Today’s reading is Matthew 7.
There are two ways: the one Jesus has taught in this sermon and the one anyone else will describe. However, know this, if someone encourages you to take a different way than the one described by Jesus, that person is a false prophet. Jesus’s point is straightforward. There will be lots of people who come along teaching us lots of things. They will act like they are on our side. They will act like they are on God’s side. What they say may even sound good. They will look like sheep. But really they are wolves.
How are we to know who they are? Look at the fruit of their teaching. What exactly is that fruit? I can tell you what that fruit is not. It is not the fruit of fantastic experiences or seemingly miraculous powers. Jesus points out that many folks who believe they’ve prophesied, cast out demons, and done mighty works will will be told to depart because they weren’t producing the right fruit. They were actually false prophets.
What is the fruit? It is the fruit of obeying what Jesus has said in this sermon. Jesus has taught the will of the Father. If we are going to call Jesus “Lord,” we are going to do what He says. If someone teaches different things than what Jesus has taught in this sermon, that person is a false prophet, a false teacher. His fruit is diseased. Her tree will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.
On a side note, I find it interesting Jesus describes this false prophet as a wolf in sheep’s clothing, not in shepherd’s clothing. That’s because the wolves come from among the sheep. If we do what the one, true Shepherd says, we are sheep. If not, we are wolves. There is no in between.
Be a sheep. Be a healthy tree. Bear healthy fruit. Just do what Jesus says, and don’t listen to people who don’t.
Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 7.
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Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family
- What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
- How do Jesus’s sheep live?
- What fruit does a healthy tree produce?
- What advice would you give to someone for knowing the one, true Shepherd’s voice and bearing Jesus’s fruit?
- What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?
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