Sermon Tone Analysis

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Nathaniel Hawthorne, the famed author of The Scarlet Letter, wrote a short story called “Young Goodman Brown.”
It was about a young man who represented anyone who considered himself good, or more particularly, good because they were religious.
He lived in the Salem Village, now Danvers, MA, where the many witch trials took place during the Puritan period.
At the start of the story, Young Goodman kisses his wife “Faith,” who represented not just his faith but the faith of the entire community, and enters the woods under the night sky on a dark journey.
Along the way he is accompanied by the devil, who is trying to entice him to abandon his faith and to surrender himself to the will of the devil.
Struggling to resist, Young Goodman began to notice others on the same ominous journey he was on.
Others who had made this venture before.
People who were of great reputation in the community on account of their faith.
A seemingly pious old lady called Goody Cloyse was on the journey, deacon Gookin was also heading to the mysterious gathering that evening, along with other ministers and religious leaders of the community.
Each person represented the faith in the community, where some form of righteousness was displayed for the day, but satanic-devotion in the night.
But still Young Goodman sought to resist the devil, and then he heard a familiar voice, it was Faith, his wife, who was also there on the journey.
As dawn came, and Young Goodman began to go about life in the village, it was never the same.
He could not trust the leaders of his community, or the Faith in his home.
They looked like sheep, but they were far more sinister.
Not everyone is as they seem.
As we discussed last week, we are all on a journey.
Some are heading down a path that leads to destruction, but others have found the narrow gate and are making their way down the turbulent path that leads to eternal life.
On this pilgrimage, there are many voices bidding us come and follow.
Some of the ones calling out look like followers of Jesus; they even sound like they could be followers of Jesus, but in reality they are enemies of the cross, agents of the adversary seeking to destroy others along with themselves.
Who’s voice are you following?
Matthew 7:
Jesus again issues another command, calling His disciples to be vigilant and on guard, but on guard for what?
Wolves posing as sheep.
The imagery of sheep and wolves is not one new to the audience Jewish of Matthew.
Of course we are all familiar with , where David describes God as his shepherd, implying that he is God’s sheep.
In , the leaders of Israel were likened to shepherds, failed shepherds who destroyed and scattered God’s people.
In , God condemns the kings, priests, and officials of the nation, stating that they were wolves shedding blood and destroying the lives of God’s people for a dishonest profit.
In the book of Acts, in 20, Paul calls for the shepherds of the church to stand guard and protect the flock that God had entrusted them, for as soon as Paul would leave, wolves would certainly come to bring the church harm.
The imagery is even familiar in the context of our own culture.
I remember watching the wolf in Looney Tunes, dressing as a sheep in an attempt to steal away sheep from the watchful sheepdog.
Jesus is telling His audience, telling us, that there is a real threat that exists—
Wolves Steal Sheep, Shepherds Raise Them
The wolves are posers within the Christian community and leaders within the world who attempt to collect a following and a gathering around themselves.
Literally, the term for false prophets is pseudo-prophets.
Now prophets do more than just tell the future; primarily they speak presently the message of God.
So the pseudo-prophets are pseudo-messengers of God.
They at times use language and concepts that are similar to the Christian faith, but upon the investigation of the vigilant, find that what is taught is capable of leading all people quickly down the path of destruction.
These false teachers share a cheap grace that demands no inward change of the person.
Seldom will the word “sin” or “repentance” be on their lips, but there is never a shortage of words that speak of how God wants to bless, or how God wants to give them a better life.
They call to their listeners to simply think positively and hear the pleasantries of how there are no urgent matters in life, because God loves you.
These wolves go on to pen books that are featured on many self-help shelves, and none of them realize that the you and I are in the position were are in, because we did just that—helped ourselves.
Yet, you might ask, “What is wrong with speaking to others regarding the love of God?”
And certainly I enjoy meditating on the blissful thought that “God so loved the world,” but that thought must not come to the exclusion of what remains in that verse—He sent His one and only Son.
Why does God, by love, send His only Son?
Is it not because you and I are treading a path that ends in eternal destruction and separation from God? See how cleverly disguised these wolves are!
They would have us believe that all can be well with our souls simply because God loves us, but without any mention of our sins or the need of repentance.
There is a no more vile and treacherous lie than the one that is sold to us as the cheap grace Gospel.
Any salvation without transformation will end in eternal separation from God.
Yet, you might ask, “What is wrong with speaking to others regarding the love of God?”
And certainly I enjoy meditating on the blissful thought that “God so loved the world,” but that thought must not come to the exclusion of what remains in that verse—He sent His one and only Son.
Why does God, by love, send His only Son?
Is it not because you and I are treading a path that ends in eternal destruction and separation from God? See how cleverly disguised these wolves are!
They would have us believe that all can be well with our souls simply because God loves us, but without any mention of our sins or the need of repentance.
There is a no more vile and treacherous lie than the one that is sold to us as the cheap grace Gospel.
Any salvation without transformation will end in eternal separation from God.
The person who shares a gospel that demands no repentance of sin, calls for no surrender of will, and simply insists belief for heaven is not a person of the flock but is a wolf seeking to lead others down the same fatal path that person is on.
Such a person warrants the sharp cursing of Paul in .
This easy believism that assures so many of heaven leaves people still living like hell, and as such has negatively impacted the church, as you will see.
As we begin to see the eternal danger of these pseudo-prophets, naturally a question arises...
The person who shares a gospel that demands no repentance of sin, calls for no surrender of will, and simply insists belief for heaven is not a person of the flock but is a wolf seeking to lead others down the same fatal path that person is on.
Such a person warrants the sharp cursing of Paul in .
This easy believism that assures so many of heaven leaves people still living like hell, and as such has negatively impacted the church, as you will see.
As we begin to see the eternal danger of these pseudo-prophets, naturally a question arises...
How then can we spot these wolves?
Matthew 7:16–
Verses 16 and 20 repeat the phrase “You’ll recognize them by their fruit,” and form a bookend of sorts drawing our attention to what Jesus is communicating in the middle.
You will recognize who by their fruit?
Well, that refers back to verse 15, the false prophets.
Looking further in verse 16, we see what Jesus means.
Grapes are not gathered from thornbushes, and figs are not produced among thistles.
This image would have been familiar for Matthew’s audience, since from a distance, buckthorns produced black berries that appeared to look like grapes; as well as thistles, who had flowers that could be mistaken for figs.
But the closer you got to these worthless plants, the sooner you realized that they provided nothing sustainable for life.
So too the false prophets.
From a distance they have the appearance of something beneficial, but when the vigilant draw near to look and to test, they find that these wolves do not provide life, but only death.
Likewise, healthy trees produce healthy fruit, and diseased trees produces rotten fruit.
Pretty simple, but the point is quit effective.
Healthy trees will not produce rotten fruit.
Diseased trees will not produce healthy fruit.
The genuine disciple will naturally produce fruit that is of eternal value.
The false disciple will produce nothing at all.
Jesus gives us this illustration in , where states that He is the vine and His disciples are the branches.
Those who abide in Him produce much fruit, but those apart from Him produce nothing at all.
These false prophets are the thorns and the thistles, from which nothing grows.
Because no fruit is produced, they are cut down and thrown into the fire.
The same judgment as we see in .
Likewise, healthy trees produce healthy fruit, and diseased trees produces rotten fruit.
Pretty simple, but the point is quit effective.
Healthy trees will not produce rotten fruit.
Diseased trees will not produce healthy fruit.
The genuine disciple will naturally produce fruit that is of eternal value.
The false disciple will produce nothing at all.
Jesus gives us this illustration in , where states that He is the vine and His disciples are the branches.
Those who abide in Him produce much fruit, but those apart from Him produce nothing at all.
These false prophets are the thorns and the thistles, from which nothing grows.
Because no fruit is produced, they are cut down and thrown into the fire.
The same judgment as we see in .
If we must spot the wolves, we must survey their fruit.
But what is fruit?
Well we could naturally start with what the Spirit produces according Paul in .
Wolves divide and separate, but those who are walking by the power of the Holy Spirit do no walk in conceit or in the flesh.
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