Matthew 7:15-23; Romans 8:12-17; Jeremiah 23:16-29
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Listen carefully, for I have an important truth to share with you today: It is not alright to say that it is alright to do what the LORD has said is not alright to do. That seems simple enough, doesn't it? Yet, apparently, it isn’t.
Likewise, it is not alright to say that something is sinful when the LORD has not called it sin. That is simply the other side of the same coin. No one should permit, encourage, or bless what God has forbidden, and no one should forbid or condemn what God has not forbidden. Whoever claims to speak for God must say only what God has said, without adding to it and without taking away from it. That is what it means to be a prophet: a mouthpiece through whom God speaks His own Word.
Yet the LORD warns through Jeremiah that false prophets will arise, speaking “visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.” They continually tell those who despise the Word of God, “It shall be well with you,” and “No disaster shall come upon you.” In other words: “Keep doing what you're doing. God didn’t really mean that. It’s alright. God loves you just the way you are.” Go ahead and curse like a sailor. Go ahead and steal music and movies. Go ahead and live together and have sex outside of marriage. Go ahead and cheat on your taxes. Go ahead and terminate that pregnancy. Go ahead and affirm LGBTQ+ and same-sex marriage and bless what God has not blessed. Those old-fashioned preachers have misunderstood God. They’re not even Christians but they are bigots, misogynist, homophobes, and worse. God only wants you to be happy, and kind, and nice.
The LORD says such prophets “heal the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.” They call evil good and good evil, they put darkness for light and light for darkness. “I did not send the prophets,” says the LORD, “yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.” Had they truly stood in His counsel, they would have proclaimed His Word and called His people to repentance.
There will always be false prophets because there will always be people who want to hear them. As St. Paul warned, “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” Therefore, it is imperative that Christians learn to distinguish true prophets from false ones, true doctrine from false doctrine. How can you tell the difference? Jesus answers: “You will recognize them by their fruits.”
What are the fruits of a prophet? Jesus compares prophets to trees. Healthy trees bear good fruit; diseased trees bear bad fruit. You do not gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles. Good fruit comes only from a good tree. The fruit of a prophet is his preaching. If he proclaims God’s Word in its truth and purity, that fruit nourishes faith and strengthens God’s people for eternal life. But if he corrupts, waters down, or twists God’s Word with human opinions, that fruit is poisonous. False doctrine rarely destroys faith all at once. Rather, like a slow poison, it gradually dulls the conscience until a person no longer recognizes truth from error.
Jesus also warns that false prophets rarely look dangerous. They come in sheep’s clothing, though inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You cannot judge them by their outward appearance. Some are polished, charismatic, wealthy, and successful. Others appear humble, compassionate, and sincere. None of those things prove anything. The question is never, “How impressive is he?” The question is always, “What does he preach?” Does he proclaim God’s Word faithfully, even when it convicts both preacher and hearer? Or does he reshape God’s Word to satisfy the desires of sinful men? His fruit is his preaching.
To understand this better, consider the beginning. In Eden stood two trees: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. By appearance both were attractive. But God’s Word made all the difference. One gave life; the other brought death. Then came the first false prophet. Disguised as a serpent, Satan twisted God’s Word. He promised that disobedience would not bring death but wisdom and enlightenment. Adam and Eve judged by appearances instead of God’s Word. They believed the false prophet, ate the forbidden fruit, and sin and death entered the world. Ever since then there have been true prophets and false prophets.
The true prophets were sinners like us, yet they faithfully proclaimed both God’s condemning Law and His comforting Gospel. Above all, they pointed to the coming Messiah. The false prophets followed the pattern of Satan. They mixed God’s truth with human opinion. They obscured the Gospel. They either taught salvation by human works or assured sinners that they needed no salvation at all.
Then, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son, the True Prophet. Jesus came to destroy the death that entered through the forbidden tree and to restore to sinners the Tree of Life. He took into Himself the poison of our sin and death. He drank the cup of God’s wrath to its bitter dregs until nothing remained. Then He was nailed to the cursed tree of the cross.
There was nothing outwardly attractive about Him. As Isaiah says, “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.” He was despised and rejected by men. Yet He alone is the true Prophet of God. Blessed are those who are not offended by Him. He is the Truth. His cross has become for us the Tree of Life. From it He gives the fruit that grants eternal life. Whoever feeds on Him lives forever. He is the righteousness of sinners and the justifier of the guilty. He is mercy for the fearful, forgiveness for the condemned, peace for troubled consciences, and life for those who must die. He gives the medicine of immortality. Those who hear His voice receive Him with joy, and He welcomes them into the kingdom of heaven.
So Jesus is right: you will know a prophet by his fruits. Ask this question: What fruit does he set before me? To whom does he direct me? What does he feed me? The true prophet always places before you the fruit of the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of your sins. He feeds you with Christ’s pure Word. He gives you Christ’s holy body and precious blood, the blessed fruits of the cross, now become for you the Tree of Life with every good.
Your Savior is not far away. He is near. By His wounds you are healed. By His suffering you have peace with God. Everyone who calls upon His Name is saved from sin, death, and hell. Come, then, and eat from the Tree of Life. Receive the good fruit of the true Prophet. Feed upon Christ and live forever.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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