“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7: 15-23 ESV
Matthew 7: 15-23
But you know that the early church was so worried about this that they had in the Didach a few little rules to help them. Now, these are not written by God, but these are written by some folks at that time who wanted to have some criteria to judge a true prophet. So they said, “A true prophet is to be held in the highest honor; he is to be welcomed; and his word must never be disregarded, and his freedom must never be curtailed: but He shall remain in your house one day, and, if necessary, another day also; but if he remains three days, he is a false prophet.” Benjamin Franklin, in Poor Richard’s Almanac, said, “Fish and visitors smell in three days.”
Now, we’re not denying hospitality, and we’re not saying that you shouldn’t keep somebody, but when a man comes along and says he’s a prophet of God, they assume that if he was a prophet, he was on a mission. And if he was really on a mission of God, he would be busy about getting onto his mission, not hanging around taking in all the freebies he could get at your house. Now it says, “He must never ask for anything but bread. If he asks for money, he is a false prophet.” Ho-ho, how about that one? If he asks for money, he’s a false prophet. Boy, with a category like that, you could sure stuff a lot of folks in. “False prophets claim to speak in the Spirit, but there’s one acid test: By their character a true and a false prophet shall be known.
Every prophet that teaches the truth, if he does not what he teaches, is a false prophet.” If he wants ease, staying around your house, if he wants money, or if he doesn’t live up to his teaching. “If he claims to speak in the Spirit, but he sits down and orders a table and a meal to be set before him, he is a false prophet. Whosoever shall say in the Spirit: Give me money or any other things, don’t hear him; but if he tell you to give in the matter of others who have need, then he’s a true prophet. If a wanderer comes to a congregation, and wants to settle there, and if he has a trade, let him work and eat. If he has no trade, consider in your wisdom how he may not live with you as a Christian in idleness – And if he will not do this, he is a trafficker in Christ. Beware of him.”
Well, a false prophet’s always in it for himself – pad his own pocket, fill his own greed, prestige, power, importance, money, the whole thing. Be aware, because they’re out there. And listen, people, I’ll say it again: they’re not the apostates and the heretics. They’re the ones that most people think are Christians. There’s a fourth word, and that’s the word damnation – damnation. The false prophets have an end, you know. You say, “What’s their end?” Verse 22, they are going to say, “Have we not prophesied in your name?” We’ve been Your preachers, and by the way, the word prophet here is not used in a revelatory sense that they receive revelation from God. - J Mac
Beware of false prophets - Jesus, in the same tradition of the OT prophets and John the Baptist, comes with a message of repentance, and warning. The Bible spends much time on this, and remember the two verses previous to this warned us about a wide and a narrow way. False prophets don't come saying this is the wrong way, this is the way to hell, in fact, the way you can recognize many of them is that they rarely speak of hell, of sin, or eternal damnation. They try to focus on the vocabulary that we have in common. They say, "Jesus, love, Bible, unity, Christian," but they make another Christ, play down the atonement, want people to fill pews, give money and like them, so they make light of those things which God hated so much that the only way to redeem us was to kill His own Son. Now we know of cults like Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Scientology and so on, those are easy to spot, but this passage goes deeper. So how do we spot these wolves?
1If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, 2and if the sign or wonder he has spoken to you comes about, but he says, “Let us follow other gods (which you have not known) and let us worship them,” 3you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.… Deuteronomy 13: 1-3
Come to you in sheep's clothing - They look like one of the flock, and more appropriately, the shepherd, as they speak as if God has spoken through them, given them a sign, a vision, and they often claim that they have performed wonders. If you look at Deuteronomy 13 above, the greatest qualifier was not whether what they said came to past, it had to, otherwise they would be disqualified, but if what they predicted did come to pass, yet they led people astray, brought people into idolatry, in other words, if their claim of God was not matched with obedience to God's word, His law, then they were disqualified. They come wearing the clothing of a shepherd or back then some would put on camel's hair to look like Elijah or John the Baptist, hoping that people would see the outer garment and be deceived.
…3And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not remain alive, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the LORD.’ When he prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will pierce him through. 4And on that day every prophet who prophesies will be ashamed of his vision, and he will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. 5He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for I was purchased as a servant in my youth.’… Zechariah 13: 3-5
But inwardly are ravenous wolves - Not just wolves, but wolves with an adjective, ravenous, meaning "extremely hungry, voracious." Note, they aren't really sheep, so they aren't there looking for the best parcel of grass; they are looking to take down the weak of the herd, that's the meal they want. In Zechariah above they wore the cloak of the prophet to deceive. The true prophets wore these clothes showing their separation from the world, that they didn't care for the company of kings and so called nobles; they weren't here to grow fat off the word of God, and they came with a message that wasn't soft. Today and in every era, men try to take the name prophet, and use it to cash in, to win your favor, to work open your wallet. Zechariah prophesied of a time when people would no longer fall for this, and so there wouldn't be so many running around, desiring for you to believe they are prophets.
You will recognize them by their fruits - Words are not enough, as we said above, in Deuteronomy the words could have been true, but here it is, the fruit, that's how you will know them. Eventually the heart is seen through the mouth, through greed, an extravagant lifestyle, sexual perversion, and what they leave out from the gospel story. They will often think little of repentance and the easiest to spot will have really poor doctrine, think much of feelings, emotions, experiences, and unity at the cost of the truth. Those are the seemingly easy to spot, yet they have the minds of millions worldwide. The more difficult will be those with mostly good doctrine, but who lead lives characterized by unforgiveness, well hidden sexual sin, and pride, yet they walk in the same circles as those who are trusted and well respected. They want to share a stage with them; they would take an invite to preach or commendation from a well respected theologian over that of God Himself, because they really don't know Him. They prefer the esteem of men, and so often will turn to worldly philosophy and the wisdom of the age.
…15The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies. 16For those who guide this people mislead them, and those they mislead are swallowed up. 17Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.… Isaiah 9: 15-17
8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ. 9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.… Colossians 2: 8-9
…16He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing. 18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.… 2 Peter 3: 16-18
Thus you will recognize them by their fruits - What are the different kinds of fruit? How do we judge the real effect of a ministry?
…22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.… Galatians 5: 22-24
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, 9for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. 10Test and prove what pleases the Lord.… Ephesians 5: 8-10
…9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have full endurance and patience, and joyfully… Colossians 1: 9-11
3If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching, 4he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and semantics, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions, 5and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.… 1 Timothy 6: 3-5
…5For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God? 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same condemnation as the devil. 7Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.… 1 Timothy 3: 5-7
Not everyone who says Lord, Lord - They claim the name, they say, "Jesus", even referring to Him as Lord, but under close scrutiny, when we inspect theme according to the word of God, their claims are not supported.
14If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it. 15If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—… John 14: 14-16
Did we not prophesy in Your name - They will use the right names, some will be fairly sound in 95% of their doctrine, but in the end they will usher people to themselves, which will be the entry of the wide gate. To prophesy encompasses not only the gifts of foretelling, but that which continues on even now, which is preaching. An easy way to be rid of a vast many of the false prophets is to realize that the Scriptures are sufficient, that they are sealed, so when someone comes and says, "I have a fresh word, the Lord told me, or God spoke to me", just get up and leave. Those that truly prophesy today are those that correctly divide the word of truth, that put God's word in the same place He does, with His name. Bad doctrine is not a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
…15From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.… 2 Timothy 3: 15-17
1Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else. 3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138: 1-3
Cast out demons and do many mighty works in Your name - There is a movement even now that speaks heavily of such things, and they have been widely embraced by the evangelical crowd, and that is the charismatic/Pentecostal movement. These teachers don't care so much for the fruit that God describes, but they know there needs to be fruit, so they choose their own value system. Did we not sing good, make you feel something, put on a good show, don't you want to be healthy and rich? People are supposedly getting healed by their ministries, and they are all about blaming the devil for bad things in people's lives and then binding him and supposedly casting out demons. Unfortunately they are not good at keeping him bound so he gets out every few weeks, right around the time they need more money, and so they hold another revival or healing service, in God's name.
…24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible. 25See, I have told you in advance. 26So if they tell you, ‘There He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.… Matthew 24: 24-26
I never knew you - Though they claimed Jesus name, did things in His name, yet it was not the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but their own vanity. Sadly, many people follow even those who make such claims, that are even proven false, those they should have turned away from long ago because of their unsound teaching and arrogance. Places like Hillsong, false teachers like Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen and many others of that genre need to pay attention, but you that follow them and make excuses for them also need to beware.
…2Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.… 2 Timothy 4: 2-4
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