{"id":835,"date":"2024-07-05T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=835&2024"},"modified":"2024-07-02T18:00:33","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T00:00:33","slug":"testing-modern-day-prophets-matthew-7-7-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/testing-modern-day-prophets-matthew-7-7-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Testing Modern Day Prophets: Matthew 7:7-20"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: Matthew 7:7-20 (CEV)<\/div>
\r\n

7\u00a0<\/sup>Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8\u00a0<\/sup>Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. 9\u00a0<\/sup>Would any of you give your hungry child a stone, if the child asked for some bread? 10\u00a0<\/sup>Would you give your child a snake if the child asked for a fish? 11\u00a0<\/sup>As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.<\/p>

12\u00a0<\/sup>Treat others as you want them to treat you. This is what the Law and the Prophets are all about.<\/p>

13\u00a0<\/sup>Go in through the narrow gate. The gate to destruction is wide, and the road that leads there is easy to follow. A lot of people go through that gate. 14\u00a0<\/sup>But the gate to life is very narrow. The road that leads there is so hard to follow that only a few people find it.<\/p>

15\u00a0<\/sup>Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. 16\u00a0<\/sup>You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes. 17\u00a0<\/sup>A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18\u00a0<\/sup>A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. 19\u00a0<\/sup>Every tree that produces bad fruit will be chopped down and burned. 20\u00a0<\/sup>You can tell who the false prophets are by their deeds.<\/p>\r\n

Read Matthew 7:7-20<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

As Jesus nears the end of His famous \u201cSermon on the Mount\u201d, He gives a warning to those listening to His words. This warning is about false prophets, and Jesus gives a very clear way we can single them out. Surprisingly, this way of identifying false prophets is not what people seem to use today.<\/p>\r\n

Jesus tells those listening, \u201cWatch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you. You can tell what they are by what they do. No one picks grapes or figs from thornbushes. A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. Every tree that produces bad fruit will be chopped down and burned. You can tell who the false prophets are by their deeds.<\/strong>\u201d (v. 15-20)<\/p>\r\n

The incredibly simple test we can use is by looking at what the prophet does. How the prophet lives will determine whether they are from God. Jesus could have said, \u201cWatch out for prophets, because anyone who comes after me who claims this title is trying to lead you astray.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\r\n

When we look at the broad Christian church throughout the centuries following Jesus, it would seem as though most take this stance, but Jesus doesn\u2019t say this. Instead, Jesus hints at the possibility of more prophets coming in the years after He lived.<\/p>\r\n

Most people believe prophets were simply people in the Old Testament who called the people back to God and\/or who predicted about the upcoming birth of Jesus. The logic says that since Jesus came and fulfilled the prophecies, there is no more need for any prophet to come.<\/p>\r\n

However, this is a poor way of looking at the Prophet\u2019s role. Instead, each prophet was called to share a message from God for a people at a specific period of history. All of God\u2019s prophets pointed towards Jesus in some way. The Old Testament examples we have all point forward to Jesus. But following the gospels, any new prophet must point back to Jesus and forward to His second coming to be eligible.<\/p>\r\n

Also, to be considered a true prophet according to Jesus\u2019 own words, the prophet\u2019s actions must line up with God\u2019s character. This doesn\u2019t mean that they are sinless, because even the prophets in the Old Testament couldn\u2019t claim this level of perfection. Instead, it means that they are continually striving towards God and better representing Him to those they are sent to.<\/p>\r\n

Someone who claims to be a prophet must love like Jesus and be a genuine witness for God through both their words and their actions. False prophets always have great things to say and a convincing argument, but their actions betray their motives, and if they are not living in a way that is moving towards God then Jesus calls them false. If they have a sin that they don\u2019t want to get rid of, then they cannot be from God. Because Jesus put this test in place, we can trust it will stand the test of time!<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Jesus nears the end of His famous \u201cSermon on the Mount\u201d, He gives a warning to those listening to His words. This warning is about false prophets, and Jesus gives a very clear way we can single them out. Surprisingly, this way of identifying false prophets is not what people seem to use today. 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