Recognizing Counterfeit Faith
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”
Have you ever been fooled by a counterfeit?
My Buddy worked at In n Out for a long time when we were in Highschool. It was because of him that I found out about their secret menu and all the fun stuff you could order that wasn’t explicitly on the menu. Things with names like the Flying Dutchman, animal style, etc.
He was also the first one who told me you could customize what you ordered at In n Out. Back when he worked you could get a Mustard and ketchup fried, toasted bun, four by four (four patties and four slices of cheese) with whole grilled onions, medium rare. I know, I’m hungry too.
Because his store was by a water park, the other part of his job was checking for counterfeit bills. Kids would try and pawn off fake cash as the real thing all the time. Anything that was a $20 bill and up was automatically checked by them. So how did he figure out what’s fake? By spending time studying what an authentic bill looked like and felt like. You see, he didn’t go and study counterfeits to recognize what was fake. His store only ever compared the counterfeits to the genuine article.
Real or Fake
No one wants to build their life on something counterfeit. This is one of the major themes of the sermon on the mount, real versus fake. Authentic versus counterfeit. Remember he’s been referencing hypocrites throughout his sermon. Hypocrites are play actors, someone pretending to be or have something that they don’t. They wear masks of righteousness but have no substance. They are something that appears one way but is another. They are dressed like sheep but are really wolves.
Recognize the Bad Trees
Then he goes, it's like the difference between a good tree and a bad tree. He compares False prophets, and false teachers, to trees. Look at how Jesus spells it out,
“Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” - Matthew 7:17-20
If the end of the story was just a recipe for catching false prophets we could end there. The problem is, By this criteria, there are no true prophets, no good trees. Scripture has made it plain that no one is good except God alone,
“All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” - Romans 3:12
No one produces Good Fruit on their own. We all fall short of being truly good. Can we produce good and bad fruit? Remember the sermon on the mount was not given to tell us that we need to try harder, it was given to us to reveal that we can’t do it. We need help, for without help we are without hope. The good news isn’t that we can recognize the bad trees, it's that there is a good tree!
Recognize the Good Tree
There’s another passage in which Jesus talks about Fruit that matters to us here. In John chapters 14-16 Jesus explains and expounds on what our relationship with our Father in heaven can and should look like. During this, he makes this extraordinary claim,
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”v.5
Sound familiar? When you and I abide in Christ when we submit our way and our will to him, that is when we are ripe for bearing fruit, fruit that will last. Apart from him, we can do nothing. So have you recognized the Counterfeits and the Authentic? If you end up falling for the counterfeits you’ll find yourself on the broad path, the wide path, of people happily drifting their way to destruction or actively working their way downwards.
The best way to recognize counterfeits is by spending time with the authentic. The more time you are around the real and authentic Jesus the more you'll be able to tell what fake faith, false teaching, and false prophets look like. Not because you're trying to search them out, but because you are so actively attuned to Christ. Are you in an active relationship with God? Are you producing good fruit for others?
All trustworthy teaching will point us to what God has already spoken of and revealed to us through his word and the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the gate, He is the good shepherd and his sheep know his voice. Jesus is the good tree, the good vine, apart from him we can do nothing, but in Him, nothing is impossible. My encouragement is this, submit your way and will to His and meditate on the beauty of what Jesus has done for us, through his death and resurrection. That provides both the method and motive for bearing good fruit.
