EXPLORE THE TEXT
Believers’ lives should exhibit spiritual fruit.
15 “Be on your guard against
false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.
16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit.
Are grapes gathered from thornbushes 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.
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.”
Highlight the imagery of a wolf in sheep’s clothing in verse 15. Note the danger in following teachers who look good, but who view their followers as “consumables.”
Share this content from pages 60-61 of the PSG:
Though Jesus said we are not to judge (v. 1),
He called His followers to be “fruit inspectors.”
He illustrated this in terms of gathering “grapes . . . from thornbushes”
and “figs from thistles.”
What a bush is by nature determines the type of fruit it bears.
What a person is in the heart determines the type of observable behaviors and attitudes they exhibit. .
. . The condition of the heart is evidenced by the lifestyle produced.Ask:
- How can you tell the difference between judging someone (v. 1)
and discerning fruit (v. 20)? (PSG, p. 61)State:
It’s vital to recognize heresy.
False teachers will be judged, along with anyone who follows them.
While we need to be humble and loving, we can’t afford to let our guard down
when it comes to false teachers and false doctrine.