Sermon Tone Analysis

Trust

Trust, is trust something that is assumed?

Is it something that is earned?

Do we check things out before trusting them?

Jesus in our passage today is issuing a warning and a challenge.

Can we trust religious leaders?

We should be able to trust religious leaders, but even in Jesus day there were those who were leading people away from the truth, some intentionally, others unintentionally and even had good intentions but wrong information and wrong conclusions which leads to wrong direction.

Preachers, teachers are oftentimes thought of as trustworthy and what they say is normally accepted as truth.

But should we do this?

Should we just trust them at their word?

People like Jim Jones, David Koresh who were leading many away to their death in the name of Jesus.

Our passage today says we need to beware of false teachers

Actually the verse says false prophets.

It was an issue then, it is an issue today

They may appear harmless, but are dangerous

Jesus wants the disciples to know how to identify them

By the fruit of their lives

By the fruit of their teaching

Are there false teachers today, is this still a danger today as it was in Jesus day?

There is a great diversity out there today of different teachings and doctrines (Faith only, Once saved always saved, etc.)

And if that is true, then there is conflicting doctrine and people are being or can be misled.

Jesus is warning of the danger of false teachers, prophets and how to spot them.

As we go through this passage we can see a couple of things, some assumptions, some warnings and some tests, so now let’s look at the text.

Assumptions

Assumptions we all make them, but when Jesus does it really does hold true since He is truth.

Look at the definition: a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.

Our passage starts with an assumption so let’s look together at it.

Stating to beware makes an assumption there are false prophets

(insert Beware of dog picture)

You can assume if you see this sign, that there is a dog and that the warning has been issued.

Jesus is doing that making us aware of something that is there without you having to see it to believe it.

These dogs, are seen and mentioned in most of the letters in the N.T. they are referred to as:

Pseudo-prophets - claiming divine inspiration

Pseudo-apostles - they claimed apostolic authority

Pseudo-Christs - denied Christ or or made messianic pretensions of the Christ, Here He is, there He is

Pseudo in the Greek means false, means liar, lie.

Jesus warns because the threat is not only real, it is already happening

False prophets will mislead many (Mt24:11-14)

Not just one false prophet, many, many will come, many will mislead many.

Lawlessness will increase, and love will grow cold.

They are disguised and deceitful (2Cor11:13)

They are false, they are deceitful they are disguising, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ when in reality they are ravenous wolves.

There is an implied (assumed) thing as an objective standard of truth

The false teachers, prophets will introduce false teachings (2Pt2:1; Mt24:24; 1Jn2:18; Jer23:16.

18, 22)

False teachers are not just from outside the body, but from within the body, the body of believers, they are sometimes called change agents who slip in.

They may look good, sound good, do good works, and mislead many, and even the elect maybe deceived and mislead

The last hour, the time between the death of law and the return of Christ to judge the church and the world.

There are many deceivers, liars, anti-Christs out there

Jesus assumptions, and ascertains have already proven true.

Jon Stott had a great quote I want to bring in.

“In telling us to beware of false prophets . .

there is another assumption that there is such a thing as an objective standard of truth from which the false prophets can be distinguished from.”

A true prophet spoke from divine inspiration, where a false prophet claimed it, but actually propagated untruth, Jeremiah illustrated that.

And then just a few verses later from the Lord not from man, false prophet

Jesus is teaching the reality of truth and we need to watch out for untruth that may try, will try, to slip in.

and truth and falsehood exclude one another and we need to understand that, and that brings us the warnings and sign how we can know.

Warnings and tests

False teachers, prophets, are both dangerous and deceptive and we need to watch for them, so let’s look at the warning and some tests to be able to inspect the fruit of the tree’s and the teaching.

______________________________________________

The warning (Mt7:15; Act20:28-31)

Paul gave similar warnings (2Cor11:13-15; 1Tim4:1-3; 2Tim3:1-9)

Warnings by Peter, John and Jude (2pt2:1-3; 1Jn4:1; Jude3-4)

_____________________________________________

The warning (Mt7:15; Act20:28-31)

Paul issued warnings to the leadership of church at Ephesus

The warning (Mt7:15; Act20:28-31)

Paul gave similar warnings (2Cor11:13-15; 1Tim4:1-3; 2Tim3:1-9)

Similar warnings to the church at Corinth

Paul calls these people false apostles, deceitful workers, the work in disguise, just as Satan does, trying to appear good,appear as light but are really workers of darkness

Warnings not just to the church at Ephesus, the church at Corinth, but to a young evangelist too

you can also look at 2Tim3:1-9 that describes the character and the tactics of the times of these people who come as sheep but are really ravenous wolves.

The warning (Mt7:15; Act20:28-31)

Paul gave similiar warnings (2Cor11:13-15; 1Tim4:1-3; 2Tim3:1-9)

Warnings by Peter, John and Jude (2pt2:1-3; 1Jn4:1; Jude3-4)

Peter, John and Jude gave warnings too, let the Scripture speak for itself here.

Peter speaks of the rise of the false teachers, prophets

John instructs the church to “test the spirits” this is what Jesus is instructing the people to do in the teaching about the tree and the fruit of the tree that we are looking at tonight.

Jude speaks of presence of these false teachers, who slipped in unnoticed!

Can you see the gravity of the warning by Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and Jude?

We need to be able to spot the wolves in sheep clothing.

Now back at our passage, we should not be surprised at this warning, at this teaching, right after teaching about the narrow gate.

Many can blur the scripture lay out, God’s plan of salvation and we know that in reality it leads to destruction.

The false teacher does not walk into the assembly and announce is a false teacher, he assimilates into the body and then introduces deception, lies that deceive the body, oftentimes not noticed until it is too late.

Testing the fruit

Do you squeeze, smell fruit, look at it closely before you buy it?

Sure you do, we need to do the same when we are hearing, listening to teaching.

There are some ways we can identify the false teachers, prophets.

___________________________________________________

By the fruit of their lives (Mt7:21-23; Gal5:22-23; Gal5:19-21)

By their character and their conduct

By the fruit of their teaching (2Pt2:1; 2pt2:3; 2Tim3:13; Gal1:8-9; Deu13:1-4)

By the person’s actual teaching

__________________________________________________________

We cannot be the judge of someones heart, but we can know someone by examining the fruit of their life, what is in their heart will be revealed, eventually.

By the fruit of their lives it will be known (Mt7:21-23; Gal5:22-23; Gal5:19-21)

Are they walking the walk, or just talking the talk, Jesus tells us we will know for a good tree produces good fruit, a bad tree bad fruit.

And in the end it will all come out.

You cannot trick your way into heaven or work you way in either.

For the Lord is the discerner of hearts.

Does the teacher display the fruit of the Spirit?

It is easy to identify the works of the flesh as described by Paul

By the fruit of their lives it will be known (Mt7:21-23; Gal5:22-23; Gal5:19-21)

By the fruit of their teaching (2Pt2:1; 2pt2:3; 2Tim3:13; Gal1:8-9; Deu13:1-4)

Take notice of the methods of teaching