Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets… You will recognize them by their fruits… So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit” (Matt 7:15-18). Here ends our text.
There were two trees in the middle of the Garden of Eden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The tree of life was a good tree. It bore good fruit. It could not bear bad fruit. When Adam and Eve ate from this tree, they were blessed for this was a tree of life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, on the other hand, was a bad tree. It looked like a normal tree, but it bore bad fruit. This tree could not bear good fruit. God gave Adam the command saying, “You shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). It is as if God said, “Beware of that tree. It looks like a normal tree, but it is a bad tree. It bears bad fruit. Do not eat from it. Its fruit will bring death.
So, when Adam and Eve listen to God and ate from the tree of life and did not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they showed their love toward God. You might say that this was their form and place of worship. So also, today. In this place, we show our love and faith toward God as we hear His Word and when we eat from the fruit of the cross, and when we give God all thanksgiving and praise.
Well, along comes Satan. He was not dressed in sheep’s clothing. Rather, he disguised himself as a serpent. Inwardly, he was bad. He was full of lies and deception. He could not bear good fruit. He wanted Adam and Eve to sin. The book of Revelation identifies Satan as “that ancient serpent called the devil, who leads the whole world astray” (Rev 12:9).
The same thing happens today. False prophets disguise themselves. Outwardly they seem to belong to Jesus, but they do not. They look like they are following Jesus, but they are not. They look pious and holy, but they are not. They are dressed like a pastor, and they preach in churches, but inwardly they are full of lies and deception. Do not be deceived by outward appearances. 1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Well, Satan asked Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” Notice that Satan challenged what God said. He is attacking God’s Word. Satan wanted Eve to doubt God’s Word.
The same thing happens today. False prophets attack God’s Word. They want us to think that the Bible is full of fables and myths. They want us to doubt God’s Word and His many promises. They want us to think that the culture determines truth and not God’s Word.
Furthermore, what God says regarding life, marriage, and family are under attack. Many people do not care what God’s Word says on these and others matters. And so, they do whatever their sinful flesh desires. They do not want God or anyone else to restrict them.
Do not listen to Satan or the false prophets. God’s Word is trustworthy. God’s order for life, marriage, and family is good and healthy for you and for society. God’s law is good for us. It teaches us what is right and wrong. God’s Word points us to Jesus our one and only Savior. He is our light and our salvation. Jesus said, “If you continue in my Word you will be my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
Satan said, “Eve, if you eat this fruit, you will not die.” This is a flat our lie. Jesus once said that Satan is “a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (Jn 8:44). Jesus goes on to identify Satan as the father of lies.
Satan is the father of lies and he is the father of all false prophets – for all false prophets even today spread lies and deception attempting to destroy God’s Word, the church and family. They twist Scripture and make it say the opposite. They want the church to be less concerned about truth and more tolerant toward other world religions. They want everyone to agree to disagree. They want the Christian to compromise with the ways of the world.
During the days of Jeremiah, the prophet the people despised the Lord and committed evil deeds. God was angry at their unbelief and their lawless ways. But the false prophets said to the people, “Do not worry. It will be well with you.” They should have preached a message of law against sin and unbelief. They should have preached a message of repentance with faith in God’s promises. Instead, they preached a message of peace when there was no peace. God said, “How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies?” They failed to speak the truth.
The same thing happens today. False prophets lie. They fail to speak the truth. They seek to destroy God’s Word and the precious Gospel found only in Christ.
Jesus said of the false prophets, “By their fruits you will know them.” In other words, you can recognize all false prophets by the message that they proclaim and by the false doctrine that they teach. Listen closely. In their the message, the Gospel is not be central. There is no mention of sin and grace. There is no mention of repentance or faith in Christ. There is no mention of the cross or open tomb. The sacraments are belittled. The message and teaching of the false prophet is not based on God’s Word, but it is based on cultural trends and on people’s feelings. It is based on stories, statistics, and surveys. It is based on earning God’s favor by your works.
Dearly beloved in the Lord, in order for you to identify a false prophet and false doctrine, you need to know God’s Word and the Small Catechism. It is good for you to know that Satan exists and that he is our enemy. It is good for the sheep to judge their pastor and to hold him accountable to God’s Word. It is good for us to identify false doctrine and to avoid it. For if one lets false doctrine grow, then it becomes a cancer that would eventually kill the soul. So, Jesus’ words, “Beware of false prophets” is good advice and should be headed. Jesus is saying this out of love for you and for the precious Gospel. He says this in order to protect you. Salvation could be at stake.
Satan said, “Eve, eat this fruit” and she ate the forbidden fruit, and she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he also ate. They ate fruit from a bad tree. As a result, sin and death came upon them, and also us. Flesh gives birth to flesh. Sinful parents give birth to children who are also sinful by nature.
If a bad tree cannot but bear bad fruit, then we who are sinful by nature cannot but produce sin – sins of unbelief, doubt, hatred, adultery, lust, lies and the list goes on and on. Inwardly, our Old Adam loves the new fads in religion. Our Old Adam wants to do away with the one true God. The Old Adam loves false doctrine. The Old Adam wants to do something in order to make himself look good.
It is important for us to humble ourselves before God, to confess what we have done wrong against Him and others, and to seek His forgiveness. We should live a life of repentance and of faith in God’s forgiveness on a regular basis.
The Good News is that Jesus came to our rescue for our sake and for our salvation. Jesus, the Son of God, looked just like us with a body, but He was also divine, holy, and sinless. John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who has come to take away our sin.
Right after Jesus was baptized, he was lead into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Throughout this battle Satan misquoted Scripture and he took it out of context. But Jesus did not listen to Satan. Jesus corrected Satan’s false doctrine. Jesus remained faithful to His mission.
Our text says that every good tree bears good fruit. Jesus was a good tree who bore good fruit. Jesus never lied, but He always spoke the truth. He cast out demons. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, and even raised the dead.
The tree of life was in the middle of the garden, but the cross was in the middle between two other crosses. The tree of life was a live tree, but the tree on Mount Calvary was a dead tree made into a cross—and yet, it is our tree of life. In the middle of the forbidden tree was Satan who brought sin and death into our world, but Jesus was on the tree of the cross bringing life and salvation into our world. Every good tree bears good fruit. The cross bore the Son of God as a sacrifice for our sin. On the cross was the payment for our sin. The cross was our tree of life.
If Adam and Eve were to eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then they would die and sure enough they eventually did. But when we eat from the fruit of the cross, namely Christ’s body and blood, we will live.
As a result of the cross and resurrection, there is now the forgiveness of sins. The Good News is that you are declared righteous on account of what Christ did upon the cross. The death and resurrection of Jesus has opened heaven for you and for all who believe.
Every good tree bears good fruit. Christ is the Vine, and you are His branches. You were grafted into Him by means of your baptism. Inwardly you are sinful, but outwardly you are clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
Every good tree bears good fruit. In Christ you are a good tree bearing fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, and mercy toward one another. These good works are not done in order to be saved, but they are done out of love for a family member, a neighbor, or for someone within our church.
May the precious Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ continue to be preached and taught in its truth and purity for the sake of saving faith in Christ. May Baptism and the Lord’s Supper continue to be administered among us according to our Lord’s institution for the forgiveness of sins. May God give us the ability to identify false doctrine and to avoid it. May God help us to be faithful toward His Holy Word.
Jesus once said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life” (Jn 10:27-28). There are many voices out there, but Jesus’ voice is the voice of peace and forgiveness. His words are words of eternal life. He is your Good Shepherd, and you are His dear lamb. May He continue to protect and to care for you. Amen.
