Greetings!
After giving the invitation to "enter by the narrow gate" (Matt. 7:13), to come to God by the only way He has provided, Jesus warns that not everyone who claims to belong to God and to speak for Him actually does so. When we stand at the crossroads of decision, we should remember that the true way to God is narrow and that the false way is broad; the true way is difficult and demanding, and the false way is easy and permissive; the true way has relatively few following in it, and the false way has many.
Jesus now says, in effect, "As you strive to enter that narrow gate and walk that narrow way that leads to life, beware of those who would mislead you. Just as there is a misleading gate and a misleading way, there are also misleading preachers and teachers who point to that gate and promote that way." Just like the false gate and way, they will claim to show the way to heaven and life, but they actually show the way to hell and destruction. The false gate has false prophets standing in front of it who seek to lead people into the false way and hinder them from entering the true.
In the present passage Jesus first gives a warning and then calls us to be watchful. Just as He described the true and false ways (Matt. 7:13-14), He now describes the true and false teachers of those ways.
BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS
MATTHEW 7:15-20
Part 5
THE DAMNATION
OF FALSE PROPHETS
Matthew 7:15 (NASB)
"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
The destiny of false prophets is only implied in Matthew 7:19, but it is made explicit in both the preceding and following passages. Because they enter by the wide gate and travel the broad way, their end is destruction (Matt. 7:13). And when they come before Jesus in the day of judgment and say "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?" He will respond, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:22-23).
Peter tells us that, along with the heretics and apostate false teachers, "their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep," that they will be kept "under punishment for the day of judgment," that like wild beasts they will "also be destroyed," and that "the black darkness has been reserved" for them (2 Pet. 2:3, 9, 12, 17; cf. Jude 13).
WATCHING
FOR FALSE PROPHETS
Matthew 7:16-20 (NASB)
"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."
After warning about "false prophets," Jesus tells us what to watch for in identifying them. Because they are so extremely deceptive and dangerous—ravenous spiritual and moral wolves in sheep's clothing—the Lord would hardly have left us without means of determining who they are.
FALSE PROPHETS
YOU WILL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS
Jesus assures us that we "will know them by their fruits." A fruit tree may be beautiful, decorative, and offer pleasant shade in the summer. But its primary purpose is to bear fruit, and it is therefore judged by what it produces and not by how it looks. (see John 15)
Similarly a prophet—used in this passage in the broadest sense of one who speaks for God—is judged by his life, not simply by his appearance or his words. The kind of person he really is cannot help being revealed. Some false prophets are noticeably spurious and only the most gullible person would be taken in by them. Others conceal their true nature with remarkable skill, and only careful observation will expose them for what they are. But there is a true assurance in the statement "you will know them." There is no need to be deceived if we look closely.
It is the cleverly deceptive false prophet that Jesus is speaking about here. No one needs help in deciding that a tree is bad if it bears shriveled, discolored, and obviously rotten fruit—or no fruit at all. It is the tree that appears to bear good fruit, but does not, that is deceptive.
It is possible for "grapes" to be stuck on "thorn bushes" and for "figs" to be stuck on "thistles." From a distance they might appear to be growing on real fruit trees. Because the fruit is genuine, naive persons might conclude that the tree itself also has to be genuine.
It is possible for real Christians to be taken in by false prophets. When believers are careless about study of and obedience to the Word, lazy about prayer, and uncritical about the things of God, it is easy for them to be deceived by someone who pretends to be orthodox—especially if he is pleasant, positive, and permissive. When that happens, they are in danger of becoming "grapes [on] thorn bushes" and "figs [on] thistles."
Satan loves to use God's own people to promote his evil work, seeking, if it were possible, even to snatch them from their heavenly Father (Matt. 24:24).
It is also possible for a tree itself to bear fruit that is colorful, well formed, and attractive, but which is bitter, distasteful, and even poisonous. That kind of "bad tree" with its "bad fruit" is much harder to judge than "thorn bushes" that have "grapes" on them or "thistles" that have "figs" on them. In the second case, both the tree and the fruit appear to be genuine. What it "bears" has to be examined carefully to determine if it is "good fruit" or "bad fruit."
A mature believer who has developed discernment can spot the bad tree and bad fruit.
- Hebrews 5:13-14 (NASB)
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For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
- Hebrews 5:13-14 (AMP)
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For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! 14 But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.
- Hebrews 5:13-14 (NLT2)
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For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.
Judging the fruit of false prophets, of course, is not nearly so easy as judging fruit in an orchard. But from Scripture we discover at least three primary tests we can apply in order to know. They are in the areas of character (Part 6), creed, and converts (Part 7 of 7).
Proverbs 22:19 (NASB)
So that your trust may be in the LORD, I have taught you today, even you.
Amen.
