Introduction

(Read Text): How many of you have ever been duped by a clever advertisement? You watch a commercial or you look at the packaging, and a product looks great. It seems like a good deal, and you buy it. But when the product comes in the mail or you open the box, you are deeply disappointed, because reality does not fit the advertising. Sadly, it’s probably happened to all of us at some point.

For example, when I was in elementary school, all my friends were very excited about Nike basketball shoes. They told me that the air pockets in the souls made the shoes light and bouncy, so I would be able to run faster and jump higher.

Like every boy in Illinois at that time, I wanted to be Michael Jordan, so that sounded awesome. I begged and begged for a pair of Nikes. When I finally got my first pair, I was so excited to test them out. I began to run and jump expecting to be like Mike. But as you would expect, my Nikes did not turn me into Michael Jordan. I was just as slow, and my vertical was as measly as ever.

It really is amazing how gullible we can be. Thankfully, most of the time it only costs us a few dollars and a slice of pride. But our text for today warns that spiritual gullibility can cost us our souls. Jesus commands us, “Beware of the false prophets.” He follows with a strong warning and very important instructions that we all need to hear whether we have been saved for 5 weeks or 50 years. The text begins in v. 15 with…

I.  The Command: Beware of false prophets (v. 15).

This warning was nothing new. Before Israel entered Canaan, Moses warned Israel in Deuteronomy 13 that false prophets would arise among them, and they must test their message. Some 800 years later, Jeremiah strongly condemned false prophets for deceiving Judah in God’s name.

The NT also aggressively confronts false prophets. Almost every epistle warns about false doctrine, and Galatians, Colossians, 2 Peter, 3 John, and Jude are almost entirely dedicated to confronting deceptive heresies.

I know that we can sometimes grow impatient with doctrinal preaching, and many American churches just want to talk about love and preach a positive message. But the Bible is clear that we cannot take doctrine for granted. We must know the truth and beware of false prophets. Why is that? Notice that Jesus paints a graphic image of these deceivers. They are “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Two important realities emerge from this image. First, false prophets are…

Deceptive: This makes sense. If someone showed up at your door and said, “Hi, my name is John, and I am here to destroy your soul,” how would you react? You’d slam the door in his face and warn your neighbors.

Because of this, influential false teachers don’t show up wearing a Satan costume. No, they use Christian language and appear like they belong. They want you to believe they are just another harmless sheep.

They get this strategy from Satan. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor 11:13–15).

False teachers say a lot of things that sound good. The problem is not what they say but the truths they leave out or hardly mention. That’s a problem because you can’t understand grace without judgment, Christ’s humanity without his divinity, the human side of Scripture without inspiration, God’s unity without the Trinity. Yet teachers slyly introduce heresy by only talking about one good side of the equation.

And they deceive the simple by exploiting fleshly desires. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (2 Tim 4:3–4). They use our passions against us.

I hope you all stay at Life Point forever, but if you ever need to look for a church, don’t just assume that every church has the same theology and philosophy, so I can just look for one that I enjoy. No, the first issue must always be faithfulness to the whole counsel of Scripture. The same goes for the books hat you read or the preachers you listen to.

Be discerning because false teachers don’t tell you they are wolves; no, they dress like sheep. They are very subtle and convincing. And sadly, I could tell you story after story of how they deceived and shipwrecked, even people who had known the truth for years. And it’s not just that they are deceptive. False prophets are also…

Destructive: Jesus says they are “ravenous wolves.” Similarly, Paul warned the Ephesian elders, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them” (Acts 20:29–30).

False teachers never seek the good of the sheep. They are violent and destructive. They only use the sheep to serve their selfish purposes.

Sadly, the American church is littered with slick-looking false teachers who can really butter up a crowd. They sound sincere, they have huge personalities, they’re funny, and they tickle people’s ears. So, they build massive empires with huge crowds, big buildings, large book sales, and (shhh) huge wealth.

But eventually, it all crumbles, and it becomes obvious that this man was never serving the Lord or the church; he was serving himself. His path is littered with wounded and dead sheep who believed a lie, gave sacrificially, never matured in Christ, or, even worse, were led away from the gospel.

I don’t care how compelling someone may be, run from any egomaniac pastor or preacher who uses God’s church instead of serving it. A faithful shepherd will imitate the Good Shepherd who said, “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that theymay have life, and have it  I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:9–11).

So, Jesus is clear. If you are going to thrive spiritually and care well for those around you, you must beware of false prophets. And then he follows by telling us how to spot them. Notice in vv. 16–20…

II.  The Test: Examine their fruit (vv. 16–20).

In isolation, v. 15 might cause you to panic. “How can I ever know the truth? How can I trust anyone?” However, vv. 16–20 reassure Jesus’ true disciples that through the wisdom of the Spirit, we can identify true and false teachers. Verse 16 assures us, “You will know them by their fruits,” and v. 20 repeats this assurance (read).

Jesus explains how by switching from a shepherding to farming. His first analogy is in v. 16b. The background to this verse is probably that from a distance, the berries on a buckthorn bush look like grapes. They can deceive you into believing that it’s a grapevine, not a useless buckthorn.

As well, the flowers on certain thistles look like the flowers on a fig tree. Again, they might initially deceive you into thinking that this is a precious fig tree, not a useless thistle.

But in both instances if you simply examine the fruit, the difference between buckthorn and grape vines or between a thistle and fig tree is obvious. Jesus encourages us to simply examine the fruit.

And then vv. 17–19 make a similar point by contrasting a healthy tree with a diseased tree. It’s not the same exact scenario, but these verses remind me of some apple trees we had when I was a kid. There were a couple of years when these trees were absolutely loaded with apples, and I remember getting really excited for them to mature. But late in the summer these huge webs full of worms began spreading all over the trees and eating the apples.

From a distance, the trees looked full of tasty apples, but if you closely examined an apple or bit into one, you would quickly see that it was full of worms and inedible. Similarly Jesus says that the condition of the fruit reflects the health of the tree. A beautiful, tasty apple tells you that the tree is healthy, but a blemished, sour apple tells you that the tree is diseased.

The point is that it’s not that difficult to tell the difference if you put forth some basic effort. Don’t settle for a first impression, and don’t ignore obvious danger signals because something is appealing. No take the time to examine the fruit, and you will be able to distinguish a false prophet or teacher from one who is truly from the Lord.

And then walk away from the false teacher and cling to the godly teacher whose fruit is consistent with Scripture. You can do this!

But all of this raises the question of what should you look for? I can’t give you an exhaustive list, but I’d like to mention 3 basic characteristics of good fruit.

Passion for Scripture and Truth: Again, 2 Timothy 4:2–4 says, “Preachthe word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, withgreat patience and instruction.For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

A trustworthy Bible teacher will always want to stay as close to the text as possible and be faithful to its meaning. In contrast, beware of any Bible teacher who plays fast and loose with the text.

He may talk a lot about the Bible. But if he abuses the text to serve his purposes rather than setting it in context and showing you what God meant, he’s not preaching the Word; he’s preaching his opinions.

He may still be orthodox, but he has compromised the foundation, and church history has demonstrated repeatedly that this never leads anywhere good. So, walk away from anyone who is more interested in telling his stories and his opinions than he is in preaching God’s Word.

Doctrinal Faithfulness: “Anyone whogoes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds” (2 John 9–11).

John couldn’t be clearer. It doesn’t matter how compelling or sincere someone may be. If they are not faithful to the theology and especially the gospel as presented in Scripture, they “do not have God.” And John says don’t even bring him into your house.

Now some guy may claim that he found something in Scripture that no one has ever seen before. But since we believe in the clarity of Scripture, we should be skeptical of anyone who claims to have found something that no one else saw for 2,000 years. That’s why doctrinal creeds and confessions are so valuable. They keep us anchored to what faithful churches have seen in Scripture for centuries. Value faithfulness over novelty.

Godly Life: 2 Peter 2:13–14 describe a group of false teachers by saying, “They count it a pleasure torevel in the  They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you,having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children.”

Sadly, I could tell story after story of men who abused women, abused power, and lied repeatedly. They got away with blatant ungodliness and continued to pastor and preach simply because they were so powerful and influential. But Jesus says, “You will know them by their fruits” not by how many books they sell or how big of a crowd they draw.

“The overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled” (Titus 1:7–8).

A godly life is a nonnegotiable for anyone who would speak on God’s behalf. Afterall, how can you trust someone to declare God’s truth if he will not submit himself to what it says?

So, beware of false prophets. They are everywhere in our society. Some of them appeal to your fleshly impulses. They tell you that you can love Jesus and disregard his moral demands. Others tell you that God wants to make you healthy and wealthy. Some spout off a bunch of psychobabble that makes you feel good about yourself, but it’s never anchored in the gospel. Others appeal to our pride by offering secret knowledge or a superior righteousness.

Whatever your fleshly impulse may be, there’s a guy on YouTube that will sell you a form of godliness that fits it. Don’t be deceived. Examine their fruit based on the Word of God.

But maybe you still aren’t convinced that any of this is that big of a deal. “There’s no way the guy I love is really that bad.” Or, “Pastor, don’t worry about it. It will all work out in the end.” Jesus responds in vv. 21–23 with a sober…

III.  The Warning: Many false believers will be condemned to hell (vv. 21–23).

These are some of the most sobering verses in the entire Bible. Jesus drives home the danger of false prophets by warning us about how deceitful they can be and destruction they will face. I’d like to make 3 observations from Jesus’ warning. First…

False faith can be impressive. First, v. 21 says that some of these false prophets call Jesus “Lord, Lord.” It’s true that the Greek term for lord, kurios, can be a general term for master. But the repetition of the title indicates that more is at stake. And in the context of the Gospels, it is a significant confession about the nature of Christ. To call Jesus Lord, is to confess him as the sovereign Savior who is the 2^nd person of the Trinity.

Now, to call Jesus Lord is not that uncommon in our context where many people have some loose connection with Christianity. But in the 1^st century world where Christianity was brand new and professing Christ as Lord could be very costly, it was a big confession. So, if someone boldly declared that Jesus is Lord, it caught your attention.

And then v. 22 takes it a step further. Jesus says that at the final judgment, some of these false prophets will remind Jesus of the impressive works they did in his name. And notice that “in Your name” is repeated with every phrase. They will ask, “Lord, Lord, did we not…”

BTW, Jesus gives no indication that they didn’t truly do these things. So, I don’t know about you, but if someone really does prophesy, cast out demons, and perform miracles in Jesus’ name, that’s going to get my attention.

Judas is the poster boy for this verse, because in Matthew 10 sends him and the other disciples out to do these very things, and apparently he did all of them in the name of Christ. And yet Judas never truly knew the Lord. It was all just a hypocritical show.

Now, you are probably wondering how is it possible that God would allow a false prophet to do these things? Jesus doesn’t say. Maybe they put on an impressive ruse like so many faith healers today. Maybe Satan empowers them as he did Pharoah’s magicians. Or maybe for some good reason God graciously strengthened them for reasons we don’t know.

But whatever it is Jesus makes a strong statement here that external signs and external fruit don’t necessarily equate with God’s approval. My 2^nd observation is that…

False faith will end in hell. Verse 21 says that just because someone professes Jesus as Lord does not mean they will enter the kingdom. And just imagine the emotion of vv. 22–23 playing out in real life. These guys show up at the judgment convinced of their credentials and proudly rattle them off.

But Jesus replies with the most gut-wrenching pronouncement of all, “I never knew you…” Notice that these people did not lose their salvation. Christ “never knew” them. As a result, they aren’t merely losing a reward. No, when v. 19 mentions the tree being “thrown into the fire,” v. 21 says they will not enter the kingdom, and v. 23 says “depart from me,” they all mean eternal condemnation in hell.

Jesus cannot be clearer. He will not judge by a human, fleshly standard. He will not be impressed with their show. They will face the worst judgment imaginable. So, how do we make sure that we never hear the horrid words of v. 23 for ourselves? The 3^rd observation is that…

Genuine believers pursue genuine obedience. Jesus already talked about “good fruit.” And notice the promise of v. 21b. This statement clearly reflects on the genuine righteousness that Jesus has articulated throughout the Sermon. He is saying as clearly as he can that true disciples do not merely say that Jesus is Lord. Nor do they merely put on an external religious show filled with almsgiving, showy prayers, fasting, or the items in v. 23. Jesus says that hell will be littered with people who did all those things in the name of Jesus.

Rather, the people who will be welcomed into the kingdom are the ones who “do the will of My Father.” They have a genuine heart of submission that doesn’t just talk the talk; it walks the walk.

Of course, Jesus is not saying that they earn salvation by their works, or that a believer can lose his salvation by slowing down. Verse 23 says, “I never knew you,” and the Bible is clear that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. So, what he is saying is that genuine faith is never alone. It always manifests itself in a transformed life.

So, this warning demands serious reflection. I want to ask you, what is the basis of your confidence for the day that you stand before the Lord? Do you expect God to welcome you into heaven because you grew up in a Christian home or because you prayed a prayer one time and asked God for forgiveness? Is your confidence that you call yourself a Christian or that everyone assumes you are one? Are you banking on ministry success?

Jesus is clear that if you are trusting in anything but Christ alone who has and is transforming your life, you will be gravely disappointed someday. So, please repent of your sins and be gloriously converted today. Get it settled.

And if you are saved, stay on the narrow path of v. 14. Do not be deceived by the showmanship, worldly pull, and popularity of false prophets and worldly religion. No, stay on the lonely, hard path of discipleship. By God’s grace, do the will of your Father every day. Confess your sins when you fail, and keep going. And do so with eyes of faith that believe God’s grace is enough to sustain you today and that see the heavenly prize at the end of the road is worth it all.