Paths, Prophets, and Professions
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Introduction: Jesus’ teaching continues with a teaching us how to choose the right paths, spot false prophets, and to be sincere in our professions. This teaching offers another contrast to first, and to twenty-first-century culture.
Memory Verse: Acts 4:12 (NKJV) - “12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Be careful About Your Path (7:13-14)
Be careful About Your Path (7:13-14)
There is a Popular Path (7:13) - “13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.”
Note 7:13–14 The broad road that many people follow, seeking to have a relationship with God, is called religion (7:13). Religion is man’s attempt to make himself acceptable to a holy God. But the narrow gate that leads to life is Jesus; he makes us acceptable. Few find this road because few are willing to accept God’s way to obtain eternal life (7:14). The only legitimate way to a relationship with God is his way: through his Son and his cross.
Note (7:13a) - “The narrow gate” - This statement suggests an exclusive path for Salvation. Jesus is the door to Heaven and the bar to Hell. Salvation does not come by multiple paths but is singular in its course.
John 10:9 (NKJV) - “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
John 14:6 (NKJV) - “6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
2 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV) - “17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”
Note (7:13b) - “For the gate is wide, and the road is broad that leads to destruction…” - Jesus’ first point of teaching is that the faithful lifestyle of a disciple will not be the majority position. To live as a Christian disciple will mean to be a part of a persecuted minority that is often ostracized and marginalized. Many people feel most comfortable following the path of the majority; however, believers are called to follow God’s calling and not the crowd’s beckoning.
Genesis 6:5 (NLT) - “5 The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.”
Psalm 14:2-3 (NKJV) - “2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. 3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.”
Proverbs 16:25 (HCSB) - “25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it is the way of death.”
🔑 1 John 1:8-10 (KJV) - “8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
1 John 2:1-2 (NLT) - “1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”
2 Corinthians 4:4 (HCSB) - “4 Regarding them: the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
1 Peter 4:17-18 (HCSB) - “17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with God's household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous is saved with difficulty, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
Revelation 20:15 (HCSB) - “15 And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Stay on the Strait Path (7:14) - “14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.”
Note 7:14 - The argument of exclusivity of salvation coming through Christ alone is not a mean-spirited religious dogma. The truth of salvation coming through the perfect work of Jesus Christ performed at Calvary is a declaration of God’s amazing grace. All religions recognize humanity’s need for a Spiritual life that is beyond materialism.
Matthew 16:24-25 (HCSB) - “24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it.
Proverbs 4:26-27 (HCSB) - “26 Carefully consider the path for your feet, and all your ways will be established. 27 Don't turn to the right or to the left; keep your feet away from evil.”
Isaiah 30:21 (HCSB) - “21 and whenever you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: "This is the way. Walk in it.”
🧠 Acts 4:12 (NKJV) - “12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Romans 12:2 (NKJV) - “2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Beware of the Prophets You Follow (7:15-20)
Beware of the Prophets You Follow (7:15-20)
Their Intentions are Based on Deceitful Presentation and Devious Plans (7:15) - “15 "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.”
Note 7:15–18 The lesson here is that you need to examine the evidence of a teacher’s life and ministry. Is that person’s teaching and doctrine consistent with God’s Word? Does his or her lifestyle display holiness and love for the Lord? If either answer is no, don’t be deceived.
Note (7:15a) - Beware of false prophets… “They came in due time posing as angels of light like Satan, Judaizers (2 Corinthians 11:13ff.) and Gnostics (1 John 4:1; 1 Timothy 4:1). A.T. Robertson points out the impact of Jesus’s characterization of these false prophets when he compares them to wolves in his address because “wolves are more dangerous than dogs and hogs.”
🔑 Acts 20:29-31 (HCSB) - “29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 And men from among yourselves will rise up with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them. 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.”
🔑 Romans 10:3 (KJV) - “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
🔑 2 Timothy 4:3 (NLT) - “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.”
2 Peter 3:17 (HCSB) - “17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard, so that you are not led away by the error of the immoral and fall from your own stability.”
Matthew 24:24 (HCSB) - “24 False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 Take note: I have told you in advance.”
Jeremiah 14:14-16 (HCSB) - “14 But the Lord said to me, "These prophets are prophesying a lie in My name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds. 15 "Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, though I did not send them, and who say: There will never be sword or famine in this land: By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end.”
2 Peter 2:1-3 (HCSB) - “1 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their unrestrained ways, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 In their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation, [pronounced] long ago, is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep.
1 John 4:1 (NKJV) - “1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Note (7:15b) - False prophetess who come to you in sheep’s clothing…Although it is impossible for wolves to shave and replace their fur with a lamb’s wool, Jesus uses hyperbole to demonstrate the fact that these false prophets will never openly expose themselves as deceivers and liars. Instead of outright rejecting the truth, they will twist and distort the truth to gain entry into our churches, pulpits, small groups, conferences and conventions.
Romans 16:17-18 (NLT) - “17 And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words, they deceive innocent people.”
Colossians 2:8 (NKJV) - “8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Ephesians 5:6 (NKJV) - “6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
2 Peter 2:1-3 (NKJV) - “1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
2 Peter 2:18-19 (HCSB) - “18 For uttering bombastic, empty words, they seduce, by fleshly desires and debauchery, people who have barely escaped from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.
🔑 Jude 1:4 (NKJV) - “4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
They are Identified by The Fruit they Bear (7:16-18) - “16 You'll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.18 A good tree can't produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.
James 3:12 (NLT) - “12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.”
🔑 Galatians 5:22-24 (NKJV) - “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Philippians 1:11 (NLT) “11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ —for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”
Colossians 1:9-10 (HCSB) - “9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven't stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing [to Him], bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.”
1 John 3:9 (HCSB) - “9 Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God.”
They are Indicted by Their Bad Fruit (7:19-20) - “19 Every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you'll recognize them by their fruit.”
Note 7:20 “The local church has more power than it often realizes or uses in deciding which teachers it will listen to. Jesus Christ’s ‘Beware of false prophets’ is addressed to us all. If the church had heeded his warning and applied his tests, it would not be in the parlous state of theological and moral confusion in which it finds itself today.”
Luke 3:9 (HCSB) - “9 Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees! Therefore every tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Jude 1:12 (HCSB) - “12 These are the ones who are like dangerous reefs at your love feasts. They feast with you, nurturing only themselves without fear. They are waterless clouds carried along by winds; trees in late autumn-fruitless, twice dead, pulled out by the roots;”
Be Sincere in Your Professions (7:21-23)
Be Sincere in Your Professions (7:21-23)
Do Not Make False Professions (7:21-22) - “21 "Not 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. 22 On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?”
Note 7:21–23 Someone can call Jesus, Lord, Lord, and have a ministry that appears to be authentic (7:21–22). Nevertheless, a lack of good fruit will expose them. The King of kings will thus respond, Depart from me, you lawbreakers! (7:23). False teachers will experience his judgment.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) - “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast,”
Titus 1:15-16 (HCSB) - “15 To the pure, everything is pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; in fact, both their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for any good work.”
James 1:22 (HCSB) - “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
Isaiah 2:11 (HCSB) - “11 Human pride will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.”
2 Timothy 4:8 (HCSB) - “8 In the future, there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me, but to all those who have loved His appearing.”
Acts 9:13-15 (NLT) - “13 A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. 15 But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”
1 Corinthians 13:2 (HCSB) - “2 If I have [the gift of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so that I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
Christ Will Make a Powerful Profession (7:23) - “23 Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!”
Note 7:23 - "Jesus went to this length to demonstrate the importance of righteousness by faith alone in Christ alone (Rom. 4) as the criterion for entry into the kingdom.”
Christ shows just how misguided anyone who presents a vain religion thinking it will be accepted by Him at the judgement for non-believers. He will renounce them, remove them, and refuse, and reject them.
Renounces them: “I never knew you…” Removes them: “Depart from me…” Refuses to reward them: “you lawbreakers…”
Psalm 5:5 (HCSB) - “5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence; You hate all evildoers.”
John 10:27-30 (HCSB) - “27 My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish-ever! No one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”
Luke 13:25 (NLT) - “25 When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.”
2 Timothy 2:19 (HCSB) - “19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, having this inscription: The Lord knows those who are His, and Everyone who names the name of the Lord must turn away from unrighteousness.”
Revelation 22:15 (HCSB) - “15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”