Sermon - Trinity VIII - Matthew 7:15-23

Christ cautions us, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” From these words we come to understand that the teachings taught by different pastors really do matter. We Christians are to beware of false teachings, not just because they’re different but because false teachings lead us away from Christ, and that leads us away from life. 

In the verses immediately preceding our Gospel lesson, Christ says, “The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life.” The teachings which lead to life eternal are narrow and few, not wide and broad. Christ does not command us to be open-minded and accept every different teaching, but to beware of false teachers and the broad easy road which leads to destruction. Thus, every Christian (not just pastor) has the right and obligation to judge the teachings they hear, for only the pure teaching leads us to eternal life.

I know that what I’m saying is difficult to hear these days in our culture. The religious climate in America has largely been shaped by the ecumenical movement which spread through Europe to North America over the past century. The ecumenical movement sought to inculcate an attitude not only of tolerance for all different teachings, but acceptance of all different beliefs as equally valid and efficacious. 

Thus, here in America every religion and Christian denomination are considered equally true and valid. It’s thought that it’s impossible to determine if anyone is right or wrong, and that all of our different beliefs are merely a matter of opinion. But that’s simply not the case. 

The differences between Christian denominations and various religions is a matter of our sources for information. To help you understand what I mean by that, think of it in terms of writing a research paper. When you write the paper the words on the page don’t just magically appear, you’re presumably not just writing random words, but the words you write are the result of coming to a conclusion based upon careful study and analysis of some source of information. Your source of information is going to strongly influence your conclusions. If you write a paper about our president, and your only research is from Fox News, you’re going to come to a very different conclusion than if your research came from say CNN, the president’s own website, or just what your friend thinks about him.

So in regards to God, there are various sources we can study to learn about Him. Maybe your source of information is something in writing, like a book or article you read. Maybe your source is from listening to others. Maybe your source is through your life experiences. Maybe your source is just how you feel. But for the Christian our source of information, the basis which forms our beliefs, is the Word of God. As the Lord says through His prophet Jeremiah, “Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my Word speak my Word faithfully.” The source for the Christian’s belief is the Word of God. 

Again the Lord says through His prophet, “Is not my Word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.” The Word of God rightly divides the truth from the lies, divine facts from the dreams of man, and objective reality from subjective opinions. The cold hard truth is that the differences between the various denominations aren’t just about opinions but they’re a matter of whether God’s Holy Word is being purely taught or the deceit of the heart of man. 

There’s only one way that leads to life, and that’s the hard narrow gate of God’s perfect Word. Now Christ has given to you the privilege and the obligation to judge between the shepherds and the wolves. Through baptism all of us have been made spiritually equal to one another. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free.” Each of us now have the privilege to judge what we hear! 

You, just as much as me or a seminary professor, are privileged to study the scriptures and judge right from wrong. How do you do this? Christ answers, “You will recognize them by their fruits.” The fruits of teachers aren’t good works or living piously or having worldly growth or success, their fruits are their teachings. A bad teacher is one whose words are false and don’t come from God’s Word. While on the other hand, a good teacher is one whose words are true and echo God’s own words. “Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”

So the basis on which you’re to judge me and other pastors or teachings is the Word of God. Are the fruits of what I say my own imaginations or are they filled with the Word of God? When you hear me or someone else make an assertion, you must judge it on the basis of the Word of God. Is the person speaking to you an undershepherd of Christ’s church or a ravenous wolf? The only way you can determine this is based upon what God’s Word says, which also means that you need to know what the scriptures say.

If you think that you’re not well enough equipped to judge false prophets who come to you disguised in sheep’s clothing, then God be praised the blessed Dr. Martin Luther published his small catechism for you. Within those few pages the profound truth of the faith is plainly presented. If that’s not enough, Dr. Luther also published a Large Catechism written for parents to help them teach the Small Catechism to their children. Moreover today, we have a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in the plethora of books published by our own church’s Concordia Publishing House. This is all to say nothing of the very Bible which every Christian has available to them in this modern era to read and meditate upon.

Dearly beloved Christians, God has given you a holy obligation and privilege to judge false teaching from true teaching. Surely you must have time to do this vital task, afterall it pertains particularly to your very salvation. Because even though you call yourself a Christian, if you don’t believe the truth that Christ has suffered for you and died in order to pay for your sins, you won’t be saved. Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” We must all believe for ourselves and no one can believe for another. 

Because the truth that our Lord has given us to believe is beautiful and magnificent. Through Christ, “you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons… we are children of God, and if children, then heirs - heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.” The true teaching Christ has given us to believe is that we are God’s true children! Through the waters of baptism we’ve been adopted into God’s family, so that we may receive the inheritance God has prepared for His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. Jesus shed His blood on the cross in order to forgive you. 

The errors and heresies present in the church today deny that the sacrament of the altar is the true body and blood of Christ shed for the forgiveness of sins and is here present upon the local altar in order to comfort and strengthen us Christians. False prophets deny that the Father sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross and make satisfaction for our sins, gaining our divine sonship with Jesus. Ravenous wolves reject that baptism does indeed save us as a cleansing away of sins and establishes us in God’s family for eternity. Deceitful dreaming prophets sow seeds of doubt, when indeed God’s Word is true and trustworthy revealing that God’s heart is loving and compassionate towards us His people. 

False prophets are dangerous because they deceive and lead people astray from God’s purely comforting Word. Every error and heresy seeks to pridefully thrust aside God’s Word with man-made thoughts or things. So we pray, “Stay with us, Lord, and keep us true; Preserve our faith our whole life through- Your Word alone our heart’s defense, the Church’s glorious confidence.”