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Return in your Bibles to Matthew 
chapter 7 as we continue our exposition of Matthew's gospel. We're coming to the end of the 
Sermon on the Mount. As I've argued, the instructional 
portion of the sermon with its ethical imperatives or its commands, 
and verse 12, and what we find are then four warnings calling 
for decisive response on the part of Jesus' hearers. The narrow 
way we looked at last week. This morning we're going to take 
up these two trees. And then there are two claims 
and two builders. Just to refresh our mind, I want 
to remind all of us that the resultant four sections, quoting 
R.T. France here, press increasingly 
closer to home. The first is a simple contrast 
between saved and lost. We saw that last week. The second, 
what we're looking at this morning, concerns outsiders who merely 
pretend to be insiders. And we'll see that as we move 
along this morning. It concerns outsiders who merely 
pretend to be insiders. I'll just pick up reading at 
verse 13 and read to the end of the chapter. Enter by the 
narrow gate For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads 
to destruction. There are many who go in by it, 
because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads 
to life, and there are few who find it. 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. 
Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 
Even so, every good tree bears good fruit. but a bad tree bears 
bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, 
nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not 
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, 
by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to 
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who 
does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in 
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? 
cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your 
name, then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart 
from me, you who practice lawlessness. Therefore, whoever hears these 
sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man 
who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, the floods 
came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did 
not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who 
hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like 
a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, 
the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. 
And it fell, and great was its fall. And so it was when Jesus 
had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at 
his teaching, where he taught them as one having authority 
and not as the scribes. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we 
ask now for the ministry and aid of your Holy Spirit. We pray 
that he would guide us and instruct us and that we would receive 
the warning of this particular passage. We pray that you would 
forgive us for all of our sins and everything that would darken 
our understanding. Grant us grace as well, Lord 
God, to be alert and to have a readiness as we approach the 
Word of God. May you fill each one here with 
your Spirit and may you work in each of our hearts and may 
you strengthen us in the inner man. God, I want to pray as well 
for Austin. I just ask that you would watch 
over him. Bless this young man, Lord God. Strengthen him spiritually. Strengthen him physically. And 
grant him grace to continue to trust in you. And we pray through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. As I said, in this particular 
instance, what we have here are outsiders who are pretending 
to be insiders. Again, R.T. Frantz says the term 
prophet locates these people within the disciple community. And the imagery of wolves dressed 
as sheep indicates that the community may in fact contain imposters. So we need to be aware of this. 
It wasn't only appropriate in a first century context, but 
it's certainly appropriate in a 21st century context. In fact, there's a whole host 
of ways now that these false prophets can propagate their 
heresy, and their bad doctrine, and all the things that would 
bring men down. There's a whole host of ways 
that they can promote falsehood, and error, and heresy. And we 
need to take heed to what we find here in this particular 
passage of Holy Scripture. There is a close connection to 
what has preceded. What has preceded is the contrast 
between the narrow way and the broad way. Well, who helps people 
stay on the Broadway? Remember, we consider that's 
the default position. Man in Adam is on the Broadway. Well, the false prophets help 
keep them there. The false prophets continue to 
preach peace and safety when there is no peace and safety. 
So the false prophets are to be avoided, like the plague that 
they are, so that we do not remain on the broad way that leads to 
destruction. So this morning, as we take up 
verses 15 to 20, we'll do so under two broad considerations. 
The first is the warning concerning false prophets, verses 15 and 
16a. And then secondly, we'll look 
at the illustration concerning the two trees. The illustration 
concerning the two trees. You don't have to be a rocket 
scientist to figure this passage out. I don't think I'm going 
to have to labor this morning to try and teach you what Jesus 
is saying. It's as evident as can be. The illustration that he uses 
is a no-brainer. The ideas that are conveyed here, 
again, are by means of warning to the people of God. And in 
fact, Jesus assumes, get this, Jesus assumes that believers 
are equipped that believers are able, that believers possess 
a capability to rightly identify false prophets. So on the one 
hand, we want to be warned to be sure, but on the other hand, 
we want to guard against an unnecessary fear, an unnecessary trepidation. Oh, there's so many false prophets. 
Oh, there's so many wolves in sheep's clothing. We won't go 
to any church. We won't put ourselves under 
any preaching. No, Jesus assumes that the people of God, with 
the Holy Spirit, with an open Bible, are able to actually act 
upon this passage of Holy Scripture, and to therein beware of false 
prophets. Look at what Christ says here. 
Notice the warning is stated. Beware of false prophets. Watch out for them. Take heed 
to them. Beware of them. We've got a constant 
alert. The verb suggests this is to 
be a continuous action. It's not just once in a while, 
but it's always. When you're surfing the internet, 
when you're looking at theology, when you're going to a church, 
when you're listening to sermonaudio.com, Beware of false prophets. Do not assume that everything 
that glitters is necessarily gold. In my experience, those 
books at the thrift store that say a biblical study on such 
and such are oftentimes the least biblical Study there could possibly 
be on such and such. Just because someone says, I'm 
preaching and teaching to you the Bible, Jesus' alert or Jesus' 
caution or Jesus' warning is absolutely appropriate. Beware 
of false prophets. Beware of the preaching you get 
in this pulpit. Be like those Bereans. Receive 
the Word, take it in readily, but examine the Scriptures. You 
should bring your Bibles. You should turn to the text. 
You should go home and review the things that you have heard. 
You should take your Bible seriously as the living Word of the living 
and true God. Now obviously the backdrop to 
this statement, beware of false prophets, is the Old Testament. Right? How many times did the 
prophet Jeremiah run into false prophets? How many times does 
he alert and caution his people against listening to false prophets? We have that instance in 1 Kings 
chapter 22 with the prophet Micaiah. Remember Ahab and Jehoshaphat 
are forming a union to go into battle. And so they want to seek 
religious instruction. They want to seek the prophetic 
word. And they survey a certain amount of prophets and they all 
say, go, battle, you're going to win. And then Jehoshaphat 
says, is there another prophet? And Ahab says, yeah, but I don't 
like him. I don't like him because he doesn't tell me what I want 
to hear. Enter Micaiah. Micaiah says, yeah, the Lord 
has shown me, go into battle and you'll win. Well, even Ahab 
knew that Micaiah was speaking tongue-in-cheek. I kind of imagine 
Micaiah said, yeah, go ahead. You'll be fine. Ahab knew. So then Micaiah tells him the 
truth. You will lose. You will go into 
battle. You will be defeated. What's 
Ahab's response? Slap this prophet. Give him bread 
and water. I don't want to hear from him 
ever again. The false prophets conversely were telling Ahab, 
go into battle. The false prophets during Jeremiah's 
day were doing the very same thing. We see a warning against 
the false prophets in the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 13. There 
are men who will lie to you. I wish it wasn't that way. I 
wish we lived in the world of honey and joy, where we just 
sort of wandered our way to heaven without ever having any threat, 
having any malice, having any difficulty or any trial. But 
men will lie when Paul condemns the Judaizers in Galatians 1. He says they want to pervert 
the truth. They have an agenda. There is 
something driving them and moving them and motivating them. They 
want to boast in your flesh. They want to say, we got 15 circumcisions. We got 20 circumcisions. These men were not driven by 
the glory of God and by the free grace of the gospel. They were 
driven rather by flesh and carnality. So the Old Testament is filled 
with imperatives to guard against the false prophets. And it ought 
not to be surprising that our Lord Jesus does the same thing. 
He says, "...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." And I think with this statement, Jesus teaches 
us at least three things about these false prophets. The first 
thing is their deception. They come to you like sheep, 
but they are inwardly ravenous wolves. Remember last week when 
we considered the road or the broad road which leads to destruction? 
I took some time to explain that the broad road that leads to 
destruction isn't marked that way. I mean, who in their right 
mind would say, well, I want to go to this road that's marked 
destruction? No, it's marked sex or drugs or fun or do whatever 
you want or, you know, whatever it is your particular pleasure 
is. That's the banner over the broad road which leads to destruction. It is not marked that way. There's 
a deceptiveness involved. In other words, if you are rejecting 
Jesus Christ this morning because none of your cool friends are 
believers, that is a deceptiveness. If you are not in Christ right 
now because of what your friends think, realize that they are 
not telling you the truth. The devil is not telling you 
the truth. Reject Christ, do what you want, 
and in the end you will have destruction. That's not the way 
it happens. Why would you want to serve Jesus? 
Why would you want to go to church? Why would you want to waste that 
time on a Sunday? And you're one of them reformed 
people. You waste not only the morning, but you waste the afternoon. What's wrong with you? Have fun. Chill. Relax. Skate. Enjoy. Do whatever it is you want. You 
see, the broad road which leads to destruction is marked with 
pleasure. All in the same way. The false 
prophets don't walk into church wearing devil masks. They don't 
have horns. They don't hang their pitchfork 
on the hook on the pulpit. They don't smell of sulfur. They 
don't speak like Beelzebub. They're deceptive. They use the 
language. They use the terminology. They 
walk the walk, they look the part. Beware of them, Jesus says. They come to you dressed as sheep. They don't wear shirts that say 
Lucifer is my homeboy. They wear John Owen shirts. They 
read Calvin's Institutes. They've hit on sermonaudio.com 
hundreds and hundreds of times. They are wolves dressed up like 
sheep. This is our Lord's caution. It is deception. That is how 
they work. You trace that theme out in the 
epistles. What happens in 2 Timothy chapter 
3? With these godless men that punctuate 
the last days. They creep into houses. They prey on unsuspecting women. Jude uses that language. When 
he gives his thesis in Jude 3, I want you to contend earnestly 
for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. 
Why? Verse 4, certain men have creeped 
in unnoticed. It's not going to be the case 
that they walk in with a big sign. They're not going to walk 
in with a big banner saying, we're heretics and we're here 
to damn you. No, you've got to beware. You've 
got to know the scripture. Now, I doubt not working in the 
banking industry, but I doubt that when someone passes phony 
money, it looks like monopoly money. Even an untrained, unskilled 
man like me could say, that's a fake. I'm not taking this money. It's fake. They try to make it 
look as much like a 20 as they can. Don't they? Trying to get 
the mind of the counterfeiter here. I would if I was counterfeiting. I wouldn't slap a $20 bill from 
my Monopoly game into the banker's hand. I would calculate. I would 
work hard. I would disguise. I would be 
deceptive. And I would try to pass that 
phony money unawares. They work through deception. 
Beware of the man that says, oh, you don't need to look that 
up, just trust me. You don't need to research that, 
just trust me. I don't see Paul complaining. 
I don't see Silas grumbling. I don't see these brothers in 
the apostolic church saying, just believe what I have to say. 
No. Get your minds, your hearts, 
your noses, your faces in the scripture. Don't be lazy. Don't be slothful. We are Protestants. We don't believe in a priest's 
prayer. We don't believe in a Pope telling us what we must and mustn't 
believe. We believe in the priesthood 
of every believer. We believe in the presence and 
the power of the Holy Spirit. We believe that a sanctified 
mind and the illuminating power of the Spirit, God will in fact 
guide us into the truth. Beware of them. They are deceptive. 
Notice their intention. Inwardly, they are ravenous wolves. They are ravenous wolves. They come dressed like sheep. 
They look cute and cuddly. They look gentle and kind. He 
would never lead us astray. He's nice. I don't have to worry 
about caricaturizing here, because I'm not real nice. I don't think 
that's my issue. He's too nice. That's what these guys do. You 
would never suspect it. You would never realize their 
intention. They come to you looking like 
sheep, but inwardly they're ravenous wolves. Spurgeon said it this 
way, these affect Beluk, language and spirit of God's people, while 
they really long to devour souls, even as wolves thirst for the 
blood of sheep. That's what they are in reality. 
That's their endgame. That's their purpose. That's 
their design. Paul uses the imagery in Acts 
20, in that first pastor's conference with the Ephesian elders. He 
gives them this mandate. Therefore, verse 28, Acts 20, 
"...take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which 
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church 
of God, which he purchased with his own blood." Then he says, 
for I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will 
come in among you, not sparing the flock. The language is powerful. The metaphor is strong. The imagery 
is sharp. Again, not working in a bank 
and also not working on a farm. I've never had the privilege 
or the opportunity, perhaps I should say, to see a wolf destroy a 
sheep. I can't imagine it's a gentle 
affair. I can't imagine the wolf says, let's just sit down and 
do this in a sanctified and sanitized way. Goes for the throat, tears 
out the juggler, destroys, rips, and eats, and devours. That's 
the language that Paul uses to typify or picture the effects 
of false teachers. You see, we say things like, 
well, you know, he's a little off. Not if he's wrong on the 
gospel. He is a wolf. You know, he adds 
a little bit to faith, but he's written so well over here. Really? Is that where we're at now? He's a wolf. Probably wolves 
get something right through the course of a day, but it's that 
ripping out the throat of sheep thing that really ought to give 
us cause for alarm. Paul uses the language, and it's 
vivid, and it's powerful. I know this, that after my departure, 
savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also 
from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, 
to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, 
and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone, 
night and day with tears. Paul speaks of these false apostles 
in 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 
12, Paul's dealing with a class of men who are not Christians. He's dealing with a class of 
men who are not believers. He's dealing with a class of 
men who are damned, and yet they want to look like apostles. They 
want to look like teachers. They want to look like leaders. 
Well, how do they show up? They show up with signs that 
say, we're not believers, but we like power. No, they don't 
do that. For such are, verse 13, false apostles, deceitful 
workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. They 
transform themselves because God hasn't made them thus. And 
no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel 
of light. Therefore, it is no great thing 
if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of 
righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. So they are deceitful, their 
intention is malice, but then thirdly Jesus highlights their 
manifestation. How you can tell, how you know, 
that's what he says in verse 16a. You will know them by their 
fruits. Two opinions on this statement. The fruit being their works or 
the fruit being their doctrine. the fruit being their life and 
conversation, or the fruit being what they teach. I suspect that 
Jesus is marking their doctrine. And I suspect that for a variety 
of reasons. The deception involved makes 
their conduct very unlikely. Good men are not usually prone 
to receiving bad men. In other words, if a guy was 
out shooting heroin in the parking lot, we wouldn't bring him in 
and say, we want you to bring it. We want you to preach. No, 
you've got some issues, man. We're not saying that God will 
never use you. We're not saying that the grace 
of God isn't powerful. We're not saying that the blood 
of Jesus Christ can't cleanse us from all sin. We're not saying 
that at all. We're not going to let you preach 
to us. You see, good men are oftentimes, and most of the times, 
able to spot bad conduct, bad conversation, bad life. The illustration makes more sense 
because good men are oftentimes prey to receiving good works 
while inwardly there's deception. While inwardly, there is heresy. While inwardly, there is false 
doctrine. Why would he lie to us? He looks 
so good. He's so nice. He does everything 
upright. Well, so did the Pharisees and 
the scribes, didn't they? I mean, they were the models 
and the example of righteousness. Remember, they were the religious 
leaders. If you followed a Pharisee in 
the course of the day, you probably didn't see him. No, I'm not saying 
never. But you probably didn't see him going to prostitutes. 
You probably didn't see him going to play, you know, poker. You 
didn't see him doing all the things that we associate with 
bad conduct and a bad life. But what was the real problem? 
What was this wolf in sheep's clothing masking? False doctrine, 
teaching, heresy. In fact, Calvin says interpreters 
who confine fruits to the life are, in my opinion, mistaken. What better way for a heretic 
to get into the pulpit? Well, I won't. drink, I won't 
dance, I won't chew, and I won't run with girls who do! And they'll 
all let me in their pulpits! That's not what Jesus is talking 
about. What He is demanding from His 
people is that they know something. They know the truth. They know 
the Bible. They know sound theology. And 
they're able to spot the fake. The function of the prophet is 
to teach God's Word. Jesus in Matthew 12, turn there 
for just a moment, just to show, just to illustrate, just to sort 
of flesh out this idea that what's in view here with reference to 
their fruits is their false doctrine, their heresy, their damning ideas 
that lead men to hell. Notice in Matthew chapter 12 
at verse 33, either make the tree good and its fruit good, 
or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is 
known by its fruit. Brood of vipers, how can you, 
being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the 
heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure 
of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of 
the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you 
that for every idle word men may speak, They will give account 
of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be 
justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Again, 
we're not supposed to just accept anybody with the worst conduct 
in their life and the worst conversation and say, teach us. There is a 
doctrine that accords with godliness. 1 Timothy 6.3, Titus 1.1. But the idea and the emphasis 
and the stress falls upon this reality. Beware of false prophets, 
men who distort gospel truth, men who seek to steal away from 
the free grace of God, the sovereignty, the power, the prerogative of 
God. Beware of them. Beware of men who have no broad 
or have no narrow way in their theology. There's no narrow way 
in some theology being preached out there today. Oh, everybody's 
going to be saved. God's just this, you know, old 
grandfather on the throne. All he does is bless people. 
Whatever you do, he'll just receive you. And there's no narrow way 
in some so-called gospels out there. Beware of the false prophets 
who twist the word of the living God. Matthew chapter 15 and verse 
9. After highlighting the sinfulness 
of the Pharisees and the scribes, he cites the prophet Isaiah, 
verses 8 and 9. These people draw near to me 
with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their heart 
is far from me, and in vain they worship me. Note, teaching as 
doctrines the commandments of men. And then in 16 verses 5 
to 12, beware the leaven of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. 
What did the disciples ultimately conclude? Then they understood 
that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, 
but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Stress falls 
upon the doctrinal conviction. The stress falls upon the theology. It falls upon what the false 
prophet speaks. John Gill, I think, summarizes 
it best. By fruits are meant, not so much 
their external works. And I'm laboring this because 
I want you to understand the value of biblical exposition 
and the truth of sound theology. This is where I would plug our 
confession of faith. It's a wonderful compendium, 
a wonderful summary of those things most surely believed among 
us. It is a parameter. It is a hedge. It is a road. It is a fence, 
rather, around the road so that we can rightly identify false 
prophets. We can rightly identify wolves. It doesn't speak to every area 
of life and practice. It speaks to those things most 
surely believed among us, that body of truth that Christians 
through the ages in the Catholic Church, not the Roman, but the 
Catholic Church universal, have held to. Guell says, by fruits 
are meant not so much their external works in life and conversation, 
for a false prophet may so behave as not to be discovered thereby. 
He says, so the Pharisees were outwardly righteous before men, 
and false teachers among Christians may have the form of godliness. Did Paul say this in 2 Timothy 
3 as he describes the characteristics of the last days? Men will be 
lovers of themselves, men will be lovers of money, men will 
be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. And he makes 
this statement in 2 Timothy 3, 5. Having the form of godliness. They look the part. They wear 
the suit. They open their Bibles. They 
speak some Bible. They try and explain some scripture. But Paul says in 2 Timothy 3, 
but denying its power. They have the form of godliness, 
but there is no changed life. There is no heart. There is no 
appreciation from a converted man. So Gill is highlighting 
this reality. The Pharisees were outwardly 
righteous before men. False teachers among Christians 
may have the form of godliness and keep it up, though they are 
strangers to and even deny the power of it. He says, but their 
doctrines are here meant and the effects of them. An early 
Christian manual called the Didache seems to understand it in this 
way as well. It said, so if anyone should 
come and teach you all these things that have just been mentioned 
above, welcome him. Right? He's teaching the truth. Welcome him. But if the teacher himself goes 
astray and teaches a different teaching that undermines all 
this, do not listen to him. However, if his teaching contributes 
to righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, welcome him as you 
would the Lord." So when Jesus says, beware of false prophets, 
and he says in verse 16, you will know them by their fruits, 
first and foremost is meant doctrine. Do they preach the truth? Absolutely crucial. I am not 
convinced that we as Christians value it as crucially as our 
Lord does. I am not convinced of that. Could 
be just my perception, but if we valued it, If we prized it, 
if we understood it, we'd be students of the Scripture. We'd 
be students of sound theology. No, I'm not saying to the neglect 
of your day job. I'm not saying to the neglect 
of everything. Go be a monk and sit in a room 
and just read theology. Don't do that. That's not consistent. Can you explain and articulate 
the simplicity of the Gospel? If somebody asked you what is 
the gospel, could you explain that? Would you know a text to 
go to? If the Jehovah's Witness knocked 
on your door and said, you know, Jesus is a creature. He is the 
firstborn. That means God made him. Would 
you have any idea in the Bible where to go to refute such a 
heresy? I'm not trying to pick on anybody. I'm not trying to hurt anybody. I'm trying to encourage you. 
that false prophets are out there. They dress up like sheep, but 
inwardly they are ravenous wolves, and their endgame is your destruction. 
Their endgame is your place in hell. Now, they may not define 
it that way. They may be in it for money, 
or for prestige, or for leadership, or whatever it is they get out 
of this particular juncture, but the endgame ultimately is 
destruction. And notice the illustration that 
Jesus uses concerning the two trees. He asks a very simple 
question. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from 
thistles? You don't need a degree in exegesis to answer the question. Of course they don't. Of course not. You don't gather 
grapes from thornbushes. You certainly don't gather figs 
from thistles. Maybe from a distance, little 
blackberries might be a bit deceiving, and as you get up on them, you 
realize, this isn't grapes. From a distance, there may be 
some thistles that flower a little bit, and may indicate, hey, there 
might be figs on that tree, but as soon as you close in on it, 
come on. What's Jesus teaching us? It 
shouldn't be that hard, brethren, to discern a wolf It shouldn't 
take a PhD to determine that this guy is out to lunch. It shouldn't take four years 
of Bible school. It shouldn't take, you know, 
the best understanding of Birkhoff's systematic theology. In fact, 
Jesus is saying in some respects, shame on us if we fall prey to 
false prophets. That'd be like going up to a 
thistle and looking for figs. It'd be like going to a thornbush 
and trying to pick grapes. Somebody would say, what are 
you doing? Well, I'm trying to get some grapes off this thornbush. 
What are you, crazy? You ever thought of certain false 
teachers that are popular today and just kind of said, are you 
crazy? You're picking grapes off that 
thornbush? Are you nuts? Just listen to 
him. You don't get that? You don't 
hear that? You don't understand that? Paul's 
emphasis on faith alone, and yet so many people are enamored 
with the dogma of Rome? Really? Are you crazy? You're trying to pick grapes 
off a thorn bush. You're seeking figs off a thistle. You're trying to do things that 
are undoable. It's a no-brainer question. Notice 
the principle that Jesus then sets forth. Verse 17, even so, 
every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. In other words, a man is consistent 
with his nature. If he's an unconverted man, and 
he's an ungodly man, and he has no understanding of the truth 
of the gospel, there's not going to result from his preaching 
faith, holiness, righteousness. Conversely, from the good tree, 
a man who knows Christ, a man who understands the gospel, a 
man who cuts it accurately, there's profit, there's life, there's 
hope, there's help, there's deliverance. That's the emphasis here. Even 
so, every good tree bears good fruit. Spurgeon says, every man 
produces according to his nature. He cannot do otherwise. But the bad tree bears bad fruit. And then from that he draws an 
implication. Verse 18, a good tree cannot 
bear bad fruit. That doesn't mean the Bible teacher 
or the preacher is always right in everything he says. That's 
not what he means. Gill, I think, nails this one. 
He cannot knowingly deliver, maintain, and abide by any doctrine 
that is contrary to the glory of God's grace and the person 
of Christ, the work of the Spirit, the fundamental doctrines of 
the Bible. He can't knowingly abide in it 
and maintain it and continue to preach it. The good tree can't 
bear bad fruit. The good tree gets the gospel 
right. God, by His Spirit, saves sinners. 
If the good tree, by God's grace, speaks the truth, God, by His 
Spirit, sanctifies His people. Did you notice what he says? 
A bad tree cannot bear bad fruit. I think Jesus here is shedding 
some light on the twin doctrine of total depravity. It is the 
doctrine of total inability. See, not only are we totally 
depraved, we are totally unable to merit God's favor in any way, 
shape, or form. John tells us, Jesus in John 
6.44 says, no one can come to me. It's a question of ability. No one can come to me unless 
the Father who sent me draws him. Paul says in Romans 8.7, 
the carnal mind is enmity against God. Ephesians 2, 1-3, that before 
picture of what the saints in Ephesus were. You were dead in 
your trespasses and sins. Dead things don't produce life. 
Bad trees don't produce good fruit. In a section similar, 
where the Apostle Peter is dealing with false prophets, false teachers 
in the churches of Christ, He says in 2 Peter 2, verse 22, 
he highlights this principle that a bad tree cannot produce 
bad fruit. He pulls from the Proverbs. He 
says, a dog returns to its vomit. As nice as a dog may be, as wonderful 
a companion as he may be, as good a friend as he may be, if 
he yaks on your floor, He's going to go back to it and lick it 
up. You say, that's offensive and nasty. It's an illustration 
of false teachers. That's offensive and that's nasty. But he doesn't stop there. He 
says, a pig, a sow returns to the mire. You might take that 
little pig in. You might bathe it. You might 
put a pretty ribbon on it. You let it out the front door, 
and where does it go? Right back to the mire. Right back to the dirt. You see, 
the false prophet, the bad tree, cannot bear good fruit. It's 
an impossibility for him to do so. Again, John Gill says, from 
the false doctrines of men come no good fruit of faith, holiness, 
joy, peace, and comfort. So Jesus sets forth a question, 
gives us a principle, draws out an implication, highlights then 
their destination in verse 19. Every tree that does not bear 
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. The false prophet 
is instrumental in helping men find destruction. The false prophet 
is instrumental in helping keep a man on the Broadway which leads 
to destruction. The false prophet ends in the 
same place. Jesus uses the same language 
that John the Baptist uses in Matthew chapter 3 and verse 10. These trees are cut down and 
then what is their lot? They're thrown into the fire. 
Both the Baptist and our Lord use this imagery to set before 
their hearers the awful reality, the terrible truth that there 
is a conscious, endless punishment in the end for sinners. Whether 
you're on the broad road which leads to destruction, you're 
a follower, your lot is hell. Whether you are a false prophet 
who has tried to look like a sheep but is really a wolf that is 
ravening and wants to destroy people, your end is described 
in verse 19. Every tree that does not bear 
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. You need to understand 
that. There are serious ramifications 
for heresy. There are serious consequences 
for leading people astray. Now, Jesus will elsewhere teach 
in Matthew 15, 14, that if the blind man leads the blind, they 
both fall into the ditch. So the follower can't say, well, 
I was just doing what he said. No, you'll still fall into the 
ditch. You have a responsibility. There are consequences for who 
you choose to follow. But the one who leads falls into 
the ditch as well. This is why James says in 3.1, 
let not many of you be teachers. Why? Because a lot rides on it. It can mess people up. It can 
ruin their lives. It can hurt them. It can end 
in hell. Who's sufficient for these things? 
Your doctor gives you a bad diagnosis and you lose an arm. That's terrible. Your pastor gives you a false 
approach to the gospel and you end in hell. Terrible doesn't 
even come close to that description. And then notice Jesus' application. 
Brings it right back and places it into our laps. Verse 20, therefore, 
by their fruits you will know them. Therefore, by their fruits 
you will know them." He's already stated this in verse 16. He's 
already illustrated this in verses 17 to 19. And this is where he 
ends again. Remember, the Sermon on the Mount. 
He's calling for decisive response. Go the way of the narrow path. 
Go in the narrow gate. Follow the narrow path which 
leads to life. On the way, beware of false prophets. Don't listen 
to them. Resist them. Fight against them. Do not go their path. Therefore, 
he says, by their fruits you will know them. The Lord Jesus 
assumes that his followers will be able to recognize false doctrine. J.C. Ryle made this statement. 
It's very perceptive. We're coming to a close here. 
Please just listen to these final thoughts. I hope that you've 
listened to the exposition, but I want you to get what we've 
got. This is important, man. Especially 
with the internet. Especially with sermon audio. 
Not everybody on sermon audio is always legit. There's a man 
I heard that taught something well. This same man denies the 
imputation of the active righteousness of Christ. I find that very troublesome. Just because they're on the internet 
doesn't make them an authority. I often try to encourage the 
younger budding theologians, read books. Don't be an internet 
theologian. Got a piece here and a piece 
here and a piece there. There's something very good about 
starting a systematic theology at the beginning and reading 
it to the end, because it really is systematic. There's overplay. There's interchange. There's 
building. I'm not saying every systematic theology out there 
is necessarily right on and spot on. But beware of the internet 
in terms of your theological acumen. You can read anything 
on the internet. There's any heresy supported. 
They have their own websites. It's not difficult to get your 
own domain. It's not difficult to propagate. 
And even publishing anymore. You can self-publish. Here, read 
my book that I just published. What? Did anybody review this? Did anybody do an outside reading 
of this? Is it peer-reviewed? Really? This is what we've fallen to? 
We're going to just read this guy because he's on the Internet. 
Wow, man. Ryle said, it is neglect of the 
Bible which makes so many a prey to the first false teacher whom 
they hear. He says, they would fain have 
us believe that they are not learned and do not pretend to 
have decided opinions. It sounds humble. I'm not that 
bright. I don't have many decided opinions. I just love Jesus. Listen to 
Ryle's take. The plain truth is that they 
are lazy and idle about reading the Bible and do not like the 
trouble of thinking for themselves. Nothing supplies false prophets 
with followers so much as spiritual sloth under a cloak of humility. Another man said it this way, 
we must be on our guard and pray for discernment, use our critical 
faculties and never relax our vigilance. We must not be dazzled 
by a person's outward clothing, his charm, learning, doctorates, 
and ecclesiastical honors. We must not be so naive as to 
suppose that because he is a PhD or a DD or a professor or a bishop, 
he must be a true and orthodox ambassador of Christ. We must 
look beneath the appearance to the reality. What lies under 
the fleece? A sheep or a wolf? Gotta know the scriptures. Gotta 
know the truth. That's Jesus' point. Beware of 
false prophets. Take heed. Be on your guard. Be on the lookout. Don't go hide 
under the piano. Don't be suspicious of everybody 
that has a PhD. Some guys are actually sharp 
theologians. Brethren, in this section, we 
see the importance of this warning. The statement of verse 15 and 
the instruction that we will know them by their fruits highlights 
Jesus' emphasis. Again, just to quote Ryle. He 
says, the connection between this passage and the preceding 
one is striking. Would we keep clear of this broad 
way? We must beware of false prophets. 
They will arise. They began in the days of the 
apostles. Even then, the seeds of error were sown. They have 
appeared continually ever since. We must be prepared for them. 
and be on our guard." This warning is absolutely crucial. If a man 
distorts the gospel of the grace of God, the Apostle pronounces 
anathema upon him. If you receive a distorted gospel, 
the Lord Jesus says that if a blind man follows a blind man, then 
both will end in a ditch. It is crucial that you know the 
truth. Secondly, I believe this text 
demands responsibility out of the people of God. We've already 
labored the first point I'm gonna say, the necessity to know the 
truth. You gotta know it. This isn't, you know, Baalism. 
You could let go, let Baal in that religion. You've ever heard 
that today, let go, let God? That's not Christianity. This 
is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God 
in Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. Christianity is about loving 
the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and our strength. We need to know the truth. Again, 
I'll plug our confession. It's not infallible. It's not 
inspired. It's not inerrant. But it is 
a good summary of Christian doctrine. Secondly, there is a necessity 
to exercise discernment. A necessity to exercise discernment. 1 John highlights this in both 
chapters 2 and 4. I'll just read the section in 
chapter 4 as we come to a conclusion. He says, Beloved, do not believe 
every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God. Because 
many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you 
know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that 
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit 
that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh 
is not of God. And this is the spirit of the 
Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already 
in the world. Do not believe every spirit. Test them. Search the scriptures, 
examine the Bible. You're reading those, man, you're 
reading a booklet, you're reading the confession, search out the 
scripture verses. Thirdly, there is a necessity 
to apply the qualifications for ministry. Again, I don't want 
my doctor sitting there diagnosing me, whether I have cancer or 
not, if he got his training on the internet. But he means well. Great. Either I got cancer or I don't. 
I don't want him to mean well. I want him to do well. I don't want to take my car to 
the mechanic who saw a video on how to diagnose and fix a 
carburetor. Do you? Of course not. You don't want a guy who is preaching 
to you that read an internet page. Somehow it's not as important 
in the church. We've got this radical dichotomy. We want pros to give us legal 
advice. We want pros to diagnose our 
vehicles. We want pros to help our broken 
limbs. But any hack can stand behind 
a pulpit or write theological books. or foolish songs, that one third 
angel from the apocalypse, it's prophesied, it's prophesied. 
I mean, there is no end of weird stuff out there. What did the 
apostles say? It's unfortunate we don't even 
ask the question anymore. How should we worship? Well, 
what do you think? I got this idea that we should 
ask the Bible. How do we make sure men are fit 
for the gospel ministry? What does Paul say? 1 Timothy 
3. If any man desires the work of 
an overseer, it is a good thing. But let him first be. And he 
gives all these criteria. One of them is that he must be 
apt to teach. Titus chapter 1, the man of God, 
the elder, the pastor, must hold the word such that he is able 
to edify believers and refute those who contradict. And then 
Revelation chapter 2, if I mention the seven churches in Asia Minor, 
and I say the name Ephesus, we all go first here. They lost 
their first law, and they did, and Jesus indicted them for that. 
But we fail to appreciate what they did positively. You tested 
those who said they were apostles and were not. You see, I'm foolish 
enough to argue they probably lost their first love because 
they were in the trenches fighting these men who saw themselves 
as apostles when they weren't. It's hard to read devotional 
literature and let your mind and heart soar heavenward when 
you're in the trenches trying to fight with wolves. It doesn't 
surprise me that in Ephesus they lost their first love. I'm not 
justifying it. I'm not sanctioning it. I'm not saying it's a good 
thing. But I am saying we mustn't run roughshod over the fact that 
Jesus says You tested those who claimed to be apostles and were 
not. That was good. You took what Paul said seriously. 
Remember, Timothy was in Ephesus. 1 Timothy describes those qualifications 
for elders. Timothy taught the flock. The 
flock actually listened. And they were actually able to 
resist and refute false claimants to apostolic ministry. Jesus 
says that's good. Fourthly, we need to reject extreme 
positions. Along the way, I've made mention 
of this. Some are tempted to reject the 
teaching ministry as a whole because there's some false prophets 
there. I'll just stay at home, me and the Bible and the Holy 
Spirit. Just me, my Bible, and the Holy Spirit. Well, that gets 
away with a lot of what the Bible says. Remember, go, therefore, 
and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded 
you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." 
Where do you think that takes place? In the church. Who's teaching 
people to believe all things that the Lord taught? Those Bereans. What were they engaged in? Receiving 
the Word. You see, the answer isn't so 
simple. Well, because there's false prophets, I'm going to 
reject the teaching ministry of the church entirely. No. Just because there's some bad 
and crooked mechanics doesn't mean that you have to fix your 
own car if you don't have a clue. Find a good one. And when you 
find a good one, hug him. Embrace him. I want to hug a 
mechanic someday. A guy that I believe is staring 
me straight. He's not patting his wallet. 
He's not making money off me. He's not fooling me. I'd hug 
that man, and I'd recommend everybody to go to that man. Because he's 
the real deal. Not a perfect mechanic, but a 
faithful mechanic. He's fixing cars. He's doing 
his job. He's doing it to the best of 
his ability. I'm going to appreciate that. Don't reject the teaching 
ministry. All I need is my Bible and the 
Holy Spirit. Read Spurgeon on that approach. 
Some men who are so enamored with what the Holy Spirit has 
told them give not one wit about what the Spirit's told the rest 
of the church over the centuries. Purpose of the preaching, teaching 
ministry is outlined very, very clearly in Ephesians chapter 
four. Don't run to the extreme. Don't 
hide in your room. You and your Bible, and that's 
it. You need the church. You need the teaching ministry. 
You must examine. You must search. You must discern. 
All those things. It's part of church life. Well, 
that's what we have in terms of exposition. You ask the question, 
what are some of their false prophecies? Doesn't take much 
to figure. They deny a narrow way. Their 
way's only broad, happy, joyful. similar to the cultural religion 
that we see evident today. You know, Muslims and Jews and 
Christians, we're all just serving the same God under various expressions. No, we're not. Whoever does not have the Son 
does not have the Father. You might hear these false prophets 
deny grace, deny faith alone. You might hear these false prophets 
deny the Trinity, deny the deity of Jesus. You might hear these 
false prophets deny those truths that if a man does not believe 
will end in hell. Yet a false prophet doesn't have 
a different view on eschatology. A false prophet twists the gospel. A false prophet gets the character 
and essence of God wrong. A false prophet messes up on 
the person and the work of Jesus. That's what the false prophets 
are about. I'm not here saying everybody has to dot their I's 
and cross their T's according to the London Baptist Confession 
of 1689. I am suggesting that a man who would twist the grace 
of God revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ connected to 
the person and work of the Savior, that man is dangerous and he 
needs to be avoided. Completely, wholeheartedly, and 
always. Pray for him, ask God to save 
him, ask God to change his heart, but he is not to be listened 
to. And if you have not come to Christ this morning and you're 
on the broad way which leads to destruction, when you get 
to destruction, who are you going to be there with? False prophets. Look at the population that makes 
up hell. How foolish it is. Jesus says, 
depart from me into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil 
and his angels. Not only are the devil and his 
angels in hell, but the false prophets. A bunch of sinful people 
that rejected the call of the gospel, that rejected the offers 
of grace. You don't want to go there. The 
prophet says in Ezekiel 18 and 33, why will you die? Why would 
you do that? Come to the Lord Jesus. And when 
you enter into eternal life, all of the believers will be 
there. From the beginning to the end. You ever get to that 
thought in your head, we're going to see Abel. We're gonna see 
Elijah. We're gonna see Elisha. We're 
gonna see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. We're gonna see Paul. What reformed person isn't chomping 
at the bit to see the apostle Paul? But best of all, we will 
see Jesus. That's what makes heaven heaven. Enter through the narrow gate. 
Walk that narrow way which leads to life. It is by grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Resist the false 
prophets. Beware of them. Pray to God for 
the spirit, for discernment, for understanding of scripture, 
so that you do not follow blind men and end up in a ditch. Well, let us pray. Father, thank 
you for your word and thank you for the clarity of our Lord Jesus 
Christ and the great examples that he uses, the illustrations 
that he gives us, things very easy to understand, things very 
easy to relate to. And I pray that all of us would 
beware of false prophets, that we would beware of men who dress 
as sheep but are inwardly ravenous wolves, men that would seek to 
devour and to rip up and to destroy. God, we pray that you'd protect 
the Free Grace Baptist Church, that you would watch over each 
one here. She would cause us to walk in truth and to love 
the truth and to buy it and sell it not. And God, for any and 
all here that are on the Broadway which leads to destruction, may 
you work sovereignly. May you save them. May you open 
their eyes and open their hearts to receive the truth that Christ 
alone is the way of salvation. And we pray in His most blessed 
name, amen. We'll close this morning by singing 
the doxology. It can be found on page Roman 
numeral 16 in your hymn book.