Sermon - Trinity VIII 2020 - Matthew 7:15-23

Christians are altogether a different sort. On the one hand, our Lord describes us as a flock of sheep and He is our Good Shepherd. But on the other hand, we’re not supposed to be just a flock of gullible sheep, rather we’re to be wise and cunning soldiers, armed with the sword of God’s Word to be on guard against our enemy Satan. Jesus desires that His Christians would be good sheep, doing the will of His Father, and astute soldiers equipped against the wiles of the ravenous wolves. It’s a strange picture, but we’re a flock of heavily armored sheep, grazing in the pasture holding swords in our cloven hooves. 

Christ paints us this illustration today towards the end of His sermon on the mount. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” The first assumption here is that we’re sheep. This is a comparison made throughout the scriptures: we all like sheep have gone astray and the Lord is my Good Shepherd, I shall not want, He lays down His life for me. 

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Jesus is our Good Shepherd who has brought us into His fold by laying down His life for us. Jesus shed His blood and died so that we foolish straying sheep may run back to the flock while our Shepherd gets Himself devoured by the wolf instead of us. Because He sacrificed Himself for us, He also adopted us into His family through the waters of baptism, so that we sheep may bleat out not “baa-baa,” but “Abba! Father!”

So now that we’ve been brought into the flock of Christ’s church, what’s our role? Largely, the role of sheep in a pasture is to eat, to be fed by the shepherd. Thus the role of Christians in Christ’s church is to be fed, to eat! Here in this pasture our Lord feeds us His body and blood, we feast upon the Word of God! 

Sheep are ruminants, meaning they have more than one stomach and they chew the cud. So let us feast like sheep! Here in the Divine Service we are fed the Word of God, but like sheep let’s keep chewing the cud throughout the week, let’s ruminate upon the Word we’re fed over and over again during the week. Every time we bring that Word back to memory there’s more to glean from it, more nutrients we might absorb. Let’s become fattened sheep by filling our bellies with this delicious Word.

Nevertheless, we are not to be eaters or hearers of the Word only, rather we are also to be doers of the Word. Christ teaches us, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Christ’s Word is not some sort of dry history or high-brow poetry, the kind of thing that’s pretty and academic but without application. Instead the Word is meant to be believed and acted upon; it’s meant to be lived.

Since Christ has died for you, forgiven your sins, adopted you into His flock, grafted you into His family tree, you’re meant to produce good fruit. King David said: “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in the courts of our God, and even when they become old they will blossom and be fruitful and fresh.” A true sheep of Christ’s flock doesn’t just sit in the pasture, but produces much fruit through love and good works.

Now, here we do need to clarify something. A Christian isn’t a Christian because they call themselves one, nor because of their great knowledge of the Bible, nor because of their good works. Jesus said: “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you.” We’re Christians because Jesus died for us, washed us in His blood forgiving us, and declares us righteous by His grace, received through faith, which is given us as a gift.

You’re a member of Christ’s flock not because you decided to be one, but because God made you a sheep of His flock. Nevertheless, God didn’t made you a stupid gullible sheep, which is what we all are by nature, but He made us to be astute and wise sheep, cautious about the dangers surrounding us. Because there are dangers around us and they’re hard to identify. Jesus says: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.”

There are among the sheep ravenous wolves disguised as sheep, seeking to devour the flock. It’s difficult to identify them because they’re dressed up as sheep. They claim the name of Christ. They often speak like sheep using the Bible. They even perform many good works. Yet inwardly they’re rapacious wolves who only want to eat up the sheep.

So how do you identify them? How do you know who the false prophets are? Jesus says we will recognize them by their fruits. What are the fruits of prophets or teachers but their teachings. The Lord says to Jeremiah: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”

Thus a true prophet or a true teacher holds solely to the Word of God as revealed in the scriptures and doesn’t alter or falsify any of it. Conversely, a false prophet or a false teacher changes God’s Word according to human opinion or simply deviating from it in some way. Therefore, the way we differentiate between the true and false prophets is by testing their teachings against God’s Word.

We sheep have been equipped with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” This “Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The very fodder which we sheep have been fed and we ruminate upon is the same weapon given us so that we might stand against the schemes of the devil.

The battle which we’re engaged in is not one against flesh and blood. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Our worst enemies aren’t tyrants, Marxists, viruses, or even death. This is a spiritual battle. Satan is attacking God’s little flock. 

So when Satan is attacking us, we don’t need to burn anything down. We don’t need to harm or kill anyone. We don’t need a revolution. We don’t need plows or guns. All we need is the sword of God’s Word. Like we just sang “A trusty weapon is Thy Word, Thy Church’s buckler, shield, and sword. Oh, Let us in its power confide that we may seek no other guide!”

Around us does fall the eventide of this present darkness, but the Word of God is the heavenly light which banishes all darkness and exposes the evil one and his deceitful words for what they are. There are false teachers around us and they’re dangerous. The words of false teachers aren’t innocuous, but terribly toxic. 

They say things like, “There are many ways to God” or “It will be well with you; just follow your heart.” “Don’t trust in baptism, it doesn’t do anything.” “You don’t need communion.” “You don’t need to go to church, you can stay home indefinitely.” “Love is love.” “Gender is just a social construct, you’re free from gender norms!” “It’s just a clump of cells.” “You must make a decision for Christ.” “Jesus isn’t actually God.” “You need to earn your way into heaven.” “Jesus didn’t die for everyone.” 

We could go on for days reittering Satan’s lies, all of which are deadly even if they sound good. But as a sure defense against these sweet sounding vile lies, God has given you His precious Word. Every day Satan attacks you harder than the day before, which means that every day you need the Word more than before. 

Still, we know that the victory remains with life, and this day of darkness will soon be over. God’s Word is mightier than any and every pernicious lie the devil may utter. The Good Shepherd has already slaughtered the wolf; he’s no more alive than a headless chicken running around frightening you. So be encouraged and make like a sheep and dust off that catechism and Bible. Open them up and feast on the Word. Keep chewing on it until the Shepherd finally returns to take the sheep to the green pastures of heaven.

Let us pray: “Oh, grant that in Thy holy Word we here may live and die, dear Lord; and when our journey endeth here, receive us into glory there.” Amen.