Matthew 7:15-20 Luke 6:43-45

Matthew 7:15-20 15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Luke 6:43-45 43 “For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. 44 “For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. 45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

Counterfeits always try to be as much like the “real thing” as possible so they cannot be discovered.  The more valuable something is; the more persistent people become in striving to counterfeit it.  The truth of God’s Word is one of the most valuable things on earth.  Which is why Satan is so determined to destroy God’s Word, deceive God’s followers and distract people from God’s Word.  Jesus warns His disciples to be prepared to face false teachers, teaches them how to identify false teachers and then lets them know what will happen to them.  The key to dealing with false teachers is to be alert.  Since the truth is so valuable it will always come under attack.  We must watch carefully for these attacks so they don’t take us by surprise.

THE EXPECTATION OF FALSE TEACHERS: Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets who will come disguised as sheep, when they are actually wolves.  False teachers should never take us by surprise.  Scripture repeatedly warns us of their existence.  Unfortunately, they don’t come identified as false prophets.  I would be helpful if they came with name tags or something like that.  Every false teacher tries to pass himself off as a truth teller.  Then once they have gained access to the congregation they begin to cause problems.  Just like wolves devour sheep; false teachers want to destroy the faith of the followers of Jesus.  A wise shepherd knows that wolves are out and on the prowl for tasty sheep.  Wise believers will be constantly on the lookout for false teachers.  It is not a matter of if they will appear, but when they will appear.

THE EXAMINATION OF FALSE TEACHERS: Since false teachers come wearing disguises, we need to know how to go about identifying them.  Jesus teaches us that the best way to be able to identify a false teacher is to examine their lives.  Just like good trees produce good fruit and bad trees produce bad fruit; false teachers can be identified by their lives.  Eventually the heart of a false teacher will be revealed by what comes out of his mouth.  Sinful practices and lies will inevitably come to the surface in the lives of false teachers.  People can only mask their true identities for so long.  Any time someone teaches we need to examine their words carefully as well as examine the works of their lives.  It is important to examine a fruit of the teacher’s life.  Just like we test a fruit before we taste it; we need to test the truths of all teachers before we follow them.

THE EXECUTION OF FALSE TEACHERS: False teachers may be successful and attract large groups of people, but as we saw in the previous text, the presence of many people is usually an indicator that we are not on the narrow path.  We must never become jealous of the “success” or prosperity of false teachers.  A time is coming when all false teachers will be exposed and judgment will be executed upon them.  Just like a worthless tree is chopped down and burned; false teachers will be removed and eternally judged.  When we see the results that false teachers experience, we can be tempted to join them.  We must never forget that God is a just Judge and He will see to it that the truth is revealed and that just judgment is executed.

APPLICATION: We must always be on the alert for false teachers and false teachings.  Always compare every teaching with the word of God to make sure that it is true.  Examine the lives of our teachers in order to determine their true identity.  Never be jealous of the temporary success of false teachers because they will eventually suffer eternal judgment.