Listening and Living the Word of God

Matthew 7:15-20

15 "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Wolves in sheep's clothing is an apt description. They appear on the outside to be something they are not. When Jesus uttered this, He was probably thinking of false ministers who would insinuate themselves into the church by appearing to be sheep within the sheepfold.

Jesus uses this terminology in regard to His relationship with the church. He was the Shepherd, and we are His sheep. Here we have wolves (false ministers) who look like sheep, but it is hypocrisy. They only look that way on the outside. He tells us we will know them by their fruits. The fruit that is produced will not necessarily appear quickly. But Christ guarantees that over a period of time the church will be stripped of its true spiritual vitality in terms of the character that will be produced within the flock, making the rise of wolves in sheep's clothing more likely.

What is He saying? The implication is that Jesus is connecting belief with practice. If we believe a certain set of doctrines, we will practice something because of the teaching. Belief and practice, creed and conduct—Jesus is saying they are vitally connected. In other words, the teacher cannot hide what he is going to produce. Eventually it will come out. Their false philosophies, no matter how attractive they may appear at first sight, will in the long run be exposed for what they really are.

Jesus warned us in Matthew 24:11 that in the last days, “...many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” Deception is the inevitable result of every false gospel message. The word translated “deceive” in Greek is “planao” which means to be led astray, to wander or roam off, to be lead away from the truth and into error and sin.

Any preacher that tries to lead you away from your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God is a tool of the devil designed to destroy your life. If you involve yourself with their message, you will be deceived. If you open your mind to their doctrine, you will be led astray.

In other words, Jesus instructed us to separate ourselves (our mind, our thoughts, and our attention) away from the ministry of false prophets and the erroneous message they preach.

Remember to listen to the Word of God and live His teachings.