Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Matthew 7. Matthew 7. We're continuing this morning
on our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. And today, we're going to look
at verses 15 to 20. And He gives a warning. A warning that we see throughout
scriptures, often see in the scriptures. And it's a warning
concerning taking heed, being careful, paying attention. That's what it means when he
says, beware, in verse 15. Beware, be careful, pay attention
to, give heed to what you hear. Now, this warning of being aware. Start, hold your place, turn
to Deuteronomy 13. Deuteronomy chapter 13, verses
1 to 3. The Lord gives an admonition, admonishment, about
being cautious. He says in Deuteronomy 13.1,
if there arise among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth
thee a sign or wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass,
whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods. which
thou hast not known, and let us serve them. Thou shalt not
hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams,
for the Lord your God proveth you to know whether you love
the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul. Now, the Lord said, he said,
if somebody comes up from your midst, Somebody that you know,
somebody you trust. And that one gives a prophecy. He said, even if the prophecy
comes to pass, even if what he said actually happens, don't
let that fool you. You listen to what he says. And
if he gives any insinuation, that the God that he's setting
forth is not the God of this Bible right here. If he's saying
something and the declaration makes God Almighty to appear
in your eyes to be less than God Almighty, or he exalts man,
don't you listen to what that prophet has got to say. If he
claims to be a prophet and he doesn't preach the absolute sovereign
grace of God. God Almighty. Write him off. Don't listen to what he's saying.
Now the amazing thing about that passage is that he said, I'm
the one that allowed that prophet to come to prove you. To prove you are mine. You listen to the prophets that
preach the gospel. The apostle Peter, in 2 Peter
chapter 2, Peter who walked with the Lord, heard him preach, saw
what was happening. 2 Peter chapter 2, verses, 2
Peter, yeah 2, verses 1 and 2. It says, but there were false
prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, that owns them, and bring
upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious
ways by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken
of. We're warned. You listen to what
you're hearing. I've been here, coming up, 17
years. You listen to what I say every
time. Every time. When Neil Locke gets up or any
other man stands in this pulpit, you listen to what he says. You
say, oh, I know them. I know them really well. I've
been knowing them for years and years and years. Oh, you don't
have to worry about what they say. You listen to what I say
every time. And you weigh it by the word of God. Don't assume
anything. What is being set forth in this
pulpit must be the absolute truth of this gospel. If it deviates,
don't listen to me anymore. If I deviate from what this book
says, don't listen to me anymore. Be cautious. Back in Matthew
chapter 7, the tactics, beware, that's what the Lord said. Verse
15, beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. There's going
to be false prophets. The Lord said, Matthew 24, 24.
They shall show great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were
possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Now how does
a false prophet come? Beware of false prophets which
come to you in sheep's clothing. This is how they're going to
come. They're going to come claiming to love and to worship the God
of heaven and earth. They stand, they say, we love
God. And they love, they said, they
love to preach the truth. That's what we want to do. We
want to preach the truth. and they're going to tell you
of His virgin birth, and they're going to set forth the details
of His life and His death, and they're going to claim to believe
that the Lord Jesus Christ is one with the Father and the Spirit,
and they're going to declare that when He died, He died on
the cross and shed His blood and He was buried. and He rose
from the dead and He ascended into heaven and soon He's coming
back. He's going to come back and receive
all of the Christians unto Himself and they're going to say that
they believe that salvation is totally by the grace of God and
it's through faith and they totally deny that salvation is by works. Now what part of that do you
not believe? What did I just say that you
don't believe? Every believer here believes exactly what I
said. But while they claim to be God's sheep, God's preachers,
the Lord said inwardly they're ravening wolves. While they openly
declare to believe and trust in the God of heaven and earth,
their true character and their inward belief concerning God's
salvation makes them, the Lord said, ravening wolves. They will say that salvation
is by grace through faith, but let me tell you what they didn't
tell you. They did not tell you that man is dead in trespasses
and sins. They'll say that they believe
in grace, that God graciously offers salvation. They believe
that man actually receive the truth by faith. But they'll say
that all men have faith. They have to exercise. There's
a twisting, there's a resting of the Scriptures. They'll say
that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross. Who doesn't believe
that? I believe that. But for whom
did He die? to set forth that the Lord Jesus
Christ died on the cross to save all men, and all men don't end
up believing and going to heaven, is to say that He's a failure.
He's a failure. Now they won't tell you that.
They'll make salvation to be an offer, like I said before,
that He shed His own blood, But if he died for everyone's sins
and paid everyone's debt as they claim he did, and one person
goes to hell, he failed. He didn't finish the work like
God the Father said he did. He didn't finish it. He tried. He did the best he could. But
he was ultimately left up to man. That's a lie. That's a lie. that makes salvation to be by
works. They'll say, no, we don't believe
in salvation by works. Yes, you do. Yes, you do. We believe that salvation is
totally by the grace of God. No, you don't. No, you don't. You're a ravening wolf. I was watching a documentary
the other day on, well, actually it was on animals, aggressive
animals, tigers and lions, but wolves were in there. And the
thing that I noticed about whether it was wolves or tigers or lions
or whatever, there's a victim out there. Some kind of little
animal or something, helpless little thing out there. And they're
so tactful. It doesn't look like they're
coming after the animal at first. It looks like they're just kind
of walking around. It didn't really appear as though
to me. But buddy, when they decided now's the time, I mean they latched
on to that thing and it was gone before you know it. They're subtle,
tactful. They tell you just enough to
where you read something in the Word of God and say, well it
does say, they did say they believe in salvation by grace. You listen
to what they're saying. A little leaven, a little leaven. A little lie. Just a little lie. I believe in salvation by the
grace of God. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
is a man's only hope. And when he exercises it, God
saves him. When he decides to give his heart
to Jesus, the Lord is merciful then. Just a little bit. Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly. They are ravening wolves. Carnal man may think that that's
not a big deal. It's just a little deal. As I
said before, we're all working for the same thing. And I'll
say it again. No, we're not. No. No, sir. The truth of God's Word is the
truth of God's Word. There is nothing more dangerous
in this world, there's nothing more dangerous in this world
than a preacher that does not preach the gospel of God's sovereign
grace. There's nothing that's more dangerous.
That's the most dangerous thing that has ever walked on this
earth is a lying preacher. The Lord said, you beware of
them. Beware, beware. Do not listen to someone that
is not preaching the truth. They're making merchandise of
men's souls. I'm telling you, the end result
of what they're saying is eternal damnation. That's dangerous. The Scripture says in verse 16,
you shall know them by their fruits. You'll know them by their
fruits. Now, that does not mean their
outward life. That does not mean how you see
them acting in public. They can put on a behavior that
truly appears to be honorable. No one was more outwardly honorable
than the Pharisees. I mean, you couldn't hold a light
to them. They wouldn't do anything outwardly
to bring a reproach upon themselves. These false prophets, it's not
hard for them to put forth a form of godliness that is observed
by men to be consistent. What's wrong with going to visit
people in their nursing home? Anything wrong with that? What's wrong with doing all you
can, you know, for your fellow man, helping out? I mean, all
these good things. But the fruit, the fruits, fruits
that's being spoken of here, twofold. Let me tell you the
danger. First of all, they're known by
The fruits that they're talked about, first of all, is by that
false doctrine that they preach. It's by that, it's a lie. Out of the abundance of a man's
heart, his mouth speaks. It's not what they do outwardly.
It's not. Go in, like I say, go in and
visit people in hospitals and all that kind of stuff and you
just, you know, he's a preacher. It's what he does, what preachers
do. The harm is what they say. This is the harm. It's what they
say first. But the second is what they don't
say. What they say and what they don't
say. They preach a false man-honoring message. Now, as I've said before,
it doesn't matter what the sign says on the outside of the building.
If it's not a place where the gospel of God's grace, where
Almighty God receives all the honor, all the glory, all the
praise, and man gets none. Any other place, listen to what
they're saying. Works is tied in with it. And
it's not by works of righteousness that we've done. By the deeds
of the law shall no man be justified. Almighty God has set forth that
truth throughout these scriptures. So the first thing they do, they
speak of man's honor. They do not speak of Christ's
finished work of Calvary, but the work of salvation that must
be added to what the Lord has done. Therefore, they preach
God to be a beggar, Man's will is what holds God's mercy at
bay. They then, on the other hand,
omit the truth. They don't tell men what they
truly are. A faithful preacher is going
to tell men and women what they really are, and a believer bows
to that truth. Lord, as you say, I am, I am,
because you know it's the truth. But those that omit the preaching
of the truth, omit it because they don't know it. They've not
been taught of God and the truth and the revelation of God's eternal
counsel, covenant of grace concerning a people that He's everlastingly
loved in Christ. They're untaught. They see no comfort. set forth concerning the glory
of the Lord, who submitted Himself to the law of God and answered
every demand of that law for justice and for righteousness
for His people. They do not set forth that God
has an elect. And the Scriptures clearly declare
That if there was not an election of grace, if God had not elected
a people, everybody would have perished. God left all of us to ourselves. Can you imagine? The crucifixion
to them didn't accomplish anything. Didn't accomplish anything if
what they say is so. Because no man can come except
God affectionately, powerfully draws him in spite of him. What is the love of God? What
did that accomplish? If God loves everybody and He
doesn't save them by power and grace, what did the love of God
have to do with it? Nothing. It's a message. that sets forth
them to be ravening wolves, tear at the souls of men. Verse 16,
you shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes
of thorns or figs of thistles? Can you go, you know what a briar
bush looks like. You know what a thistle tree
looks like. Thistles, a prickly wild plant
that's hurtful to other plants. I looked it up, found out what
exactly was he saying. Thorns and briar bushes. Now,
you know what a grapevine looks like. You know what a grapevine
looks like. You know what a fig tree looks
like. Maybe you hadn't seen it. We had fig trees when I was in
Louisiana. There were a bunch of fig trees. I'd just go around
and pick figs and just eat them. Love them. But you know what
fig trees, you know what figs grow on? They grow on fig trees. I never expected to find a fig
or a grape from a briar bush. I mean, you get out there in
the briar bushes. Man, I'm telling you, we had
some briar bushes down there in Louisiana. I'm telling you,
they had thorns that long. They were horrible. You never
wanted to get in there. Do men gather something that's
good to eat? Grapes or figs? Do they get that
from thorns and thistles and brier bushes? No. It doesn't grow like that holds
you place. I'm just going to read out of
Proverbs 22 verse 5. This scripture right here. Proverbs
22 5. Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward. That means those that are contrary
to God. The froward. Thorns and snares
are in the way. That's the way they walk. He
that doth keep his soul shall be far from them. What the Lord set forth here
is you don't get good stuff. You don't get something good
to eat from briar bushes. And you don't get anything good
to eat from a false preacher either. They're ravening wolves. Verse 17, even so, every good
tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth
evil fruit. Every good tree. Making an analogy
here concerning preachers. God's preachers. Every good tree
made so by the grace of God. Every preacher that God has called
brings forth good fruit. He's going to set forth that
which is healthy, truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. He's going
to preach. But every corrupt, evil tree
Worthless tree brings forth evil fruit. God's ministers preach
and love the gospel of salvation totally by the grace of God in
Christ Jesus. That message, blessed by the
Spirit of God, is unto life. Nothing is added to it, nothing
is taken away from it. That message they preach stands
firm and it's proven to be good by the scriptures. That's the
only way. Someone says, well that's just
your opinion. No, this is not an opinion. I'm not preaching an opinion.
I'm preaching what I know God is saying. Verse 18, a good tree,
now listen to this, a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. Neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit. According to the Scriptures,
a man regenerated, taught of God, given a new heart, led by
God's Spirit, one having the life of Christ within, cannot
bear forth worthless hurtful untruth. It's honoring fruit. Why? Because God's given him
a new heart. He cannot do it. And a false preacher, one that
has been untaught of God, he cannot, he cannot, it's impossible
from the heart. I mean, he might fake it for
a while. He might hear some honor or behold
some honor that's been given to other preachers because of
what they preach, and he might emulate, he might say it, but
from the heart. He cannot set forth that which
is good. He doesn't have a heart for it.
He doesn't believe it. 19. Every tree. that bringeth
not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Every preacher, teacher, or hearer
of those that preach not the truth of the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, if they perish from this life, if the Lord doesn't
come and arrest them, stop them, like He did Saul of Tarsus and
every other unbeliever that God was pleased to stop. Give them a new heart, regenerate
them by the grace. If they leave this world preaching an untruth,
they have no hope. None. Wherefore, by their fruits
you shall know them. We're admonished, you be careful.
You be careful what you're listening to. If someone comes and they're
preaching anything other than salvation by the grace of God
apart from anything that a man or a woman can do, we can do
nothing concerning our salvation. We can do nothing to make it
a factual. We can hear the gospel. We sit
under the gospel. We can read the scriptures. When
it comes to God Almighty saving a man or a woman, salvation is
of the Lord. It's of the Lord. It's of the
Lord. And anyone that says any different
than that, the Lord said you beware, beware. Be careful. Be careful what you're hearing. Those who die in unbelief, those
who die in unbelief, The Lord said they're going to be cut
down. But those that have been delivered by the grace of God,
from their guilt, by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
those that have been given faith to cast themselves upon the Lord
of glory for life eternal, by the grace of God they've been
saved. And they know it. According to these scriptures,
They'll hear these words one day. Come, you blessed of my
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. These of whom the Lord speaks
know that right now they are what they are by the grace of
God, that the Lord has not left them to themselves. They realize
that what they believe is the truth because God's taught them. They see it in the scriptures.
It bears witness to their heart. This is right. This is right. The truth of who gets the glory,
that's the litmus test. Who gets the glory for salvation?
Me or God? I pray the Lord bless this to
our heart for Christ's sake. Amen. All right, let's take a
few.