Fruit Inspectors Series

Fruit Inspectors

July 21, 2013 Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: Followers of Jesus must be careful to not follower after false teachers & false prophets

Focus Passage: Matthew 7:15-23

Supplemental Passage: "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46 NASB)

Introduction: Even those who claim to be Born Again are not necessarily firmly grounded in the truths of the Bible. In his book which provides a statistical analysis of religious beliefs in America, George Barna cites several fascinating statistics which are based on a national survey.

In chapter four he states, "The Devil, or Satan, is not a living being but is a symbol of evil." Then asking that segment of his survey respondents who have identified themselves at being Born Again, he states, "Do you agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat, or disagree strongly with that statement?"

The Born Again population reply with 32 percent agreeing strongly, 11 percent agreeing somewhat and 5 percent did not know. Thus, of the total number responding, 48 percent either agreed that Satan is only symbolic or did not know!

Should it then be surprising that a few pages later Barna would receive some very startling responses? His next question, "Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and others all pray to the same God, even though they use different names for that God." Again, the respondents were asked to agree strongly, agree somewhat, disagree somewhat or disagree strongly.

Of that population surveyed who identified themselves as Born Again, 30 percent agreed strongly, 18 percent agreed somewhat and 12 percent did not know. That is a total of 60 percent! (What Americans Believe, pp. 206-212).

Watchman Expositor, Vol. 10, No. 4, 1993, p. 31.

I. False Prophets & False Teachers

a. In it not to glorify God, but for some personal gain

b. By doing so, they cause division, distraction, and dissatisfaction in the church

c. Buddha, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, Ellen White, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Paul Couch, Joyce Meyer, John Hagee, Kenneth Hagin (Jr & Sr), Oral Roberts, Carlton Pearson, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Herbert Armstron, Creflo Dollar, Marilyn Hickey, Gene Scott, Earnest Angley, Charles Russell, and others

II. Know the “Real Deal”

a. Don’t label someone a false prophet just because you disagree with their teaching

b. The FBI trains its counterfeit inspectors to know genuine currency, not to spot funny money

c. Know what God’s word says; don’t be fooled by false teachers

III. Inspect the Fruit

a. Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is saved

b. Not everyone who calls themselves a prophet speaks for God

c. Not everyone who does good works believes in God (“Be good for goodness’ sake)

d. Church attendance (or membership), baptism, good works, etc won’t get you into Heaven

e. Don’t just talk the walk; walk the talk, too!

Invitation: How is YOUR fruit? If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be any evidence in your life to convict you?

[The audio of this sermon can be downloaded at http://sermon.net/rboyne/sermonid/1200067911]