The Source of Beautiful Fruit :: Matthew 7:15-23

[Introduction]

We have a very clear theme in our readings today. 

From our Old Testament reading in Jeremiah, Thus says יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת ... Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak of visions from the heart, not from the mouth of YHWH (Jer 23:16).

From the second reading in Acts, Saint Paul says, Beware ... out of you yourselves, men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:28, 30).

And from our Gospel reading in Matthew: Jesus says, Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing. You will recognize them by their fruits (Mt 7:15-16a).

Brothers and sisters in Christ, these words of God underscore the importance of what we believe, teach, and confess: There is nothing we can say and nothing we can do to bring reconciliation between us and God. Instead, Jesus Christ our God and Lord died for our sins and was raised for our justification (SA II I.1). God has reconciled us. He delivers the forgiveness of sins ... and therefore, reconciliation ... through Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection first justifies and then sanctifies us before the Father. 

THEREFORE, BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS WHO PREACH A DIFFERENT WORD

[Let’s Pray]

O almighty God, you have always given to Your Church on earth faithful shepherds to guide and feed your flock. Lord, make all pastors diligent to preach the Gospel and distribute the good gifts of your sacraments (AC V). Grant your people the wisdom to heed and to receive Your Good News that we all may know the beautiful fruit of eternal life ... in Jesus’ name. Amen.

I. Before we talk about false prophets, we should ask ourselves: What is a prophet?

Properly speaking, a prophet is someone who speaks on behalf of God ... and not just any God ... but the Triune God ... the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God sends his prophets to deliver his Word that communicates his Will. Some of God’s messages were written by the prophets in long form ... as we can see in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve, and the books of Moses, among others. Some of the prophets were simply written about ... like Elijah and Elisha ... or Elihu in the book of Job and Nathan in 2 Samuel. What they all have in common is that they deliver God’s messages of warning and hope, of instruction and doctrine, of Law and Gospel. ... They bear beautiful fruits. 

Sometimes, the prophets go willingly. Sometimes they fight tooth and nail against delivering God’s word ... like Jonah, who became angry that God would save those people (Jon 4:2). But God’s Word always prevails. He enlightens prophets through visions and dreams ... angels and the Holy Spirit ... God himself in a burning bush ... and even a man standing in a river and shouting, Repent ... O Brood of Vipers ... bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Mt 3:2,7,8). 

In each case, Peter writes, [It was] never by the will of man [that] a prophecy was uttered, but men spoke from God as they were carried by the Holy Spirit (2 Pt 1:21). The bottom line is, prophets proclaim God’s Word for the edification, exhortations, and consolation of believers (1 Cor 14:3).

II. So now, what’s the difference between a true prophet and a false prophet?

For starters, you cannot identify them by appearance. As Jesus said, False prophets come to you wearing the clothing of sheep (v 15). In other words, they literally look like you and me. They come from our ranks, as Saint Paul told us. The difference between a true prophet and a false prophet is the fruits they produce. As Jesus said, Every good tree makes beautiful fruits, but the rotten tree makes immoral fruits (v 17). Here, Jesus is not talking about the singular fruit of the Spirit ... you know ... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control (Gal 5:22-23). Instead, he’s talking about what you hear. The fruits of the prophet are heard. Their immoral thoughts come from their heart (Mt 15:19).

Generally speaking, these rotten fruits of false prophets have three characteristics.

First, they ignore the sinfulness of man ... the immorality of man. They ignore the Law of God, which is good and beautiful. 

False prophets will say things like ... I am not poor. I am not miserable. And I am not a sinner. ... They will say ... God loves you just the way you are. He would never send anyone to hell. ... They will say ... All religions lead to the same God. We all believe the same thing. ... And they will say something as clever as ... No matter what you go through in life, no matter how many disappointments you suffer, your value in God's eyes always remains the same.

Brothers and sisters in Christ ... in this kind of preaching and teaching ... man’s sin is either denied or ignored. It is based on lawlessness. That is a rotten fruit. Don’t consume it.

A second characteristic of the rotten fruits of false prophets is heard when the preacher exalts what he does and teaches you to exalt what you do. Those false prophets are fond of declaring “a word on their heart” ... instead of God’s Word. They’ll boast about their morality, and how they’ve turned their life around, and how they looooovvvveee their neighbor. They say things like ... if you only do a little more and give a little more, Jesus will bless you. ... They’ll say ... If only you would have more faith and pursue God with more devotion, giving your heart to Jesus, God will bless you. 

That type of preaching is not about Jesus. It’s all Law ... works-righteousness ... the theology of glory. Digesting this rotten fruit makes you sick. It leads to despair, faithlessness, and death. Don’t consume it.

Finally, a third characteristic of false prophets and false teaching is ... It’s not about Jesus ... AT ALL. It is not about His life. It’s not about His death. It’s not about His resurrection. It’s not about His promises to save you and how he fulfills His promises. It’s not about the theology of the cross. It’s not about the Gospel. It denies the sacraments, which proclaim the Gospel. It ignores how God actually forgives. It ignores the resurrection. Don’t eat this fruit!

Instead, receive the beautiful fruit of Jesus.

III. The True Prophet always speaks the Gospel of Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is only one Gospel. There is not another (Gal 1:7). 

Why any of us would abandon, ignore, or turn away from the Gospel ... acting as if it is not important ... is a mystery to me. Why any of your pastors would preach or teach something other than the Gospel is a mystery to me. There is no finer Word than the Gospel. It saves. There is no word that’s more beautiful to hear and to see ... to touch and to taste ... to receive and share with one another ... than the Gospel. It saves. We need the beautiful fruit of the Gospel. You can never hear it and receive it too often. It saves.

Now I remind you, brothers ... as Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15[:1-5a] ... of the Gospel I preached to you, which you also received, in which also you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the certain word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first important what I also received, that Christ died on behalf of your sins in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he was seen.

This is the Gospel. Saint Paul was not ashamed to preach this Gospel and to receive this Gospel every day of his life. He was not ashamed to share it with you, teaching you to return to your baptism and receive the supper. And neither should your pastor ... or you. 

IV. Therefore, let us commend ourselves always to hearing and receiving the beautiful fruit. 

True prophets speak the unchanging Word of God that boldly preaches the Law and the Gospel. They call men to repent. They show men their need for a savior. They announce the forgiveness of sins. That beautiful fruit will indeed shatter us poor, miserable sinners ... rendering us helpless ... but it will also teach us to fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

Through his beautiful news ... Jesus goes to the cross to be crucified. He rests in the tomb. He rises into eternal life. He unites himself with you to do the same. He does it in baptism. He does it in his Supper. His spoken Word brings edification, encouragement, and comfort, and it teaches you to believe, teach, and confess, as Luther taught ... that ... Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death, that I may be his own and live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead, lives, and reigns to all eternity.

[Conclusion]

May God preserve me as your pastor to preach and teach his Gospel and to administer his sacraments faithfully. May God keep you steadfast in his Word so that you will always embrace his good gifts. As Paul says, the word of his grace ... is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified ... in Jesus’ name.