Last week we considered what really is the beginning of the culmination of the Lord’s message in the Sermon on the Mount.  He begins to wrap up His message by showing that the contrast between the natural man and the spiritual man reaches it’s eventual destination.  And since Jesus has been teaching that there are two possible types of men – the natural and the spiritual, the unregenerate and the regenerate, those born again and those who have not been born again – then it stands to reason that He indicates that there are  but  two possible destinations.

So Jesus said in vs.13, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  So there are two types of people, two gates, two paths and two destinations.  One is life, and one is destruction.

What is really the major thrust of this section down to the end of the sermon then is this principle of a coming day of judgment.  That there is appointed a day of judgment for all men. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 

So then what Jesus is urging is that we thoroughly examine ourselves to be certain that we are on the narrow way that leads to life.  And to that point, Jesus gives us two warnings.  The first warning is one about false prophets. If pastors are supposed to be shepherds who lead us in the path of life, then we should be concerned that they are leading us correctly, and that they are not false shepherds, or as Jesus refers to them here, as false prophets. 

He says in vs15, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”  The question then is who are these false prophets, and how shall we recognize them? First of all, notice that He says they come in sheep’s clothing. In other words, they look like the right kind of people, they have the right clothing on.  There is nothing in their appearance to make you suspicious.  They say the right kinds of things.  They have a personality and decorum that lends itself to appearing righteous. 

This last week I thought seriously for a while about growing out my beard.  Since we didn’t have Wednesday night Bible study I didn’t bother to shave all week.  So I thought it might be a good opportunity to grow out my beard and see how it looked. But yesterday I chickened out and shaved it off. However, I had  thought it might make me look more distinguished perhaps.  More studious, sophisticated.  And I bet if I were to add to that a black shirt with a clerical collar, I would get a lot more respect.  I have a nephew that recently started working as a pastor in a Hospice facility.  And he has decided to wear a clerical collar in order for people to recognize him as clergy more easily. And from what I hear it works wonders.  So I can’t help but think that people respond better to outward signs of a spiritual office, that they would give more respect if I looked a certain way.  Yet Jesus says beware of such people who have the appearance of a prophet, but their teaching is false.

And really, I think their teaching is more what Jesus is referring to rather than just the way they look. Though I would remind you that Paul said that the devil masquerades as an angel of light.  So there is that.  However, the doctrine of demons is more to the point of what Jesus is getting at.

I’ve often said that the defining characteristic of a false prophet is not so much what they say, as what they don’t say.  It’s a very subtle difference. The most dangerous preacher is the one who does not emphasize the right things. They say all kinds of things that sound ok, perhaps even orthodox, and yet it’s what they leave out that is deadly. The false prophet is one who doesn’t speak of the narrow way in his gospel.  He does not say things that are offensive, that call for any sacrifice.  Paul refers to that as tickling the ears of his listeners in  2Tim. 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but [wanting] to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”  Notice there is a collaboration between the false prophet who wants to please men and the hearer who wants to hear things that are pleasing to him.

In Jeremiah there is a description of the false prophet as one who cries “peace, peace,” when there is no peace.  In other words, they are a comforting preacher.  They want to assuage your concerns about the judgment to come with comforting, beguiling words that lull you to sleep, to say there is nothing to fear.

The fact is the false prophet rarely preaches about things like holiness, righteousness, the need for repentance, and the wrath of God. He always emphasizes instead the love of God. He makes God out to be a one doctrine, one aspect, one dimensional God, and that dimension is strictly defined as love, but not Biblical love, but some sort of sentimental mushiness that winks at sin.  And to that I say, to conceal the truth about God by omission is just as destructive as to preach outright heresy.

As I said, the deceit of the false prophet is not what they say, but what they don’t say.  They don’t really talk about sin. They don’t try to say that we are perfect, but rather that sin is not serious. The bottom line is that they don’t want to deal with sin.  They don’t emphasize the need for repentance. They emphasize that the door is quite wide, and the way is broad that enters into life.  It’s easy.  It doesn’t require any sort of sacrifice on your part.  They emphasize a relationship without repentance. But Biblical repentance has works.  John the Baptist said in Matt. 3:8 “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

So Jesus’s warning is to beware of false prophets because they will lead you on the wrong path.  I have much more compassion for sheep that have been led astray than I do for the false shepherds who lead them astray.  Sheep need a shepherd, and God has appointed in the church pastors who are to shepherd the sheep.  But as James said, let no many of you become teachers for they will incur a stricter judgment. 

So Jesus tells the church to beware false prophets.  You are not totally inculpable. You have a responsibility to be on your guard and judge them by their fruit.  Notice that Jesus says they look good on the outside, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  In other words, they devour the flock, they take advantage of them, and ultimately they ruin the flock. So though Jesus said in the beginning of this chapter to judge not lest you be judged, He now warns us to exercise righteous judgment.

So to that point, He says that we are to be fruit inspectors. Twice Jesus says, you will know them by their fruits. Vs.16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn [bushes] nor figs from thistles, are they? 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. So then, you will know them by their fruits.” 

The whole point of this illustration is that Jesus likens a man to a fruit tree.  One is good, and another is bad.  Though they both look the same superficially, one brings forth good fruit, and one brings forth bad fruit.  One is cut down, and thrown into the fire, and one has life.  Once again, Jesus is reiterating the principle of two types of men in the world; the natural and the spiritual.  He speaks in another place in a parable about the wheat and the tares.  One is sown by the Lord’s workers, and one is sown by the Devil.  Both look similar.  And yet at the harvest, Jesus says, their work will make evident which is will be gathered into the Lord’s harvest, and which will be burned up.

The point is that a man may look like a Christian on the outside, he may say the right things, and appear to do the right things, and yet inwardly he is not a Christian.  And that is the difference between a good tree and a bad tree.  Outwardly they look the same.  They may both look the same, bear the same leaves, the same flowers.  But one produces fruit that is good, and one fruit that is bad. 

Jesus says, “Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?”  The point is this; that out of the heart comes that which defile a man.  There will be evidence of righteousness in the righteous. There will be holiness in the life of a man who is sanctified.  As Hebrews 12:14 tells us; “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification/ holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”  

There has to be a change of nature, a change of heart.  That’s why we use the term “regeneration.”  It’s new birth, it’s being born again.  It’s a new life, spiritual life.  And only when that is a reality, can there be the kind of fruit that God deems good.  Simply being a  moral person, or being kind, or being a nice person is not good fruit.  Only a spiritual tree can produce spiritual fruit. Only an apple tree will produce apples.  Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes.  Like produces like, kind produces kind. So if you are going to produce spiritual fruit, then you must first be made spiritual. If you are going to bear the fruit of righteousness then you must first be made righteous. And that comes only through faith and repentance which leads to the righteousness of Jesus being transferred to your account resulting in regeneration.

So we are called to judge with a righteous judgment in regards to false prophets and false teaching.  We are called to be discriminating when it comes to the fruit of a person’s profession or proclamation.  But we are to be careful because we can easily be deceived.  Ultimately we cannot always know the difference when looking at the outside appearance.  But we must remember that ultimately, God is the judge and God is never deceived.  He knows the heart of man.  God will judge at the last day.  “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”  

And that brings us to some of the most terrifying words found in scripture, in vs 21-23. This statement is what makes  the preceding warning  about false prophets so concerning. Because false prophets can lead you to the wrong destination.  Jesus gives the second warning in vs21, saying, ”Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven [will enter.] 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 PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”

So in this second warning Jesus is warning against the danger of self deception and self delusion. It may have been fostered or encouraged by false prophets, but ultimately it is your responsibility to be sure that you have entered into the narrow way and the narrow road that leads to life, and not been pandered to by preachers the popular gospel. 

In this passage, Jesus gives us a list of false things upon which men tend to rely upon as evidence of spiritual life, but which in fact are not evidence at all.  Or to put it another way, the Lord shows what is possible to experience as a man who is actually still dead in his sins, still carnal, natural, and who has not been born again.  And it’s a pretty enlightening list.

First He says they will say unto Him, “Lord, Lord.” What is important to realize here is not that it’s wrong to say “Lord, Lord.”  No one is going to enter into heaven without saying recognizing that Jesus is Lord.” But what He is saying, is that not everyone who says that will get in. In other words, merely saying you believe that Jesus is Lord is not enough. James 2:19 says, “the devils also believe, and tremble.”  There is a danger in being content with an intellectual assent to the truth.  It’s possible to say you believe in Christ, and yet your life is evidence you live in denial of that truth.

Listen, the historical evidence of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth is undeniable.  But no one is saved by simply believing that He lived and died on the cross 2000 years ago. You can believe that and still remain unregenerate. You can say, “Lord, Lord,” and still remain outside of the kingdom of heaven.

The second danger is that you can be zealous and fervent in your belief, but still be unsaved.  Notice the repetition of the word “Lord.” These people are not just giving intellectual assent, but they have an emotional component to it. They have a fervency in their faith. But what Jesus is indicating is that enthusiasm and fervency does not make it spiritual.  Emotion may be simply a work of the flesh.  It may be born out of carnal enthusiasm which stems from a natural desire of the flesh.  I’ve seen so many country music stars for instance who live like the devil, and yet when they sing some old gospel song they shed crocodile tears and get all choked up. So emotion or fervency or enthusiasm is not evidence of spiritual life.

Then the Lord indicates even more dangers which can contribute to a false confidence, and that is their works.  What works can a person do and yet still be outside of the kingdom?  The first thing He says is that they say, “did we not prophesy in Your name?”  To prophecy means to speak forth the word of the Lord. There are two types of prophecy; fore telling, and forth telling.  Jesus doesn’t indicate exactly what type He is talking about.  I think both are covered here.  The point He makes is that many people will offer a defense in the day of judgment that they prophesied in His name.  But He will say to them, “I never knew you, depart from me you who practice lawlessness.”

I believe this indicates there will be many preachers in the day of judgment that will not be accepted into the kingdom of heaven.  It’s hard to believe that someone can preach God’s word, and yet miss it themselves, but that is what Jesus says.  Such was true of Balaam the prophet. He delivered the message of God, but the outcome of His life revealed that he was outside of the kingdom.  

Paul warns in 1 Cor. 13:1-3 “though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and yet don’t have love, it profits me nothing.”  In fact, as I quoted James as saying earlier, the fact that a person is a preacher subjects them to a stricter judgment.  And that’s why I feel that the false prophets deserve a greater condemnation than those foolish sheep who follow them.  

The point being, that Jesus says that in the judgment we shall find men and women who were lauded by man as doing some great work of God, of having some special anointing of God, and yet they will be cast out of the kingdom.  

Not only though are those who prophesy subject to judgment, but Jesus says also those who cast out devils.  Notice again, “in My name.”  It is possible for a person to cast out demons in the name of Jesus and yet still be outside of the kingdom.  And we can find an example of that in Jesus’s inner circle.  When Jesus sent out the disciples to preach and cast out demons, they came back rejoicing that the demons had been subject to them.  It’s pretty clear that this gift was given to Judas as well.  And yet once again, the outcome of his life was evidence that he was not part of the kingdom of heaven, but rather the son of perdition.

Furthermore, there is an account in Acts19 of certain sons of Sceva who claimed to have  the power of exorcism. Jewish exorcists. Yet they weren’t saved. Even today we hear of certain people who are exorcists and claim a certain amount of success in that.  But Jesus says such evidence is a false positive.  It’s not necessarily evidence that they are of the kingdom of God.

The final false evidence that Jesus gives is one that has great advocates in many religious circles today.  And that is the ability to do signs and wonders. He said they will say, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not in Your name perform many miracles?’  Many people today claim to be great workers for God and they show as evidence their ability to do miraculous things.

And yet scripture should have taught us that such miraculous powers are not necessarily of God.  Remember the magicians of Pharaoh, when Moses performed the signs that God had given him to authenticate His message, the magicians were also able to duplicate many of them. They were able to do miracles. 

Not only though do we have that example in the Old Testament, but Jesus Himself says later on in Matthew 24:24, “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”  So false prophets have been given power, presumably from Satan, to deceive people into following their false teaching.  And it affects even the elect.  That is even those that are saved are subject to their false signs and wonders.  

That’s what I find so ironic about certain denominations today that advertises that the main characteristic of their faith is that of signs and wonders. They put it out it as evidence of God speaking to them. And yet in the church age, the Bible gives more warnings about such things than it does accolades.  

For instance, Paul warns in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, about the coming of the one at the end of the age who will deceive through signs and wonders, saying, “Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;  [that is,] the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,  and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.”

So it’s not only possible, but Jesus indicates that it is very likely that many who have relied upon such power will be found to be outside of the kingdom at the judgment.  Such miraculous powers are often attributed to the Holy Spirit, but may in actuality be given by Satan himself. In fact, there are powers of man, such as hypnotism and things like that, which though we don’t understand them, nevertheless may seem to effect miracles.  And so we must be wary of such things and those that use such power to deceive men.

When Jesus’s disciples came back rejoicing that Satan and his angels had been subject to them, Jesus said, “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” (Luke 10:20)  The important thing is not what kind of external validation or power or appearance of righteousness that it seems someone may have, but whether or not they have been born again into the kingdom of God.

Vs.21  “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven [will enter.]”  If you have been born again as a child of God, then you have received a new nature that will want to do the will of God.  You will obey the word of God.  You will exhibit the characteristics of God, the very characteristics described in the Beatitudes at the beginning of the message.  And that is only possible if you have been made into a new creation, given spiritual new life, a new heart, and new desires.  That is the only way to enter the narrow gate, by regeneration, through faith in what Jesus Christ has done for you, and that is the only way to enter the narrow way, through the new birth that is given as a result of your faith, as you take up your cross and follow Him, being conformed to His image through obedience to His word.

Examine yourself today in light of God’s word, and see if there is evidence within you that you have been regenerated, that you are a new creation, a new tree, if you will, so that you might bring forth good fruit.  ““So then, you will know them by their fruits.”