“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Matthew 7:15-16
The preachers of falsehood are now at once introduced; they deny the need of Christ and the Cross; they stand in contrast to the Preachers of Truth.
The moral fruit of these false teachers is corruption in the Church and corruption in the world. Any way that one desires to put the account, false teachers are workers of iniquity, however attractive their personal character may be. All false doctrine propagated by false preachers has its beginning in a faulty understanding of the Cross.
The Cross is the foundation on which all doctrine must be built (1 Peter I:18-20; if doctrine is not built on that foundation, it will, in some way, be specious. Unless there is a proper understanding of the Cross, false doctrine and false prophets are going to be, in some way, the result.
Our Lord plainly tells us in these passages (Mat. 7:15-20) that no good fruit can come from a corrupt tree. It’s not possible!
It may look promising to begin with, but the end result will not be favourable at all. How does one recognise a false prophet? Jesus told us! “Therefore by their fruits you shall know them”
A false way is always loaded with religious machinery. Those ensnared are always hard at work at their religion; consequently, there is much outward activity, but no inner change, i.e., “no spiritual growth.”
True Spiritual Growth comes about only by and through one’s Faith in Christ and His Finished Work on our behalf.
LET’S PRAY.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the treasure of Your Word. Help me to discipline myself to make it a daily priority. Open the eyes of my understanding as I read it. Help me to hide it in my heart, to memorize and meditate on it. Fill me up with confidence, conviction, and the TRUTH that is found in You in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen Amen Amen! Fountain to your life.
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