Sermon on the Mount: Two Trees

Sermon on the Mount – Two Trees

Matthew 7:15-20

1. Introduction – Last week we started in on the closing section of the SM.

a. Remember the point of this section is to motivate listeners towards a response.

i. And we saw last week that in life, there’s only 2 choices.

1. Either you will walk the broad and easy way of the world…

a. Or you will walk the narrow and hard road with Jesus.

ii. There is no third option, no hybrid model, no straddling the line between the 2.

b. And in today’s passage – Jesus warns his people about false prophets.

i. Remember, as we make our way through this closing section, Jesus is drawing the line closer and close to home.

1. Last week there was a distinction made between insiders and outsiders.

a. Those who live according to the ways of God’s kingdom and those who don’t.

i. A line was drawn between those who are lost and those who are saved.

c. Well today, the line moves a little bit closer – because now this line distinguishes between those who are insiders and those who are merely pretending to be insiders.

i. In this section, Jesus gives his people a warning. Be aware of those who talk a good game, but who’s lives don’t back up the things they say.

1. Beware of those people who are merely pretending to be insiders, but really want to do damage to God’s people.

ii. In warning his people, Jesus employs 2 metaphors.

1. First, Jesus describes false prophets as being wolves in sheep’s clothing…we’ll discus that image in detail.

a. Then Jesus tells his people how to recognize and discern false prophets…

i. And to show this Jesus employs the image of good trees and bad trees…which in turn bear either good fruit or bad fruit.

iii. There is a promise tucked away in this section as well…

1. But there is also a challenger for us as God’s people.

a. Do our lives match up with what we say? Are we bearing good fruit?

i. Hear God’s Word – Matthew 7:15-20.

2. True or False – The section begins with a warning – beware of false prophets.

a. Now, before we go on to look at the metaphors…we have to establish this fact…

i. There is falsehood out there. Not everything that is said in the name of Jesus is gospel truth.

1. There is ample opportunity for people to deceive or dupe God’s people.

b. Beware of false prophets…this statement tells us that there is a certain standard of truth that is to guide and govern people living inside God’s kingdom.

i. If there wasn’t an objective standard of truth, then the very notion of a false prophet is meaningless.

1. We live in an age of relativism…truth is a relative thing in our day and age.

a. Our world thinks that whatever truth you find and want to believe in is good for you…but my truth might be something completely different.

i. In our world, there is no objective standard for what is true and what isn’t.

ii. However, truth is not a relative idea.

1. Conflicting ideas can’t both be true. There has to be a set standard for truth.

a. And we believe that the truth that is found in the Bible is the guiding and governing rule for life in God’s kingdom.

c. Jesus warns that not everyone who claims to be speaking God’s Word is actually doing it.

i. There are some, who will deliberately lead God’s people away from the truth.

1. There are some men and women who purposefully deceive God’s people in order to sow discord and do damage to God’s people.

a. So, who are these false prophets and how do we identify them?

3. Wolf & Sheep – Well, Jesus doesn’t leave us in a lurch – he tells us what to look for.

a. Because here’s the truth – a false prophet is never going to announce that he or she is a false prophet.

i. The false teacher is never gong to publicly proclaim their teaching to be false.

1. If that was the case – identifying false teachers and prophets would be easy.

a. If they simply stood up and said, “Everything I’m going to say is false.”

i. Or “Today I’m going to be spewing heresy…” or ‘what I’m going to say falls outside the bounds of orthodoxy.”

1. If that’s what happened, identifying false prophets would be an easy task.

b. The problem is this – false teachers disguise themselves.

i. Jesus refers to them as wolves in sheep’s clothing.

1. So as we dive into this first metaphor, let’s examine the relationship between wolves and sheep…and why it is dangerous to have a wolf roaming around dressed as a sheep.

c. Let’s first talk about sheep.

i. Sheep are dumb animals….they need a good shepherd to take constant care of them.

1. They are unable to defend themselves against attackers.

a. Jesus, and the Bible in general, uses the image a lot – sheep and a shepherd.

i. The Bible uses the image of sheep to describe God’s people.

1. Jesus, in John’s Gospel refers to himself as the Good Shepherd…

a. As the one who constantly cares for and watches over his people.

b. He is not a paid labourer – who doesn’t own the sheep and so takes off at the first sign of trouble…

i. No, Jesus feeds his sheep, nurtures his sheep and protects his sheep.

1. Protects them from what?

d. From their natural enemy – the wolf.

i. Here’s the relationship status of wolves and sheep. When a wolf looks at a sheep, they don’t see a cute and cuddly animal…they see dinner.

1. And if the sheep don’t have a shepherd to protect them, the sheep is unable to defend and protect itself.

a. So think about how much damage a wolf in sheep’s clothing could do.

i. If allowed entrance into the sheep’s pen, and once there, it could do untold damage to the flock.

1. The wolf could eat to its heart’s and belly’s content.

e. Now, let’s take the metaphor out of the animal world and into the human world.

i. Sheep represent us – God’s people. The wolves in sheep’s clothing represent false prophets.

1. Now, remember, a wolf dressed like a sheep will never announce itself, that would blow their cover…

a. And likewise, a false prophet would never announce him or her self as a false prophet – again, that would blow their cover.

i. But Jesus warns his listeners…there will be those who come into the Christian community as sheep…dressed a sheep…pretending to be sheep…

1. But underneath the wooly façade, they are really ravenous and vicious as wolves.

i. And once they are into the pen, in with the flock, the wolf in sheep’s clothing can do some serious damage.

ii. False prophets – false teachers – have always been an issue for God’s people.

1. The prophet Jeremiah did battle with pseudo-prophets of his day would only spoke what the people wanted to hear.

a. They spoke peace among the people where there was no peace.

i. They spoke blessings to the people when in reality God was cursing them.

iii. Paul did battle with false teachers and false prophets and false apostles.

1. Specifically in the book of 2 Corinthians, we read a lot about Paul’s dealings with the super-apostles.

a. Who preached salvation without repentance and preached the easy and broad road of life.

iv. Jesus, at the end of his ministry, warned about the presence and danger of false prophets.

1. Wolves infiltrating the pend will be a sign of the end.

f. And the warning here for us this…be discerning – we’ll touch that this more in just a bit.

i. Just because someone is on Christian TV of radio…don’t automatically mean he or she is good.

1. Just because they have a platform doesn’t mean that fall into line with Christian orthodoxy…that what he or she is saying is good and true and edifying.

a. We have to be aware that there will always be wolves around…wolves that are disguised a sheep.

i. So we must be discerning people…going back to what the Bible says, what history and tradition and reason have taught us.

2. Testing what others say with how we understand and interpret that Bible.

g. However, false teachers and false prophets do benefit us though – because they help the church identify the truth…and they have challenged the church to define the truth…

i. But they have also caused a lot of damage.

4. Good and Bad Trees – The fact is, there will always be wolves in sheep’s clothing among God’s people.

a. Always false teachers around, and if they don’t announce themselves as false – how do we even recognize them?

i. If they are hiding among us – how do we expose them?

1. Well, Jesus says this…eventually they will expose themselves.

a. And in order to prove his point, Jesus changes images.

i. Instead of talking about animals – Jesus now talks about trees and fruit.

2. The basic principle of this metaphor is this – trees produce the kind of fruit which reflects their basic character…good or bad.

a. As Jesus said…grapes can’t be gathered from thornbushes…grape vines produce grapes…thornbushes produce pain.

i. Similarly – figs come from fig trees, not thistles.

3. So again, if we take this metaphor out of the plant world and transport it into the human world – we can really grasp what Jesus is teaching.

ii. Good teachers, or those who are trying to be good, produce good fruit – fruit that is consistent with their character…

1. Bad teachers – false prophets – produce bad fruit.

a. One cannot expect a bad teacher to produce anything but bad fruit – it would like trying to get grapes from thornbushes.

iii. Jesus says eventually the fruit will display the real character of the tree…of the teacher.

1. But that doesn’t mean we are to simply wait it out – be completely passive – and let the false prophets and false teachers run wild in the pen.

a. We have to be discerning and test what people say and what people do.

i. And this week as I was studying – I came across 3 tests that God’s people and use in order to test the fruit of a teacher…in order to test his or her authenticity.

b. The first test is called the subsequent events test. Look at Deuteronomy 18:21-22.

i. Notice, that even way back before Israel entered the Promised Land there was talk of false prophets – a long standing problem, but God, in his wisdom gave us tests to weed them out.

1. The verses we just read tell us that if someone speaks in the name of the Lord, but that word doesn’t come to pass…then that is a false prophet.

a. God’s promises never fail…and what God says he will do…he will do.

i. So, if someone says God will do something, but that something doesn’t come true…as the text says – that person need not be feared…for he or she is speaking out of his or her own authority…they are NOT speaking a word from God.

1. The subsequent events test…an easy one.

ii. Next, there is the theological or doctrinal test.

1. Again, the book of Deuteronomy is helpful. 13:1-5.

a. In the doctrinal test, we test whether someone is presenting us with a different god.

i. Maybe a different way of salvation and discipleship.

1. Is their teaching in line with Scripture, history, tradition and reason?

a. Do they fall inside or outside the bounds of orthodoxy on major Christian doctrines?

ii. We must be searching the Scriptures to test what people say in the name of God, with what is written in the word of God.

2. So there’s the subsequent events test, the theological test…

iii. And finally, there is the ethical test. We test a person’s fruit by their ethics…how they live their life.

1. Throughout Matthew’ Gospel, the word ‘fruit’ represents behaviour – whether moral or immoral.

a. In 3:8 – fruit represents behaviour that demonstrates true repentance.

i. In 12:33 fruit is used to refer to the word by which a person’s true allegiance is revealed.

1. In 13:8&23, fruit refers to a lifestyle which responds to the preaching of the Word.

a. In 21:33-43, the fruit of the vineyard represents the life and loyalty which God expects of his people.

b. In the letter to the Galatians, Paul uses fruit as the imagery for become more Christlike – the fruit of the Spirit.

iv. So ‘fruit’ is predominantly an ethical test.

1. Do prophets do what they teach? Only prophets and teachers whose lives reveal the righteousness of the kingdom of God are to be follower.

a. The constant refrain in the NT is that bad teaching is revealed in bad living…by their fruits you will recognize them.

c. So in the context of the SM – are teachers poor in spirit, meek, merciful, hungering for righteousness?

i. Are prophets seasoning the earth with salt? Are they gracious towards others? Do they uphold the Law of God?

1. Are they showy flashy and charismatic – or do they give in secret, pray as if only God is listening and fast…but no one knows it.

a. Are teachers producing the fruit of a non-judgmental attitude? Are teachers promoting the hard and narrow road of Jesus or the broad and easy road of the world?

i. These are ethical questions that we must ask of any teacher we listen to.

1. Whether its me, a guest speaker, a guy on TV or someone on the radio – test what they are saying.

b. The subsequent event test, the doctrinal test…the ethical test.

5. A Promise – Did you catch the promise in this passage? A promise that is repeated twice.

a. And we’ve learned that if something is repeated in a section – it’s not because the speaker ran out of things to say…it is for emphasis.

i. So, what’s the repeated promise? Hear it again…the beginning of v.16 – you will recognize them by their fruit.

1. and the end of v.20 – you will recognize them by their fruit.

a. It’s the word ‘will’ I want you to focus on.

i. Not might…but will. Eventually false teachers and false prophets will be exposed.

ii. Eventually the fruit will be seen and it will either be good…or rotten to the core.

1. But we will also recognize them by testing…subsequent events, testing their doctrine, seeing if their lives match up with what they say.

6. A Challenge – but there is also an inherent challenge in this section.

a. A challenge for all pastors, teachers…for all Christians really…are you bearing good fruit|?

i. Are you producing love, joy, peace, patience…etc.

1. Are you producing poverty of spirit, meekness, mercy…are you hungry for righteousness?

a. Is your life producing good fruit? Does what you say in the name of God line up with what is written in the Word of God?

i. Are you doctrinally and theologically sound?

1. Do you practice what you preach?

b. Eventually the fruit of your life will blossom and it will either be good or bad…useful or useless.

i. Ready to produce more good fruit…or ready to be chopped up and burned.

1. Yes, we must test others, but we also must test ourselves.

a. We must put our own lives through the ethical test, the theological test, the subsequent event test…

i. We must make sure that our lives are planted in good live, that we are good trees that produce good fruit of the kingdom of God.