Matthew 7:19-29: “Jesus Warns His Disciples About False Teachers And Professors / The Multitudes Were Amazed At Jesus’ Teaching”
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
Having warned
His disciples sternly to beware of false teachers and that by their fruits they
would know them, He now reveals what will be the fate of not only false
teachers, but also all who are spurious (false) followers of Christ
1.1.1. Jesus teaches that the branch that doesn’t abide in
Him, The Vine, will be cut out and thrown into the fire
1.1.1.1.In other words, ‘hell’ awaits those who refuse to
abide in Christ
1.1.2. Jesus teaches that there will be many who had done
lots of things in His Name, even the effecting of miracles, prophesying, and
casting out of demons, yet these spurious believers will end up in ‘hell’
1.1.3. These verses primarily refer to people who will come
into the church itself, not people who are on the outside, and they will then lead
people astray by their false teachings and their sinful lifestyle
1.1.3.1.It is a sad and sobering fact that there are many
people in the churches today who will not be in heaven
2.
VS 7:19-20 - “19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is
cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their
fruits”” - Jesus
teaches us that the tree that bears bad fruit is going to be cut down and
thrown into the fire
2.1.
These verses very
much reflect John 15:1-6, and from these verses Jesus seeks to teach us some
‘gardening lessons’, “15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the
vinedresser. 2 “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and
every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. 3
“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 “Abide
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it
abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in
2.1.1. Bearing fruit as a Christian results naturally just
from abiding in Jesus, The Vine, for it is the life that flows into a branch
from the vine which produces fruit on the branch
2.1.2. Every tree produces just one kind of a fruit, and if
we abide in Jesus, the He will produce fruit through our lives, fruit that only
He can produce
2.1.3. Through these verses in Matthew as well as the one in
John 15, Jesus is teaching us that it is God’s will and purpose for our lives
that we be molded by Him to the point to which we bear much fruit
2.1.3.1.God is running a landscaping business, and as such He
is watching over the lives of all of His children in order to make sure that
they become as fruitful for Him as possible
2.1.3.1.1.He is the gardener of each of His children (who are
branches in Him) and He prunes areas out of our life that do not bring Him
glory (and which are zapping us of our very spiritual life) through trials and
afflictions which He allows us to go through
2.1.3.2.When God’s children bear fruit for Him, it brings Him
glory, for it is a direct reflection of Him and His glory and righteousness
2.1.3.3.When we bear fruit for Christ we are most fulfilled
ourselves as people and we are in our proper place as creatures of His creation
2.1.3.4.If any branch (any Christian) abides (or remains) in
Christ, the vine, the life of the vine will flow through the branch (the
person), and the result will be that his life will bear “much fruit”, for that
is the inevitable result of simply being connected to the vine. The life of the vine will overflow into the
branch and cause it to bear much healthy fruit
2.1.3.5.The fruit that Christ produces through the Christian’s
life is the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, gentleness, and self-control, Gal. 5:23), as well as the fruits of
godly living
2.1.4. You see, bad fruit comes only from not abiding in
Jesus, The Vine
2.2.
It doesn’t matter
how much religious activity a person participates in, nor how hard they try to
make people think that they are righteous, if they do not have fruit in their lives
this is an infallible indicator that they are not attached to the vine, and if
they are not attached to the vine, God the landscaper is one day going to cut
them off from the vine and burn them, which is an intimation that it is
inevitable that fruitless people will spend eternity in hell
2.3.
This verse
reveals that having a Christ-like character is a pre-requisite for being a
minister of the gospel
2.4.
If a person’s
walk doesn’t reveal godly fruit in their character and teachings, and they are
supposedly a teacher or prophet speaking from God, we must not have anything to
do with them, and we must treat them like a false teacher and deceiver
3.
VS 7:21-23 - “21 “Not
everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he
who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 “Many will say to Me on
that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast
out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will
declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness’” - Jesus
warns His disciples that merely claiming that He is Lord and even calling Him,
‘Lord’, will not guarantee anyone passage to heaven
3.1.
It is interesting
to note in this passage that Jesus is already intimating to His disciples that
one day He will be the judge of all men and that everyone shall one day give an
account to Him for their life
3.2.
It is essential
to realize that the ones whom Jesus is refering to here are “church people”,
and that they claim to have ‘prophesied in Jesus’ Name’, ‘cast out demons’, and
‘performed many miracles’
3.2.1. There are many people in the church today who aren’t
going to heaven because they haven’t truly been saved
3.2.2. There are a few people in the Bible who are recorded
as having been used by God to perform works of His Spirit, and yet whom the
Bible also reveals that they are not God’s people:
3.2.2.1.Balaam
3.2.2.2.Caiaphus the high priest in Jesus’ time (John 11:49)
3.2.2.3.Judas Iscariot
3.2.2.4.Jewish Exorcists of Acts 19:13-15
3.3.
These ones whom
Jesus tells His disciples about here are even “zealous” toward God as is seen
in their crying out, “Lord, Lord”
3.3.1. Many people once were zealous in their relationship to
Christ but now they have apathy or worse open hostility towards the Lord
3.3.1.1.I have known many people like this myself
3.4.
However, Jesus
tells His disciples that there will be ‘many’ of these ones who are in the same
precarious position on the day of Judgment:
3.4.1. They will be thinking that since they had professed
faith in Christ that they would enter heaven
3.4.1.1.I know people who were taught the doctrine, ‘once
saved always saved’, and since they went forward at an altar call at a church,
or even had an emotionally charged experience with the Lord once, that they are
guaranteed that they will go to heaven, regardless of how they are living their
life since that time
3.4.1.2.Jesus is clear here in this verse in Matthew that if a
person doesn’t ‘abide’ (or remain) walking with Christ that they will not enter
heaven
3.4.2. Jesus says here that He will tell these spurious
believers on judgment day that He never ‘knew’ them, and that they must depart
to hell
3.4.2.1.The Greek word ‘ginosko’ was used here for ‘knew’, and
this word refers to ‘experiential knowledge’:
This is because the type of knowing that Jesus was refering to was an
intimate knowledge or friendship, and thus it means that He never really had
had ‘fellowship’ with them, though they may have had an experience with God at
one point in time
3.4.2.1.1.He is not saying that He did not know about them, for
He knows everything about everyone
3.4.2.1.2.Paul intimated to Titus in Titus 1:16 that if we truly
‘know’ the Lord that our deeds will evidence this knowledge, “16 They
profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and
disobedient, and worthless for any good deed”
3.4.2.2.It is interesting to note that Jesus does not tell
them that He knew for awhile, but that He “never” knew them
3.4.3. They will spend eternity in hell, not heaven
3.5.
In this passage
Jesus tells His disciples that the only ones who will enter heaven are those
who “do” the will of God in their life
3.5.1. This tells us then that:
3.5.1.1.There must be “genuine” repentance in a person’s life
in order to enter heaven
3.5.1.2.The Greek word ‘do’ that Jesus used here is in the
present tense, so this means that in order for a person to enter heaven they
must be one who is “continually” doing God’s will (not just a one time
experience)
3.5.1.2.1.As Jesus put it in John 15 in the parable of the vine
and the branches, only a person who “abides” in Jesus will be saved
3.5.1.2.2.In Luke 6:46, Jesus spoke of the contradiction that
exists in a person’s life when they call Jesus ‘Lord, Lord’, but then they
don’t do what He says (which indicates that they aren’t really under His
lordship), “46 “And why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I
say?”
3.5.1.3.A mere profession of faith in Christ without a life of
works to verify the existence of that faith will not suffice
3.6.
Jesus who knows
the hearts of all people tells these ones who have not abided in Christ to
depart into hell because they are those who continually ‘practice lawlessness’,
even though they may have been church attenders and perhaps even church leaders
in their day
4.
VS 7:24-27 - “24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of
Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house
upon the rock. 25 “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been
founded upon the rock. 26 “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does
not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the
sand. 27 “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall”” - Jesus teaches His disciples about two
different foundations upon which a house can be built
4.1.
In this passage
here, I first want to dismiss the wrong interpretation that many have for
it: Jesus is not teaching His disciples
that He is the rock and that if we build upon Him instead of something else in
the world that our house then cannot be destroyed
4.1.1. That is a truth which Jesus did teach, however He did
so in other places (1 Cor. 3:10-11 teaches this truth)
4.2.
In this passage,
the ‘house’ mentioned refers to the believer’s life, and each person in this
life is going to build his house upon something in this life, one or the other
4.3.
A carpenter
friend has told me that any builder will tell you that the most important part
of any building is its foundation, for if the foundation of a building be weak
it does not matter how elaborate and thorough a job of building upon the
foundation anyone does, the building will always be vulnerable to the forces of
nature and it is destined not to last long upon this earth
4.4.
The people
depicted by each foundation have one similar trait, and that is that they both
heard God’s Word in such a way that they understood it
4.5.
The two
foundations then consist of:
4.5.1. The person who acts upon God’s Word after hearing it
4.5.1.1.Those who act upon God’s Word, obey what it teaches,
and give their lives over to Christ’s Lordship and believe on Him for
salvation, and thus they shall inherit eternal life
4.5.1.2.Jesus tells His disciples that the man that does this
is a ‘wise’ man
4.5.2. The person who does not act upon God’s Word after
hearing it
4.5.2.1.Those who hear and understand God’s Word but do not
act upon it refuse to obey what it teaches, and yet they may join a church and
even become involved in it, and then even go so far as become a leader in the
church, however they have never submitted to Christ’s Lordship in their lives,
though they make a profession of faith and even have zeal in the Lord
4.5.2.2.Jesus tells His disciples that the man who does this
is a ‘foolish’ man
4.6.
Once when taking
a bus tour of New York City I was told that none of the skyscrapers in the city
have a foundation (I would have thought they would have had one that reached
several stories under the ground), and the reason for this is that New York
City is build on solid bedrock, and this rock is the best foundation that a
building could have
4.6.1. Thusly, acting upon the Word of God when we hear it is
the best foundation that we could build our lives upon, for God can sustain us
through any trial in life, give us the strength to endure any difficulty as His
witness, and He will ensure us that we will live on after this life eternally
with Him in heaven
4.7.
Conversely, when
I lived in
4.7.1. Thusly, refusing to believe and act upon the truth of
God’s Word when you hear it is very foolish for there is nothing in this life
that is worth risking your eternal destination upon
4.7.1.1.If there is one in a million chance that the Bible is
true, a person ought to be wise enough to at least try to thoroughly
investigate what it says and whether it could plausibly be from God
4.7.1.1.1.Sadly, in almost every single person’s case, a
non-believers opinions about the Bible are based upon gross ignorance of what
it actually says and the facts that support its veracity
4.8.
There is going to
come a very intense storm (or day) in every person’s life that will test the
genuineness of the person’s faith, and those days sometimes come in this life
and they sometimes come on that day described in the Bible as ‘The Day of the
Lord’ (the day of God’s judgment)
4.8.1. If a person has his house destroyed on the “Day of the
Lord”, then truly this is the greatest of devastations, and the sadest of all
things that can happen in this life
4.8.2. The person who has acted in faith and obedience upon
Christ’s Word will not have his house destroyed, but rather it will stand up
strong
4.8.3. In Mal. 3:2-3, Malachi writes about Jesus refining and
purifying each of the people He calls to Himself, “2 “But who can endure the
day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s
fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 “And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of
silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and
silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness””
5.
VS 7:28-29 - “28 The result was that when Jesus had finished
these words, the multitudes were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching
them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” - The people realize that Jesus taught as ‘one having authority’
5.1.
The people noticed
a great difference between their own Jewish teachers and Jesus
5.1.1. The Jewish teachers would quote the Talmud, the
Midrash, the Mishnah, or other rabbis and thus their teaching lacked
originality, sincerity, depth, and reality compared to Jesus’ teaching
5.1.1.1.It is always a trap if we are using the words of
secular men in order to validate the teaching of God’s Word, for the people of
this world are living on a sea of moral realitivity, and that which is taught
as scientific fact is often changing
5.1.2. The people were ‘amazed’ at Jesus and His teaching,
for there were no men of their day besides Jesus who taught with ‘authority’
5.1.2.1.Jesus didn’t quote other men in order to validate His
teaching, rather He spoke under inspiration of the Holy Spirit always, and
acting as His own authority He would often say to them, “but I say to You...”
5.1.2.2.The powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit was always
upon Jesus when He would speak and teach, and this was evident to all who were
listening
5.2.
We Christians
should look at Jesus as our example in this area of speaking and teaching with
the authority that God can give
5.2.1. Peter wrote about this in 1 Peter 4:11, “11 Whoever
speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let
him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may
be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen”
6.
Well, we
have looked in this study at the negative aspect of abiding in Jesus, The Vine,
or what happens to those who don’t abide in Him, but I just want to look at the
positive aspect of abiding in Him
6.1.
It is such
a glorious blessing to be a branch and produce fruit for Christ. It is so awesome to be a channel through
which He can flow and touch other people’s lives, a touch that will last for
eternity. What a blessing it is to lead
another to salvation in Christ, to help a believer to grow and mature in their
walk, or to help a brother or sister who is going through a very difficult
struggle in their live.
6.2.
To be in
the flow of Christ’s blessing is so awesome also for we get to partake of all
of the blessings of the grace that He pours into our life. In the Old Testament Mephibosheth is a
picture for us of God’s grace. He was
the grandson of Saul who was dropped when once they were fleeing, and his legs
were broken which crippled him for life.
Most of the kings of Israel and Judah, the evil ones that is, would wipe
out all of the previous king’s heirs upon taking the throne, however David was
not that kind of man for He feared God and walked uprightly before Him with all
of His heart. After succeeding Saul upon
the throne (after Saul’s tragic death), David enquired if Saul had any
descendants. He found out about this one
crippled grandson Mephibosheth.
Mephibosheth really had nothing that he could contribute to society,
being crippled, and in that society his life really had little value to
anyone. He was probably just viewed as a
burden to people. However, David asked
that this man be brought to His house, so that he might do something good for
him, because of his father Saul. Now,
Mephibosheth would have been satisfied and thankful just to have had his life
spared after David took the throne, and he would have been satisfied and
thankful to have been allowed to live in David’s house and pick up the scraps
that might fall from David’s table.
However, David arranged it that everyday of his life Mephibosheth ate at
the king’s table. How this is a picture
of God’s grace in our lives, isn’t it?
God doesn’t just give us a scrap here or there of His grace, the bare
minimum to get by, He pours out or ‘lavishes’ His grace upon us His
children. We receive ‘grace upon grace’
from God, and none of that because we deserve it, for we deserve nothing from
God. We should be thankful for eternity
simply that God has taken away the punishment for which we deserved because of
our sins, but God pours His grace in His children as the simply abide in Him,
The Vine. Remain in Him and just let His
life flow through you and produce the most fruit for His kingdom which He can
produce, for then you will be in the flow of the abundance of His grace. The pains produced by His prunings in our
lives when we are stubborn and won’t abide in Him ought also to cause us to
appreciate the wisdom of allowing Him daily to mold us to His image.