An examination of the Gospel of Matthew 7:15-27...

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We often compartmentalize scripture, often into such minute portions that the overall context and thus message are lost. In a microwaved church we know more verse snippets than we do the point God is trying to make. This devotional was originally going to exegete Matthew 7:21-23, perhaps the most sobering portion of scriptures for believers to consider. When placed into further context by examining the previous and following sections, we can gain even clearer perspective. These all came from one teaching Christ made that covers a few chapters in Matthew's gospel, the Sermon on the Mount. Remember that chapters and even verses were added centuries after the actual words were spoken. Jesus did not teach in a staggered manner. Sure, there were plenty of shifts in topics but these three sections we will examine today all seem relevant to each other for our consideration. Let us start with the previous section:

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)

Jesus begins here teaching about false prophets. This is a subject that is taught consistently throughout the bible yet the church today seemingly turns a blind eye to this cancer within the body of Christ. The vast majority of what we know as church today is simply apostate. It is not the church as God outlined. It is filled with false teachers and prophets. It is purpose driven but that purpose is not Christ. I remember once Joel Osteen defended his heresies by stating that he did not think he needed to tell people what they have done wrong (sin) because we already know what we have done wrong. This is of course wildly inaccurate and biblically absurd. We might know what we have done but do not ascribe it to being wrong or simply do not care what God actually thinks about it. Osteen is far from alone. Nearly every preacher you know from national platforms has compromised the Gospel to the point that it no longer can save anyone. Read Acts Chapter 20 and see what Paul declares to the Ephesian elders. That because he has not hesitated from teaching the entire Gospel, without reservation, their blood is not resting upon him. Because the purpose driven mindset teaches that bigger is not only better but blessed, we confuse approval from the world with approval from God. Paul Washer once famously quipped that Osteen is judgment upon anyone willing to sit through his sermons!

So, Jesus first teaches us that prophets come to us in sheep's clothing. We all know this verse but do we really understand what Jesus is saying here? False prophets do not enter our churches with neon signs declaring their falseness. Far too many Christians today are willing to accept anyone who can spell Jesus correctly. I call this the Michael Brown Syndrome. Dr. Brown will never say anything negative about any other teacher that declares he or she is Christian, regardless of if he has even written books against the doctrine they preach! False prophets and their ministries are not redeemable. If only we would show the same concern for the victims of false theology as we do for the wolves that teach it. That is the second point Jesus makes here. Behind the sheep's mask, they are actually ravenous wolves. Ravenous is defined as extremely hungry and their food is the sheep of the Lord. They are not passive in what they do. They are voracious. They devour the sheep. Jesus does not teach this so that we might be scared but rather so we might be prepared. He makes some pretty definitive statements here. Yes we will know them by their fruits but Jesus takes it farther than that. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit and a diseased tree cannot bear good fruit. There is no middle ground. A wolf is not sometimes a wolf. He or she is all in. We see the church embrace the exact opposite of this teaching day in and day out. It seems as if we try to excuse the wolf. We hear trite sayings like eat the meat and spit out the bones but that is simply not possible according to our Savior here. Joseph Prince preaches many things that are correct but the portions that are not will send you straight to hell. The devil always mixes some truth with his lies because otherwise it is too easy to spot. We can easily dismiss charlatans such as Kat Kerr who claims to have visited heaven over 50 times but with some of the cleverer false teachers we cling to the slivers of truth and use them to excuse their damnable heresies. So, Jesus clearly wants us to recognize them by the evil fruits of their teachings but what do we do with that recognition? Knowledge without application is useless. Somewhere we know that Hillsong is wildly wicked but we still buy their new albums and sing their songs during worship. We must recognize them first and then according to scripture, we are to mark them as false and avoid them at all cost. Even if we think we can handle the falseness, what example do we set for those who may not have our level of discernment? Not to mention that when we dance with darkness, eventually we will think it is light and as Jesus taught, how deep is that darkness! As we move into the second set of scriptures we see the cost of following false teachers or thinking we simply know better.

"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. 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?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' - Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV)

Take a good long look at these verses beloved. Jesus is not messing around here. The price for following what is false can be your very soul. Picture this in your mind's eye. These people in these verses are very churched people. These are not people who lived an agnostic life. These people were clearly deceived. They spent their lives thinking they were saved. They spent their lives believing they were serving Christ. Remember when I said that it seems that we accept anyone who spells Jesus correctly? Well, not everyone who says 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven. Knowing His name is not enough. Saying it twice is not enough. Serving in your local mega-church is not enough. Doing your faux missions trips is not enough. Singing in the choir, having a prayer closet, speaking in gibberish, dropping to the ground when someone lays hands on you, even studying to and eventually preaching is simply not enough. Not without sound doctrine. Calvin is credited with saying that zeal without doctrine is like a sword in the hands of a lunatic and there are plenty of lunatics standing in the pulpits today. Think of the lunacy of the Toronto heresy where congregants rolled around on the floor laughing incoherently or barked like a dog. Think about the Kundalini spirit that engulfed Brownsville. Think about the lunacy of Bethel that fakes gold dust, gemstones and glory cloud manifestations. Or about their grave sucking or dead raising team. Think about the lunacy of Rodney Howard Browne and his drunk in the spirit nonsense. Then realize that the entire evangelical world rallied around him when he refused to close his church when COVID broke out. Mike Bickle, Francis Chan, or Todd White, who was caught faking the growing leg scam on film! This list can go on and on but the point in each case is the lunacy embraced by what passes for the church today. Now think about those in local gatherings who stay because their friends are there, or the nursery services are really good. Or the coffee. Sheer and absolute lunacy.

So, who does enter the kingdom of heaven then? The bible says the way is narrow and few are those who find it. Only those who do the will of the Father. Modern Christianity is obsessed with relationship Jesus. He is reduced to your buddy or wingman. So many mock religion, which Christ did set up, in favor of this carnal relationship paradigm. Let me let you in on today's deep theology. Unless your relationship is one of Lord and servant, it is not Jesus you are in relationship with. Oh, and in case you are confused. He is the Lord and we are the servants. Wait a minute preacher! Doesn't He call us friend? Try reading the following verse:

You are my friends if you do what I command. - John 15:14 (NIV)

One day Jesus family wanted to come in to see Him and when He was told that His mother and brother were waiting, He responded who is my mother and brother except he who does the will of my Father. Jesus is love. He is compassion. But He is Lord. If he is not, that is how you end up standing before Him exclaiming Lord, Lord. Just look at the confusion and desperation of those standing before Him in these verses. They prophesied in His name! They cast out demons in His name! How many false prophets were recently exposed in this past election? How many are still followed despite lying about hearing from God and what He had to say! Mighty works? How sad that so many will hear that He never even knew them. They based their faith on a cult of personality church and not our Lord and Savior. Depart from me! This is expressly why the bible teaches us that we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. I have had people ask me at this point if I want to be scared of the God I serve. My answer is simple. I do not live in fear of God striking me dead with a lightning bolt. I live in fear of forgetting that He can. Look up Uzzah in the bible if you think I am off. Now that Jesus has explained false teaching and what can happen if we fall victim to it, He moves into the final set of scriptures, what we should be focusing on.

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." - Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV)

It is not enough just hear the words of Jesus. We must obey. Is God more pleased with sacrifice or obedience? Ask King Saul. The people who stand before Jesus all sacrificed. They all gave up things or desires in this world but they followed the wrong God and it all starts with His word. Jesus is the rock. His truth is the rock. It does not change with the winds of this carnal world. This world will send storms against us and beat our lives with rain and floods but the man who stands upon the word of God will not be moved. Jesus wraps up this teaching with a parable. He warns us about false teaching and prophecy and shows us what will happen if we follow it. Then He shows us two options - the wise and the foolish. The foolish end up standing before Him saying, Lord, Lord because they built their faith upon sand. Sand shifts too easily. It is not firm. How many people do you know who are blown to and fro by every new wind of doctrine? By the newest or flashiest false teaching? The average time spent as a congregant in a mega church is just under three years. After, many will write off organized religion because of their hurtful experiences within the apostate church. They thought they had bought into something solid but time shows it is nothing but sand beneath their feet. The church today is not built upon doctrine and in fact doctrine has become a dirty word. Bill Johnson mocks it by saying we do not worship the bible.

Yes we do.

Jesus is His word! Read John's gospel! Yet take a good long look around Christendom and see what passes off for the word. Sermons have become sermonettes that strip out the cross, the blood, and anything else that might offend or possibly save someone. One Easter season, Rick Warren did an article for pastors with tips for making sure their visitors returned to their church the following week since Easter is the largest attended service if the year. His key advice? Do not preach the Gospel! I kid you not. He recommended starting a series on some felt need such as how to improve marriages or becoming more significant. That is a microcosm of the church today. Three carnal sermon points and a cloud of dust. That is followed by a faux altar call, with many allowing people to stay in their seats. People are taught to invite Jesus into their hearts as if He is some wallflower at a Junior High Prom. Into their wickedly deceitful hearts. In the Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren discusses actual salvation one time and in it offers up a nine-word sinner's prayer. Once again, I kid you not. Check out pages 58-59. After this ridiculousness, Warren pronounces that if they said these nine magical words then they are now saved and born again! Are you kidding me! No wonder so many will stand before Jesus exclaiming Lord, Lord. Most people use "I can do all things through Christ" to excuse things they shouldn't do. They do not realize it is about Christian perseverance. They think they are David slaying their goliaths instead of understanding he is a type of Christ. The bible says that His people perish for a lack of knowledge and that specifically means the word of God. We seek clairvoyance weakly disguised as prophecy when the final revealed will of God is at our fingertips in the holy Scriptures. We seek a faux relationship with Christ and leave Him shaking His head wondering why we bother to call Him Lord if we are going to refuse to do as He says. We seek the blessing instead of realizing Christ is the blessing.

Beloved do not despair! This is all an encouragement! These things have not yet come to pass! They are provided for us that we might learn, discern, and grow into the fullness of Christ. Keep your false encouragement based upon this world and the baubles it has to offer. There is no crown of glory without first the crown of thorns. You truly want eternal life? You truly want the promise of tomorrow beyond this mortal coil? Then count the things of this world as rubbish. Seek Him. Be found in Him. Then we might know the power of His resurrection and share in His sufferings. Doesn't sound seeker-friendly or purpose driven enough? Take it up with God!

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. - Philippians 3:8-11 (ESV)

Reverend Anthony Wade - May 18, 2021

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.