Jesus 101: You Can Tell Them by Their Fruit


From its beginnings, the church has been subject to false prophets.  These are preachers who don't preach the truth.  

But false prophets can be difficult to spot.  They can have all the outward appearances of authenticity.  They can preach from beautiful stages, have thousands of followers, and have big media ministries.  They can sound sincere and dedicated to God.

Thankfully, Jesus gave us some help in Matthew 7:15-23.  He said we could tell them by their fruit, by what their preaching produces.

That's great.  But it leads to another question:  What is that fruit?

Jesus gave a clue to that in John 15.  He said that a person who's connected to him will bear good fruit.  And that good fruit is love!

The apostle Paul also helped us by writing in Galatians 5:22-23 about the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  Leading that list is love.  All the other fruit flow from it!

So if a preacher preaches something that leads us to hate, that preacher is a false prophet.  If a preacher appeals to the worst in us, that preacher is a false prophet. If a preacher says we're better than other people, that preacher is a false prophet.

True preachers and prophets lead us to love others, appeal to the best in us, and emphasize that we're saved by God's grace, not our merit.

Ultimately, you discern prophets that same way you do every other follower of Christ: by their love!

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