True or False?
- Aug 16, 2024
- 6 min read
Jesus is now wrapping up his sermon. He warns us against false prophets and false disciples. He refers to those who claim to serve God and follow Him, but actually they are not saved and are not known by Christ. They have a head knowledge, but no heart relationship with Jesus.
On both counts, their hearts are not submissive to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Two weeks ago I had an email from a company we use warning us about ‘unexpected emails, calls, and texts from impersonators’. You have probably had the same warnings from so-called scammers, those who profess to be somebody they are not!
Jesus wants us to be... genuine, not a counterfeit. He wants you to be real, and authentic, not questionable. He wants you to be fruitful, not fruitless.
A counterfeit Christian is someone who looks saved, talks saved, acts saved, BUT IS NOT SAVED!
"Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (Rom 12:3, NLT).
False Prophets! V15 - watch out for them!
Martin Lloyd-Jones said false prophets: "Accounts for the light and superficial evangelism that is far too common today. It accounts also for the lack of holiness and sanctified living that is true of most of us. It is not that we need special teaching about these things. What we all seem to be forgetting is… that we are all moving steadily and certainly in the direction of the final judgment."
What is a “false prophet”? Basically, a bogus expert on spiritual matters.
Jesus is saying, where issues of faith are concerned choose carefully whom you listen to. You see, all the way through the sermon, Jesus sees it in black and white, there are no grey areas. He contrasts the true and the false, the right and wrong. So, He asks which side are you on?
In the Disney movie “The Lion King,” Simba the young lion, is living in exile, living his own life. Finally Simba is forced to face reality when he is confronted by a vision of his late father, King Mufasa. He’s challenged to take his rightful place as King of the Pridelands with these words: “You have forgotten who you are, you are more than you have become.”
Our relationship to God involves much more than identity, it involves God’s activity as well. Have we forgotten who we are and what we are supposed to be about?
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” (Matt 7:15).
Tom Wright: "The trouble with false prophets is of course that they seem very nice, very reasonable, very trustworthy. No wolf is going to let you see his claws and teeth if he can dress himself up as a harmless sheep — and that’s what they will do."
The key is looking past the outward appearance, the façade, and look for fruit. Jesus says we’ll know the true from the false, not by appearances but by the fruit (see v16 and v20).
Appearances can be deceiving. But taking the time to inspect the fruit will give a clear indication of the nature of the tree.
So what kind of fruit are we to look for? The fruit of everything that Jesus has laid out in the Sermon on the Mount.
"This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8).
John Stott says,“Christians should resemble a fruit tree, not a Christmas tree.”
True Christian fruitfulness is a supernatural process of fruit-bearing by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus says only good trees will produce good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. If we are walking with Jesus in the power of the Spirit then we’ll be displaying the fruit of the Spirit. No falsehood whatsoever.
So, what’s the fruit? Galatians 5:22-23 tells us: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
False Disciples
Note verse 21: 'Not everyone who says to me "Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom.”'
Jesus is saying it’s possible to "fake" this.
Jesus reveals that not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven. This is a startling comment. In that day many will stand before the Lord, seeking entrance to the kingdom of heaven, but will not be allowed in. Many will say ‘Lord, Lord’ but Jesus could still turn and say 'I don’t know you!'
According to Jesus, the answer can’t be written down, or spoken out; it can only be lived out from within.
In Jesus’ day, when Christians stood up and shouted, “Jesus is Lord” they’d be putting their life at risk. The Caesars claimed the title of 'Lord', and you had to be so sure if you were going to call someone else LORD! If He is Lord, then Jesus alone – his life, his death, his
resurrection – is the key that unlocks the meaning of your life.
Did you know that a repeat of a person’s name in Hebrew is an expression of intimacy? In Genesis 22:11, God speaks to Abraham at Moriah. Abraham's about to sacrifice Isaac, and God says, “Abraham, Abraham.” God encourages Jacob in his old age to take the trip to Egypt, and He says, “Jacob, Jacob” (Gen. 46:2). And at the burning bush, God says, “Moses, Moses” (Ex 3:4). Words repeated for intimacy’s sake. So, is Jesus Lord, Lord?
Richard Rohr:“Jesus became someone to actually imitate and not just to collectively worship. Believe it or not, this has hardly ever been the norm or practice of most Christians.”
The problem Jesus refers to is a problem of the heart. They have head knowledge of His Lordship, but they never come to a place of submission.
"Confess with thy mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom 10:9).
One of the best ways to interpret this section is to focus on these four words, ‘I never knew you.’ Or ask the question– ‘does He know me?’
Tim Keller:“The only true, devastating loss is to lose Jesus and to hear him say, ‘I never knew you.”
Usually, we hear that we need to know Jesus. Here, Jesus says that He needs to know us. It’s about the centrality of relationship—or lack of.
Not merely doing good works. It hinges on His knowledge and His relationship with us.
Stop and reflect
In preparing this blog, I’ve had a recall going back over 40 years to a book I bought entitled ‘Sold Out’. It was written by Clive Calver. I soon began to realise that the Christian life isn’t about a quick fix, a once in a lifetime thing! It’s a daily walk, a living, fresh, up-to-date encounter with God.
Jesus reinforces the call for Him to be Lord of all we are by these words, as a further check: "the one who does the will of my Father." In other words, ‘Sold Out’ for Him!
Tim Keller: “There’s a great gulf between the understanding that God accepts us because of our efforts and the understanding that God accepts us because of what Jesus has done. Religion operates on the principle ‘I obey - therefore I’m accepted by God.’ But the operating principle of the gospel is ‘I’m accepted by God through what Christ has done therefore I obey.”
Living in accord with Father God’s will is essential. You might ask, what is the will of the Father?
John 6:40:"My Father’s will is that everyone that looks to the Son, and believes in him, shall have eternal life." The will of the Father is for us to believe in the Son.
Lip-service does not fool God. If you say, “Lord, Lord” then you must be obeying the Lord! Jesus is very clear, don’t claim to have me as Lord if there isn’t ongoing change in your life in accord with the will of the Father.
D Carson: “What, then, is the essential characteristic of the true believer, the genuine disciple of Jesus Christ? It is not loud profession, nor spectacular spiritual triumphs, nor protestations of great spiritual experience. Rather his chief characteristic is obedience... The Father’s will is not simply admired, discussed, praised, debated; it is done."
In the end, the only way into heaven is to know God and be known by Him. We need the genuine, authentic, pure, vibrant life of God which comes from a transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. The evidence of this relationship is that we are experiencing the real fruit of it!
May it be so for His Glory!
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