TEACHING NOTES Introduction As we come to the end of the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus is going to give us a few important warnings. In the previous passage, Jesus said that many people will follow the path of destruction and few will follow the path of life. In today’s passage, Jesus reveals that there will be some who are fake or false disciples—claiming to follow Jesus but living as if they never met Him. ​ Matthew 7:15 ESV 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Beware = Grk. prosecho - be on the alert, pay attention, consider carefully. Jesus lovingly warns us that there are people we should be careful with. False prophets = Grk. pseudoprophetes - one who falsely claims to speak for God. In this context it seems that Jesus is referring to people who make false claims about God and people who falsely claim to know God. Ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing = This indicates that false prophets can be hard to identify, because they look like believers. The Greek word translated “ravenous” here is harpax, which can mean vicious, but is also the word for a robber or swindler. One way to identify a false prophet is if they are swindling money from others to enrich themselves. They may look like sheep, but their plan is to devour you to fulfill their own evil desires. ​ Matthew 7:16–18 ESV 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. You will recognize them by their fruits = A false prophet may be saying all the “right” things or even teaching truth on occasion. But Jesus tells us to look at how they live and look at their personal character. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit = If we are producing bad fruit, then we are not a healthy tree. Jesus is saying that is NOT possible. Jesus leaves no room for the grey area that we have created in modern Christianity. We like to think that it’s possible to be a Christian while producing bad fruit. Jesus explicitly states that this is impossible. ​ Matthew 7:19–20 ESV 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. Cut down and thrown into the fire = Bad trees that don’t bear good fruit are cut down and destroyed. In the same way, those who do not produce good fruit will lead themselves into destruction. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits = Again, if a person claiming to speak for God is practicing destructive behavior, we should reject that person’s message and stop listening to them. What kind of fruit does a good tree produce? ​ Galatians 5:22–23 ESV 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. The Fruit of the Spirit: This list of characteristics describe a person who has the Spirit of God living in them. Those who have the Spirit will be these things. The Greek grammar here indicates that the fruit of the Spirit is love (agape), and all of the following are what love looks like. Compare this list to Paul’s list of what love is in 1 Cor. 13:4-8. Also, compare 1 Cor. 13:4-8; Gal. 5:22-23 to Exodus 34:6-7. Matthew 7:21 ESV 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” = Calling Jesus “Lord” is not equal to living like He actually IS Lord. Many people call Jesus their Lord, but have no commitment to obey what He teaches. The one who does the will of my Father = It is not enough to simply refer to Jesus as Lord. We must also do the will of God. Any version of the Gospel that does not teach obedience is a false gospel and must be rejected. The apostle John wrote a letter saying the same thing... ​ 1 John 2:3–6 ESV 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Obedience does not lead to salvation. Salvation leads to obedience. ​ Matthew 7:22 ESV 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ On that day = This refers to the day of final judgment where all people will stand before Jesus to give an account of their life. “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do great things in your name?” = Apparently, false prophets can perform supernatural deeds. These false prophets prophesied, cast out demons, and other mighty works. While they did all this in Jesus’ name, they only did so to try to be authenticated by His name. They did not actually know Him, but were using His name for personal gain. ​ Matthew 7:23 ESV 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ I never knew you = Now Jesus gets to the core issue. These false prophets have never had a relationship with Jesus. They did many things while using His name and even referred to Jesus as Lord. But they never knew Him. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness = While these false prophets put on a good show for others, they were actually workers of lawlessness—meaning they were evil. Lawlessness means they were disobedient to the will and law of God. False prophets do good works publicly, but are disobedient personally. Jesus refuses to let those kinds of people into His kingdom. Why? Because God’s kingdom will be free of sin and evil. Conclusion ​ 2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV 5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! Today we should follow Paul’s advice to examine ourselves to see whether we are truly in the faith and truly know God.