My heart breaks for this world for many different reasons, but most importantly because of what I read in the Word of God. The Bible tells us that mankind's only hope is Jesus Christ. However, when I look around, I see so many people rejecting Him. Many slip away daily into eternity to face eternal separation from Him in a place of everlasting torment called Hell. As we saw in our last sermon series, the lost must have a passion for all disciples and followers of Jesus, so my prayer is that this breaks your heart as well. There is another much less important reason my heart breaks for this world, and it’s when I read the warning labels they put on products. These outrageous warnings were placed on these items because someone, somewhere has tried what they are warning you about. Like the warning “Do not use while sleeping” is found on many hair dryers or the “Do not hold this end” warning on a chainsaw bar. These types of warnings are not only found on consumer products, but I found one in a pilot’s training manual that tells the reader, “Do not taste strange liquids”. I guess common sense just isn’t that common anymore. However, some warnings aren’t as obvious, and those are the warnings we need to pay attention to. One such warning is found in the Yorkshire Dales, UK, at a little stream called the Bolton Strid. It’s a relatively calm and narrow stream that is only 6 feet at its widest point, but all along its banks are warning signs stating, “Danger! This strid is dangerous and has claimed lives in the past. Please stand well back and beware of slippery rocks”. Without the warning signs, you would not know that this peaceful little stream was deadly. It’s deadly because beneath its calm appearance, the waters are rushing quickly, driving everything that falls into them into an underground cave system that is estimated to be between 200 and 300 feet deep. The locals say that the mortality rate of anyone who falls into the stream is 100%. While it’s true there are some warnings we do not need to worry about, like the “Remove child before folding” sticker on strollers, there are others we need to pay close attention to because our well-being might be in jeopardy. Jesus gave these types of warnings, and that’s why I want to start a new sermon series entitled “Beware”. We will be looking at four spiritual warnings Jesus gave in the Gospels that are necessary for His followers to heed to walk safely with Him each day. If you have your Bibles, turn with me into Matthew chapter 7, and we will be starting in verse 15. In Matthew 7, Jesus is wrapping up His famous Sermon on the Mount. Throughout this sermon, He has been telling everyone the life God requires is more than just external compliance but is marked with obedience that comes from a relationship with Him. His teachings were astonishing to the crowd that had gathered there on the mountainside. Amongst these authoritative teachings we see Jesus give some very dire warnings to all who would follow Him. Let’s look at one here in verse 15.
The Danger of Deception - Mark 7:13-15
“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow, and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.
Jesus begins this section of His sermon by speaking of heaven and how one gets there. While we could spend an entire sermon on this portion of the text, I just want to point out a few things. While Jesus doesn’t specifically mention the Gospel message here by letting the listener know that He is the only way to heaven, I'm sure this teaching would have been remembered when He gave His powerful “I AM” statements recorded in John’s Gospel when He says, “I AM the gate” and “I AM the door”. When Jesus said this road to heaven is narrow and difficult, we should remember the crux of our last sermon series when Jesus said if anyone wants to follow Him, they must deny themselves — take up their cross and follow. This statement is what leads into Jesus’ warning, and we need to remember it as we unfold verse 15. Jesus’ warning is about false prophets in our midst. In Scripture, a prophet can simply be defined as someone who delivers God’s message, and in the Bible, we see that role expressed through Old Testament prophets, religious teachers, and even Christians. All three are supposed to be carriers of the words of God, but Jesus' warning is not about those who do this well, but those who are deceptive and dangerous when it comes to the words of God. When we think of false prophets, what probably comes to mind would have been the ones that first came to the minds of the crowd that day as well, and those are the Old Testament Prophets. If we look in the Old Testament, especially in books like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, we see false and true prophets contrasted. A true prophet is someone who stands in the counsel of the Lord, hears the Word of God, and proclaims the Word of God to the people (Jeremiah 23:18). However, a false prophet speaks from the visions of their own mind (Jeremiah 23:16). They would give reassurance of peace where there was no peace (Jeremiah 6:14). While there are false prophets (in an Old Testament sense) in this world today, there are other types of false prophets that we might encounter more often. False teachers were a major problem for the first-century church, for we see Jesus warn of them. Paul speaks about them multiple times in his letters. John speaks of them and so does Jude. We see false teachers standing in pulpits across the world. We see them leading Bible studies across the world. However, I think the most prominent place where we see false teachers in the church is sitting in the pews each Sunday morning. I want to bring attention to this because out of all types of false prophets, this is the one we usually don’t acknowledge. Any follower of Jesus can quickly fall into the category of false teachers without even noticing. Let me explain. Everyone who follows Jesus is an ambassador of Christ, and we represent Christ in everything we do. This is true of our attitude, our actions, and especially our words. As a follower of Jesus, we should know that Jesus alone holds the words of life, eternal life, just as Peter confessed in John 6:68. Therefore, when someone comes to us, as ambassadors of Christ, why would we ever give someone anything other than the words of life? However, we do. It is usually without malice or even thinking when we start a statement with “I think” instead of “The Lord says”. When we give our opinion, we are not leading people toward the Lord with His Words, which we should be bringing into every situation. We are leading them away with our own thoughts. We must be careful of that in our own lives as we seek counsel even in God’s church. Jesus warns that this danger is not going to be obvious for the most part. It’s going to be deceptively harmless. These false teachers will look like followers and look right and say the right things a lot of the time, but there comes a time when you will realize they are not. There are a variety of reasons we see in Scripture that people will do this. We already talked about ignorance as one of the reasons, but we also see that sometimes it’s for money (2 Peter 2:3, Titus 1:11, 1 Timothy 6:5). Sometimes it’s because of pride (3 John 9, Matthew 23:5-7). Sometimes it’s for power (Ezekiel 34:4, Acts 20:30), and sometimes it’s for popularity (Jeremiah 5:31). How they do it always falls into the same category — they change God’s word. That’s why Jesus spoke of the true way to heaven in the previous verses. There was a precedent in the history of the Children of Israel wanting to listen to the easy answers rather than the actual Word of God. Jeremiah 6:13-14 says, “From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds. They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace.” This wasn’t just an Old Testament problem. Paul addressed it in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.” Remember, what Jesus is talking about is not an atheist coming in and trying to sway everyone. These are people who seem like those who are true followers, but their words and actions do not line up with His truth and will show everyone who they truly are.
How to Identify the Deception - Mark 7:16-20
You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.
After Jesus gives His initial warning about the false prophets that will be amongst the sheep, He proceeds to tell them how to identify these wolves before it is too late. You can recognize them by their fruit or by their actions, and Scripture tells us at least 3 ways to test their fruits. First is by looking at what they say about Jesus. 1 John 2:22a says, “And who is a liar? Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ...” Therefore, we must take what they say about Jesus to the standard of the Bible. If they say anything other than what is revealed in the Bible about Jesus, they are producing bad fruit, and it must be dealt with. The Bible tells us Jesus is fully God & fully man (John 1:1-14). Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6). Jesus was sinless (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), and He is coming again to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1). Any diversion from Biblical teaching on Jesus is false teaching and blasphemy. Secondly, we need to pay attention to how they share the Gospel. Galatians 1:9 tells us, “I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.” Therefore, when you share the Gospel, you cannot add, nor can you take away from the Gospel. Yes, God is love, but if that’s all you teach and let it bleed over into total acceptance of any lifestyle (even though the Bible specifically forbids), you have someone who has distorted the true Gospel message, and God’s wrath is upon them. Yes, God loves you just the way you are. However, He loves you too much to leave you in your sin. That’s what you have been saved and set free from. You are His masterpiece, and He is at work for you. When you add or subtract from the Gospel, you change the Gospel. When you change the Gospel, it is no longer the Gospel and has no power. It is by spiritual fruit that you will be present in the life of all believers. A follower of Jesus is someone who has trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Savior by faith and has been saved by His grace. At that moment, the Holy Spirit comes and lives inside of us. Listen to what we are told in Romans 8:9, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)” The Holy Spirit living inside of us produces fruit in the lives of all believers, and Scripture calls it the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. The fruits are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. These are the fruits a true follower of Jesus will have in their life in some form and some quantity. However, you will not find all of this in the life of someone who is a wolf. While it might be easy to spot some of these bad fruit producers that come in. Remember these false teachers are very deceptive and will not give themselves away easily. We need to remember that fruit doesn’t grow overnight. It takes time, and it means the false & bad fruit takes time as well. All fruit takes time to grow and ripen — but it will always show itself when it does. In this sinful and broken world, all of us will be squeezed at some point, and just like a tube of toothpaste when we are squeezed, we see what’s really on the inside. Watch their actions, listen to their words, and then take it to the standard of God’s Word. We will be able to see if they pass the test or need to be chopped down and thrown into the fire. We cannot forget this standard is not just for others. It is for us as well.
The Consequences of Deception - Mark 7:21-23
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
The consequences of being unable to identify and deal with the deception Jesus is speaking of are devastating in many ways. It is devastating to the false teacher, and it is devastating to those whom they are teaching it to. It’s said if you tell a lie long enough and loud enough, everyone will begin to believe it, and that includes yourself. Here in verse 22, we have a false teacher who was so in one of two ways. They have either unknowingly believed a lie their entire life and have never bothered to hear Jesus’ warning and examine what they believe, or they have lied and have stuck to it so long they have deceived themselves. However, the time has come when they are tested by the all-consuming fire, and nothing they bring has passed the test. Yes, they taught, and they have even done miracles in the name of Jesus, but they had never trusted in Him as their Lord and Savior. This is the consequence of the deception Jesus is warning all of us about. This could also be the same consequence experienced by those whom you are discipling, and this includes your children. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” When we are not teaching others what Jesus has said, but rather our opinions, we run the risk of not making true disciples, but making those who Jesus will say, “Depart from me because I have never known you”. There are no scarier words in all of Scripture than when the Judge of all the Universe gives His judgment, and you are found guilty of all the sin that Jesus died for. If only you would have trusted in Him instead of the ways of man.
In 1 Kings 22, we are told about King Jehoshaphat of Judah and King Ahab of Israel who prepare to go and take back the Jewish town of Ramoth-Gilead. Before they set out, they wanted to find out what the Lord had to say, so Ahab called together 400 so-called prophets, and all of them told the King he should go ahead because the Lord would give him victory. Jehoshaphat knew these were all false prophets — just a bunch of “yes men” who just told the King what He wanted to hear. Jehoshaphat asked if there were any who would truly speak from God no matter what their message was. Ahab said yes, but he hated him because he wasn’t a “yes man” and told him things he didn’t want to hear. He begrudgingly called for him, and the true prophet told him Ahab would be killed in the battle, and Israel would be scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The prophet was correct and proved the Words of the Lord do not return void. No number of false prophets can change the ways of the Lord. It is the same as it is with us. We must make sure we are not just listening to those things we want to hear. We can’t just cater to our itchy ears. We need to hear a Word from the Lord because it is always timely and often hard, just like the narrow way and difficult path Jesus spoke about at the first of our passage this morning. This is what is required in dealing with the multitude of wolves in our Christian lives — it is dangerous business. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He has taken care of us through His blood and through His grace. It is through His blood we must listen and follow Him alone.
