Witness to the truth

Matthew 7:15-29 ¹⁵“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶By their fruit you will recognize them. You do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do you? ¹⁷So then, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. ²¹Not 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. ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and drive out demons in your name and perform many miracles in your name?’ ²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

²⁴“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on bedrock. ²⁵The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was founded on bedrock. ²⁶Everyone who hears these words of mine but does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—it was completely destroyed.”

²⁸When Jesus finished speaking these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹because he taught them as one who had authority, and not like their experts in the law.

Little Red Riding Hood is one of world’s best-known fairy tales. Like most European folk tales, it has been told and retold so many times with so many adaptations, that its origin has been lost to time.

The modern versions we’re familiar with have a “happy ending.” Where Red Riding Hood and her grandmother are heroically saved by a woodsman. However, older versions were much scarier. In those versions, the wolf gobbles up Grandmamma in haste, “with mustard or bread.” The last scene grimly depicts the wolf doing the same thing to Little Red Riding Hood.

Like most fairy tales, Little Red Riding Hood has a moral or a cautionary tale at its heart. The story revolves around a predator “so artful and strong” who pretends to be someone he isn’t, and a little girl who is too trusting. Even though Little Red Riding Hood noticed that her grandmother’s arms were covered in fur, and her ears were pointy, she was too trusting of the wolf’s cunning words. “Grandmama what great arms, and your ears look so wild; They are better to cuddle and to hear my child.”

Little Red Riding is a cautionary tale about trusting a wolf in grandma’s clothing. Jesus tells an even older story about being too trusting of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

Typically, false teachers and preachers and friends seem very friendly and sincere. They tell people what they want to hear. But they are dangerous, for they deny the truth of God’s plain words. They substitute sand for the solid rock of Christ. Their fruit looks good, but it is rotten to the taste.

Jesus continued: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

God devoted much of His Scripture to warning about false prophets distorting his Scripture. He is concerned because students of false teachers are doomed to share the same eternal destruction as their teachers. “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-- bringing swift destruction on themselves” (2 Peter 2:1).

Jesus pictures those who may be able to say honestly on the Last Day that they prophesied in his name and cast out demons or did miracles in his name. (Notice Jesus doesn’t contradict anything they say.) Yet to them he speaks that most awful Last Day sentence, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

So what is the warning for us? God’s truth doesn’t merely want to lay claim to our lips. It also wants to build its stronghold in our hearts. “Doing the will of our Father in heaven” is all about believing in the Son and everything the Son said and then gave to his prophets and apostles to teach. Our mouths can preach like Paul. Our lips can praise like David. Our kingdom accomplishments can rival Moses. But if our hearts end up as unclaimed property for the gospel, then we can eternally forfeit eternal salvation.

So what’s the warning for us? Doing the will of the Father is not only believing the gospel, it is sharing the gospel. It is not only holding on to the Word. It is defending the Word. It is not only cherishing the truth. It is witnessing to the truth.

If we truly believe that all false prophets are dangerous as their sheep-like smile conceals their wolf-like teeth, then we will be vigilant in warning the Little Red Riding Hoods around us about the wolf’s danger. Too many are too trusting of our culture’s words and ways. To shift metaphors - which is OK to do since Jesus did it – the fruit of their words is poisonous. If we truly believe that, then we will point out these poisonous words to others.

But it’s hard to witness to the truth. When you warn about the disgusting acceptance in our culture of the murder of the unborn, you will be shouted down. You need to ignore their shouting and teach Psalm 139:13: “For you created my inner organs. You wove me together in my mother’s womb.”

It will cause serious tension in your family when you keep insisting that your children baptize your grandchildren. But you don’t want your children carrying a large millstone around their neck and being drowned in the depths of the sea (Matthew 18:6). That’s what Jesus warns he’ll do to anyone who keeps the children he loves away from him.

You will be called “smug” and “self-righteous_ for telling your friends they aren’t able to take communion with you. You believe its really Christ’s body and blood on your lips and forgiveness on your tongue. They believe its nothing more than juice and crackers, like you would give your kids as a snack after their soccer game.

You won’t be invited to parties anymore because you believe homosexuality, living together and having children out of marriage are sins against God’s sixth commandment.

The easiest thing to do is keep silent. To look the other way. To keep peace in the family. To believe the truth but refuse to witness to the truth.

That means your friends are easy prey for the wolves in sheep’s clothing. It means your family will be infected with the deadly poison of false teachings. It means you may have peace now because you don’t speak up, but there may be no eternal peace for those you love because your silence was deafening … and damning.

So, what are we to do?

Open up your Bible. Read the words written by the hands of men as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). Hear the Father speak to you through the voices of his prophets and apostles. Listen to every word of Christ and put them into practice. Then you are like a wise man who built his house on a rock.

The greatest defense against the words of false prophets is the infallible and inerrant Word of God.

So when a false preacher claims that he preaches the Bible but will not condemn unbelievers for their unbelief, then read this Bible passage to him: Jesus said of himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Or where Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Whoever believe in him [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).

For those who are proposing a cross-less Christianity, open your Bible and read 2 Corinthians 1:23: “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:23). Or for those who shy away from a life of difficulty, poverty, and persecution for Christians, tell them that Jesus was serious when he said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

You will come across many Christians who deny the power and efficacy of infant baptism. When they say that children are born innocent, tell them that King David disagrees with them. He wrote, “Surely I was sinful at birth; sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). When they declare that baptism is not for children and there is no power in baptism, let them know that St. Peter disagrees with them. He preached, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children” (Acts 2:38-39). When they claim that infants are too young to believe, point out that the Lord Jesus disagrees with them. He instructed his disciples, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:14-15).

For those who deny that Christ can really be present in the Lord’s Supper if he is seated on His throne in heaven with an earthly body, remind them that if Jesus could feed 5,000 people with a few loaves of bread and some fish, then he can certainly feed millions of Christians with his body and blood as often as it’s offered. And when they try doing some linguistic gymnastics claiming that Jesus’ words of “this is my body” really means, “this represents” or “this is a symbol of my body” then just point them to the clear words of Jesus. He said, “this is.” “Is” means “is.” This is my nose. It doesn’t represent my nose. It isn’t a symbol of my nose. It really is my nose. The wafer really is Jesus’ body and the wine really is Jesus’ blood in the Lord’s Supper. How can we be sure? Jesus says so.

His words are the Rock upon which our salvation is built. Not the words we like. Not the words we can understand. Not the words with which we are comfortable. His words. Every one of them. Every jot and tittle (KJV), and every smallest letter (NIV). All of them are important. All of them are valuable. All of them declare God’s truths and repel the lies of false prophets.

Christ’s work and his words make our life strong and secure. The beams of our house are made out of the mighty cross of Christ. His blood marks the posts of our door. The same nails that pierced him have built you up. The house of our faith then becomes eternal and immovable, because the Holy Spirit has been the contractor who has built our faith and life upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, who is eternal and immovable, the rock of our salvation.

With our faith built upon Christ’s words and works, no tidal wave of false teachings will ever move us. We rest safe and secure in the truths of Scripture.

There are plenty of putrid fruits in our world. The true fruit is found in Christ’s Word and Sacraments. True fruits are only from the Tree of Life upon which the Son of Man was hung. Only where blood and water poured from our Savior’s side can true fruit be nurtured.

When wolves try deceiving us by dressing up in sheep’s clothing, then follow ever more closely to the Great Shepherd of the sheep. He is the Shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. He is also the perfect Passover Lamb, who shed his blood for his wayward lambs and sheep. He washes us clean in his baptismal waters. He feeds us with his own body and blood. He dresses us in the holy Lamb’s clothing.

The past few months have taught us to be critical of the government, journalists and medical experts. If that’s true about political, social and medical advice, how much more should we be critical of spiritual advice. Livelihoods and health are in question with earthly authorities. Eternal lives are in the balance with spiritual authorities. Test the fruit. “By their fruit you will recognize them.”

Sadly, there are many in our culture who are like Little Red Riding Hood. They are ignorant of the dangerous wolves in Grandma’s clothing. They see sheep and miss the wolves dressed as sheep. Jesus calls you today to be bold enough to warn them. To love them enough to witness to them.

That means that you first need to know the truth of God’s Word so you can witness to the truth of that Word. See the danger of the wolves that surround us. Then warn others about that danger. Then point them to Jesus. Help them be amazed at his teaching. For he teaches as one who has authority – the authority of the Son of God, your Savior, the rock upon which your faith is built. In a world of lies, witness to the truth. Amen.