-- Monday, 8/8/11 -- FALSE PROPHETS - Matthew 7:15-20

[J.R. & Bonnie Ricks]

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FALSE PROPHETS – Matthew 7:15-20

 

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

 

There were many false prophets during Old Testament times.  And there were just as many during Jesus’ time.  Today, we have our own fair share of false prophets, too, both outside and inside our churches.

 

Outside of our churches, it’s pretty easy to recognize the false prophets.  It’s the ones inside the churches that are the problem.  Today’s false prophets are just like the ones who show up in the Old Testament… the ones who said what the people wanted them to say, and underlined their words with claims that their messages were from God.  They could easily have fit within the prophecy Paul made in 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 

 

Just as Solomon so wisely said, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)  Just as the people in the Old Testament had to be careful of false prophets, so the people in Jesus’ and Paul’s time had to watch for them, too.  And guess what, they’re right here among us to watch out for today!

 

So, how can you tell if someone is a false prophet?  Jesus gives us one way right here in this passage – to look at their “fruit”.  What is this “fruit” Jesus is talking about?  For one thing, it’s the message of the person.  Listen closely, and you’ll find that 100% of all false prophets will do one or both of the following: (1) give themselves the glory or (2) preach a message that puts the focus on what YOU can get out of God.  Never will you hear them emphasize the main purpose for which we’re here on this earth – to glorify God.  The only way that God ever gets included in their messages is for what He will do to glorify the person preaching or to glorify you! 

 

There have been a number of “fads” circulating within the Body of Christ in the past 20 or 30 years, each one of which has been propagated by false prophets.  In each instance, the message being preached has turned God into a heavenly “vending machine”, programmed (“obligated”, “honor bound”) to give you whatever you demand if you say the right prayer in the right way.  It’s important to note here that while God’s love is unconditional, His promises are not.  Each promise God has made in His Word is conditional on something that we have to do in order to obtain that blessing.  These messages concentrate solely on the promises contained in scripture, and ignore the conditions God places on those promises. 

 

Have you been listening – and believing - some of these messages?  After all, they will make you feel good!  But what they don’t do is put your focus where it belongs – on God, and God alone… and not on yourself.  Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

 

Watch out for false prophets.  You’ll know them by their fruit. So recognize them when you find them… and don’t let them cause you to lose your focus…

 

All Bible quotes contained in these devotionals are from the New International Version 1984 (NIV1984), unless otherwise specified.

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