Pay Attention to God's Word, and Look for the Beautiful Fruit :: Matthew 7:15-23

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[Introduction]

If you were intent on forging a hundred dollar bill, you wouldn’t print it on pink construction paper with purple ink, now would you? No one would be fooled by that fake. Instead, to pass off a counterfeit as true, you’d make the bill look like the original. You’d copy the paper and the ink, the image and the watermark. And you’d rely on SOME truth to mask the lie.

In our Gospel reading, Jesus warned us about this problem of counterfeits ... that is, those who rely on some truth to mask a lie. In the closing words of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, Beware of false prophets who come to you in the clothing of sheep but inwardly are ravenous wolves (v 15). Sometimes, false prophets mask the truth of God’s Word with evil fruit (vv 17-18) ... a counterfeit. Sometimes, false prophets hedge the truth to convince you that there is another way, another truth, and another life. They often claim divine inspiration, but they always deliver messages contrary to God’s true nature and his established Word.

3.

There might be no better biblical example of this than Genesis 3:1-6. In this passage about the fall of man into original sin, Moses describes two types of false prophets ... one who intentionally hides the truth, and one who adds to it in a different form of deception. 

Moses writes, Now the serpent was more crafty than all the living things of the land that YHWH (Our) God made. So he said to the woman, ‘Oh, to think that God said you can not eat from every tree in the garden.’ That’s lie No. 1.

And the woman said to the serpent, ‘We can eat the fruit from the trees of the garden, but from the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God said you will not eat from it and neither can you touch it, lest you die.’ That’s deception No. 2

But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die (when you eat that fruit). For God knows that during the day you eat of it, your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ There’s lie No. 3.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and that it was desirable to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took its fruit and ate, and she also gave to the man with her, and he ate (vv 1-6). And they died.

This passage is one of the reasons Jesus calls the serpent the father of lies in John 8:44, and is therefore the father of false prophets (Rv 12:9). The ancient serpent fleeced man and woman of life by twisting the truth of God’s Word. He took God’s Word out of context and began teaching us to do the same. He arose, as Peter said in his second epistle, with the purpose of introducing destructive heresies (2 Pt 2:1). And we’ve been paying the price ever since.

2.

Now there is only one defense against this. Jesus said, Beware of ... or be concerned about ... or simply, pay attention to ... anyone who speaks the Word of God ... including me.

You, who have been hearing the Gospel, know what to listen for and to look for. 

As Jesus said, You will come to know [false prophets] by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? In this way, every good tree produces beautiful fruit, but the rotten tree produces evil fruit. A good tree is not able to produce evil fruit, nor is a rotten tree able to produce beautiful fruit. Every tree that does not produce beautiful fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will come to know them from their fruits (vv 16-20). 

So what are these fruits? Let’s focus today on the most important one of all.

There is no fruit that is more beautiful than the Gospel. And there is nothing more rotten than the absence of the Gospel. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing and hearing what God has done. And there is nothing more rotten than thinking you are the one who has to get it done. 

The Gospel is not just a set of beliefs. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who have faith, first for the Jew, and also the Gentile ... yes, even for you. For in (the Gospel), the righteousness of God is revealed out of faith into faith, just as it is written, The righteous will live out of faith (Rm 1:16-17).

In the most simple terms: The Law tells you what to do, and the Gospel tells you what God has done ... for YOU. ... The Law knocks you down. The Gospel lifts you up. ... The Law wounds you. The Gospel heals you. ... The Law shows you and reminds you that you were dead and dying in sin. The Gospel shows you and reminds you of how God has saved you from sin and death. ... The Law produces guilt and fear and condemnation. The Gospel brings relief and peace and freedom. 

The Law and the Gospel work together. And the result is beautiful.

As Paul teaches us through Romans, the Law speaks ... with the result that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. ... But now the righteousness of God has been revealed through the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: All have sinned and lack the glory of God, having been declared righteous freely in his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as the atoning sacrifice through faith in his blood (3:19-25a).

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Gospel is the most beautiful fruit of all ... the good news that Jesus ... who was born without sin, unlike you ... lived without sin, unlike you ... suffered and died for your sin on a cross so that you won’t be forsaken by the Father ... like Jesus was. And it is the beautiful word that reminds you that because Jesus was truly innocent ... 

Hallelujah! He is now risen! ... 

And that is good news because as Paul concluded in our epistle reading, if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus out of death dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus out of death will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in you (Rm 8:11).

1.

I have reminded you of this because false prophets largely ignore the death and the resurrection of Jesus and what it means for you. Let those who preach a different Gospel be accursed (Gal 1:8). 

Those wolves will dress up like sheep ... they will act like sheep ... and they try to pass themselves off as sheep. They will twist God’s Word to mean something different than what God intended. They will describe a different Gospel than what you’ve been taught, teaching what YOU must DO in order to receive. They will fill you with vain hopes, as the Lord warned us through Jeremiah, by avoiding the topics of sin and repentance and eternal judgment (Acts 20:27). Then they’ll say, it will be well with you, if you call on the name of Jesus ... that no disaster will come upon you, if you call on the name of Jesus. 

They will suggest your forgiveness is based on your confession. They’ll teach you to follow your heart and your feelings, even though Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful above all things, and Proverbs 28:26 says, whoever trusts his own mind is a fool. 

So beware. 

While others will talk about Jesus, they won’t recognize him as God With Us. 

While others will talk about grace, they will not mean the free and undeserved favor of God that declares a sinner justified ... righteous ... on account of the blood of Christ. 

Still others will take the words of Peter, who says “Baptism now saves you,” and they’ll argue that isn’t what Peter means, even though that is exactly what God’s Word says. And they will take the words of Jesus, who said “This is my body, and This is my blood of the New Covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of your sins” and they will redefine the word “is” to mean “represents.” 

Brothers and sisters in Christ ... 

PAY ATTENTION TO GOD’S WORD, AND LOOK FOR THE BEAUTIFUL FRUIT

[Conclusion]

On account of the Gospel, Jesus has given you the power and the ability to identify false prophets. Read the infallible, inerrant Word of God, and remember your catechesis, notably this week’s lesson on the back of your bulletin.

We know not to rely on our opinions or feelings. Instead, we rely upon the Word of God as the source and norm of our Christian faith. And by the grace of God, the same Gospel that was given to Trinity Lutheran Church 155 years ago ... the same Gospel that Luther preached 500 years ago ... and that the apostles taught 2,000 years ago ... and that the prophets proclaimed 2,500 years ago will continue to be preached here. Because where the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity and the Sacraments are administered rightly, there Christ establishes his church and the Holy Spirit sustains faith (AC VII) ... in Jesus’ name ... Amen. 

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