If you want to find your place in the scriptures
as we resume our study in the book of Matthew,
we're still in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew
chapter 7. Our text this morning will be considering
verses 15 to 20. Our Lord speaking as he's coming
to the end of the sermon, he issues a warning.
He says, 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. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes
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 it is thrown
into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you
will know them. Let's pray. Father, Lord, once
again, Lord, we hear the word of the Lord, and
we hear the sober tone, and Lord, we do well
to stop what we're doing, and Lord, God, to take
heed, to listen. Father, would you give us ears
to hear. Lord, God, may the Spirit of God work
in your church this morning. Lord, remove distractions,
remove anything that would take our focus from
the word of God and help us, Lord, to see clearly,
Lord, what the meaning of this passage is and
to see how we need your son, Jesus, and his protection
over his people even more earnestly today. We
ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. We live in an
age of appearances. That's no surprise. So it's
an age of appearances where you have photos being
filtered and you have... online profiles. And
when we look at these online profiles, we see
that they are carefully curated. Houses, if you're
going to buy a house, oftentimes you'll go into
a home and the home is staged. And they do these
things so that they can exert influence or they
want to leave an impression. Usually the impression
is that one of perfection, like this is how it
always is going to look. But sadly, the reality
can never, ever live up to the hype. And we all
know that. We kind of have grown accustomed to
that. But what matters most in our culture is
how things look, not necessarily how things are.
It's just if it looks good, not that it is good.
So it's no surprise to us that we live in an
age of superficiality. Our culture lacks depth.
There's really no substance in our culture. But
sadly, that same philosophy has been transferred
into the church or the spiritual realm as well.
There are many today who purport to speak for
God. There are many, many voices, a plethora
of voices, all claiming to be speaking the truth.
And yet they have divergent opinions. Well, who
should you believe? When you have multiple voices
all claiming to be the mouthpiece for truth,
who should you believe? Today, there are many
charismatic leaders, and they look great, and
they sound great, they're great with rhetoric,
but they're deceptively... leading people away
from the truth. And our Lord gives us a warning
in this particular passage. And basically we
start out and see that looks can be very deceiving.
Not everyone who is claiming to be speaking for
God actually has been sent by God. That's nothing
new from the earliest, from the dawn of time.
So Jesus then says, listen, he's issuing this
warning to his people. He says we are to be on
guard because, here's why we need to be on guard.
There are many counterfeits. There are many deceivers.
There are many prophets who are falsely preaching
who have infiltrated into the church of the Lord
Jesus. And that's the chief danger. Where do
these men come from? They don't come from without
the church. They arise from within. Someone who
openly denies Christ or someone who... comes
and denying a core tenet of the faith, they are
easy to spot. We know immediately that is a false
prophet. But what do we do from someone who arises
from within our own ranks and he begins to lead
people away subtly from the truth? The Apostle
Paul warned. He knew that he was going to be
leaving the earth. He knew that he was going
to die as a martyr. And he was very concerned
for what would take place upon his death. In
Acts chapter 20, he writes this. For I know this,
that after my departure, savage wolves will come
in among you. He's talking to the church. Not
sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves,
men will rise up, speaking perverse things. Now
notice this last phrase. To draw away the disciples
after themselves. Most false prophets, one of
the hallmarks of a false teacher or false prophets
is they want to make disciples or followers of
themselves rather than of Christ. And they're
going to do this ever so subtly. But the apostle
Peter, he issued the same warning. It wasn't
just Paul. Peter saw the same thing, and we see
that in 2 Peter. He says, but there were also
false prophets among the people. Go back to Old
Testament Israel. You see all the prophets, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, fighting against false prophets. He
said, even as there will be false teachers among
you in the church, who will secretly bring in
destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who
bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
And many, many is going to follow their destructive
ways because of whom the way of truth will be
blasphemed. Peter's like, listen, there's going
to be some people come into the church, and they're
going to be preaching a false message, and many
people will be led away, but they will be led
away to their destruction. The final judgment
of God. These deceivers, they claim to be Christians.
They look like Christians. They say they are
disciples of Christ, and yet they come and they
deceive others, but they also are deceived. See,
I don't think all false teachers realize they
are a false teacher. Now, some do. They're charlatans.
But others are deceived, and in their own deception,
they start to deceive other people. Now the context,
and we're in Matthew 7 here. This is the Sermon
on the Mount. Jesus has been speaking, and the
last time we met, Jesus said, there are just
two gates. There's a very wide gate. You can
go into it, and it'll lead to hell. And there's
a very narrow gate. And you enter into it, and
it'll lead to life. But he said, that wide gate
that leads to hell, it's an easy path. No briars,
no thorns, man, it's good, smooth sailing. That
narrow gate, it's a very difficult path. It's
full of heartache and affliction. But there are
also two groups. He said many people are going
to go into that wide gate, and only few will
go into that narrow gate. Now, immediately after
mentioning the narrow gate, That leads to life.
Jesus then issues this warning. Which is our
text this morning. He's warning the people about
false prophets. And he's saying listen. There
will be false teachers. They're going to come
on the scene. They're going to look attractive.
They're going to sound very persuasive. But they
will be on that broad easy way. That leads to
destruction. They're standing there. And they're
beckoning people. Come enter into this wide gate.
There's plenty of room for you here. All is well.
And it sounds good. And by the way, usually what
they say has an element of truth. Almost every
deceiver, they don't come with blatant lies.
That's easy to detect. There's an element of
truth. It's just not the whole truth. It's not
completely revealed. So they dressed like sheep.
They're dressed like sheep. That means they look
the part of God's people. They sound and look
like Christians. And that's what they claim.
They claim to belong to God. So you and I, Should
not be surprised at this at all. We should not
be surprised that this is the case. Why? We have
an enemy who hates God, hates Christ, hates the
gospel, hates the people of God, thus hates you.
We're told that he's a roaring lion going about
seeking whom he may devour. But listen, here's
how he devours. He devours by deception. This
is his chief tool. Satan and his demon horde
have infiltrated the church and they look like
they belong there. Paul wrote to the church at
Corinth and this is what he said. For such are
false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming
themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no
wonder, don't be surprised. For Satan himself
transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore,
it is no great thing if his ministers, if his
servants, the demons, the servants of Satan,
if they also transform themselves, notice, into
ministers of righteousness, whose end will be
according to the works. Do you see why this is
hard? Do you see why discernment is so needed?
Satan comes on the scene not looking like we
would expect Satan to look. It says he looks
like an angel of light. He looks like he's leading
people to the truth. And those whom he has sent,
also they pose as ministers of righteousness.
Looks indeed can be very deceptive. These people,
they have a lot of truth, just not the whole
truth. But how do you know they're not from God?
How do you know we're not deceived? How can you
tell the real from the counterfeit? Jesus said,
by their fruit. Study them. Watch their lives.
Ultimately, their works will reveal their character.
The narrow way that leads to life, it is a way
of self -denial and humility. The false prophets,
they're going to come on the scene and they're
going to speak of self -fulfillment and even
comfort. They appeal to the flesh. They gather
a following. They gather disciples. They promise
them an easy road. So what they're doing, they're
appealing to the sinfulness of man. But they
don't say that, of course. What is the essence
of sin? It is self -centeredness. Isaiah 53 verse
6 says, We all like sheep have gone astray and
turned every man to his own way. So that means
we've all turned away from God. That's what's
wrong with the world today. We are born away
from God. We're turned away from him. We've left
following him and what do we do? We start to
follow our own devices, our own imaginations,
our own plans. And we don't factor God into the
equation. So fallen man, there's only self -interest
in view. That's all he can have. He can't have
any God interest. It was Augustine and later
Luther, centuries later, they... coined this
Latin phrase, and they talked about man being
curved in on himself. In Latin, it's incurvatus
in se. Incurvatus, curved, in se, toward oneself.
You are bent in on yourself, and this is the
natural way of man. We would say at conversion,
you're excurvatus ex se. You're bent away from
yourself and toward God. We have turned inward.
Not just as every man on the planet. Every woman
on the planet, we're turned away from God, and
we start to focus on our own desires, and man
desires to be his own master. This is the essence
of sin. This is what it means. The sinner's anthem.
Some of you are probably familiar with this.
There's a famous poem called Invictus. You may
not remember the poem, but you'll remember these
lines. In this poem, Invictus, that last stanza,
it says this. It matters not how straight the
gate, how charged with punishment the scroll.
I am the master of my fate. I am the captain
of my soul. That's what man believes. That's
what he truly is. Man wants no one to rule over
him except himself. And the false prophets will
appeal to that all day long. Sinners can take
God's gifts. They will even take God himself
and somehow they'll twist them and make them
about themselves. That's how this works. The
gravitational pull of sin. is inward. It's as
though we are walking black holes. We just suck
everything in. You're connecting all the dots
back to you. The sinner makes everything about
himself. And the false teachers, being very clever,
they appeal to this self -interest. They know
that man has a desire for gain. Man has a desire
for pleasure. Man has a desire for comfort. Well,
let me package that and sell it in the name of
Jesus. Yet the Lord Jesus said, no. He's the
man of sorrows. He said that narrow gate, it's
a hard way. It's a difficult way. Oh, it's worth
it because it leads to life. So the question
we need to ask this morning is how can you and
I safeguard ourselves against the false teachers
of Christianity? Again, it would be easy if we're
a couple miles down the road on 141 and we're
at the Arian church known as the Jehovah's Witnesses
and they deny the deity of Christ. That's an
easy thing to spot. It's low -hanging fruit.
But that's not what we're talking about. So how
do you spot counterfeit? Well, we're told those
who deal in counterfeit money, they don't spend
their time studying counterfeit money. What do
they spend their time studying? Real authentic
currency. So I'm going to suggest to you at the
very beginning, the lion's share of our time
ought to be spent studying and meditating on
the truth. Why? Because soon as you know the
truth, then when something comes that deviates
from it, you will immediately be able to spot
it. I don't think it is helpful. To spend inordinate
amounts of time studying heresies and false teachings.
Now you need to know some. But I'm talking about
spending all your time studying what's false.
No. So acquaint yourself with the truth. You
have it so deeply ingrained it's in your DNA.
That when something comes and it doesn't measure
according to that rod of truth. You immediately
reject it. J .C. Ryle said this. What is the
best safeguard against false teaching? Beyond
all doubt. The regular study of the word of God
with prayer for the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
Amen. The Bible was given to be a lamp to our
feet and a light to our path. The man who reads
it aright will never be allowed greatly to err.
It is neglect of the Bible which makes so many
a prey to the first false teacher whom they hear.
This is why people are rife with appealing to
false teachers today is because doctrine is not
taught. We don't have truth being presented.
We have a lot of TED Talks behind a pulpit. And
that's not going to prepare you to stand against
the evil day. So Jesus says, beware. That means
pay attention to, and by the way, it's a command.
He says, you better be cautious. You better be
aware of the danger that is lurking about you.
But how many of us live our lives like that?
There's danger around us. Most of us don't. But
he said, this is the duty of every Christian,
and it is certainly the duty of every church.
Be on guard that not everyone who looks good
is good. Not everyone who comes in the name of
Christ has been sent from Christ. Let's just
start there. Not everyone who says Jesus really
means Jesus, the son of God, the divine one sent
for the salvation of sinners. Now Satan's going
to be sure that the truth of the gospel does
not go unchallenged. Absolutely. So that means
you and I can no longer be naive. Ignorance is
not our friend. You and I are involved in a spiritual
war. But as soon as I said spiritual war, some
of you probably bristled a little bit. Oh, come
on, Pastor. Spiritual war? I mean, doesn't that
kind of like sound Star Wars, Star Trek -y? It's
a little unsophisticated for our modern age.
I mean, we're too enlightened. We're 21st century
people. And I will admit it does not sound sophisticated
and people will mock us for believing that you
and I are in a war against unseen forces. But
if I believe the word of God, that's exactly
what it teaches. Ephesians 6, Paul, the erudite
scholar, he says, put on the whole armor of God
that you may be able to stand against the wiles,
the schemes of the devil. Why? For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, powers. the rulers in darkness
of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places. Therefore, because that
is true, you better take up the whole armor of
God so that you may be able to withstand in the
evil day, having done all to stand. He says,
listen, if you think this is funny, if you think
this is just one big cosmic joke, you're going
to fall and you will fall hard. If you're going
to take seriously your walk with Christ, you're
not going to go unopposed. We live in a world
in which we are under attack and bombarded daily.
We live in spiritual warfare, which is why we
need to pray and we need the church and we need
the ordinance and sacraments of the church and
we need the prayers of God's people. We need
the means of grace that God has given. Paul told
the church, hey, listen, you do not. In 2 Corinthians
11, he said, or yeah, 2 Corinthians 2, do not
be ignorant of Satan's schemes. Why? Because
he's going to take advantage of you. That's what
happens. Now, there's three different types of
false prophets. We'll go through these quickly.
There are heretics, there are apostates, and
then there's what we would call false teachers.
So first of all, heretics. What's a heretic?
Heretics are those who openly reject the word
of God. and teach what is contrary to divine
truth. They're going to come on, deny the virgin
birth. They're like, come on, a virgin conceiving?
No, that didn't happen. They're denying the supernatural.
They're heretics. They're going to deny the bodily
resurrection of Christ. Come on, the dead don't
rise. They're not going to believe that. That's
a heretic. They deny revealed truth. They're
heretics. Then you have the apostates. These
people, they once followed the true faith. They
were numbered amongst the people of God. But
they turned away from it. They rejected it. They're
now leading others astray. Today, the modern
term, you can see it online a lot, is these are
those who have deconstructed. They no longer
claim to be a Christian. So they once embraced
the truth, they once held the truth, and now
they openly deny it. They're apostates. Heretics
and apostates do not represent biblical Christianity.
But lastly, here's the most deceptive ones. We
come to the false shepherds, the false teachers.
We can say in our text the false prophets. These
are the deceivers. They claim to be orthodox.
They give the appearance of truth. So these people
will speak favorably of Christ. They will talk
about the cross. They will talk about the Bible,
the Holy Spirit. They will associate and even
be among true believers. So they're given the
appearance that they're one of us. They appear
orthodox. They appear fundamental. They appear
evangelical. So that means they look like a believer.
They sound like a believer. But they are deceptive
liars. Jude chapter 4. Jude says, listen, certain
men have crept in unnoticed who long ago were
marked out for this condemnation. Who are they?
Ungodly men. But notice what they do. They turn
the grace of our God into lewdness. They use
grace as an excuse for sin. And they deny the
only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. They
deny him by their works, by the way. Now, in
our passage, Jesus is speaking to a group of
people that assembled on that hillside. But who
are the false teachers that Jesus is referencing?
Clearly, without a doubt, it's been in view the
whole time, the scribes and the Pharisees, the
religious leaders of his day. These men were
claiming to be spokesmen for God. They were the
self -proclaimed spiritual leaders. They were
the guides of the blind, the people leading ones
to God. They looked holy. They sounded holy.
And Jesus said, oh, they're hypocrites. They
were whitewashed tombs that looked only good
on the outside, but inside were just dead. Self
-serving men. But here's the problem. This is
what you and I know for the word of God tells
us this. They loved the praise and acclaim of
man. In just one chapter back, the same sermon,
Jesus said these men, these religious leaders,
they do their charitable deeds before men to
be seen by them. They were hoping someone would
catch them in the act of praying and then compliment
them. Chapter 6, verse 2. So that they may have
glory from men. They love titles like rabbis.
They love being called pious and holy. They love
being invited to the feast. Verse 3, verse 5.
They did everything to be seen by men. See, they
looked religious. No one looked more religious
than Pharisees. But Jesus said, no, their true
motivation was not to receive glory from God.
It was to receive glory from man. They were itching
for commendation. I just hope someone notices.
Let me sound a trumpet so that people can take
notice of how much I'm giving right now. And
they twisted the word of God and they elevated
their own man -made traditions higher than the
word of God. But listen, they didn't make life
easier. They made it more strict. That was the
irony here. In Mark chapter 7, Jesus speaking,
he says, Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes
came together to him. They came from Jerusalem.
So they came from the headquarters. Now, when
they saw some of the disciples eat bread, that's
Jesus' disciples, eat bread with the file that
is unwashed hands, they found fault. So they
were really upset. You know why? These guys just
took a bite of a sandwich and didn't wash their
hands first. Now, is there any command that you
must wash your hands? No. Is it a good idea?
Yeah, probably. But these people aren't doing
it for the right reasons. For the Pharisees and
all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their
hands in a special way. Notice the phrase, holding
to the tradition of the elders. Not God. Now
when they come from the marketplace, they don't
eat unless they wash. Why? Because sometimes
you would interact with the Gentile and Gentiles
to them were unclean. So we better wash that
Gentile dust off of us. So when you come back
from the market. And then he said, there are
many other things which they have received and
hold, like the washing of cups and pitchers and
copper vessels and couches. Then the Pharisees
and scribes asked him, hey, Jesus, why don't
your disciples do what we do? Why don't they
walk, notice the phrase again, according to the
tradition of the elders. But they're over there
eating bread, and they didn't even wash their
hands first. And in my mind, I'm thinking, you've
got to be kidding. Who are they, the hygiene
police? No, listen. Jesus said, well did Isaiah
prophesy of you hypocrites. As it is written,
you honor me with your lips, but their heart
is far from me. He said, stop it, guys. He can
see right through their charade here. He said,
in vain they worship me. Why? Why is vanity?
Why is worship vanity? They teach as doctrines
the commandments of men, right? So that's the
vanity there. You don't get to worship God in
any way we choose. For laying aside the commandment
of God, you hold the tradition of men. The Washington
pictures and cups and many other such things.
He said them all too well. You reject the commandment
of God in order that you may keep your tradition.
Verse 13. Thus, making the word of God of no
effect through your tradition, which you have
handed down, and many such things you do. And
friends, this is the absolute denunciation of
these people. They sounded pious. If you looked
at them, they looked pious. They sought to act
pious. They gave. They prayed. They worshipped,
supposedly. Strictly worshipped. And this is
how they were able to deceive so many. Jesus
said, you go and you make a proselyte twice the
son of hell. These men aren't servants, guys.
What did Jesus come to serve, right? Not to be
served, but to give his life as a ransom for
many. These guys didn't serve. They loved to
be served. They loved position. They loved status.
They loved elevation in the community. And Satan
used their greed and their love of praise to
blind them to the truth of Christ. Now notice
the clothing. Jesus uses a great illustration.
Christians are referred to as sheep. Who belong
to the flock of God. He said, these guys come
to you in sheep's clothing. But inside they're
ravenous wolves. Now the natural enemy to the
sheep is the wolf. Ferocious, will rip sheep
apart if allowed to. These false prophets, they
come. Hey, I'm a part of you. I'm one of the
flock. But inside, secretly, there are wolves
who want to devour that flock. They don't want
to. feed the flock of God. They want to feed
upon the flock of God. And the problem is that
these false teachers are more dangerous than
actual wolves. Oh yeah, a real wolf can hurt
you physically. He could even take your life.
But through deception, these false prophets lead
you to hell. Eternal run. They're going to use
God's name. They're going to quote scriptures.
They're going to preach messages. But these messages
will appeal to the flesh and they're going to
actually seek to devour the very flock they're
claiming to serve. This is why it's so dangerous.
We live in a dangerous age. Now, if we know who
our enemy is, it is much easier to be prepared.
But the problem, what happens when the enemy
comes looking like your friend? Remember in the
Vietnam War, Vietnam conflict? That was one of
the problems people had. You had the North Vietnamese
and the South Vietnamese, and they looked exactly
alike, which made it much more difficult to know
who the real enemy was. See, false teachers,
guys, false prophets are not going to come into
the church and openly deny a core tenet of the
faith. They're much too savvy for that. They
won't do that. They will not deny out loud. In
their heart, they may. They're not going to deny
the deity of Christ or the virgin birth or salvation
alone by grace alone through faith alone. But,
listen, they will ignore those teachings. They're
not going to preach on those things. They do
not preach the whole counsel of God's word. They're
going to cherry pick. They're going to pick and
choose selective tasks, selective texts. They
want to tickle ears. Why? They appear nice, charismatic
guys, winsome guys. And the whole time they're
drawing people toward themselves and drawing
people toward themselves or drawing people away
from Christ. Many times, this happens especially
in our day, in our country, many of them are
involved in Christian service for financial gain.
That's all they do. They are merchants of Christ.
They peddle Christ. They sell him. When Paul
was writing to Titus about false teachers, here's
what he said. Whose mouths must be stopped, who
subvert whole household, teaching things they
ought not. Why do they do it? For the sake of
dishonest gain. There's financial profit there.
This is sad. So many who claim to be Christian
teachers, they make huge profits, live luxuriously.
How? Off of God's naive sheep. They have multiple
mansions, luxury cars, private jets, and when
they ask them about it, they're like, oh, that's
a sign of God's blessing. See, I must be preaching
the truth. Look how God has blessed me. He wouldn't
bless a sinner. And man's like, that's right.
That is a sign of God's blessing. But true servants
don't peddle Christ. They preach Christ. They
proclaim him as Lord and Savior. Why? Because
we are not in need of his blessings. We are in
need of his grace, being desperate sinners. So
these false teachers, many live in luxury. But
listen, there's an opposite spectrum. On the
other hand, there are some who will take vows
of poverty in order to faithfully serve Christ.
Now some of them, I'm not saying all, Some of
them become proud of their poverty. And they
take pride in their ascetic lifestyle because
somehow this earns them merit before God. But
Paul, he denounced those who were in ministry
for financial gain. But then over here to the
Colossian churches, he said, listen, guys, stop
it. Don't allow those people who just think because
they can deny the body that they think that's
impressive to God. Colossians 2. He says, therefore,
if you died with Christ from the basic principles
of the world, why, as though living the world,
do you subject yourselves to regulations? What
are they? Don't touch, don't taste, don't handle,
which all concern things which perish with using,
according to the commandments and doctrine of
men. Now notice this last phrase. They do have
an appearance of wisdom. They look good in self
-imposed religion. This isn't command from God.
You're not commanded to abstain from meat on
a certain day of the week during a certain period
of the year. False humility. Neglect of the body.
But they're no value at all against the indulgence
of the flesh. They don't help you because you
can become proud of how strict you are. So what
do you do? You behold Christ. What is sad is
that so many of these people, they're deceived,
believing that they're serving God by what I'm
doing. I'm living so very strictly. I'm living
so very tightly for God. They're deceived. And
then you have some of the charlatans who know
they're fleecing the sheep. They're just doing
it because they can get rich off of you. Now
if the situation is so dangerous and the outcome
is so desire, heaven versus hell, We better be
able to tell who's who. Jesus said, you will.
A tree is known by what it produces, right? How
do you know it's an apple tree? There's apples.
How do you know it's a lemon tree? Well, there's
lemons. Likewise, how do you know it is a servant
of Christ? It will not be because how attractive
he is or how winsome he may speak, but look at
the fruit of his life. You better know these
people. For instance, if you ever have to call
another pastor, you better know what he's like
before you call him. Look at the character of
his life. And the fruit that's speaking here
is a fruit of their actions, their character,
their obedience to God, the way they rule their
house. We know when Paul is laying down criteria
for bishops. It's the same word. There's bishops,
elders, and pastors. All three refer to the same
office. Presbyteros, episkopos, and then poinos.
So, point main, all those concerned in the same
office here. But with laying down qualifications,
1 Timothy 3, notice how he said this is how you
evaluate him. Look at what Paul's looking at.
Character. A bishop must be blameless, the husband
of one wife, temperate, sober -minded, good behavior,
hospitable. Now, he must be able to teach. Not
given to wine. He can't be a drunkard. Not violent.
Can't be greedy for money. Gentle. not quarrelsome,
not covetous. He rules his own house well, having
his children in submission with all reverence.
Moreover, and that's by the way, I have little
children. Here I have four of them. You all need
to look and see if my children become insubordinate
and absolutely out of control. You ought to remove
me from this office. Now listen, they're going
to run after church and if you're saying, hey,
they're running, listen, that's not what we're
talking about here. They will be running. I get
on them. They're still going to run. They're
kids. So they're not going to be perfect. But
if they are insubordinate and I don't have control
over my house and I'm being serious, I or Kyle,
get us out. Take us out. That's what Paul said.
Moreover, he must have a good testimony among
the outside. If people outside in the community
say, man, that guy is a shard, that guy rips
us off, that guy doesn't pay anything, he deceives
everyone, he takes advantage of everyone, get
me out. Why? Lest you fall under approach and
the snare of the devil. What did Paul focus on
there? Character. That's what God's word, that's
what is important to God. See, it's easy to look
at a decaying, rotten old tree and say, well,
that's a bad tree. That's not what Jesus is talking
about. What about the tree that looks healthy
and strong but has no fruit? That's a bad tree.
What about the tree that looks healthy and strong
but has bitter fruit or even poisonous fruit?
That's a bad tree. Jesus said this is easy. If
you see grapes, you know they're on a grapevine.
They're not coming from a thorn bush. If you
see figs, you know it came from a fig tree. It
didn't come from thistles. And he says, the lives
of false prophets cannot produce a godly fruit.
They'll hide for a while. They can. But eventually,
what's in here gets revealed out here. It always
does. Do you remember when John the Baptist,
and I'm trying to hurry up here. John the Baptist,
when he's talking to the scribes and Pharisees,
he said, you need to bring forth fruit in keeping
with repentance. What did that mean? What he
meant was your actions, not your words, will
show if you really repented. He said, I don't
care what you say, I want to see what you're
doing. That shows your repentance. So how do
you discern a false prophet? What do they teach?
So first of all, listen, if he's teaching error,
he's false. So do they teach the full counsel
of God's word? Do they hold to an orthodox confession?
This is why I'm a big fan of confessional Christianity.
We have confessional statements. Can they agree
to that? Do they preach the true gospel? Are
their sermons centered on Christ or do they make
it about you? False teachers make everything
about you because sinners love that. How do they
live? Are they serious? Take what they're doing
seriously? Are they humble? And again, no one
does this perfectly. You're saying, Pastor Ryan,
you can be arrogant. Yes, God help me there.
Self -controlled? Do they live modestly? Are
they always wanting to talk about money and wealth
and influence? Do they see those signs as a source
of God's blessing? What is the result? Are people,
and this is I think the key, are people made
to be more disciples of Christ or are they making
them disciples of themselves? Some people elevate
themselves way too much. They want to have control
over your life. Friends, I am not your priest.
I am not your prophet. I can't tell you what
to do. I am here as one who proclaims the word
of God, period. Martin Lloyd -Jones spoke about
this. He was a British doctor, was rising in
the ranks there in London, had all the world
before him. And he actually saw a man lose someone
who's very carefully to him. And he said, that
man sat there despondent, looking to the fire
for two hours. And he said, it changed my life.
And he left medicine to go into the ministry.
That's Martyn Lloyd -Jones here. Became a very
famous British pastor. He said, a Christian can
generally be known by its very appearance. The
man who believes in the holiness of God and who
knows his own sinfulness and the blackness of
his own heart, the man who believes in the judgment
of God and the real possibility of hell and torment,
the man who really believes that he himself is
so vile and helpless that nothing but the coming
of the Son of God from heaven to earth and his
going to the bitter shame and agony and cruelty
of the cross could ever save him and reconcile
him to God, this man is going to show all that
in his personality. He is a man who is bound
to give the impression of meekness. He is bound
to be humble. Our Lord reminds us here that if
man is not humble, be wary of him. He can put
on a kind of sheep's clothing, but that's not
true humility. That's not true meekness. And
if a man's doctrine is wrong, it will generally
show itself at this point. He will be affable
and pleasant. He will appeal to the natural man
and the things that are physical and carnal,
but he will not give the impression of being
a man who has seen himself as a hell -bound sinner
and who has been saved by the grace of God alone.
Amen, Dr. Jones. False teachers, they're not
going to preach the depravity of man. They're
not going to preach repentance from sin. They
don't preach the terms that the Lord Jesus laid
down in discipleship, which include taking up
your cross and being willing to follow him, even
in suffering if need be. They're going to preach
an easy road, an easy path, wide gate, broad
way. They preach that you can have heaven on
earth now. Arthur Pink says, any preacher who
rejects God's law, who denies repentance to be
a condition of salvation, and there are some
here today in our land, in our county, who deny
repentance, who assures the giddy and godless
that they are loved by God, who declares that
saving faith is nothing more than an act of the
will, which every person has the power to perform,
that man is a false prophet and should be shunned
as a deadly plague. Wow. So what's the conclusion?
Look at the last verse. Well, look at verse 19.
I went to verse 20. Go back to verse 19. Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down
and thrown into the fire. It's judgment time.
The stakes could not be higher. Friends, God
will hold men accountable. Those who have misled
others will face the fierce judgment of God,
which is why James says, don't be many teachers
for you will receive the greater condemnation.
God is not indifferent to what is taught into
his people. He's not indifferent to what is being
taught in his church. Corruption is taken very
seriously. What's the point of a fruit tree that
bears no fruit? It's just taking up space, cut
it down and burn it. Jesus already told us, wide
gate, easy road leads to destruction. They are
so deceived and blinded by Satan. These men can't
even perceive that they're on that way that is
headed for hell. may allow false teachers to
rise within the church for a season. He will,
but not forever. See, friends, this is the truth
of Scripture, and it's all throughout. Judgment
Day is coming when all will be revealed. All
the false teachers are going to be unmasked.
They will be exposed for what they truly are.
So knowing the stakes are so high, you and I,
friend, today our call is to be more discerning.
Be on guard in the pulpit. Be on guard in the
pew. Examine carefully those who have influence
in the church. Don't just allow anyone there.
Be vigilant to guard against error. How do you
do so? Love the truth. I close with this. Don't
be gullible where you believe everything. Don't
become so cynical and jaded that you believe
nothing, but become discerning where you test
all things by the word of God. Bad teaching,
that'll lead to bad living. Jesus said, by your
fruit you'll know them. Jim Boyce, that great
preacher in Philadelphia, he said, true teaching
involves realities of men's depravity and sin,
God's wrath and coming judgment, the need for
repentance, and the answer to man's sin in Christ's
vicarious atonement. Any teaching that omits
these truths or these elements is erroneous.
Hold fast, church. Hold fast the pattern of sound
words which you have heard from me, Paul said,
in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus.
Hold to this apostolic doctrine that was given
and has been passed down. Don't let it go. You
fight for your life and you absolutely stand
on the truth of this. If any man, doesn't matter
how good he looks and he comes and he's saying
anything other than those things, you get him
and remove him and don't allow him to have any
influence whatsoever. This is the call of God's
church to God's people. Let's pray. Father, I
thank you this morning, Lord. God, help us, Lord
God.