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Fruit for Life
Grace to you and peace from
God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
There are false teachers who are obviously false. They teach
that all religions are the same, that all roads lead to heaven. They teach that
Jesus is only a prophet, a misguided rabbi, merely a good example for us to
imitate. These obvious false prophets—the Mormons, the Jehovah Witnesses, the
Muslims, the Jews, Buddhists, the various cults—these are not the people our Lord warns us
about in today’s Gospel, though of course you should avoid them. But when Jesus
says, “Beware of false prophets,” He is urging you to watch out for preachers
who claim to be part of our fellowship. They urge unity at the expense of
integrity. They let false teaching and worship live alongside the truth. They
are more impressed with the world’s standard of success than with the kingdom of God. They quickly assign tradition to
the trash heap and favor only newer, more modern ways. And they not only allow
but encourage and even insist on innovations which sweep away what we have
received from the Word of God. “Beware of them,” Jesus says. They are
not obvious. They claim to seek fellowship, yet with their words they destroy
it. They urge you not to get so riled, yet they rile you up. They speak of
peace, but they persecute the peace-makers. You have known some of them all
your life. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Beware of them.
Jesus goes on to say, “You will know them by their
fruits.” You will know them by the false doctrine they cling to, by their
desire to be popular with the world, by their insistence that the Word of God
has mistakes or means something other than what the Church has always taught.
You will know them because they welcome those who don’t believe what the Word
teaches to their altars and pulpits. You will know them because they rejoice in
the death of the unborn. They rejoice in those things our Lord calls sin.
How do you recognize a true teacher? Ask yourself this: Did
they lead you to the Christ? Did they encourage you in what Scripture teaches
instead of urging you to do your own thing? Did they provide you with true and
lasting comfort in your hour of need? And did all their sermons, all their
liturgies, all their ministry speak of the hope and salvation that is given
only through Jesus Christ? What God used these preachers to produce in your
heart—namely, a lively faith and godliness: these are good fruits, together
with their bold confession of the faith and their willingness to suffer all,
even death, rather than depart from the Church’s Faith. If these are the
fruits, then these pastors and preachers are good trees, united to the Tree of
Life.
But bad trees are like the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil, a tree that offers no life and no hope, housing the devil and his lies. Evil
trees cannot bring forth good fruit. In the same way, false preachers and
prophets cannot produce the good fruit of faith in their parishioners. Our
Lord’s warning must be repeated frequently, lest we begin to desire bad fruit.
But do not let this warning trouble you. Our Lord does not
say, “Beware” to frighten or scare you, but to comfort and strengthen
you. When you know that there are false preachers and evil prophets; when you
know that there are pastors who speak of their own dreams rather than of the
Lord’s heavenly vision; when you know that there are preachers whom Our Lord
never sent—then you are more intent to search diligently for the true bishops,
the godly priests, the faithful pastors who will shield you and soothe you with
the Lord’s undying mercy. You cry out for the Word of Absolution. You return to
your Baptism daily. You beg for the Lord to feed you with His body and blood.
You recognize the Lord through His fruits to you, and you rejoice to receive
them. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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