believe lies from time to time.
But you better make sure that when it comes to you standing before Jesus, the Son of God and the rightful judge of heaven and earth, that you are not deceived by anyone. Once you get to that point, there are no second chances.
Many will be damned
Notice that when these people got it wrong, Jesus didn’t say, “Well I understand. It must have been hard trying to figure out the truth in a world full of lies. I tell you what, I’m going to allow you to be reincarnated as another person, and maybe this time you’ll figure it out.” No! No! No! He said “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” There are no second chances, no do-overs, no oopsie daisies. Once you are standing before the Master of creation, the choice has already been made and you will live for the rest of eternity with that decision.
It is up to you to make sure that your heart is where it needs to be. It is up to you make sure that you are standing on truth. Do not be deceived. Listen to what these people said:
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
Can you imagine what all people will say in that moment? Can you imagine what you might say, if you hear those words? Regardless of what is said, the angels will take all of those who are not of Christ away to everlasting punishment and nothing will stop it.
There are only two places to spend eternity: heaven and hell. Which place that we end up in will be determined by whether we truly know Christ or whether we don’t.
As we come to a close, I know that this is somewhat of a cliffhanger. Some of you are probably asking yourself right now, how do I know? How do I know if I am saved? How do I know if I am truly ready to go?
The simple answer is this: Those who have been saved by God’s grace will go to heaven, and those who have been saved by God’s grace will have a genuine relationship with God.
Next week, we are going to get into the nitty gritty on this. We are going to break down the relationship between grace and works and how they both play a role in God’s salvation plan. But for now, I encourage you to listen to this verse:
5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
Paul encourages the Corinthian church to test themselves, examine themselves. Do not think you are above this. We are speaking about eternity, and how there are no second chances. This is not a time to be prideful. This is not a time to hang onto something from 20+ years ago. This is a time to humble your hearts and take an honest look inside. Where is your heart with the Lord? Can you confidently say right now, based upon the words that Jesus just said unto us, that based upon the current relationship that you have with God right now (praying, reading the Bible, meditating, fasting, and seeking Him) that you are ready to stand before Jesus at judgment. Are you confident or are you concerned?
As we sing, this altar is open… furthermore, you can close your eyes and pray right there where you are. Just talk to Jesus. Talk to Him.
Commitment
Commitment
