Matthew 7:15-16a (ESV)
“Beware
of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are
ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.
“You will recognize them by their fruits,” but what fruits? What does good fruit and bad fruit look like? Well, he was just talking about loving you enemies, giving to the poor, prayer and fasting, laying up treasures in Heaven and not being anxious, not judging others, and treating others as you would want to be treated. I’m guessing that is the kind of fruit he is talking about. The false prophets that he refers to would then be producing a fruit that looks like not loving your enemies, not helping the poor, not praying in the manner Jesus teaches, but praying for attention and power. They would be more interested in laying up treasures on earth than in Heaven, and treating others from a proud heart that fails to put others first. Jesus will then go on to talk about building on the solid foundation of Jesus’ words, hearing and doing them. A false prophet would not handle God’s Word well. False prophets fail to have a solid biblical foundation for what they say or do. It is not necessarily all of the above, but any of the above should give one pause to consider.
Our world is filled with voices shouting “truth.” The question is whether it is God’s truth. We are not to judge others, but we are to make judgments concerning those who are trying to influence our thoughts and lives. Are they truly speaking from God, or are they false prophets? As believers in Jesus Christ we must not only take Jesus’ teaching seriously for our own lives, we must test those who are influencing us, preaching, teaching, writing books, writing blogs, etc. Are these truly spokespersons of God? The most dangerous false prophets are not the ones coming with a radically different, off the wall teaching. The most dangerous false prophets are those who sound biblical, but fail to live biblically. Their teaching will eventually move away from the Word of God because they are man-centered, not God-centered not matter how godly they sound.
The warning is, “Beware of false prophets.” The other side of the warning is, “Listen to those are truly walking with God. I just had a conversation last night about what makes a great preacher. It is not whether the preacher is quiet or loud, solemn or boisterous, calm or passionate. It is whether the preacher has been with Jesus. That makes all the difference. Who are you listening to today?
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