Daily Bible Verse ~ Matthew 7:15-20

Posted On 2021-01-04

Matthew 7:15‭-‬20 ESV “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.

Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 7 that false prophets look like sheep, but are really ravenous wolves. We are to beware. Another way to put it is we are to be alert, or be watchful of them.

Imagine if you will a shepherd watching over his sheep. A fellow shepherd alerts him that there is a wolf wandering around the field looking mighty hungry and in need to satisfy his appetite. How should the shepherd respond to this new found information? How would you respond if you were the shepherd?

Let’s pretend for a moment that the sheperd tells his fellow herdsman that it’s not a big deal. The wolf looks harmless enough, so how bad can he really be? After all, he sort of looks like a sheep! He says baaa and is wearing a coat of wool.

That would be a ridiculous response to say the least. Any good shepherd in his right mind would call out to others to let them know there was a wolf around. He would do everything in his power to guard and protect the sheep. Unfortunately, as the American church, we are often like the shepherd who makes excuses for the false teachers in our midst. They say “Jesus” in their motivational messages so they aren’t that bad! They tell us Jesus wants us to be rich and healthy and to have a happy life so they must be from God, right?

The Apostle Paul writes in 2Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” And in the book of Romans he says they do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”

The church is filled with prosperity and faith healing preachers that are looking more to line their pockets with gold than they are trying to usher disciples into heaven. They long for crowds of people to honor them, place them on a pedestal, and ultimately pay them lots of money to tell them what they want to hear. And generally, the messages that come from the false teachers mouth sounds almost like it could be from the Bible.

Jesus tells us to beware! We have a responsibility to not only be watchful sheep, but to watch over the weaker sheep in our midst and protect them from false teachers as well. The way we do that is to know the Word of God and to truly understand what being a disciple of Christ really looks like.

Digging Deeper:

1Timoty 1:19-20; Acts 20:28-30

Apply It:

It’s time to do your homework… I encourage you today to do your own personal study on this topic. Read your Bible and come to an understanding what the false Gospel looks like. If you find that someone you listen to doesn’t preach the true Gospel then run as fast as you can the other direction. The true Gospel looks something like this:

• The true Gospel preaches repentance from your old way of life.
• The true Gospel demands turning from sin and turning to Christ for forgiveness.
• The true Gospel is always in pursuit of Holiness.
• The true Gospel gives Christ lordship over your life.
• The true Gospel means having a new nature and dying to self.
• The true Gospel understands that we must sacrifice and endure suffering for the sake of Christ.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to know and preach the true Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it is nice when teachers say what my itching ears want to hear, but today I turn from a Gospel of the making of men to the true Biblical Gospel of repentance, forgiveness, lordship, and service to you. Thank you for giving me a new heart and a new life in Christ.