The Two Trees
Kingdom People: The Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted
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Introduction
Introduction
<<PRAY>>
Parables in the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount, 7:13-end: 2 Paths, 2 Trees, 2 Builders. Each a call to recognize the importance not merely of hearing Jesus’s words, but doing them. Brings us to a decision point - will I follow Jesus, or just appreciate Him? Will I come to Him as Savior, or not?
Two Trees - has to do with recognizing false prophets. Ties closely to verses 21-23 (next wk), where we see that even those who claim Jesus as Lord, but have not actually come to Him in repentance and faith, will not enter the Kingdom.
There are false disciples who look very much like true ones, but inside, there is no spiritual life, they have not known the LORD or been known by Him, their words are empty, and their fruit is rotten.
<<Acts 8 - Simon the Magician>>
Disciple named Philip - Samaria
6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
Simon, magician, practicing magic (not like card tricks and illusions, amulets & spells - intended to manipulate natural and supernatural powers to ensure a good crop, or cause an enemy to fall ill, etc), self-promoting
10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
No indication here that Simon’s conversion is false. But when Peter and John arrive in Samaria, and lay hands on the people who have come to Christ, Holy Spirit falls upon the believers, Simon’s nature is revealed.
Offers to pay the apostles
19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”
Peter recognizes that Simon was not a Christian. His heart is not right before God. He had not repented. He was not in Christ, he was in the gall of bitterness. He was not freed from sin, he was in the bond of iniquity.
He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Matt 7:15-20 begins with the word “Beware.” Not every wolf gets caught before he gets into the sheep pen like Simon. And once inside, a wolf becomes dangerous indeed.
Q. How can we protect one another from false prophets?
Jesus calls us to beware and recognize them, so that we can avoid the danger they pose. ORG SENT:
I. The False Prophet’s False Nature (7:15-16)
I. The False Prophet’s False Nature (7:15-16)
<<READ 15>>
A prophet proclaims what God has said, and calls people to respond in faith and obedience. Prophecy not an act of human ingenuity or will - God’s Holy Spirit speaks through the human prophet, ensuring the faithful proclamation of the message. Scripture itself is the product of prophecy.
Prophecy is redemptive - points to Jesus.
Prophecy is closely-related to preaching. Usually, best to think of preaching as heralding God’s Word & calling for repentance, faith, obedience; prophecy as delivering God’s Word, especially a new Word.
On the other hand, False Prophets in OT
Dt 13:1-5 - False prophet - “gives you a sign or wonder… comes to pass… and says “let us go after other gods” - False prophet identified as calling you away from the LORD
Jer 23:9-32 - False prophets led Israel after the false god Baal, “speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”
17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ”
False prophets are liars.
In NT, a false prophet is one who claims to have an authoritative message, but calls people away from Christ.
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.
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
A “false prophet” is not a Christian. Like Simon, they may say the right words at first, or even for years, but eventually the iniquity inside makes its way to the surface.
Their motive is revealed in verse 15 by the words "ravening wolves.” Their purpose is to devour, destroy, to consume. To fill their own bellies.
They are driven by some combination of demonic oppression, lust for power, money, fame, or sex, deeply-rooted self-idolatry, even hatred of Christ.
1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
The danger is seen in verse 5 - they have the appearance of godliness. They dress in sheep’s clothing. They sneak and hide among the sheep.
False prophets have plagued the Church throughout history. Some modern examples of “false prophets” include:
The false religions that mimic Christianity, like Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Islam, often use much of the same language as Christianity, but subtly replace the truth with false doctrine. Almost always start by redefining the Triune nature of God, the nature of Christ, or the nature of salvation. In many ways, just new takes on ancient heresies.
Not the only kind of “false prophets.”
Unsavory preachers who claim to be Christians, but replace the Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone with some mixture of salvation by faith plus works.
Prosperity preachers, who prey on people’s desire for comfort in this life by telling them that if they have enough faith or give enough money, that God is obligated to give them healing or earthly wealth.
Those who spout faithful theology, but use their positions to manipulate, exploit, or control others.
But if a false prophet is by nature deceptive, how can we recognize them? Jesus answers in vv16-18:
II. Uncovering the Truth (7:16-18)
II. Uncovering the Truth (7:16-18)
<<READ 16-18>>
Explain: So Jesus says in 16 and 20 - “You will recognize them by their fruits.” Parable of the Two Trees.
Begins with a question that has an obvious answer - Certainly not - you can’t get grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles. The nature of the plant determines the fruit.
But in verse 17, Jesus uses the same principle in reverse: The fruit tells you the nature of the tree, too.
Good fruit tells you a lot about the tree. And so does bad fruit. Because a tree cannot bear fruit against its nature.
How does this help us recognize a false prophet?
A true prophet speaks God’s Words faithfully, without destructive aims. Here, and in verses 21-23, and in verses 24-27, there’s a focus both on the words and the deeds of those who will stand before God in judgment. Are their words faithful to God’s Word? Is their life faithful to their words? In vv 21-23, those who prophesy in Christ’s Name but are not known by Him are actually workers of lawlessness, no matter how great their deeds seem to be.
A true prophet - a healthy tree - produces good fruit precisely because they are what they claim to be.
A false prophet produces three types of bad fruit:
Their teaching, the manner of their lives, and what they have reproduced.
The first - the content of their teaching - is the easiest to evaluate, because we can hold it up directly against Scripture and ask, “Is this true? Is it faithful? Is it Gospel?”
11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
The most important question to ask of anyone claiming to speak for God: What does the Scripture say?
The second, the manner of their lives, can be more tricky. But we can evaluate this, too, against Scripture. What fruit does the Holy Spirit produce in people?
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.
If someone’s teaching appears to be sound, but they do not exhibit evidence that the Spirit is producing Christian love, joy even in tribulation, peace borne out of peace with God, and the rest of these, then we should beware. There are some who preach the true Gospel out of false motives. Paul:
15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
Paul rejoices in the preaching of the Gospel even by those who do so insincerely, but he does not rejoice in the preachers themselves.
<<well-known mega-church preacher - appears to be narcissistic, full of bitterness - rejoice that many came to know the LORD through his preaching, but sorrowful that many also were hurt, injured, even devastated by his manner of life, which does not match what Jesus says will characterize His disciples.
Third fruit to evaluate - what the prophet reproduces by his teaching.
Hardest to evaluate, because it requires us to look at the prophet’s followers. The false prophet cannot produce true disciples, because that is always God’s work. A true disciple is produced by God in spite of the false prophet. But when a false prophet proclaims the true Gospel, his ministry still sows disease and rot.
Well-known prosperity Gospel preacher, 10s of thousands in his congregation. Every one I’ve met genuinely loved Jesus.
But his teaching, over time, has produced confusion, sorrow. Instead of growing in the Word, after years and years under his teaching, they’re still infants in Christ. His diseased teaching has sabotaged their growth, like a child with malnutrition.
A preacher that tells his people that God just wants them to succeed, just wants them to be happy, has not prepared them for the calling they’ve actually been given.
Jesus’s words are “in the world, you will have trouble.” Jesus says “If the world hated me, it will also hate you.” The Gospel does not promise easy. The Gospel promises that God will be with us. Jesus says, “In the world, you will have trouble, but take heart: I have overcome the world.”
When suffering comes, we don’t need to be surprised. Instead, we can stand up and say, “This is the moment I was made for. I can’t walk through this valley on my own, but even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because the Good Shepherd is with me.”
But a false prophet of prosperity and so-called victory has not prepared his followers for this. So they are confused, disheartened, and their souls are endangered.
The danger of the false prophet points us to:
III. The Urgency of the Truth (v19)
III. The Urgency of the Truth (v19)
<<READ v19>>
A warning: God will judge the false prophet. “Every one who bears no good fruit will face condemnation in hell”
Note the absolute statement: Every tree - not most, not some, but every tree - that does not bear good fruit.
Every healthy tree will bear good fruit, every tree that does not bear good fruit is therefore a diseased tree.
Why do the fruitless/diseased trees deserve such absolute and univsersal condemnation?
We are not accustomed to thinking carefully about religious deception. But a false prophet - one who claims authority to speak and call Christians away from the Faith - is not a harmless person. No matter how kind they are in other areas of life, if they sow division, doubt, or falsehood in the Church, they are predators. Wolves eat sheep.
The certainty of judgment demonstrates the urgency of the truth both for the sheep and for the false prophet. When Peter confronted Simon the Magician and said “Your heart is not right before God” in Acts 8, Simon’s immediate response was to ask Peter to pray for him. Acts does not tell us if Simon repented, but one thing is for sure: the false prophet is in deep danger. Uncovering the false prophet’s true nature gives us an opportunity to preach the true Gospel to him and to those he has deceived.
So we must pick up the fruit and examine it.
IV. The Conclusion (v20)
IV. The Conclusion (v20)
<<READ v20>>
In verse 20, Jesus repeats what He said in verse 16, but this time it serves as His conclusion. Because the false prophet cannot produce good fruit, you will recognize him by his fruit.
A promise: You are able to recognize them.
An exhortation: You need to recognize them.
Imagine a flock of sheep again. If a wolf is recognized, should the shepherd pull out a notebook and write the word “WOLVES” at the top, and then put a little tick mark each time he sees one, and then consider his job done?
Should the sheep look up and welcome the wolf with a docile bleat, and go back to eating? No, the sheep must beware. And the shepherd must run to the aid of the sheep.
<<DAVID & GOLIATH, 1 Sam 17>>, Goliath not only taunted the Israelites and blasphemed the LORD, but intended to destroy the ppl & enslave them, to defile the Covenant God had made w/ Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
David knew he was weaker by far than a bear or a lion, or even a wolf. But the LORD went with him.
Throughout the history of the Church, we have faced wiser, stronger, more gifted enemies. Most of the great heretics were eloquent orators and charismatic preachers. A wolf will often have an impressive smile.
But the men and women that God raised up to defend His flock simply believed in the power of God’s holy Word, and taught that. They were often less powerful in speech than their opponents. But the Holy Spirit prevailed, and the Word continues to go forth.
And Christ is calling to you and me today to continue the fight. The silver-tongued false prophet is no match for plain words on the lips of someone taught by God’s Word and born again by God’s Spirit.
A teenager in love with God’s Word is a mighty weapon in the hand of Jesus the Good Shepherd.
A college student devoted to prayer and committed to growing in Christ is a well-aimed stone in the sling of the Almighty.
A simple man, a brilliant scholar, a homeschooling mom, a nurse, a shop clerk, a hotel manager, a janitor, a great-grandmother, with a heart set on knowing Him as He has revealed Himself in His Word, is a false prophet’s kryptonite.
The pastors and elders of the local church are called to defend the flock against false teaching. To keep watch, and to rebuke and refute those who contradict biblical teaching. And they are called to equip others to do the same.
In Acts 20, Paul visits Ephesus on his way to Jerusalem, and calls the elders of the church to come to him. He knows this is the last time he will ever see them, and after he speaks with them, they kneel down to pray together, and they all weep and embrace him. But in that final conversation, notice what Paul tells the elders there, these beloved men that Paul himself had evangelized and discipled:
28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.
Paul taught the elders by example, and now they are to do the same. To be alert, to protect the flock, and to admonish everyone with tears.
Earlier in his ministry, Paul wrote to that same congregation, in Ephesians 4, about the calling of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. This is what Paul says the job of your elders and leaders is:
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Brothers and sisters, stand up like David before Goliath, armed with God’s Word and ready to refute the false teachings of those who would destroy your faith. Do not be afraid of the scoffing atheist, or the so-called former evangelicals. Do not be disheartened by the task. Instead, be encouraged by Jesus’s promise: You will recognize them by their fruit.
So pick up the Word and seek to be equipped, to be trained with the Sword of the Spirit. Stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your brothers and sisters, with the Shield of Faith raised, and empowered by prayer and supplication. The wolves will never stand a chance.