Trinity 8 (Wolf in Sheep's Clothing)
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So we are coming up an exciting time of year for…Home grown tomato time. I love home grown tomatoes. An unfortunatly for me I have killed every plant the lord has given me to steward with the exception of an on Onion I had in college that I forgot about and it sprouted…we call the sprout Diego. Then Diego died. I love the taste of back yard Garden Tomatoes. Fortunately I have had some friends around me who are gardeners who have shared their harvest with me.
The fun part about back yard tomatoes is this… they are usually pretty ugly. they have imperfections and the coloring is not consistent. The store bought ones are beautiful looking. But do a side by side taste test and you immediately know which is the quality piece of fruit.
Grocery tomatoes have been bred as of late to stay good looking longer and to travel well. They are not bred for taste and it shows. When it comes to tomatoes you know the quality by the taste of the fruit.
In the same way our Gospel lesson today warns about going after the good looking thing. The wolf in sheep’s clothing. Its not the appearance of the things its the outcome of the things actions that Jesus tells you to look out for.
So Jesus begins his warning...
Matthew 7:15… There are people who will pretend to be God’s messengers. Out for the benefit of God’s people. The people of Israel in the Bible are often compared to a flock of sheep and God is compared to the shephard of the flock. Sheep are not particularly smart creatures and need a lot of protection. In the time of Jesus they where vulnerable to the geography and to the predators of the area including wolves.
Jesus says there will always be false religious people, seem impressive, but they bring destruction on to vulnerable people of God.
If they look goo then how do we recognize them. By their fruit. What kind of virtues do they show, what kind of disciples do they make. Are people around them brought closer to Jesus. What about the list of Virtues we call the fruit of the spirit…for those of you who do not have those memorized remember.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Ga 5:22–23).
You will know the difference between a real prophet and false prophet when you check and see if they show virtues. Truly gospel infused people always do.
The fake ones show the fruits of the flesh: I wont hit all of these but I think there are few that are easy to see.: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness. We all have character flaws but if these are the things that are more and more evident in people claiming to be set aside leaders you are probably not dealing with the real thing.
Now it is okay to stop here and ask the question…Andrew, are we not the people of the five solas. Dont we hold that Salvation comes by Faith alone because of Grace Alone through Christ alone as revealed in the Bible alone al to God’s glory alone? That is absolutely true. We do not gain heaven by striving to put aside fruits of the flesh for fruit of the spirit. We gain heaven by the transforming work of Jesus, done by Jesus without an effort by us.
But…But…This part is important. When Jesus does his work, we are transformed. Instead of trees that make bad fruit, we are transformed into trees that make good fruit. God’s set apart and transformed people are distinct. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
And Jesus does finish with a warning. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 21 “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.
There is a punishment for those who do not sprout the fruit of the spirit, not everyone claiming to be of God will enter in, it will be those what show the fruit of God’s transforming work.
Some people might be staring to squirm in their seats a little bit. I know what when I read the warnings of Christ I often find myself squirming. Let me see if I can offer you some reassurance in the midst of your squirming.
Like me you might remember some times even in the last week where you life showed more fruit of the flesh that fruit of the spirit. On the other hand like me you might see with in yourself a desire to show fruit of the Spirit. Famous Christian Thinker Johnathan Edwards used to talk to his congregation about affections. Affections are the appetites in your heart. What Jesus changes first is your affections, and your behavior follows. So lets make up a person, who is drawn to corporate power. They like to gain power in the work place by any means necessary. They lie they cheat the defraud. They do not care that they are breaking rules, the false god of power is more important than integrity. Then lets say that person goes to a Billy Graham presentation, is convicted of sin, makes a profession of faith, goes to a church and is baptised receiving the sign and seal of God’s divine work. Next day at the office they do something unsavory like they had a hundred times before. And instead of being satisfied by it they are convicted…it not longer feeds the appetite it leaves them feeling empty. Their affection changes. And they more and more faced with that same senario they start to do the right thing. The wrong thing no linger feels good. They tree has transformed and not it is making a new fruit. They did not act first to gain God’s favor they realize God’s favor, and the fruit changes.
Could that story be about any of us. Instead of power, its gossip, or lust, or pride, fits of rage, you realize after God got a hold of you that your old habits now fit like a pair of pants that shrunk in the wash but you keep accidentally waling out the door in them?
If you see in yourself the fruit of the flesh before you panic ask this question, has God granted you a new affection that you would want to change…that is a sign that salvation is at work within you. THe wolf in sheeps clothing does not care. They do not come to religious communities seeking transformation, they come feeding their own ego and agenda. And if that is you hear me…God appoints his ministers to care for his flock, and I will make sure to do my duty for God every minute he has me here. And you get through me…watch out…Jesus is equally commited to the safety of his people. That being said this has been a community of people who are God’s sheep, who show the fruit of the spirit who care about each-other deeply. Know that I did not have anyone in mind as I wrote this down…but I wanted to say it. Because God cares for his sheep, so do I.
My favorite thing in Christianity to talk about is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross to save his people. At the same time lets also be reminded of the whole of Jesus earthly ministry.
In the Litney in the BCP the congregation is lead in this antiphone.
By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation Good Lord, deliver us.
By thine Agony and Bloody Sweat; by thy Cross and Passion; by thy precious Death and Burial; by thy glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and by the Coming of the Holy Ghost, Good Lord, deliver us.
It is the whole of Christ’s earthly ministry that is saving. He came down from Heaven, and lived a life full of the fruit of the spirit, and absent the fruit of the flesh. Then he goes to the cross and pays the price for our living the fruit of the flesh.
Jesus Christ hangs on the tree and dies, and he tells us that the fruit fo that tree can be eaten. We come to the communion table today to eat food better than a back yard tomato. We eat the fruit of the one who perfectly lives the fruit of the spirit. Let us be transformed people with new appetites. Let us be the ones that call out Lord Lord and are welcomed into the kingdom. Let us do so not because we transformed our selves but because God has made new creatures of us all. Amen?