Daily Devotional For Sunday, November 24, 2024
Today is Sunday and we have the joy of going to worship and praise our Lord with other believers. 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).
For the last two days we started looking at clues or signs that let us know if someone is a false prophet/teacher/preacher. Friday, we saw that the first major indicator they are a fake or a fraud is revealed in their character. Saturday, we saw that the second major indicator they are a fake or fraud is creed (their doctrine). Today, we come to the third way to know if they are a false prophet/teacher/preacher – their converts. Those who are a fake or false prophet/teacher/preacher attract others just like themselves – people who are superficial, self-centered, self-righteous and unscriptural in their approach to life.
The Apostle Peter warns us about this in 2 Peter 2:2, “Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned” (NASB). Why do so many people fall and follow them? 2 Timothy 4:3 tells us, “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 with their own desires” (NASB). They tell people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Grace is replaced with greed. Mercy is replaced with materialism. Forgiveness is replaced with flimflam. Repentance is replaced with rebellion. Salvation is replaced with self. The Bible is replaced with the false leaders’ books. The Person of Jesus Christ is replaced with the personality of the false prophet/teacher/preacher.
Their followers will be like them—egotistical, proud, self-centered, self-indulgent, self-willed, and self-satisfied, while being religious. They will be both self-oriented and group-oriented, but never God-oriented or Scripture-oriented.These false prophet/teacher/preachers form false or fake groups that will attract others who are fakes or false – those who are frauds also. Pastor and author John MacArthur says this:
“But true believers who are carnal and worldly can also be attracted and corrupted, becoming grapes on thorn bushes and figs on thistles. Generally speaking, however, false prophets attract false believers, and in that way act as a sort of negative protection for the true church” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 472).
False prophets/teachers/preachers will experience what God says in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12:
“He (false prophets/teachers/preachers) will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. (11) So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. (12) Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth” (NLT).
Ultimately, God makes sure that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. That is the point of Jesus’ words in John 15:2, 6:
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit . . . (6) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned” (NASB).
The Apostle Peter reaffirms that in 2 Peter 2:1, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (NASB). The prophet Jeremiah from the Old Testament wrote this in Jeremiah 23:30-40:
“Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other. (31) Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ (32) Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord. (33) “Now when these people or the prophet or a priest ask you saying, ‘What is the oracle of the Lord?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What oracle?’ The Lord declares, ‘I will abandon you.’ (34) Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The oracle of the Lord,’ I will bring punishment upon that man and his household. (35) Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ (36) For you will no longer remember the oracle of the Lord, because every man’s own word will become the oracle, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. (37) Thus you will say to that prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ and, ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ (38) For if you say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’ surely thus says the Lord, ‘Because you said this word, “The oracle of the Lord!” I have also sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The oracle of the Lord!’”’ (39) Therefore behold, I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. (40) I will put an everlasting reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten” (NASB).
The context for Matthew 7:15-20 is Matthew 7:13-14 – the choice between the narrow gate and the broad gate. Such false prophets/teachers/preachers and their followers are all about I, me, my, mine. New Testament scholar Douglas Sean O’Donnell writes this:
“Thus, to contemporize our Lord’s teaching, it’s as if Jesus says, “I (Jesus) teach self-denial; they teach to look great, feel great. I teach the dangers of materialism; they teach – live your best life now. I (Jesus) teach that there is only one way to God; they teach love wins—that the wideness of God’s mercy is so wide that everyone is eventually included in his kingdom. I (Jesus) teach humility and dependence upon God; they teach if it’s to be, it’s up to me.” (Source: Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Preach The Word Bible Commentary, “Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth, p. 198).
To help you with discernment in this, use these principles to sort out a false prophet/teacher/preacher in your life:
- Avoid firm opinions and decisions in a vacuum. Run teachings through someone who is biblical, scriptural and demonstrates the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Meaning – their character is like our Lord’s.
- Never make a commitment spiritually without a scriptural basis. The Bible is silent on some subjects such as qualitative analysis, computer programming and pacemaker surgery. But the subjects it does cover, it is clear about the gate we are to take.
- Be careful in your personal assessment of someone. We are called to distinguish between the real and the fake, but we are not to be judgmental or condemning, even of false prophet/teachers/preachers. Do you best to give that person the benefit of a doubt unless Scripture proves them a fake.
Questions To Consider
- Converts of false prophet/teachers/preachers tend to be fanatical about them. They are closed-minded to the possibility they are following a fraud. How would you help someone see they are following a spiritual fraud without making them feel stupid?
- Today, we live in a world where truth has been replaced with subjectivism and an insistence not to make me feel guilty. People today want to have “warm fuzzies,” but unfortunately they get in the end eternally what they want – hell is very warm. When you are talking about the Bible and your faith, do you temper the truth? Why or why not?
- Such false prophets/teachers/preachers emphasize what God can do for you rather than what you should be doing for God. “God will give you health and wealth and the life you always dreamed of today.” It’s all about me, me, me. It’s about how I can build my kingdom, not the Lord’s kingdom. No emphasis on sin, its consequences and the need for repentance. “You’re good so let’s learn how to capitalize on the good life.” Which do you prefer yourself – the narrow gate or the broad gate and why? Which do you live?
Scripture To Meditate On: 2 Timothy 4:3, “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” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, please give me discernment and commitment to always choose the narrow gate that leads to life. I want to build Your kingdom, not mine. I want Your character to be my character. I want my life to mirror Your life. I love You Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly