Beware of False Prophets

And this morning what we're going to do is we want to look at the invitation that Christ himself pronounces, then the caution that he proclaims.

The description he presents and the prescription that he prescribes that we might know False prophets. First of all, the invitation.

We talked about it last week, Matthew 7, 13 and 14. Christ says, Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is broad, that leads to destruction.

And many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow, that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Christ brings this great sermon to a climax. He brings it to a high point that says, Look, this is what I want you to do. I want you to enter the narrow gate. I want you to come to me. I want you to enter through my means, not through your means. And so as he comes to the end of the sermon, he gives the invitation. He pronounces it loud and clear. Enter the narrow gate.

Enter it, strive to enter, for few there be that find it. But you will note that all through the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ and all through the history of man, God has always offered inv. God has always given to man an opportunity to come to him by faith. All the way back in Isaiah chapter 1 verse number 18 he says, come, let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Christ says, you come to me and I'll cleanse your life.

Over in Isaiah 55, verse number 1, it says, Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, and you who have no money, come buy and eat, come buy wine and milk without money. And without cost. Come to me because you're spiritually bankrupt. You have no money. You have no resources good enough yourself. But if you come to me, you can drink of the living water. So we see that in the Old Testament Christ pronounces the invitation to come to him and it's prevalent very much so in the New Testament. In Matthew chapter 4, verse number 17, Christ came on the scene and said, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

In Matthew 11, 28, he said, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me. all those people who had been weighed down by the system of the Pharisees, Christ said, you come to me. I'll give you rest. I'll give you what you so desperately need. In John 7, 37, he said, if any man thirst, let him come to me. And drink. And in that great climactic chapter of the Bible, Revelation chapter 22, verse number 17, Christ says, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let the one who hears say, Come, and let the one who is thirsty come.

Let the one who Who wishes to take the water of life with cost? You see the invitation? It 's always been pronounced. Because at the base of all those opportunities that Christ brings before man is a God who loves people. God is not willing that any should perish, Peter tells us, but that all should come to repentance. Over in Matthew 23, verse number 37, after Christ had pronounced the curse, the woes, upon the Pharisees, he said, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem, only if you would have come to me. I would have gathered you together like a mother hen gathers her chicks, but you were un.

Why were they unwilling? Why would they not come? There is a seeking that needs to happen. For a man to have a Savior, he must seek a solution for his sin. And the only solution is wrapped up in the blood of Jesus Christ. So Christ says, enter the narrow gates.

For few there be that find it, you must come seeking. We talked in detail about this last week. And then he said, once you get there, Luke 13, strive to enter. Agonize to enter. Why? Because you can't go in carrying your sinful baggage. You can't go in carrying all the things of the world. You've got to let it all go and trust yourself Jesus Christ alone for your salvation. And to do that, you will fight against all he because Satan doesn't want you to enter the narrow gates. But on top of all that, there are false prophets at the crossroads leading you the wrong way.

And those false prophets are there saying, Look, you got to go the Broadway. Don't go the narrow way, go the Broadway. And we talked about it last week: the Broadway is marked heaven, just like the narrow way is marked heaven. The only difference is that there's only one way to heaven, and it is through the narrow gate, not through the broad gates. You see, the false prophets don't stand there with a big sign that says, Hey, all aboard the hell train. I mean, they don want a bunch of people knowing they're going to hell.

They want to deceive them into going to hell. Satan is a master deceiver, he's a master of disguises. And so there are a multitude of people, many the text says, to describe to you the success of false prophets. Many, the text says in Matthew 7:1, are those who enter the broad road that leads to destruction. Matthew 7, 22, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? That is the multitude of people. I wonder where you are this day. What C's point in number two?

Christ gives the invitation. Now he gives the caution. The invitation is pronounced. The caution now is proclaimed. That's in verse number 15. Beware of the false. Prophets, he says. Beware of the false prophets. A prophet was one who would speak for God. He had a divine call, he had a divine message, but a false prophet did not have that authority. He would stand on his own authority. He would speak false messages. And 22 of the 27 New Testament books. Give warnings about false prophets. And I want you to notice three things about this caution.

The first thing I want you to notice is the danger of false prophets. Second of all, I want you to notice the deception of false prophets and then the destiny of false prophets.

First of all, the danger. Christ says, beware. It's a word that means to hold your mind back from. In other words, don't expose yourself to false prophets. You know that whenever you see the sign, beware, you are to beware. You're to take notes. When I was growing up in Kansas, many years ago, now there was a dog that was living next door to us. And there was a, lived in a big doghouse in a backyard, and there was a big sign on the doghouse that said, beware of dog. And whenever we went outside, that dog would bark and show its teeth, and it was just a ferocious looking thing.

And that sign said, beware of dog. And believe me, there was no way that when our ball went over into that guy's yard, we were going to venture over there knowing that that dog was there. We were scared to death. We were afraid to tear us apart. Christ says, you beware of false prophets.

You watch out for them. Don't even exp your mind to false prophets. Go with me back to Deuteronomy chapter 13 for a moment. Listen to what the Lord God says.

If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true concerning which he spoke to you, saying, let us go after other gods whom you have not known, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart. And with all your soul. You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him. And you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him and cling to Him.

but the prophet, or that dreamer a dream, shall be put to death, because he has counsel rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk, So you shall purge the evil from among you. Boy, the Lord God says, A man comes to you.

He dreams a dream. He gives a prophecy. And it comes true. And yet he seeks to lead you away from the one true God. Don't you follow it? Don't do that. Because the Lord your God is testing you, you see. God says you beware.

Beware of those who want to take you away from your loyalty and devotion and affection to the one true God. The ironic thing is that there is always a demand for false prophets. Because people just don't want to hear the truth. Isaiah would speak about it in Isaiah 30, verses 9 and 10. Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 5:3, the prophets prophesy falsely, and my people love to have it so. Can you imagine that? That's the way they are. But they are very dangerous. We'll see to point number two: their deception.

Their deception. What the text says, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. They're very deceptive. Why? Because they come in sheep's clothing. Now you've got to understand that most shepherds wore cloaks made from sheep's wool, and the mark of a shepherd was his wool cloak. That wool cloak would keep him warm at night. And when Jesus spoke of false prophets in sheep's clothing, he was talking about people who dressed like shepherds. I mean, these people came looking and wearing the garb of a shepherd.

False prophets would wear the clothes of a prophet, as a false shepherd would wear the clothes of a shepherd. Over in Zechar 13, 4, Zechariah says that a false prophet will wear A garment to deceive. You see, false prophets are more than just poor, misguided fools. They are out to deceive you. They are out to turn you away from the narrow gate that you might go down the broad road of destruction. Now, you've got to understand that these people aren't heret. Because the Bible says in Titus 3:10 that we are to rebuke a heretic.

A heretic is one who outright denies the Bible and outright denies the existence of God. And the Bible says, just rebuke those people.

And these are not apostates, people who deny the faith, people who deny Christianity, who depart from it. Those kind of people are easy to detect. All you've got to do is compare their doctrine with the Bible. Christ is referring to people who are out to deceive. They talk about Jesus. They talk about. The cross. They talk about God. They talk about scripture. They talk about church. They talk about the Holy Spirit. They really look evangelical. You can watch them on TV. You can listen to them on the radio.

You can read their books. They look just. Like Christians, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves, they are deceptive. And they are all around us. So Christ proclaims the caution: they're dangerous, they're deceptive. But note with me their destiny. What does it say? It says in Matthew:. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? And in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who pract lawlessness.

They will be cast out of the presence of the Lord forever. Over in 2 Peter chapter 2, verse number 1, listen to the words of Of Peter as he speaks about these false prophets. 2 Peter chapter 2, verse number Number one, but false prophets also arose among the people.

Just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heres, even denying the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction. Upon them. Verse number three talks about their destruction is not asleep.

Oh, it 's a guarantee that they will be destroyed. But the worst thing about it is that they're not going to just destroy themselves, that many people will be destroyed. Along with them. That's the tragedy. We got to be careful. Revelation 19: speaks of the false prophet of the Antichrist and the Antichrist Himself who will be thrown into the lake of fire. Their end is destruction. And the saddest part of all is that there will be many, many. who will go down that broad road with them, really believing that they are serving God and on their way to heaven, but in reality will wake up.

In hell. What a tragedy. But God is so good to us because He gives us a description of these people. So we go from the invitation that's pronounced to the caution that's proclaimed to the description presented, verses 16 to 20. And I want you to notice three things: the test.

Their teaching and their testimony. The test is always fruit. Their teaching is always false. And their testimony is always A fraud. First of all, the tests.

Christ says in verse number 16, you will know them. By their fruits. Verse number 20. So then you will know them by their fruits. Folks, that's an assurance. That's a guarantee. How are you going to know a false prophet? By their fruits. Listen to what Christ says: grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs.

From thist are they? Even so every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into The fire. Listen, you must understand. If you want to know the true from the false, look at what they are.

Produc. Look at their fruit. That's the test. And fruit is in three areas. Note with them, note with me this morning, those three characters. Three elements. Number one is action.

You can tell the fruit of a person by his conduct, the action of his life. It says over in John 15, verse number 8: Christ says, In this is my Father glorified that you bear much fruit, and then goes on and talks about our obedience to Christ.

You can tell a false prophet by looking at the fruit of their life, is their life one of righteous kind of living? Is their life one that seeks after God? You see, when you look at a tree and you see the fruit from a distance, it might look really, really good.

It's not until you go up and pick it off the tree and bite into it that you know whether or not it's good fruit or bad fruit. And if it's bad fruit, it's a bad tree. So you've got to go beyond action to attitude. That is so crucial to determine the attitude of an individual. His motives, his character, what is it like? Turn with me over to 2 Peter chapter 1.

This is absolutely fascinating. For the Lord gives us a description of a Christian in verse number 4 of chapter 1. For by these he has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped. The corruption that is in the world by lust. That's an amazing statement. Because Christians are partakers of Christ's divine nature, we have escaped. Corruption that is in the world. There's something down deep inside a person that we have escaped.

And that is a condemnation of our soul because we have become partakers of the divine nature that is so good to understand. You see, you must note that a Christian no long has sin reigning in his body. But he will have sin remain in his body. There 's a big difference there. For while sin remains, it no longer reigns. Therefore, you are no longer a slave to sin because you have been saved from. Sin, there is no internal corruption because the Bible says you're a departaker of the divine nature, you have escaped that corruption.

Now, note with me very carefully, chapter 2, verse number 19, when Peter speaks of false prophets. He says, promising them freedom while they themselves are what? Sl of corruption. They have not escaped corruption internally. They are slaves of that corruption. For by what a man is overcome, By this he is enslaved. For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, they have escaped the outer pollution. They had not escaped the internal corruption that's going to damn their souls.

You see, they can't live and produce a righteous kind of lifestyle because inwardly there is sin that they are enslaved to. So they can't produce the fruit of the Spirit, which is love and joy and peace and long-suffering and gentleness and meekness and temperance and self-control. They can't produce that. So you've got to look at their attitude.

Examine their life to see all that's there. But you got to go beyond that to the third aspect of fruit, and that's the audience.

The audience. Romans 1. 13, Paul would speak of those in Rome as fruit of his ministry. The converts were fruits. And so you can tell the fruit of a false prophet by looking at those who worship him, by looking at those who follow him, who attend where he is leading or she is leading. The audience begins to tell you. About the fruits of that prophet. Is he true or is he false? The test is fruit. The teaching is false. Now, note very carefully. It's not necess what they say. It's what they don't say that you have to look out for.

They don't talk about sin. They don't talk about hell. They don't talk about mourning over your sin. They don't talk about repentance. They don't talk about judgment. They only talk about healing and Heaven and happiness and health and all those kinds of things. But they're not going to broach the subject of God's judgment and eternal damnation. And sometimes you find out more about what a church teaches by what they never say than what they do say. Which leads us to point number three: their testimony.

The test is fruit, their teaching is false, and their testimony is a fraud. Their lifestyle is deplorable. It says over in 2 Peter chapter 2, verse number 13: they count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, revel in their deceptions as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, ent unstable souls. Having a heart trained in greed, acc children. They go after lust at all times. They hunger for money. This is their inter testing. Externally, they hide it pretty well.

They may have many skeletons in their moral closets. And so they must cover it very well. It was Martin Lloyd-Jones who wisely commented when he said these words. A Christian can generally be known by his very appearance. The man who really believes in the holiness of God, who knows his own sinfulness, in the blackness of his own heart. The man who believes in the judgment of God and the possibility of hell and torment. The man who really believes that he himself is so vile and helpless than nothing but the coming of the Son of God from heaven to earth and is going to the bitter shame and agony and cruelty of the cross.

Could ever save him and reconcile him to God. This man is going to show all that in his personality. He is a man who is bound to give the impression of meekness. He is bound to be humble. Our Lord reminds us here that if a man is not humble, we are to be very wary of him. He can put on a kind of sheep's clothing, but that is not true humility. That is not true meekness. And if a man's doctrine is wrong, it will generally show itself at this point. He will be affable and pleasant. He will appeal to the natural man and to the things that are physical and carnal.

But he will not give the impression of being a man who has seen himself as a hell-bound sinner who has been saved by the grace of God al. Those are true words. Let's bring everything to a conclusion by looking at the prescription that's prescribed. Turn with me over to Acts chapter 20.

In Acts chapter 20, you have Paul addressing the Ephesian elders. And listen to what he says in verse number 29. I know that after my departure, he says, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Two things. One, you need to watch. Be al. Two, you need to warn. Be admonishing people. Under watching, you need to listen carefully. False prophets don't talk about the narrow way. They talk about God's love. They don't talk about God's wrath. They'll talk about people who are deprived, but not depraved. There are messages about God as a loving, understanding Father, everyone. But hardly anything at all is said about a holy God whose only children are those who have faith in Christ. There are tremendous gaps in their message because they leave out the only tr that saves.