FALSE PROPHETS ARE ALL AROUND

Matthew 7:15-20

  1. a test for false prophets, not a test for Christians [ye shall know them by their fruits - 16]
    1. Jesus is not saying that we will know a Christian by his fruits
      1. salvation is a matter of the heart, which is inward
      2. man look on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart
      3. every Christian has some things about him which do not look good because we are imperfect
      4. we have the old nature as well as the new one
      5. we cannot always tell who is saved and who is not by the things that are outward
        1. Peter cursed, swore and denied Jesus
        2. David committed adultery and then murder
    2. we cannot tell who is a Christian by outward appearance
  2. the fruit of a false prophet is his preaching
    1. we can tell a false prophet by his teaching
      1. what does he say about the virgin birth?
      2. what does he say about the inspiration of the Bible?
      3. what does he say about the blood atonement? Being born again? Heaven? Hell?
    2. Jesus knows who the false prophets are - Matthew 7:21-23
      1. we should not take lightly the warning from Jesus, "Beware of false prophets" - 15
      2. Christians ought to be on their guard watching for false prophets
    3. a sad fact that is recorded in the Bible: there are many false prophets - Matthew 24:11 & I John 4:1
  3. Satan began his false teaching in the Garden of Eden
    1. wherever God works, Satan works to oppose Him
      1. Satan goes around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour - I Peter 5:8
      2. Satan is opposed to all that is of God
      3. we need to take seriously the warning given by Jesus, "beware of false prophets"
    2. some would say, "preacher, the devil don’t bother me none"
      1. it probably means that you are no threat to him
      2. if you were twisting his tail, and working to get people save, he would be against you
    3. Satan got started in the garden by calling God a liar - Genesis 3:4-5
      1. this is exactly what many so called preachers of righteousness say today
      2. they haven’t been born again, but they want the salary of a preacher and the prestige and influence of a godly man
      3. they say, "the Bible is a good book, but it is not all true"
      4. God says, "beware of the false prophets"
  4. evolution is a false teaching
    1. evolution denies that God made everything
      1. evolution says that it took billions of years for everything to evolve
      2. we send men to the moon and satellites to Mars to see if there is any evidence of evolution
      3. only a fool thinks that there is some kind of life that God did not create
      4. a scientific fact that has been proven many times
        1. life never starts but from life
        2. no new kind of life just happens
        3. there is no life but from God
    2. what is evolution?
      1. a false religion
      2. a religion without God
      3. a religion that makes nature itself work things out
    3. evolution is part of the devil’s plan against God
      1. its gotten in our education
      2. its gotten in our so-called science
      3. no real science leaves God out
        1. "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" - Proverbs 1:7
        2. "science" means to know
          1. no one has ever saw a new life begin
          2. nobody has ever saw one form of life change to another
          3. no one as ever saw the things they claim about evolution, it is just a bunch of guesswork
      4. evolution is guesswork based on what?
        1. they don’t want God
        2. they don’t want to listen to God
  5. the Bible frequently warns against false prophets
    1. if we are good Christians, we will face the fact that all around us are false prophets of whom we need to beware
    2. many time it is mentioned in the Bible - Gal 1:8-9, Deut 13:1-5, II Cor 11:13-15
  6. we need to be on guard because saved people still has an old nature - Romans 7:15-25
    1. we must be on guard because we are vulnerable
    2. we are accessible to evil
    3. we have an old nature to watch and it is a downhill pull all the time
    4. the downward pull is evidenced everywhere
      1. among nations
      2. in Christian schools (Yale, Harvard, Princeton)
      3. in churches and denominations
  7. there are two classes of professing Christians
    1. the real sheep, and those that have sheep clothing
    2. those in sheep clothing we must beware of - Matthew 7:15
      1. they look like Christians, and claim to be Christians - Matthew 7:22
      2. Jesus is going to say, "depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity"
    3. many people have religious activities, and think they are Christians, but they are not
      1. they claim to be preachers, teachers, popes, and priest, but they are not even saved
      2. they are false prophets, and Jesus said there are many of them [many will say unto Me... - 22]
    4. real Christians need to beware of the false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing, but are not sheep
      1. they may look like sheep, but they are not sheep
      2. how will we know them --- by what kind of teaching they put out
      3. if they contradict the Bible, beware of those false prophets