Watch Out!
Matthew 7 verses 13-20, w/c 20 March
CHOICES: How good are you at making choices? Choosing between which clothes to buy/wear? Choosing where to go on holiday? Choosing the first chocolate from your favourite box? Do you make your own choice – or do you look to the approval of others? Do you ever make choices which are out of character?
READ verses 13-14
The old walled city of Jerusalem still has a number of gates. Some are wide enough so that cars can get through, others have steep, narrow steps so that only pedestrians, animals and small handcarts can enter. The people Jesus spoke to would have been familiar with towns and cities like that. Some wide enough to let several people go in and out at the same time; others so narrow you had to wait your turn. Jesus was warning against “going with the flow”- allowing the crowd to set the pace and the direction.
Jesus offers two choices, but in fact there is really only one choice.
What are the characteristics of the first road? Why is that not a choice for Christians? Are you ever tempted to walk this road?
Diversity of opinions; lax morals; tolerance; permissiveness; no boundaries; follow your own inclinations; difficult to resist …..
And the characteristics of the second road, the road we have to follow?
Clearly marked boundaries; limited by what God has revealed in the Bible …
What do we know about the gate that is wide?
Easy to get onto the easy road; no baggage limit; don’t have to leave anything behind …
And the narrow gate?
Not easy to find; leave behind sin, selfish ambition, covetousness; family (??); a turnpike gate (has to be entered one by one).
The easy way leads to destruction. Jesus does not say anything about this but it is a difficult prospect to contemplate. By contrast, the narrow gate leads to eternal life, i.e. fellowship with God, beginning here and now but brought to a conclusion in the life to come.
Entering through the wide gate leads to a busy road with people of every kind; by contrast the narrow gate seems at times deserted for those who find it are few.
READ verses 15-20
There must have been false prophets around for Jesus to say beware of them! They occur frequently in the Old Testament and at times Jesus seems to regard the Pharisees and Sadducees in the same light. Nearly all the New Testament letters have some reference to false prophets/teachers (2 Cor 11.13; 2 Pet 2.1). They were pseudo-prophets/apostles/teachers – PSEUDO = Greek word for a lie.
“I fear there are still many in today’s church” (John Stott). Do you agree with this conclusion? How easy is it to spot such people?
To ask us to beware of false prophets must mean there is an objective truth which false prophets do not hold to (Jer 23.16). True followers of Jesus must beware of such people.
Such people are dangerous and deceptive. Reflect on the relationship between a sheep and a wolf.
At that time the wolf was the natural enemy of sheep – so sheep needed a good shepherd.
Reflect on what Jesus said about himself in this regard (Jn 10.11-13). How might this be an encouragement to us?
The good teacher/leader feeds his/her flock with truth, the false teacher/leader (like a wolf) divides it by error and does nothing to stop false teachers getting a hold (Acts 20.29-30, part of Paul’s farewell speech to Christian leaders at Ephesus).
The Old Testament false prophets denied God was a God of judgement (as well as of steadfast love and mercy). They spoke of peace when there was no peace; they said all would be well when clearly it was not so. As a result is gave people a false sense of security – sin does not really matter!
How might such teaching find its way into churches? All roads lead to life in the end! False teachers do not come along and claim to be purveyors of falsehood; they claim to know the truth – and we can be easily deceived. We need to look beneath the appearance to the reality.
What tests can we apply to distinguish truth from falsehood?
It might be possible to mistake a wolf for a sheep, but no tree can hide its identity. Sooner or later it betrays itself by its FRUIT.
What are the fruits that Jesus speaks of?
1 Character and conduct – living a Christlike life (what Paul later spoke of as the fruit of the Spirit). If these qualities are missing then beware. NOTE we are not looking for perfection here; even the greatest of godly leaders fail from time to time. But if we see qualities like impurity, jealousy and self-indulgence then the warning signs are there.
2 The message – in line with the original teaching of Jesus and the apostles. “Sound doctrine and holy living are the marks of true prophets” (Bishop Ryle).
Why is the “fruit test” not altogether simple?
Fruit takes time to grow and ripen. We have to wait for it patiently. The tree needs ‘feeding’ – how do we go about feeding our church leaders (ordained and non-ordained)? It is not always easy to spot when a tree is diseased. Having said that it is not our role to go “heresy-hunting”. But if we care for God’s truth and for God’s word then we have to take these words of Jesus seriously.
“A profession of faith that makes no difference to the way we behave is barren and will never save anybody …. I fear that so much that passes as Christianity will shrivel up in the day of judgement and be found to be bogus and worthless.” (Michael Green)
PRAYER
Are any members of your group facing difficult choices?
Before coming this evening, look at today’s newspaper/news – are there any situations where leaders are facing difficult choices? Bring them to the Lord in prayer.
Pray for our own church leaders as they seek to lead in truth and righteousness.