Jesus Warned Us About False Prophets
(Matthew 7:15-23 – NET) — 15 “Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? 17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will recognize them by their fruit. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many powerful deeds in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’
In this passage Jesus warns us about “false prophets,” those who are false teachers. They’re either deceivers or are totally deceived themselves. This also applies to false believers, those who believe and practice what false prophets teach (Lu 6:43-45). He tells us to “watch out,” because they come in “sheeps clothing” who present themselves as something they’re not. They identify with Christianity and present themselves as one of us, but “inwardly they are voracious wolves.”
Note: There are true Christians today who claim to be prophets, who claim to reveal the future about things or about people. This article does not deal with that aspect. That’s a whole different discussion. This article only deals with those who teach false doctrine, because false prophets are primarily false teachers (2 Pet 2:1-3; Acts 20:28-30; 1 Tim 4:1-2; 2 Tim 4:3-4). A true prophet represents God and speaks His Word to others.
I think it’s likely that most churches of fair size, have such people in their midst. They present themselves as Christians, they talk about God and about Jesus, but what they believe and what we believe is not the same thing. How do we spot them? Jesus told us what to look for. He said that we would “recognize them by their fruit.” This refers to the fruit of what they believe and teach, not about their character, because character can be emulated. For example, Mormons come across as really good people, who live very moral lives, but a closer look will reveal that what they believe is not what we believe as orthodox Christians. A closer look will reveal a very warped belief system overall. A person’s character must line up with the truth. We can be deceived by a person’s character, but we can’t be deceived by what they believe. This is especially true regarding what they believe about Jesus and the nature of God.
That’s why it’s important to find out what people in our assemblies actually believe. That means asking them to explain what they believe about the major doctrines of the Christian faith, especially about what they believe about Jesus and about the nature of God. That means we have to be “watchful” with a listening ear. Such people will normally give clues about themselves as we get to know them (perhaps in a church’s small groups), which will alert us that there’s something not quite right about them and what they believe. That’s when we start asking specific questions.
Jesus gives us this warning and instruction because it’s important that we’re not deceived by those who present themselves as Bible teachers or claim to be Christians, but who don’t actually belong to Jesus. He’s not talking about Christians who interpret the Bible incorrectly, who are still growing in their understanding. There’s a major difference between the two. Growing in our understanding of the Bible takes a lot of time. Here Jesus is talking about false prophets who are not true believers, and are known by what they teach in regard to the doctrines of the Christian Faith. It’s important that we identify who they are so that they don’t influence the young or uninformed believers among us. That’s why it’s a good practice to have membership classes, where the doctrines of the Christian faith are discussed, which prospective members must agree with.
What Jesus describes in this passage is the fruit of a false prophet (teacher), but also the fruit of salvation, or the lack thereof—regarding both those who teach and those who believe what false prophets teach. Again, the fruit of a false prophet (and of salvation) refers primarily to doctrine, not necessarily to the way a person lives. A person may claim to be a Christian, and they may seem to be living the Christian life, but be way off in what they believe. We can be fooled by the appearance of a Christian life (Matt 13:24-30; Matt 23:27-28), but not by what a person believes or teaches (once it’s been clearly explained)—especially if all that they believe adds up to a different religion, even if it does go under the banner of Christianity.
What Jesus says in this passage is frightening. He reveals how close a person may resemble a true Christian or a true teacher of the Christian faith (Matt 13:24-30). They have the “appearance of godliness, but deny its power” (2 Tim 3:5). This refers to God’s power. They have an outward form of godliness, but the power of a true godly life is missing, which comes from the Holy Spirit. They deny its power by both their manner of life and by what they believe and teach. We must be discerning, because their lives may have the appearance of someone who is living the Christians life, but a closer look will always reveal that the way they actually live and what they actually believe is out of harmony with true Christianity (what they believe will govern how they live). Regarding such, Jesus said “depart from Me; I never knew you” (Matt 7:23).
Additionally, there will be an absence of the “power” of God to change them (2 Tim 3:5). In other words, they won’t budge no matter how much truth is presented to them. They won’t listen to the leaders of the church:
(1 John 4:6 – BSB) — We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
(1 John 2:19 – BSB) — They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
Both the Lord Jesus and the Apostle John alerts us and shows us how to identify such people among us. The truth about what they believe and how they live may be very surprising, if not shocking.
Those who claim to be Christians, who claim to follow the Christian faith, but believe things that are severely contrary to the Christian faith, do so because they “resist the truth” (2 Tim 3:8), they “turn away from hearing the truth, and turn aside to myths or fables” (2 Tim 4:3-4). They do this because they seek teachings that line up with “their own desires.” They’re interested in things that are new, rather than the teachings of historical Christianity (2 Tim 4:3).
I believe that many such people believe they’ve been granted a special connection to God and to the truth. They believe they have a deeper level of understanding than the rest of us, as well as a deeper relationship with God. They take pride in that. Therefore, they elevate their own beliefs above the teachings that were passed down to us from Christ and His Apostles and the teachings of Christianity throughout history. Such people are not merely deceivers, but dreadfully deceived themselves. Such people are listening to “deceiving spirits and demonic teachings,” having “departed from the faith” (1 Tim 4:1).
As Jesus reveals in our text passage (Matt 7:15-23), false prophets and false believers may even perform miracles, thereby deceiving those who witness them. That does not inform us about the true nature of who they are, because miracles do not necessarily prove to be of the Lord, but could be of satanic origin. Just because someone speaks in the name of Jesus or does something in the name of Jesus, does not mean they belong to Jesus. As He informs us in this passage, we can discern who belongs to Him and who does not. The appearance of a life devoted to Christ must be in harmony with doctrinal truth. If we have doubts about someone, as well as the opportunity, it’s important that we ask them to clarify what they believe. We must pin them down and require them to explain in detail what their doctrinal beliefs are, and what they’re basing them on.
I think it’s likely that there are many false prophets (false teachers) today who pastor churches that fall under the banner of Christianity, particularly those who start new churches. What they teach may resemble or sound Christian (because of the shallowness of their teaching), but they’re actually deceiving the unlearned and undiscerning. We must be very careful about who we listen to and who we learn from these days. We’re blessed with modern technology. We can do an online search and find out about anyone who is in the public eye. We should make this a regular practice before we start listening to someone we’re not familiar with. Never assume anything about anyone. Check them out first. Particularly beware of anyone associated with Progressive Christianity or Oneness Pentecostalism. Stay away!
When someone rejects the foundational beliefs of orthodox Christianity, it leads to very flawed and confused, and sometimes very bizarre belief systems. One false belief leads to another. They’re “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim 3:5-7), even though they may be sincerely seeking God, sincerely seeking the truth (or it at least appears that way). I don’t think you’ll ever convince a Mormon that they’re not sincere in what they believe to be true. The fact that these people hold such extreme and dark views of Christianity is a clear indication that they have not been enlightened by the truth (2 Cor 4:3-6), that they have not been born again (Jn 3:3-7; 1 Pe 1:3,22,23). Such dark beliefs are not the “fruit of light” (Eph 5:8-9). In other words, they are not the fruit of salvation.
2 Timothy 3:7 that I referenced in the last paragraph (along with 2 Pet 2:1-3; Acts 20:28-30; 1 Tim 4:1-2; 2 Tim 4:3-4), are all in the context of Christianity. These passages reveal a sobering reality—that false teachers may arise from Christian assemblies, that people can actually read the same Bible and hear the same Scriptures, and still never come to the same understanding as others, who do come to the knowledge of the truth, and are thus saved.
Note: I want to add that I believe young believers can get caught up in a false religion for a time (like Mormonism) and be deceived (to a limited degree) by what they teach, if they’re not diligently studying and learning their Bibles and learning from people who teach the Bible as representatives of true Christianity. This is why it’s so important for new believers to be discipled and to be in a good Bible-teaching church where the truth is taught.
This brings us to an obvious question. How do we explain the reality that people can read or hear the same Scriptures and the same gospel message, and still never understand unto salvation, while others do? And how do we explain the reality that people can be reared in a Christian home and in Christian churches, hearing the truth all their lives while growing up, perhaps embracing Christianity on a surface or intellectual level, just to eventually turn away from it for a different belief system—either for a different version of “Christianity,” such as Mormonism, or for a completely different religion? Perhaps they even become false prophets, or even atheists? How do we explain it, while others grow up hearing and believing the same truths of Christianity, and clinging to it throughout their lives? What makes the difference?
The simple answer is: Sinful pride. Everyone has their own reasons, but the root cause of those reasons is always the same: sinful pride, a heart of unbelief regarding the truth. They reject the truth for something else they want more. While I believe in the Sovereign nature of revealed truth, the Bible also teaches that everyone is responsible for their own heart and their own response to the truth. Everyone is accountable.
