Sermon: The Plague of the Pseudo-Prophets Matthew 7:15-20
Truth Taught- Beware of the pseudo prophets who sound good but their message and lives do not line up with God’s Word.
Introduction
Last time Jesus taught us concerning two contrasting paths people travel. One path looks good because it is wide and accommodating but it leads to destruction. The other path is narrow and not as easily traveled but it’s the path that leads to life. The point was to be careful which path you travel because things aren’t always as they appear.
Today, our Lord is going to look with us at another contrast. This contrast is similar because here too things are not as they appear; one leads to life and the other destruction. The false prophet may look the part and even say things that sound good, however, the false prophet leads to destruction as well.
The false prophet stands by the wide gate waving us to enter it.
You know it’s not an easy thing to get into the narrow gate? “Few there be who are able to find it.” And once you’ve found it, you must agonize to enter into it. I think there’s one reason, among several, why it’s difficult, and that is because standing in front of those two gates as you stand at that crossroads are false prophets, doing everything they can in their power to push you the wrong way. They’re there, obscuring the narrow gate, and waving people on, like some satanic traffic cop, to the broad road that leads to damnation. And so Jesus says, “Having given you the invitation, I’m going to have to warn you too,” and that’s where you come to verse 15. He must warn us of false prophets, and it says then, “Beware of false prophets.”
Matthew 7:15–20 (ESV)
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
1. Jesus’ Caution
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
pseudoprophētōn– Literally means a lying prophet.
Lying prophets have always plagued God’s people. We hear a lot about plagues these days but there is a real plague infinitely worse than Covid-19. This plague enters into a church masquerading as truth. The unsuspecting latch on to it and drink it in like sweet honey because for many it sounds good and is sweet to listen to. These false prophets serve up deceit and destruction. The Apostle Paul writes…
Romans 16:18 (ESV)
18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
Paul also says to Timothy,
1 Timothy 4:1–2 (ESV)
4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,
And to Peter the Spirit of God said…
2 Peter 2:1–3 (ESV)
2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
And John says…
1 John 4:1 (ESV)
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
And so the Bible warns us over and over about false prophets. They’re going to be around, they always have been around. There have been many false prophets, and there shall be false prophets; as long as we live on this earth, till Jesus comes, they’re going to be here.
Let’s look together for a minute at the pseudo prophet found in the OT.
Deuteronomy 18:22 (ESV)
22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
Deuteronomy 13:1-3 (ESV)
13 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Jeremiah 6:13–15 (ESV)
13 “For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:16–17 (ESV)
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ”
Jeremiah 14:14 (ESV)
14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
A survey of the OT texts concerning false prophets yields some similarities that can help us understand what our Lord teaches us today.
False prophets scatter the sheep rather than unite them
Jeremiah 23:1 (ESV)
23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.
False prophets also divide the body of Christ by embracing liberal theology and supporting such things as gay marriage. True believers are often left puzzled and confused because false teachers keep promoting sin rather than looking to what God says. As the preacher condones sin enough the people begin to accept it as Okay.
False prophets do not preach against sin nor do they encourage repentance
Jeremiah 23:14 (ESV)
14 But in the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen a horrible thing:
they commit adultery and walk in lies;
they strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that no one turns from his evil;
all of them have become like Sodom to me,
and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
Pseudo-prophets even encourage sin and avoid words like repentance. They won’t talk about judgment because it convicts their unconverted soul. The very thing they need is the very thing they are running from—repentance. They promote freedom, but they are “slaves to depravity” (2 Peter 2:19).
False prophets do not preach the whole counsel of God.
To truly help people, we must preach the difficult truths as well as the joyful ones, preach the cross and the new life, preach hell and heaven, preach damnation and salvation, preach sin and grace, preach wrath and love, preach judgment and mercy, preach obedience and forgiveness, preach that God is love but not forget that God is just. God is Savior and Judge. It is the love of God that compels us to share all His truth. But false teachers avoid unpleasant doctrines to tickle ears rather than challenge hearts. Christians should not be an sounding board for the world but a powerful voice proclaiming God’s Word with a spirit of humility.
Jesus tells us that these pseudo prophets try to present themselves as if they are one of us but in reality they are imposters. They may look like sheep but are really wolves in sheep’s clothing.
They are consciously deceptive again, literally lying prophets. They are not in it for the right reasons they are in it for themselves not for the care of the sheep. They are not mistaken but are preaching heresy purposely.
Our Lord says to beware of them. Avoid them. Do not listen to them. I remember a guy told me once that he listened to Joel Osteen because he made him feel better. He knew what Joel said was wrong but it made him feel good. That’s probably why he’s no longer here. My calling is not to make you feel good…sorry.
2. Jesus’ Test
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
Jesus makes two points here. First, the false tree is like the false prophet it is a tree that looks like one that produces edible fruit but it doesn’t.
The thorn bush and the thistles cannot produce edible fruit. It is impossible to pick a grape from anything but a grapevine and fig from anything but a fig tree. No matter how hard you try you cannot pick grapes from thorn bushes.
So, the worshippers gather to hear God’s Word wanting to be fed by the Word and all they get are the lies of the false prophet.
Jesus’ second example is that of a diseased tree. The false prophet is like a diseased tree and neither has the ability to produce good fruit. It is impossible to get a crop of beautiful apples from a dying apple tree. The tree can only produce the kind of fruit, which is in line with either the type of tree or in line with the health of the tree.
Our Lord tells us that thorn bushes or the dying trees have no place in the orchard. They will be cut down by the gardener and thrown into the fire. A healthy orchard cannot have a sick tree because the disease will spread to the healthy trees. Thorn bushes and thistles have no place in the orchard. So, Jesus tells us that the sick trees and the plants that are non-fruit producing with be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Then He simply concludes with…. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
At this point we may be asking ourselves what kind of fruit is Jesus referring to? What does this fruit look like?
The fruit is first truth and second a life being changed by that truth. In context, the false prophet will not preach and encourage people to walk the narrow path because he is not on the narrow path himself. The false prophet will not pass the fruit test. He will not preach truth nor live out more and more of the truth he preaches.
Jesus, the apostles Paul, Peter, and John all repeatedly warned such men would rise up among us, and lead many astray, even within the visible church. They warned that not only would there be many False Teachers, there would be many followers of them as well …people “to suit their own desires …will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Tim 4:3). Sadly, very few people do their homework when considering their own pastors, so the wolves have taken advantage of this fact to keep multitudes in their blinded condition. Obviously we should not easily call other people a heretic, but if they publicly teach doctrine long recognized by the church as false, then we must call it out.
Listen, you cannot discern whether or not a preacher is true or false based on his appearance. There are many who look like what you’d expect a preacher to look like. Just like the wide path that looks the most accommodating so the false prophet looks the part and will make you feel really good about yourself. They will sound good because their message is exactly what you want to hear.
They say they represent God, they say they speak God’s Word, but they are lies,
Jeremiah 14:14 (ESV)
14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.
They were sent to deceive the people, and they do a great job.
Here’s wide path preaching at its best…
Jeremiah 5:31 (ESV)
31 the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule at their direction;
my people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes?
They eat it up, because false prophets tickle their ears. Just like in the future when men heap to themselves teachers to tickle their ears. So in the Old Testament the same thing, they say what people want to hear, nice little platitudes that everybody likes, they make you feel good, and it’s lies.
Application
Realize false teachers are everywhere. The danger is if you do not think so proves you believe their smoothly worded lies.
In particular, 2 Peter 2 is remarkable in how it fleshes out Jesus’s warning about the fruit of false teaching. Peter has very little to say about compromised teaching, but he gives a litany of descriptions about compromised lives.
“False teachers are not just false in their teaching, but also in their living.”
Verses 1 and 3 mention the generalities “destructive heresies” and “false words” — which indeed relate to teaching — but then, nothing further in this chapter focuses on their teaching. Everything else is about their lives.
We can boil it down to three essential categories — and all three are about character and conduct, not teaching:
Pride, or defying God’s authority (verse 10) — verse 1: they deny “the Master who bought them” (also verses 12–13 and 18).
Sensuality, which typically means sexual sin — verse 2: “many will follow their sensuality” (also verses 10, 12–14, and 19).
Greed, for money and material gain — verse 3: “in their greed they will exploit you” (also verses 14–15).
Again and again, Peter’s descriptions relate to greed, sensuality, and pride — or money, sex, and power. What false teachers throughout history have shared in common is not the specific nature of their doctrinal error, but the inevitability of moral compromise in one of these three general areas.
Jesus tells us to beware of the false prophets.
My caution is to obey what Jesus tells us but not to be consumed with pointing out all the modern day false prophets. We do need to know who they are so we can avoid them of course.
Beloved be lovers of Christ and lovers of truth. Don’t let your mission to spot heresy rob you of your first love and your passion for truth. Don’t forget, in order to spot heresy you must know truth.
Beware of the pseudo prophets who sound good but their message and lives do not line up with God’s Word.
Acts 20:29–31 (ESV)
29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.
*Resources Used:
Matthew by D A Carson in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary
A Theology of Matthew by Charles Quarles
A Gospel of Matthew by France
Matthew by Craig Bloomberg
Matthew by Doriani
Matthew by Charles Price
Matthew by Leon Morris
Blue Letter Bible
