that I did choose. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Niver. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I've entitled the message this
morning, Beware of False Prophets. I'm reading from Matthew chapter
7. The Lord says, beginning in verse 13, Enter ye in at the
straight gate, For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that
leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat,
because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leads
to life, and few there be that find it. Now the Lord is talking
about entering the kingdom of heaven. And the Lord never exaggerates. Anytime we make a point, we always
exaggerate it, but the Lord never does that. He's God. And He uses two words that mean
something, many and few. He said, many go in this broad
gate that leads to destruction and few go through this narrow
gate and walk the narrow way that leads to life. And those
are the words of the Lord. They're not the words of some
man. Those are the words of the Lord. And after he makes this
exhortation, the first thing he says in verse 15 is beware
of false prophets. They hang out at the gate. Beware
of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they're ravening wolves. you shall know them by their
fruits." Now, do not dismiss this is unimportant. The first thing the Lord says
with regard to entering in at the straight gate is beware of
false prophets. Now, there is such a thing as
a true prophet, a true God called preacher. And perhaps the way
you can see who a false teacher is, is by seeing who a true teacher
or a true prophet is. Now, if you're a Christian, God
crossed your path with a preacher that he sent and God spoke to
you through that man. 1 Corinthians 1.21 says it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. In Romans 10, beginning in verse
13, it says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved. How then shall they call on him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
him in whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? Do you remember when Philip came
up to the Ethiopian eunuch who was reading Isaiah 53 in his
chariot? And he said, do you understand
what you're reading? And he said, how can I except
some man should guide me? No one ever just picks up the
Bible and figures it out. Titus 1.3 says, God has manifested
his word through preaching, which is committed to my trust. Preaching
is the ordained means of God for the calling out of his elect.
Now, as soon as the Lord gives this command, he gives us this
beware of false prophets. And my dear friend, this is a
prominent theme in the Old and the New Testament. In the Old
Testament, they were described as those who cried, peace, peace,
when there is no peace. And they do the same in the New
as well. Let me give you some scriptures. The Lord said, many false prophets
shall arise and deceive many. John said, Beloved, believe not
every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, for
many false prophets are gone out into the world. Paul said,
I know that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in,
not sparing the flock. And some will come in and draw
away disciples after themselves, speaking for perverse things.
You can read about that in Acts chapter 20. Peter said, There
were false prophets among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily, in secret, shall bring
in damnable heresies." Paul said, we're not as many which corrupt
the Word of God, but as of sincerity, as of God and the sight of God,
speak we of Christ. He warned us of those who in
cunning craftiness, they lie in wait to deceive. Jude said
there are certain men crept in unawares who were before of old
ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace
of our God into lasciviousness. Did you know that if you read
the books of the New Testament, every book, with the exception
of Philemon, will give a direct warning regarding false prophets? Now, if this is not something
that frightens us, It ought to. Don't think, well, I have too
much cleverness and intelligence and I'm too sound to be deceived
by a false prophet. A false prophet has much that
will appeal to your flesh. You can just write that down.
Our Lord was speaking to believers when he said, beware of false
prophets. As I said, they hang out at the
gate and they're hard to detect because they look like sheep.
He said, beware of false prophets who come unto you in sheep's
clothing. They look like sheep. They look like Christians. They
use biblical words. They use words like grace and
blood and faith and repentance. Sanctification, justification,
righteousness, they use biblical words, but they give a different
meaning to them. For instance, every religious
preacher will say, I believe in salvation by grace. But what
do they mean by grace? They talk about grace that's
an offer. God will save you by his grace if you do something
to make it work and accept it. That's not what grace means in
the Bible. Grace is always saving grace,
saving grace, grace that saves. They use scriptural words. The reason they're so hard to
detect is because they're identified not so much by what they say,
but by what they do not say. Now let me repeat that. The false prophet is generally
identified not so much by what he says, Now if a man comes along
preaching salvation by works, you know he's a false prophet.
If a man comes promoting free will, you know he's a false prophet.
He's teaching salvation conditioned upon man doing something. But
the dangerous false prophet is the man who, it could be that
everything you hear him say, you agree with, but he leaves
out that which is vital, that which must be said. The Lord
spoke of those who omit the weightier matters of the law. They omit
what is really important. Let me show you a passage of
scripture in 1 John 4. John says, Beloved, believe not
every spirit. Don't believe every preacher that comes along, but
try the spirits whether they're of God, because many false prophets
are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God, every spirit that confesseth." This is what he says publicly.
This is the subject matter of his preaching. Every spirit that
confesseth that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.
Now, during John's time, there were these people called the
Gnostics, and they said that all flesh is evil, all matter
is evil, so Christ couldn't have come in the flesh, because if
He would have done that, that would have made Him evil, and
God forbid that we would believe anything like that, so Christ
didn't come in the flesh. And John says every spirit that
confesses not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not
of God, but it's the spirit of Antichrist. Now, anybody who's
a true preacher will make this confession. Jesus Christ is come
in the flesh. And what all does that mean?
That means He was before He came. He's the eternal Son of God. He was before He came. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. He's the eternal Son of God,
and the eternal Son of God, the same one who said, let us make
man in our own image, He came in the flesh. Great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. You see, it's in the flesh that
He saved us. If He didn't come in the flesh,
He couldn't keep the law for us. Man sinned, man must die. He had to become a man, and He
came in the flesh. And beloved, He did what He came
to do in the flesh. Matthew 1.21 says, Thou shalt
call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Now, a true prophet is going
to preach that. He came to save His people, His
elect, from their sins, and He shall do it. He did it. He accomplished
it. That is the message of a true
prophet. And someone that doesn't publicly proclaim this is a false
prophet. It may be that you agree with
everything He says. If you would read Balaam, read Numbers 22
through 24, you won't find anything that you disagree with. Yet,
he is a false prophet by what he did not say. So, they come in sheep's clothing. Now, understand this. If we go
after a false prophet, We're gonna go where he goes. You see,
no one is ever saved. No one is ever converted. No
one is ever brought to the Lord Jesus Christ through the preaching
of a false prophet. And most preachers in Lexington,
Kentucky, in the United States of America, in the world, the
great majority of preachers are false prophets. Listen to this
scripture from Jeremiah chapter 23. We read beginning in verse
25, and this is God speaking. He says, I've heard what the
prophets have said that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I've
dreamed, I've dreamed. How long shall this be in the
heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? Yea, they're prophets of
the deceit of their own heart, which think to cause my people
to forget my name by their dreams, which they tell every man to
his neighbor. And as their fathers have forgotten my name for bail.
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. He that
hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the
chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord? Is not my word like as
a fire, saith the Lord, like a hammer that breaketh the rock
in pieces? Therefore, behold, I'm against
the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one
from his neighbor. Behold, I'm against the prophets,
saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, he saith, Lord
told me this, the Lord told me that. Behold, I'm against them
that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and
cause my people to err by their lies and by their likeness. For I sent them not, nor commanded
them. Therefore they shall not profit
this people at all. Now the Lord said, you shall
know them by their fruits. You shall know them by their
fruits. Now, if I'm deceived by a false
prophet, the problem is with me. The Lord said you should
know them by their fruits. And if you don't know them, if
there's, well, here's, here's the best way to explain this.
In John chapter seven, the Lord made this statement. Jesus answered
them and said, well, it's in verse 15, and the Jews marveled
saying, how knoweth this man letters having never learned?
He never went to seminary anywhere. Jesus answered them and said,
my doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man
will do his will, if that's what a man's desire is to do the very
will of God, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of
God or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh
his own glory, but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the
same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. If any man will do
his will, he'll know the doctrine, whether it's true. And if I can't
discern, it's because of an unwillingness to do His will and to bow to
whatever He says in His Word. Now, the Lord gives this promise,
you shall know them by their fruits. Now, why does God allow
false prophets? Well, He allows it, and He's
got wise and holy purposes in it. and it's for the good of
his people. He allows false prophets. You
know, Paul said, there must also be heresies among you, that they
which are approved might be made manifest. Now you shall know
them by their fruits. And notice that word fruits is
in the plural. Not just you shall know them by their fruit, but
you shall know them by their fruits. The Lord goes on to say, Do men gather grapes of thorns
or figs of thistles? Obviously not. Even so, every
good tree bringeth forth good fruit, good doctrine. But a corrupt
tree bringeth forth evil fruit, that which is not fit for consumption. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, it lacks the ability, neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire, and he
repeats himself, wherefore by their fruits, plural, you shall
know them. Now that means three things.
First, by their doctrine. Second, by their lives. And thirdly,
by their conduct, or by the conduct of their, by their converts,
I'm sorry, by their converts, the people who listen to them,
you shall know them by their fruits. Now, first of all, what
does a true prophet preach? What is the content of his preaching? What does he have to say? Well,
he preaches the word. Paul said to Timothy, preach
the Word. Whatever the Word declares, preach
it. Does the Word declare that God
elected a people before time began to be saved? Then preach
it. Does the Word declare that men are fully responsible for
their sins? Yes, God is sovereign and men
are responsible. Preach it. Does the Word declare
that men are dead in sins? Dead, that's the end. If you're
dead, you're utterly dependent upon God to do something for
you. Does the Word declare that? Preach it. You see, a true prophet
preaches the Word of God, and that is all he preaches. He tells the truth concerning
what the Word says about the true character of God and the
true character of man. and His need of the grace of
God, His need of the Lord Jesus Christ. The true prophet declares
that salvation is of the Lord. That's Jonah 2.9. All of salvation
is of the Lord. Elections of the Father, redemptions
of the Son, regeneration is of the Holy Spirit. The true prophet
preaches the Word of God. Now, you can preach what are
called the doctrines of grace and not preach the gospel. I
realize that. You can preach what men call
the doctrines of grace and not even come close to preaching
Christ and Him crucified. But you can't preach the gospel
of God. You cannot preach the grace of God, you cannot preach
Christ crucified and not preach what are known as the doctrine
of grace, that men are dead in sins. Now listen real carefully.
You can't preach the gospel and not preach this, that men are
dead in sins. can't do anything to save themselves. And that God, before time began,
elected a people to be saved. He chose a people to be saved,
election. And that Christ, when he came
into this world, he came for his people. And he effectually
redeemed everybody he died for. All men were dead in sins. God,
as an act of His grace, chose a vast multitude which no man
can number, the elect of God. Christ came and effectually paid
for their sins. When He said, It is finished,
beloved, it was finished. The salvation of God's people
was accomplished. And God the Holy Spirit in time
comes to those the father elected and those the son redeemed and
with irresistible and invincible grace he gives them life through
the preaching of the word so that they believe the gospel
and every one of those people will persevere all the way to
the end walking with the Lord Jesus Christ. They won't turn
away, they won't fall away because the Lord won't let them. Now
you cannot preach the gospel and not preach that. And someone
who does not preach that is a false prophet. He's someone that God
never sent. A true prophet preaches all the
counsel of God. He doesn't just bring out parts.
That doesn't mean he preaches everything he knows every time
he preaches, but it means this. He preaches the whole counsel
of God. Paul said, I've not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel
of God. Now, if I tell you, or somebody
tells me that somebody's going to break into your home tonight
at two in the evening or two in the morning and is going to
shoot you and kill you. Somebody calls me and says, I'm
going to do that. What if I said somebody's going
to come over to your house tonight at two o'clock and I failed to tell
you that they were going to shoot you and kill you? Well, what
I told you was true, but I didn't give you what you needed to hear,
did I? A true prophet brings all the counsel of God. And a
true prophet has God's glory as his motive. And what he says
will give God all the glory. That's the issue. Now, if somebody
gives some kind of glory to man, he's not a true prophet of God. Now, you shall know them, first
of all, by their doctrine. But secondly, you shall know
them by their lives. Now for me to want to hear a
man preach, these three things have to be in place. First, he's
got to be somebody God has sent with God's message. That's all
I'm interested in listening to is one whom God has sent. There
was a man sent from God whose name was John. I want to hear
someone that God has sent that actually has God's message. But
secondly, for me to listen to that man, he's got to live what
he believes. Somebody doesn't live what he believes, I don't
care what they say. I don't care how accurate it
is. If they don't live what they believe, I've got no interest in what
they say. The power of God's not in it. It's not real. But
thirdly, not only do they have to live what they believe, they
have to have my best interest at heart for me to want to hear
them. If I'm just part of their program, if I'm just some soul
they think they're winning to earn them a higher reward in
heaven and be part of their ministry, I'm not interested in hearing
that person. The person I want to hear is someone who truly
has my best interest at heart. Now, you shall know them by their
lives. What all does that mean? Well,
any preacher is still a sinner. Didn't Paul say Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the chief? He didn't say I used to be the
chief. He said, I am right now. And the more you know of the
Lord, the more you'll understand that. A true preacher is still
a sinner, but a true preacher is also one who lives what he
believes. He'll be a humble man because
he really believes salvation is by grace. And he knows that
if he's saved, it's because God saved him. And God saved him
to the praise of the glory of his grace. He knows that the
only righteousness he has is the righteousness of Christ.
He knows that salvation is of the Lord, and he's a humble man.
If he's a proud man, God never called him. He's not sin of God. You can't walk with the Lord
and not walk in true humility. He is a man that is described
in the Beatitudes. He'll be a man who truly is poor
in spirit. He has nothing to recommend him
to God. He's someone who mourns. He mourns
before God over his sin. And he's described as a meek
man, someone who's truly meek before God. Whatever the Lord
does is right. Blessed are the meek, for they
shall inherit the earth. And he's someone who hungers
and thirsts after righteousness. He knows that that can't come
from him. You know, when you're hungry and thirsty, you can't
satisfy your own hunger and thirst, can you? It's got to come from
outside of you. And that man understands the
only way that he can have his hunger and thirst satisfied is
by having the very righteousness of Christ. He hungers and thirsts
after righteousness. And he's a merciful man. You
see, he understands salvation is by the mercy of God. He really
believes that the only reason he has been saved is by the sheer
mercy and grace of God, and that makes him a merciful man. Someone
who's unmerciful knows nothing of the mercy of God. And the
scripture speaks of those who are pure in heart. He has that
new heart that God has given, pure in heart. You see, if you
have a new nature, you have a pure nature. You still have a bad
nature, but you have a pure nature too. Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God. And he's a peacemaker. He's not
looking for a fight. He's not a contentious man. He
loves the gospel of peace, and he preaches the gospel of peace.
And this man will be persecuted for righteousness sake. He's
someone who will make such an issue of the righteousness of
Jesus Christ being the only righteousness there is. There will be men who
will persecute him because of that. And they will say, he doesn't
care anything about good works. He doesn't care anything about
obedience and so on. He will be persecuted for righteousness
sake. Now, this is the true man of
God. He's someone who lives what he
believes. He has the fruit of God, the
Holy Spirit. He loves God. He rejoices. He has joy in the
gospel. He has that peace that comes
from knowing that Christ is my peace and all that God requires
of me, I have in Christ because he is my peace before God. He's
long-suffering because he knows that God is on the throne. He's
gentle. The fruit of the Spirit is gentleness,
kindness, goodness, graciousness, faith. He believes the gospel.
Meekness and temperance. You'll know him by the fruit
of his character. Does he make mistakes? Sure he
does. He's a man. But he's God's prophet. You'll know them by their lives.
And last, you will know them by the people who hear them. Now, one time the Pharisees asked
the Lord of his doctrine, he said, why are you asking me?
Ask them that hurt me. They'll tell you. If you want
to know what a man really believes, don't ask him. Ask the people
who hear him preach publicly. What a man preaches publicly
is what he really believes. You shall know them by the people
who listen to them, and you'll know them by the people that
God has saved through their preaching. They're going to be people who
actually do believe the gospel, and bear the fruit of the Spirit,
and love God, and love his people, and are servants one to another.
You'll know them by their fruits. Now when the Lord says, beware
of false prophets, you and I ought to beware of false prophets.
But let me give you one scripture that is a very encouraging thing
to me. The Lord said in Matthew 24,
24, for there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and
shall show great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible,
They should deceive the very elect. But thank God it is not
possible for any of God's elect to be finally deceived because
God has purposed their salvation. Thank God for that. But don't
take this warning lightly. Beware of false prophets. Now we have this message on CD
and DVD. If you call the church or write
an email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nyberg praying that
God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's all for
now. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.