Smooth Talkers – Matthew 7:15-20

I saw a Facebook post of a young man I know from church. He thought he had some aspect of his life all figured out and then it came unglued. He said he got mad at God, didn’t want to go to church anymore, and wanted nothing to do with Jesus. But someone he trusted urged this young man to talk to God about it and the Lord moved him to submit his will to Him and his heart was restored.

Thank goodness for those true prophets in our lives. What would a false prophet have told this young man? Jesus is still applying his message on kingdom righteousness to his disciples and gives a warning.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:15-20 ESV)

Do we find it strange that in a message to his disciples about the kingdom and its righteousness, Jesus would have to warn them about false prophets?  From the very beginning of his kingdom in the garden of Eden with the false prophet Satan speaking through the serpent, the evil one has been trying to use falsehood to indoctrinate the human race into abandoning submission to Yahweh and developing our own kingdoms.  And as we saw with Jesus in the temptation in the wilderness, when Satan offered him all the kingdoms of the world, Satan really believes that he will be the ruler of all our kingdoms.  “Freeing” ourselves from God will ultimately mean enslaving ourselves to Satan.

So Jesus knows that kingdom followers will be plagued by false prophets and he wants us to know how to recognize them.  And the test is simple.  What is their fruit?  These unhealthy trees will always produce unhealthy fruit.  This is because they don’t really work for the good of those they prophesy to but for their own good, their own selfish ends.  So expect abuse of power, lust for money, sexual indulgence and, of course, doctrine that is meant to tickle your own unhealthy desire to satisfy your own selfish desires.

These prophets will ultimately be cut down and thrown in the fire, but we must watch that we don’t get caught up with them in their disease. The path and gate to life is narrow and hard. False prophets will claim to be on the path and have a way to smooth it out. But the smooth way is the wrong way.