Let’s look at the next nine verses today. They go together.
“15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Danger! Beware! There are people who will fake it to gain your trust and bring you to hell with them. A long time ago the Devil and his angels joined the Church. They like to get at the people in charge and turn them into one of their own. Others start their own religion and try to lure unwitting faithful into a trap of sweetness and light that covers in a thin veneer the vitriol and darkness inside them. Jesus is warning us to watch out for them.
How do you tell the good from the bad? Look at their actions and their message. If they teach you selfishness, ego and greed, they’re definitely not from Christ Jesus. If on the other hand they do and teach love and compassion, and they genuinely care about others, then you can be sure Christ is in them because love comes out of them. Jesus uses the analogy of fruit bearing trees to make this point. Grapes don’t grow on brambles, only blackberries do. And figs grow on sycamore trees not thistles. Likewise love grows from a heart in which God dwells, not a heart given over to vice and the devil’s agenda.
It is not only the doctrine of the teacher you must watch out for, but the deeds as well. If a preacher is talking the good talk, dogmatically correct, but he or she is perverse in their personal life, the message is suspect because they don’t practice the word they preach. How can you follow one who directs but does not lead? Do not fall into the other trap we covered in the last posts about judgment of others. Your job is not to condemn anyone, but to seek the Kingdom of God in your soul.
Jesus tells us how He will deal with them on the day of judgment. His job is to sift the hearts of humans and decide truly who is and isn’t His. We can’t see what He sees. But there are many people who are self-deluded into believing in their own perfection, who go about making a great show of godliness, doing deeds in Christ’s Name, but their hearts are full of themselves, and there is no room in them for love. Those are the ones Jesus will profess, “I never knew you.”
Throughout the sermon, Jesus has been giving us warnings about the evil inside us. This is the first passage in which He warns us about evil outside us. We cannot take it out of that context. We must be ever diligent to root out our own vices and build up our own virtues, not being concerned about ferreting out the sins of others. So why does Jesus warn us about these others? So we can avoid being ensnared by them. The traps are set on all sides of the way. If you take your feet off the path, you will trigger the trap. Watch your step.
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