Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:15-20)
Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Introduction
Introduction
A warning against false teachers.
A warning against false teachers.
Jesus’ popularity meant that there would be those who would come and try to use Him to gather a following for themselves.
They would use language that sounded similar to His.
They would use His name to gain an audience.
This was something that one of Jesus’ half-brothers’, Jude, wrote about in his self-titled book.
These people creep into the communities of Jesus’ disciples and try to draw them away.
Jesus knew this would happen and predicts it here.
It happened to the early church.
It is still happening today.
Jesus warns that these false teachers try hard to conceal their true identity.
They enter in disguised as fellow sheep.
Underneath, they are ravening wolves.
What is a ravening wolf?
Is it a rabid wolf?
No, it is a wolf that is seeking to plunder and rob from the flock.
The theft that false teachers seek to engage in can have a variety of motives.
It’s probably money.
Power and influence.
Hatred for Jesus.
Love of self.
How are we as Jesus’ disciples supposed to know when we are facing a wolf like this?
Remember, they are disguised.
They are trying to remain hidden.
Jesus tells His listeners that they will know them based on their fruits.
Jesus tells His listeners that they will know them based on their fruits.
This seems like a sharp transition.
Gates to roads to sheep to trees?
I can’t help but think that from the vantage point of the mountain setting Jesus might not have seen all of these things and motioned to them.
A gate coming out of a nearby house that led to a path.
Sheep in a nearby pasture being watched over by a vigilant shepherd.
A small orchard or vineyard to give people a picture in their mind of what He is talking about.
Jesus listeners know that you can tell which trees are helpful by what they produce.
Maybe some of them had already been eyeballing some of those trees, thinking about wandering over there to get a snack.
Maybe on the other side there were thistles and thorn bushes.
Jesus speaks to those that are hungry in the audience and asks them where they would go look for food.
If you want grapes (as He points to the vineyard) would you go looking among the thorns (as He gestures to the thorn bushes).
Or, if you want figs (He points to the fig orchard down the road), would you go looking among the thistles (He plucks a thistle from the ground and holds it up).
The same is true, when it comes to knowing who to listen to.
There is an interesting lesson here.
The false teachers appear to be innocent and harmless.
They look like they belong to the rest of the group.
Their appearance disguises the danger that is lurking underneath.
Jesus clues us in on the fact that false teachers are betrayed by their fruits.
They may look like like one thing.
The output of their lives, however, reveals the truth.
There is no escaping this reality.
It built into the natural order of the created world.
A corrupt tree will produce corrupt fruit.
A good tree will produce good fruit.
You will never find good fruit on a corrupt tree.
Nor will you find corrupt fruit on a good tree.
This isn’t my opinion; this is truth from Jesus.
Can we see how this applies to the teachers, leaders, and influencers that are seeking our attention?
Before hopping on board with every internet teacher, we need to examine their fruit.
We need to see if the things that proceeding from their lives is worthy of our attention.
Not everyone who looks clean and uses Christian sounding words is a teacher we need to listen to.
What do we do with the trees/teachers that have bad fruit?
What do we do with the trees/teachers that have bad fruit?
Remove it’s influence.
Cut it down.
Cast it in the fire.
This sounds extreme.
This really isn’t talking about actual physical reprisals against false teachers.
It does mean that we need to root out their ability to influence us.
Remember this is not corrupt/evil fruit, it is also a disguised wolf that is looking to destroy the peace of Jesus’ followers.
Jesus’ disciples are precious to Him; He does not want harm to come to them.
Jesus also knows that if we follow a false teacher down a broad path, it will lead to our own destruction.
That’s why false teachers need to be avoided, discovered, and cast away.
They threaten the individual sheep.
They threaten the group.
They threaten the mission of Jesus.
This is why Jesus warns His disciples about the reality of false teachers, how to find them, and how to respond to them.
Application
Application
There are still false teachers trying to use Jesus to grow their own following.
False teachers have not gone away in the 2,000 years since Jesus gave this warning.
If anything they have only multiplied.
Their tactics have improved and it can be harder than ever to identify them.
Not every false teacher stands behind a pulpit.
Not every false teacher uses a lecture to spread their poison.
Sometimes, false teaching takes place in an informal counseling session with a “friend”.
We need to take a look at the fruit they are producing.
This too has become increasingly difficult.
Social media influencers, internet personalities, and podcasters can spout their teaching without any accountability.
These people maintain their anonymity and make it hard to examine the fruit of their beliefs.
Great care must be taken by Jesus’ modern disciples that they do not subject themselves to the teaching of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Many faithful disciples have been led astray because they allowed a false teacher to have a place of influence in their lives.
False teachers must be prevented from affecting us with their false teaching.
We may not be able to prevent them from initially entering our lives.
Once we become aware that a teacher or influencer is false, we need to drastic action to remove their influence.
Stop visiting that person.
Stop reading their blog or listening their podcast.
Stop letting the poison fruit that they are producing affect your life.
God is still trying to look out for His disciples.
He is warning us of the presence of false teachers.
He has given us the criteria for exposing them.
He has told us how to respond to them.