Matthew 7:15-16
“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit."
They say a lot of things that are true. That's the sheep's clothing. But within their story is a wolf ready to bite. They seek to make merchandise of you. Their teachings will emphasize on the funding of ministries. This is the evil fruit Jesus wants you to watch out for. Not so much the things they say, because much of what they say is cloaked in truth, but more the things they do with what they say.
Jesus goes on to say that many of the believers will not enter into the kingdom, even though they preach and teach in his name. The apostle Peter also talked about these greedy liars who are among the fellowship of believers. And he prophesies that we'll know these false teachers even now.
2 Peter 2:1-3
"There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved ways, and the way of truth will be maligned because of them. They will exploit you in their greed with made-up stories. Their condemnation, pronounced long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep."
And again, The Lord says you can know them by their fruit. Jesus provides the means for knowing the truth...
Matthew 7:21
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."
...it's more than believing, more than saying the right things in the right form at the right times while wearing the right clothes after having gone to the right schools and being taught by the right teachers. What Jesus, The Lord and Master, looks for is those who are doing the will of the Father. He wants their obedience. He is "Lord", they are servants. That "relationship" that is so popular today is not buddy buddy. He is LORD, and yes, we are his friends, but we are also his children if we obey him.
Friends in Christ,
Wouldn't it be horrible to run your whole race in Christ and have not been truly running "His" race at all? How terrible would it be to hear...
(v.23) ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’
...and then realize that your entire purpose was corrupted by false promises and trust placed in corrupted teachers.
Take a look at what Jesus was using to measure the ones he never knew.
"you lawbreakers!"
They were speaking untrue prophecies and practicing exorcisms of demons in Jesus' name, or so it seemed. And they're profiting from these things. Think Judas and his friends. For three years, he cast out demons and did many mighty works with Jesus. In the end, he was driven by money and concerns about the longevity of the ministry, not by his love for Jesus. We know this by his fruit, we know that from John 12:6 where it is said he’s a thief. He was practicing lawlessness. Though he was counted among the twelve, he is Jesus' disciple in name only, not in his heart. There in his heart lives other desires that take precedence over his love for Jesus. And because no true love or obedience for Jesus resides within him, Jesus, who knows the heart, does not know him. It's not that Jesus doesn't know his true nature; it means he doesn't count him as his true follower.
Judas' heart was filled with "weak and worthless elementary principles of the world" (see Galatians 4:9).
Apparently being known by God is a precondition for coming into a relationship of love for God. And that love for God (and everything holy that comes with that) residing in your heart is the fruit, the evidence that you’re known by God. It's evident because a true love for Jesus will become a love for doing the Father's will. It's an active love for doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8).
Take a look at the parable of the "ten virgins". They cried out, “Lord, lord, open to us.” And he says, “Truly I say to you, I don’t know you.”
What was missing in them?
Their lamps were not filled with oil (the Holy Spirit). They were lazy, not active in their faith, and they were not departing from iniquity (aka not departing from evil). They were lawbreakers. They traded their love and obedience to the things of heaven for a love of the things of the world.
That's it really. That's the mark of the beast in the church. They sell their souls for the love of money. They choose their thirty pieces of silver and the Devil gets his pound of flesh.
And The Lord knows.
“The Lord knows those who are his...Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19)
#LoveGoes #JesusLovesYou #lovegodwithallyourheart