Daily Devotional For Saturday, November 23, 2024
Today is Saturday and time to relax and rest. We are making our way through the most famous and best sermon ever in history – Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount. You can read it in its entirety in Matthew chapters 5, 6, & 7. We have reviewed chapters 5-6 in devotionals and are currently in the middle of chapter 7, specifically with Matthew 7:15-20:
“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” (NASB).
Yesterday we started looking at clues or signs that let us know if someone is a false prophet/teacher/preacher. We saw yesterday that the first major indicator they are a fake or a fraud is revealed in their character. Today, we come to the second way to spot a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” – creed – specifically their doctrine. Because many of these frauds are charismatic, charming and crafty in their choice of words, on the surface may or will appear what we call orthodox or genuine. But a careful and deeper review of all that they say will reveal they are not. You will see this in two primary ways: (1) False “truths” will be eventually taught and (2) Important biblical truths omitted or augmented. And one of the reasons it becomes challenging to spot them is that they are shrewd enough to use both simultaneously – making it harder to spot and uncover.
But as Jesus said above a bad tree cannot produce good fruit and a good tree cannot produce bad fruit. Jesus lashed out at the religious leaders of His day for doing this. Look at Matthew 12:34-36, “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. (35) The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil” (NASB).
During the days of the prophet Isaiah, he had to deal with fraudulent prophets and he warned the people of this day about it in Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn” (NASB). When we shine the light of Scripture on the false narrative of a false prophet/teacher/preacher, their fraud is revealed and they are exposed. In our previous verses, Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said that the way or gate to God is narrow, but the other broad gate leads one to hell. It is this broad gate Jesus is revealing how to know if such a prophet/teacher/preacher is leading you to go through due to their teaching and influence. Therefore, we should not be surprised this warning about false prophets comes immediately following Matthew 7:13-14.
Pastor and author John MacArthur, quotes New Testament scholar Arthur Pink saying:
“False prophets are to be found in the circles of the most orthodox, and they pretend to have a fervent love for souls, yet they fatally delude multitudes concerning the way of salvation. The pulpit, platform, and pamphlet hucksters have wantonly lowered the standard of divine holiness and so adulterated the Gospel in order to make it palatable to the carnal mind” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 471).
The doctrine or feeds of a false prophet/teacher/preacher never has a narrow gate, but a very board one that emphasizes what is best for you. It caters to our self-centeredness and self-indulgences. On the surface, their teaching may sound biblical but a deeper probe will reveal it is based on what we do – works – not on what Christ has done for us. It will appeal to our depravity and be void of our need of repentance, forgiveness, submission to the Lord, and destiny of judgment, our condemnation, and eternal destruction in hell apart from Christ. Their teaching will be about feeding one’s own self-righteousness, pride and greed. We see this today in those “health and wealth” teachers such as Joel Osteen.
Here is just a sample from Joel Osteen’s book: Become A Better You (Source: https://www.kevinhalloran.net/the-anti-gospel-message-of-joel-osteen/
“Back in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they hid. In the cool of the day, God came to them and said, ‘Adam, Eve, where are you?’ They said, ‘God, we were hiding because we were naked.’ I love the way God answered them. He said, ‘Adam, who told you that you were naked?’ In other words, who told you that something was wrong with you? God immediately knew that the enemy had been talking to them.
God is saying to you today, Who told you that you don’t have what it takes to succeed? Who told you the best grades you could make in school were Cs rather than As? Who told you that you’re not attractive enough? Who told you that your marriage is not going to last? Who told you something was wrong with you?
Those are lies from the Enemy. You need to reject those ideas and discover what God says about you. “Well, I don’t think I could ever get this promotion, Joel.” Who told you that? God said, “No good thing will I withhold when you walk uprightly.”“Well, I don’t think I’ll ever get married, Joel. I haven’t had a date in so long I don’t think I’ll ever find someone who would love me for who I am and with whom I would be compatible.” Who told you that? God said, “When you delight yourself in Him, He will give you the desires of your heart.”
“Well, I don’t think I could ever be in management. I don’t think I could be a leader.” Who told you that? God says, “You can do all things through Christ.” The potential is inside you. It doesn’t change just because you don’t believe it or just because you’ve been through some negative experiences in the past. It has been deposited in you permanently by the Creator of the universe.”
Now on the surface it looks okay to most people, but this does not agree with Scripture. He denies that anything was really wrong with Adam and Eve. It only “felt” wrong because in his opinion, the devil had lied to them. Yes, the devil had lied to them. Yes, God knew that but the biblical reason they felt wrong was because they were now wrong spiritually due to sin. They were now evil according to the Bible. They didn’t feel wrong because of a lie; they felt wrong because they had sinned against God. It’s the synchronization of pop-psychology with bible stories and millions fall for it all the time.
Do you see anything in Joel Osteen’s comments about the dangers of sin and disobedience to God? No and you never will. You don’t see any brokenness over sin or a longing for righteousness. Such people dish out easy simple answers for eternally hell-bound people. This was God’s complaint against the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day. Read Jeremiah 6:14, “They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace” (NASB). There is no humility, only the promotion of self. There is no call of repentance because he doesn’t believe it is necessary. There is no call of obedience because you are a god unto yourself.
Such false prophets/teachers/preachers say what people want to hear. Look at Jeremiah 5:31, “The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?” (NASB). They appeal to people’s desire for the illusion, not the truth; for peasantries, not conviction; for self-elevation, not humility. They resent anything biblical that refers to condemnation and judgment. GRACE to them is not: God’s riches at Christ’s expense. Instead, GRACE to them is: Garnling (i.e.,, twisted, knotted) Revelation Attracting Coveting Evil..They do not teach the truth because they cannot handle the truth.
Their doctrine or creed will be superficial, vague, indefinite and subjective. It will easy and attractive. New Testament scholar Arthur Pink writes this:
“Any preacher who rejects God’s law, who denies repentance to be a condition of salvation, who assures the giddy and godless that they are loved by God, who declares that saving faith is nothing more than an act of the will which every person has the power to perform is a false prophet and should be shunned as a deadly plague” (Source: Arthur Pink, An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, p. 362).
Pastor and author John MacArthur puts it this way:
“False prophets talk much about the love of God but nothing of His holiness, much about people who are deprived but nothing, about those who are depraved, much about God’s universal fatherhood of every human being but nothing about His unique fatherhood only of those who are His children through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, much about what God will give to us but nothing about obedience to Him, much about health and happiness but nothing about holiness and sacrifice. Their message is a message of gaps, the greatest gap of which leaves out the truth that saves” (Source: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 471).
Jesus’ point here is the fruit is good or bad depending on the health of the tree. Healthy trees bear good fruit, and unhealthy trees bear bad fruit. It cannot be any other way. New Testament scholar Bruce B. Barton writes this:
“Jesus’ followers would be able to discern false teachers because in their teaching they minimize Christ and glorify themselves or self in general . . . Claims are easier to make or fake than results. Even Jesus’ claims would have been ludicrous or insane if he hadn’t backed them up with results. He understood the relationship between claim and proof. And he pointed out that the principle applies universally: You can tell a lot about a tree from its fruit!” Source: Bruce B. Barton, The Life Application Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 139).
Questions To Consider
- Have you ever been deceived by a spiritual fraud? If so, how? If you eventually rejected them, how did you know to do it and how did you do it?
- False prophets/teachers/preachers omit orthodox biblical truth to appease people. Which doctrines or creeds to you think they omit the most and why?
- Read the quote from Joel Osteens’ book above, make a list of his false doctrine you see now that you see it? Look over your list. Why do you think he omitted what’s on your list and what are the implications for you spiritually?
- Read and compare the two acronyms for GRACE. The first one has been around for years. I made up the second one. What stands out to you about each of these as you compare them and why?
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “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, (4) and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I want to experience the biblical understanding of GRACE. I do not want to be suckered into lies, deception and false doctrine because the prophet, teacher or preacher is charismatic, charming and crafty with the truth. Please open my eyes and heart to see the truth and to see the fraud. Help me to call it out when I see it as so many did in the Bible. Jesus, I want truth that sets me and others free. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly