Wolves & Trees (Outline)

Intro

Matthew 7

I love magic.

What I REALLY love, is illusions;

What I HATE, is when a magician does a trick, whether it’s an illusion, some type of mentalism, or anything else…and they claim that it’s REAL magic.

JAMES RANDI. “AN HONEST LIAR”

There was a big rise in this in the 70s and beyond; FBI even bought it.

James Randi makes a career out of debunking those who claimed to have powers.

Even has $1 Million prize

Surprising for a magician to care so much about proving magic isn’t real? Not really.

shed light on false teachings that were trying to associate with him.

False Teachers

Jesus warns about false teachers; last week ended in a warning about narrow vs. broad.

Part 2 of last week’s warning; WATCH OUT for false teachers.

FALSE TEACHERS: Not just someone teaching something we disagree with; specifically addressing those who appear the same outwardly. Inwardly, don’t know him.

Counterfeits

A good way to think of them is to think of a counterfeit.

Some counterfeits are hilariously bad; missing a letter, spelled wrong, or instead of a ninja turtle they call it like a karate tortoise.

Becomes more serious as value increases; money, expensive item like jewelry/paintings

Entire fields dedicated…secret service

We HAVE to be able to tell the difference between real and counterfeit.

False Teachers are like counterfeits. Not outright opposed to Jesus. not always easy to spot and avoid; when you look closer, they have changed or removed that which makes their teachings valuable.

Jesus warns, gives 2 illustrations; then reminds us of the stakes.

Jesus commands his followers to recognize and guard against false teachers.

Matthew 7:15-23

Matthew 7:15–23 ESV15 “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. 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.’

First, two illustrations jesus gives us, then a reminder of the stakes. First, wolves and trees What Jesus means by “I never knew you.”

Wolves and Trees

2 comparisons; wolves and trees.

wolves is only briefly mentioned…but is so important. Don’t have luxury of being passive.

A sheep doesn’t get the benefit of ignoring the wolf.

If a wolf isn’t guarded against, guess what? Wolf is having lamb chops.

Not enough to just avoid; have to actively be on guard against.

Can’t assume it couldn’t happen to you. “Only dumb sheep get eaten.”

Constantly Evaluate WHAT is shaping/forming your thoughts.

How do I react to things?

If how you react isn’t like Jesus, you might have been being preyed out without even knowing it.

So how do we know? Especially when we KNOW they’ll be in sheeps clothing...

That’s why Jesus compares them not just to wolves, but trees and fruit.

Trees and Fruits

v. 16...Know them by their fruits…I

IDK a ton about trees…(Christmas Tree)

But I’ve got fruit down. Apple…orange…got it

Same thing with false teachers. Know them by their fruit. Look at their lives. PAST everything else.

What are they doing? Saying? Does it line up w/ Jesus?

Standard isn’t perfection

Who have they shown themselves to be over time?

Trees don’t bare fruit in a day.

look identical for a long time.

False teachers don’t usually look like false teachers from day 1.

How many times have we seen someone get elevated....only to then oppose Jesus/Scripture?

We have to be proactive…can’t just let things in UNFILTERED.

new book, sermon clip on FB, blog post…Do you compare it to Jesus?

do you just accept it because it looks/sounds good? Because it’s popular?

We should NOT have been caught off guard by false teachers.

2 Peter 2:1 ESV1 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.

Jude 4 ESV4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Message looks good, but denies the Master. only part that matters has been perverted.

We grow complacent…let our guard down. False Teachers, wolves, grow fat on sheep that didn’t think they had to worry. Christians who unknowingly consume teachings contrary to Jesus/Scripture

What are you letting shape you?

“Well, it’s so hard now, with FB, tv, it’s so hard to tell!”

Look what their false teachers were doing!

Matthew 7:22 ESV22 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?’

Meanwhile, we get fooled bc he has a big church/popular video/same political party/a million other things.

We ignore the fruit. The words, things they do, that don’t line up w/ Scripture.

Even most convincing false teachers will be revealed. First by fruits, second by Jesus himself

I Never Knew You

Matthew 7:23 ESV23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Quick note..I NEVER KNEW YOU, not I knew you and now I don’t.

Does NOT suggest you can lose your salvation.

“Well dang, I’m not casting out demons, I’m not doing miracles; if those guys aren’t getting in, I don’t have a chance!” And you dwell in this fear that is rooted in the idea that God only loves you as much as you’re willing to do for him.

But this passage says the exact opposite. He’s telling these false teachers, EVEN THOUGH you did all of these amazing things, they are WORTHLESS, because I NEVER KNEW YOU.

They may have known him; it’s likely that the false teachers Jesus is talking about here have the same kind of belief in Jesus that the demons do. They know Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t know them.

It’s like me and The Rock. Man, I love The Rock. I read an article the other day about how every movie he does is a success, and the main reason is because statistically he is one of the most likable people in our entire country.

So man, I know his movies, I know he used to wrestle, I know he played football in college. I know The Rock. But you know what? The Rock doesn’t know me.

And if I showed up at his house, and told him that I was his biggest fan, I’d thrown Rock parties, I got his face tattooed on my leg, (not yet, still trying to convince Emily on that one), that I owned all his movies; and i show up, tell him all that, and say, “So, can I come stay with you for a while?” He’s gonna call security on me so fast.

Why? Because HE DOESN’T KNOW ME! So it doesn’t matter if I did all of these things for me, He doesn’t know me!

Now, imagine one of his daughters shows up at the door. Is he checking her credentials before he lets her in? Is he asking her to prove that she loves him? NO. He’s whipping that door open, bringing her in, and probably wondering why she were outside in the first place!?

Why? Because he knows her. He loves her. She doesn’t have to justify anything. Being his daughter is all she needs to be to be loved, to be known.

These false teachers know Jesus, but Jesus doesn’t know them. And THAT is what matters. If He doesn’t know you, it doesn’t matter what good things you do.

And if He does, then no act of yours will ever change his love for you, or take away the righteousness he’s bestowed upon you. To those false teachers who are not known by Jesus, their fate is made clear. They are told to depart from him; they are sent away to spend eternity apart from Jesus.

Conclusion

This is a somber warning for these teachers, but it should also be a wake up call for us.

Because it isn’t just false teachers who will hear those words on that day. It’s ANYONE who doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus. It’s not enough to know about him. It’s not enough to do good things in his name. We must know and be known by him.

1 John 1:9 ESV9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Romans 10:9 ESV9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

This is all that is required.

An acknowledgment of your sin.

A desire to repent, turn away from them, and pursue Jesus instead.

Willingness to make Jesus the LORD of your life; meaning that HE gets to call the shots. You’re not in charge of you anymore, HE is. To do this is to be called righteous.

To be KNOWN by Jesus. When the day comes that you stand before him; and you WILL stand before him one day; ALL that will matter is if he knows you.

If you’ve spent your life knowing ABOUT Jesus, but you’re unsure if Jesus knows you; in a moment, you’re going to have a chance to be sure today.

And if you’re here, and you know that you have that relationship with Jesus; let this be a reminder of the stakes.

Right behind all of these false teachers will be a multitude of people who followed them. Who were led astray by counterfeits, teaching a message that DOES NOT SAVE.

Jesus commands his followers to recognize and actively be on guard against false teachers. This is not for our benefit alone. We are to call out false teachers, yes, so that we are not led astray, but ALSO so that others are not led astray either. To us, Jesus gives the same warning that Paul gave Timothy.

2 Timothy 4:3 ESV3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

That time is hear. The teachers that only desire to tickle our ears, and lead us away from the truth, is here.

Jesus died that we might be free, that we might have life.

False teachers tell us only what we want to hear; and we settle for tickled ears instead of transformed lives.

It is our duty, if we want to truly love our neighbor well, to recognize false teachings, call it what it is, and stay committed to nothing but the true message of who Jesus is and why he came.