“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-16)
As we near the end of Jesus "Sermon on the Mount", He is concluding, first with a warning about listening to false prophets, or false teachers. Before bringing the children of Isreal into the promise land, God gave them a stern commandment about listening to false prophets: “Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, ‘Come, let us worship other gods’—gods you have not known before— do not listen to them. The Lord your God is testing you to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. (Deuteronomy 13:1-4 NLT) The warning still applies today! We are not to listen to false teachers (see Hear Man, but Listen to God), and we are not to listen to fortune tellers and the like (see World Being Prepared for the Deception). And as for these false teachers, God promises ...there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. (II Peter 2:1-3 NLT)
So how do we tell a false teacher from a legitimate teacher? Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (Matthew 7:16-20; Luke 6:43) For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:44-45) We will be able to tell by their life and their words, through the power of discernment that we have received from God, by His Holy Spirit. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. (I John 4:1-3)
“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. 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?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23) How sad it would be to get to the end of our lives, and then hear Jesus say depart from Me. It's been said many times, and it's worth repeating; we can fool man, but we can't fool God! (see Authentic: Reputation vs. Character) We can say the "right" things and put on the "religious" acts, but if we aren't saved, born again, filled with the Holy Spirit of God, it's all a show. And one day the "show" will be over, and we'll have nothing to "show" for it. A judgement day is coming, believe it or not, but it is; Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelations 20:11-14)
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. (Luke 6:46-48) “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (Matthew 7:24-25) If we profess and call ourselves Christians, we have to be "rooted" and "grounded" in the Word of God. We can't just be "hearers" of the Word, but we must be "doers" also! We have to be sure that our faith is built on a sure foundation; For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me [Paul, a teacher of God], as a wise master builder [teacher] I have laid the foundation [taught the Word], and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 3:9-11)
But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:49) “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:26-27) Jesus finishes His sermon by emphasizing the fact that we all have a choice to make, either we will believe and follow God, or believe and follow the lies of the world. If we have chosen to believe and follow God, ...we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, (Ephesians 4:14) but God will ...grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:15-19)
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matthew 7:28-29) This concludes the lessons of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount"! Refer to the previous lessons, to study the entire sermon in context:The "Beattitudes" Lesson!; "Salt & Light" Lesson!; Importance of The Commandments!; "You Shall Not Murder" Lesson!; "You Shall Not Commit Adultery" Lesson!; 'Til Divorce Do Us Part?; Watch Our Mouth, and Responses!; Don't Be A Hypocrite, A Show-off!; God and His Kingdom First!; Don't Judge; Be An Example!; Follow The Leader!; Not Just Hearers, but Doers Also!
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