You shall know them by their fruits
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15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 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.
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!’
So many sermons and studies on the passage fall along these lines:
Make sure that you are doing good works and sanctifying yourself. Otherwise, when Jesus comes you might find yourself cast out forever.
How often has this been used by abusive men to terrify the sheep!
But look closely at the examples. A wolf doesn’t make better choices and suddenly become a sheep.
A thorn bush can’t decide to suddenly start growing grapes.
He is talking about what kind of a person you are.
But specifically, in the context, he is talking about those who speak in God’s name, proclaiming what they say is the word of God.
A believer is one who believes the word of God and seeks to follow Jesus. So a believer is particularly susceptible to wolves, fora believer wants to do what is right, wants to serve God, wants to be pleasing to his father.
So wolves come, dressed as sheep, with the message: Here is what you must do to please the Father.
But their true goal is NOT to lead the sheep to quiet and peaceful pastures. It is NOT to cause them to lie down. But their goal is to make themselves rich, fat, and prosperous. If the sheep must be sacrificed for this to happen, it is simply collateral damage.
“They went out from us, because they were not of us...” they say mournfully - and then drink the blood and tears of the saints.
So how do you tell the difference?
The fruit.
Since a wolf will always act like a wolf and thorns always bring forth thorns and fruit trees will bring forth fruit, the infallible way to tell what you are dealing with is the fruit.
This is a common theme throughout all of scripture.
1 Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard:
My Well-beloved has a vineyard
On a very fruitful hill.
2 He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also made a winepress in it;
So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,
But it brought forth wild grapes.
God expects fruit from his vineyard. It is the only reason to have a vineyard.
But since Israel failed as a vine - the vine was corrupt and only brought forth strife, anger, idolatry, hatred, fornication, witchcraft and so on - that vine was cut off and thrown into the fire, just as the prophets said it would be.
But wait - there’s more. God had mercy on his people.
So instead of destroying them all he preserved a remnant. He didn’t cast them all into the fire, he preserved SOME - even though NONE of them brought fruit...
But the fact remains, that God expects fruit.
What is the fruit that God expects?
Fruits
Fruits
Love
Love
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Joy
Joy
10 “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” says the Lord.
Peace
Peace
10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;
Yes, strife and reproach will cease.
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.
Patience
Patience
8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning;
The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
Gentleness
Gentleness
3 A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
Goodness
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the expectation of the wicked is wrath.
Faith
9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
If you will not believe,
Surely you shall not be established.” ’ ”
Meekness
6 Though the Lord is on high,
Yet He regards the lowly;
But the proud He knows from afar.
Self-control
101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way,
That I may keep Your word.
19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.
Ultimately, all of these point to Jesus, who is the only one who bears the fruit that God delights in.
Israel failed, and they were cut off - but a remnant preserved, that they might be grafted on to the true vine.
Which is why Jesus said
“I am the true vine”
If you “abide” in the vine, you will bring forth fruit
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
A false prophet has no desire to unite anyone to Christ, for when Christ is exalted, the prophet must necessarily decrease.
29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
29. He who hath the bride. By this comparison, he confirms more fully the statement, that it is Christ alone who is excluded from the ordinary rank of men. For as he who marries a wife does not call and invite his friends to the marriage, in order to prostitute the bride to them, or, by giving up his own rights, to allow them to partake with him of the nuptial bed, but rather that the marriage, being honoured by them, may be rendered more sacred; so Christ does not call his ministers to the office of teaching, in order that, by conquering the Church, they may claim dominion over it, but that he may make use of their faithful labours for associating them with himself. It is a great and lofty distinction, that men are appointed over the Church, to represent the person of the Son of God. They are, therefore, like the friends whom the bridegroom brings with him, that they may accompany him in celebrating the marriage; but we must attend to the distinction, that ministers, being mindful of their rank, may not appropriate to themselves what belongs exclusively to the bridegroom
Unless one abides in the vine, one cannot bring forth the fruit that delights God.
The false prophet may speak many great and swelling words about Jesus, but in the end, he only exalts himself.
Therefore his fruits are NOT the anomaly, but the rule by which he must be judged.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
When the Reformers debated the “marks of the true church”, this is what they meant by church discipline.
Is it a congregation of thriving souls, united to Christ through word and sacrament, and bringing forth fruit that is pleasing to God?
The medieval church was built on a foundation of flesh, and so it brought forth works of the flesh.
Christian nationalism is a foundation of flesh, for it is not built on Christ, but on power, money and politics. It can ONLY bring forth the fruits of the flesh.
ONLY by abiding in Christ can the soul bring forth fruit, and we abide by the gospel.
The false prophet delights in tearing down the publicans and sinners, preaching to the choir, and “building his ministry”
But what does he do when the “insignificant one” complains that a powerful one has hurt her?
This is when the fruit is tested, so that the tree might be known.
Those who revile others, mock and scornfully use others, abuse and drive away the sheep...
Those who bear the marks of the flesh - adultery, fornication, lasciviousness, hatred, outbursts of wrath - and so on.
When the church is full of the works of the flesh, you can be sure that there is no foundation of union with Christ, no gospel - only outward religion led by wolves.
You know this because a good tree cannot bring forth evil works.
YES, I know that every believer sins, sometimes grievously - but there is genuine repentance, which is another lesson.
We are talking about how to spot a false prophet - if their works are the works of the flesh, when they are tested and fail - covering up abuse, reviling God’s people.
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
A true prophet is one who leads the sheep to Christ, not to himself and that makes all the difference.