Beware of False Prophets

This morning, I’d like for us to continue thinking about the Sermon on the Mount, and we’ve almost studied through the entire Sermon on the Mount. And so, let’s open our Bibles to Matthew chapter 7, and we’re going to be looking at verses 15 through 20. Matthew chapter 7 and verses 15 through 20.

Now, while you’re doing that, I want to ask you a question. Does anybody have a $20 bill in their wallet? Anybody got one? If you got one, take it out and hold it up for us. I want to see it.

I’m not going to ask you to give it to me or anything, but just, I want you to look at that $20 bill for just a moment. Okay? Yeah, and it has some features on it, right? Have you ever seen, you know, it’s, you know, years ago, the $20 bills didn’t have these features on them, but now they’ve got all these features.

So you look at a $20 bill and what do you see on there? There’s some security features, right? There’s a little strip that goes through. If you hold it up to the light, you can see a strip that’s interwoven in the fabric of the material.

You can also, if you hold up the light, you also see a watermark. It’s the picture of the guy that’s on the $20 bill. Who is that again? Jackson, right? It’s Jackson. Okay, I got it. So you can see a watermark of Jackson on the $20 bill. And you’ll see in the corners, there’s all these little yellow 20s in the corners.

Now, they’re very small, very tiny. It’s hard to see them. And why do they put all of these different security features on the $20 bill? They put it on hundreds and fifties and all the other bills, too. So if you don’t have a $20, look at another bill and you can see them.

And the reason is to prevent people from counterfeiting this money. They don’t want people making copies of money and using that as a way to buy goods and services, because that’s basically equivalent to stealing, isn’t it? We got a nice color copier back here. You can make a pretty good likeness of a $20 bill on that. Not that I’ve done that. Okay. I haven’t done that. But you can.

And if you were to just kind of crumple it up, you know, and make it kind of feel worn, you might be able to pass that off. But that would be stealing. It’s counterfeiting money. It’s illegal. But why do people counterfeit money? Because money is valuable. It has value to it. And when something has value, people seek to counterfeit it with something that is false.

So they can try to get the same value out of it that they can get out of the real deal. But it’s a terrible crime to counterfeit. And it robs people of their goods and services. Now, with that in mind, let’s read Matthew chapter 7, and we’ll explain the connection here in just a few minutes. Matthew chapter 7, and verse 15 through 20.

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 thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them. Beware of false prophets.

That’s what this section is about. Now, Jesus is speaking these words. He’s the one who is telling us that we need to be aware of something, and you know, have you ever been to the store and you’ve given somebody a $20 bill and then they take a pen out of the drawer or something, and they use that pen and they just swipe it on that 20 and look at it and then they put it in the drawer. Why do they do that?

Because they’ve been told, beware of counterfeit $20 bills. And we got this special pin that if you swipe it on a counterfeit, it’ll make a particular color. But if you swipe it on a regular, a good $20 bill, it’ll do nothing.

Now, I don’t know how they do all that. It takes a genius in chemistry to figure out those kinds of things, and I’m not a genius in chemistry by any means. But beware! There’s a warning there, and they take those warnings seriously. And why do they take them seriously? Because they don’t want to be robbed. They don’t want to be stolen from.

They want the money that they receive for their goods and services to be genuine. Now, Jesus says, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Now, just like that $20 bill having value, Jesus has value.

Tremendous value. And the truth has value. Tremendous value. But there are those in this world today who would rob us of that value by trying to pass themselves off as something that they are not. Namely, one who is a spokesperson, a genuine spokesperson, or a genuine replacement for Jesus.

And that’s why Jesus says, beware of false prophets. Because He wants you to have the real deal. He doesn’t want you to be deceived by someone who is peddling something that isn’t genuine. Just like those people who work at the cash registers don’t want to be deceived.

We’ve got to have the truth. And we’ve got to have the true Jesus. If we don’t, then we’re not going to get, or we’re going to be robbed of something. And what are we going to be robbed of? Of the truth and of Jesus. So it’s very important that we beware of false prophets. Now, the Bible talks about false prophets in the Old Testament. In fact, this isn’t the first warning that we read of in the Bible about false prophets.

In Deuteronomy 18 and verse 20, there, God would tell Moses, He said this, “…but the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”

So there were false prophets in the Old Testament. And they presumed to speak a word in the Lord’s name which the Lord had not commanded them. Or they spoke in the name of other gods. And we can have false prophets today who do the same thing. Who speak words that the Lord has not commanded them to speak or speak in the name of other gods.

And we are not to listen to those false prophets, the Bible tells us, just like we’re not to listen to false prophets who would deceive us regarding the real Jesus or the real truth that’s in God’s Word so that we can have the full value of what God has given us.

Now, false prophets tend to cause a lot of problems. And this is what Jesus is talking about here in relationship to, by their fruits, you shall know them. Now, we’re going to talk about what those fruits are here momentarily.

So they come to us in sheep’s clothing. What does that mean? That means their intention is to deceive. Their intention is to pass themselves off as someone who looks genuine. I saw an interesting cartoon this past week. I thought it was kind of funny to my kind of weird I have a weird sense of humor. I don’t know. But there were a couple of wolves standing on top of a hill and they were looking down at the sheep and they had gorilla outfits on, you know. And one guy turned to the other and he said, I think we picked the wrong costume or something like that, you know.

Why is that? Because a gorilla outfit isn’t going to blend in with the sheep, right? It was funnier when I looked at it. I don’t know. So false prophets look like the real deal, but they don’t act like it. That’s what Jesus is trying to tell us here. And as a result, a lot of problems happen.

So the number one problem, first of all, when false prophets come in, they create diversions. Diversions. They don’t want you focusing on the truth. So they try to get you off onto something else. Paul wrote this to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1, 5-7. He said, “…now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith and fame, which some having…”

Now listen to this. He says, “…some having swerved aside, have turned into vain jangling.” I know it’s kind of a weird King James Version word, but in other words, he’s saying they are going to try to distract you. They’re going to try to divert you out of what God has said, what He wants us to do, and doing it.

And why is that? Because they have their own agenda. Their agenda is not God’s agenda. Their agenda is what they want. And so, Paul says to Timothy again, 1 Timothy 1, 19-20, he says, “…some have made shipwreck concerning the faith because they denied the resurrection.”

So, they turn aside. They get us to change course. They don’t want us to stay true to what the Word teaches. 2 Corinthians 11, in verses 13 and 15, Paul says, “…for such are false prophets, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.”

So false prophets look like good people, and that’s part of the problem. We want good relationships with good people, and false prophets come in and they look good, they smell good, they take care of themselves, they talk real smooth and real pretty, And it’s like a used car salesman almost, right? Not that there are bad used car salesmen out there. I know some good ones.

But they’re trying to get something out of you. And that’s why they act the way they do. O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradiction of what is falsely called knowledge. For by professing it, some have swerved from the faith.” Now what was Paul warning Timothy about in these passages? About people who come in and try to get us to do things that are immoral and evil. They had a problem in that day and age with men who would go around to different places and take advantage of women.

They had a problem with those who would go around different places and steal money from others. They had a problem with those who would try to say that, oh yeah, you can be a Christian and also have an immoral lifestyle.

They called them Gnostics in that day and time. But they were just false teachers, false prophets. That’s what they were. They changed the truth. They substituted something else for it. And so they diverted people. But then, so they will divert. But then secondly, they will divide. False prophets will divide.

In Romans 16, in verses 17 through 18, Paul wrote these words. He said, “…Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them. For they that say such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly.”

And by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. So, good words, fair speeches, but again, they deceive. And what’s their goal? It’s not to teach the doctrine of Jesus Christ, it’s to serve their own belly. But they’re not going to tell you that. They’re going to tell you they are servants of Jesus Christ.

And that they’re doing great things for Him. What is their goal? What’s their end game? What are they looking to get out of this? And ultimately, because they teach contrary to the doctrine, they create divisions. Mark them which cause divisions.

And you see, that’s what causes divisions. Teaching contrary to the doctrine of Jesus Christ. Why are there so many churches in the world today? Because of divisions. People have come in and taught contrary to the doctrine of Jesus Christ, and divided, and divided, and divided, and divided.

That’s why it’s so important that we just teach what God has given us to teach. And if we’re doing something other than that, then we need to make a correction. They cause divisions. Here’s another passage where Paul talks about this. And this is 1 Corinthians chapter 1, starting in verse 10. He says, It says, So false teachers will create divisions. And they had some problems there in Corinth with divisions. There’s another one of the fruits that you can know a false teacher by. They come in and they create.

Now finally, the last and ultimate fruit of the false teacher, the false prophet, is that they create destruction. Destruction of the church, destruction of the soul, destruction of the self. In Galatians chapter 1 and verses 6 through 9, Paul said this. He said, “‘I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him who called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. Now, that is some tough language, but when we’re talking about false prophets, the Bible gets tough because, you see, God wants you to have what’s real.

He wants you to have what’s true. He wants you to have the original. He doesn’t want you to have a counterfeit. And that’s why it’s important to know what false prophets do. They divert, they divide, and they destroy. In 2 Peter 2, verse 1, Peter wrote, “…but there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

So notice what Peter says. Many will follow them. They will then turn on those who are telling the truth and they will speak evil of them. Now, does that sound like anything that you know is happening in the religious world today? And with feigned words, false words, they will convince many.

And so Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6, 3-5, “…if anyone teaches otherwise and consents not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, where have cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, These perverse disputings of men of corrupt words and corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness. From such, withdraw yourself. There’s the results. The sin that they practice in their life. Beware of false prophets.

Now, this is Jesus saying this. In the Sermon on the Mount. And what do we usually think about when we think about the Sermon on the Mount, right? The Beatitudes, right? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Those are great. We love those Beatitudes. But Jesus also is warning us about some things that we need to pay attention to.

And by doing that, we will ensure that we are speaking the truth, telling the truth, not being deceived, that we have what’s real and not what’s counterfeit, and we can enjoy the blessings and benefits of the true. Now, what happens when you pass off a counterfeit to someone? The government’s going to come after you, right? The Treasury Department, the Secret Service, they’re going to be knocking on your door, and that is not going to be a pleasant experience.

You see, there are consequences to passing off something that’s counterfeit for something that’s real. And if we don’t heed the warnings that Jesus gives, then we’re going to end up having to suffer the consequences. And the consequences of listening to false teachers is that they will destroy us.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world, 1 John 4 and verse 1. We’ve got to test the spirits. We’ve got to test the prophets. We’ve got to test what’s being said from the pulpits against the Word of God.

We’ve got the standard right here. We’ve got to test the lives of those who stand up and claim to speak for Jesus. How are they living? What are they saying? What are they doing? What are they trying to get away with?

These are things that we’ve got to be concerned about. But the standard is here. God hasn’t left us without the truth. And just like you can look at that $20 bill and see those signs that is a genuine 20.

It’s got that strip in it. It’s got those yellow 20s on it. It’s got the watermark in it. This book right here will give you everything that you need to tell whether somebody’s telling the truth or not. And if what they’re saying is according to the Word, then that’s good. What they’re saying isn’t according to God’s Word, then that’s not good. And we’ve got to inspect. We’ve got to dig deeper. So let’s let the Word of God guide us.

And you know, one of the areas in which there are many false prophets in the world is the area of salvation. Because so many people don’t want to do just what the Bible says to do in that area. To hear the Word of God and believe it. Repent of sins, confess Jesus as Lord, and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Every single one of those are in the Word of God.

There’s so many people today who say, oh no, you don’t need to do any of that. Who’s the false prophet? How do we know? We’ve got to check. Look at the security features, right? And find out what’s real and what isn’t.

Maybe this morning someone needs to respond to the invitation of Jesus because they’ve been deceived by false prophets and now, after thinking about that, you know, you think, well, you know what, I need to make some, I need to go ahead and do it the right way. Maybe somebody’s here who needs to do that.

Or maybe there’s someone here who’s saying, you know, I need help with that. I think I’ve listened to some false prophets and I need to get back on the right way. Well, we can help you with that. If you have a need this morning, come make it known right now while together we stand.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!