Transcript
Today we’re going to look at Matthew chapter 7, verses 15 through 20, and particularly the phrase, “You will know them by their fruits.” We find that in Matthew 7:16 and then at the end of the paragraph in Matthew 7:20, “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
Let me read verses 15 and the first part of verse 16 so we can lay the context.
Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.
Then why doesn’t this passage teach assurance by works? Well, it doesn’t, of course. And it’s important, I think, in approaching this passage to notice that the two preceding verses are the statement, “Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Now these verses provide an introduction to what I’ve called the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. Immediately preceding them is our Lord’s summary of the body of the Sermon. “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
So now in the conclusion He is saying be careful that you get started in the right place. Be careful that you go through the gate that leads to life and not the gate that leads to destruction. So in terms of the larger audience, both the general audience and the disciples, He wants them to be sure that their starting point is the correct starting point.
Now this leads immediately into the verses that you have read which deal with the question of false prophets. One of the problems that people have in finding the correct gate is there are people who tell them the wrong gate. There are people who profess prophetic ability or profess to be sent by God, and they lead them astray.
So He immediately follows this exhortation to enter in at the correct gate by a warning against the false prophet. And then He tells them that the way that false prophets are known is by their fruits.
So first of all we should notice He’s not talking generally about professing Christians. He’s not talking about the issue whether they were saved or unsaved. He’s talking about how you can tell a false prophet.
Now I’ve often said that if I could lay a bet on earth and collect in heaven, I would lay a bet that the passage we’re looking at doesn’t refer to works at all and that their fruits are not the works of the false prophet. That’s almost obvious on the surface here because the false prophets look like sheep but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You can’t tell them by their behavior. What would be the real test of a false prophet? It would be the message that He brings.
Now that this is the correct interpretation of our Lord’s figure I think is confirmed by Matthew chapter 12, verses 33 to 37. Because in that passage Jesus says that in the final judgment people will be judged by their words. And He uses this imagery of the tree is known by its fruit.
So basically He’s saying there that the fruits are the product of the inner life and they are the words that are produced. So this fits entirely with the idea of false prophets. The only way we can determine whether they are good inside or corrupt inside is by the message that they bring. If they bring a message contrary to what Jesus had taught, obviously they’re false prophets.
Okay, very good. And a quick question as we follow this up. Starting at the second half of verse 16 we read, “Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” And then notice this phrase which seems perplexing. “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”
The way a lot of people seem to understand this reference is that believers are good trees, therefore believers can only bear good fruit, which if they follow that through would suggest some level of perfection, it would seem to me. And then they say unbelievers are bad trees, therefore unbelievers can only produce bad fruit. Therefore not only is the image of God marred, but the image of God must be totally extinct in them because according to this view unbelievers do nothing whatsoever that is good.
I wonder if you could explain what Jesus means here.
Well, the way you have expressed this only shows the quicksand into which the false interpretation of this passage quickly slides. If we keep in mind that He’s talking about false prophets as over against true prophets, then we don’t have any of the problems that you have articulated.
A person who comes professing to be a prophet is either a rotten tree or he’s a good one. He’s either a true prophet or he’s a false one. All right. If he’s a rotten tree, he’s a false prophet. He’s not going to produce a good message. There’s no way he’s going to be able to produce it. So the rotten tree does not produce anything but rotten fruit.
If he’s a true prophet, a good prophet of God, then he’s going to give the true message. That’s one of the tests of prophecy from the beginning of the prophetic history of the Bible right on through to the end. So the good prophet and the false prophet are tested by the message that they bring. The good prophet does not bring a false message and the false prophet does not bring a good one.
So then this passage wouldn’t be saying that Christian teachers today who are good teachers infallibly teach the Bible. This is specifically looking at the prophetic gift. Is that correct?
That’s a very important point. Some people today identify prophets with teachers but without any kind of authorization from the Scripture. It’s clear wherever we meet real prophecy in the Scripture that we’re talking about people who got direct revelation from God. So a person who comes claiming to be a prophet is really claiming to get direct revelation from God. That’s a very monumental claim. And if it’s a false claim, upfront, then he’s not going to produce anything that’s good.
So this doesn’t refer to Christian teachers whose teaching may be followed by misinterpretations of the Scripture. This is talking about real prophets who either bring a message that has been revealed to them by God, and that’s always going to be a good message, or they bring a message that God hasn’t given to them, and that’s going to be always a false one.
Finally in verse 19 it says, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” What does that mean?
Well, this obviously means that God is going to judge the false prophet. I don’t think that we have to have a knee-jerk reaction to fire and talk always about hell. So in a general way we would say the fire of God’s judgment is waiting for these people. But obviously if a man who claims to be a prophet of God and is not a prophet of God is unsaved, that ultimately he will wind up in the fire of hell. And I think the following verses have something to say about that.
Very good. Thank you.