"Ever Vigilant Sheep!" Matthew 7:15-23

The 8th Sunday After Trinity                                 7/30/23
Sermon Text: Matthew 7:15-23
Sermon Theme: Ever Vigilant Sheep! by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
I. Jesus Commands All Christians To Judge! ( vs.15)
II. Jesus’ Doctrine Is The Basis of All Judgement! (Vs.16-20)
III. Jesus Alone Is The Center of Saving Faith! (Vs.21-23)

I.N.R.I. (2 Tim 4:3-4) "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; {4} and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." God the Holy Spirit warned the young pastor Timothy through the pen of the Apostle Paul of Satan’s work in the Church. The devil convinces Christians to be complacent in doctrinal matters. He whispers, “You learned all that doctrine stuff in confirmation, forget it and get on with life.”The world chimes in, “Judge not, and be not judged - who knows what is truth, there is no good guy, there is no bad guy, its just you and me and we just disagree.” And our lazy flesh gives way - it loves to have its ears itched with the latest news, it can spend hours on end on the internet, watching reels promising wellness, fulfillment, prosperity - but to read the Bible daily - to pray the Catechism - to read our Lutheran Confessions - The Book of Concord of 1580 - we just don’t have the time or the energy.
Subtly the devil robs us of the Truth and gives us spiritual fables - and many people love to have it so.
      (2 Tim 4:5) "But you be watchful in all things,” God the Holy Spirit instructs Timothy. Pastors are to guard against false doctrine and to warn their parishioners as Paul warned the pastors of Ephesus, (Acts 20:28-31) ""Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. {29} "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. {30} "Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. {31} "Therefore watch,." A pastor who doesn’t warn his congregation about false teachers and false spirituality is allowing the slaughter of the souls entrusted to his care. Just as the Lord called Jeremiah the prophet to preach against the false prophets - so a faithful pastor must expose popular false spirituality.
      The duty to guard against false doctrine is not just the pastor’s alone. Jude reminds all Christians, (Jude 1:3) "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." The Christian Church on earth is called The Church Militant. We are engaged in warfare with the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. To stop fighting for the Truth is to surrender to Satan and his lies. Hear the Good Shepherd’s call to be: Ever Vigilant Sheep!
I. Jesus Commands All Christians To Judge! ( vs.15)
II. Jesus’ Doctrine Is The Basis of All Judgement! (Vs.16-20)
III. Jesus Alone Is The Center of Saving Faith! (Vs.21-23)
I.   Purity matters. The bottle water industry makes over 17.5 billion a year selling people purified water. Why? We don’t want to drink sewage, not even a little bit. Contaminated water or food can be deadly - we demand purity. Sadly when it comes to spiritual matters many are willing to swallow any spiritual sewage that is pumped into their ears. So millions buy into the false pagan spirituality promoted online. Others eagerly read the latest spiritual books promising to reveal spiritual secrets. Still others fill their itching ears with the positive thinking psychology of Joel Osteem or the tainted theology of Rick Warren. Religious hucksters gather crowds and fill their coffers, but they rob people of Jesus.
      Listen to the Voice of The Good Shepherd - drawing the Sermon on the Mount to a close He says to His sheep, (Mt 7:15). “BEWARE!” literally to “Hold the mind towards” “pay attention” “Be cautious...”of false prophets. Our Lord is not speaking only to the apostles, or called and ordained pastors, He is speaking to all who have heard His Word and by the gift of the Holy Spirit believe in Him. He commands all Christians to judge false teachers. Don’t be complacent in this matter - we are commanded by Our Good Shepherd to judge false teachers - it is the calling of every Christian laymen. Luther writes, “We should consider well this passage, for Christ our Lord here commands and gives all Christians the power to be judges of all doctrine, and he gives them the power to judge what is right and what is not.”
      The Apostle John would remind Christians, (1 John 4:1) "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world." The apostle Paul would warn the Christians at Galatia, (Gal 1:8) "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed." Paul is willing to be judged as accursed by his own congregation if he turns away from the doctrine of Christ Jesus. Paul would tell the congregation at Corinth, (1 Cor 10:15) "I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say." When Paul and Silas preached at the synagogue in Berea - the Bereans judged - how?(Acts 17:11) "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."
    Little lambs and sheep learn from Jesus. He allowed His teaching to be examined and proved to be the Truth, only false teachers come allowing no questions. “False prophets come to you.” Jesus says, they have no divine call of the congregation to preach, teach or administer the sacraments - but they come of their own accord - claiming to have the spirit. The Lord says of these false teachers, (Jer 23:21) ""I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied." A marks of false teacher is that he comes apart from any divine call through a congregation and presuming to teach you a “new doctrine.” They may come to you through your various screens or other media - they sound spiritual - but they have no Divine Call through the local Christian congregation to teach you - nor are they sent by the local Christian congregation to be missionaries. This is why we “teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments unless he be regularly called.” (A.C. Art.14)
    Secondly the Good Shepherd teaches false prophets come in sheep’s clothing. They wrap themselves up in God’s Word. So the devil came to Adam and his wife quoting God’s Word, “Did God indeed say,” Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness by saying, “for it is written” quoting Bible passages. Don’t believe everyone who comes quoting a Bible passage. Paul warned the Christians at Corinth, (2 Cor 11:13-15) "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. {14} And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. {15} Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."
      Lambs and sheep of the Good Shepherd - be vigilant! Be prepared to judge teachers - test them. Don’t believe them because they claim a title such as doctor, pastor, district president, seminary professor, synodical president - test their teaching - How?
II. On what basis are we to examine teachers? Outward appearances? Blinded by the world we think - if large crowds are gathered, money amassed, then this person must be a true prophet. The Good Shepherd begs to differ - He says, (Luke 6:26) "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets." Our Lord’s final beatitude at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is, (Mat 5:11-12) ""Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. {12} "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
      Satan seeks to steal the comfort of God’s Word preached and Christ’s Sacraments administered by convincing you to stay away from Church because the pastor has a beard, preaches from the pulpit, wears a chasuble, chants, doesn’t chant, or doesn’t seem friendly. False brethren at Corinth complained of the Apostle Paul saying, (2 Cor 10:10) ""For his letters," they say, "are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible."" False teachers accused Jesus of being a glutton and drunkard a friend of tax collectors and sinners and John the baptizer of having a demon. (Mat 11:19) “ But wisdom is justified by her children.""
  How are the Good Shepherd’s lambs and sheep to judge teachers? (Mt. 7:16-19) Do they teach you Christ’s doctrine or do they teach themselves? You cannot gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. If their theology turns you in on yourself trusting inner feelings - they are not from God. If their theology teaches you to earn God’s favor by being good - they are not from God. The central doctrine of Christian is “justification by grace through faith for Christ’s sake alone.” We who were bad trees have been made good through the blood of Christ alone. Reborn in the waters of baptism, declared righteous for Christ’s sake alone -our faith is alive and bears the fruit of loving service to our neighbor in the vocation the Lord has called us to serve Him in.
            Dear flock of the Good Shepherd judge teaching not on the basis of how it makes you feel, or how many run to hear it, but does it faithfully teach Jesus Christ crucified for your sins, and uphold all things that Christ has commanded us - the Truth of Genesis to Revelation? Luther put it this way, "For where a Christian is diligent, possessing nothing more than the catechism, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the words of our Lord about baptism and the Sacrament of the Altar, he could defend himself very nicely with them and hold his own against all heresies. No better word or doctrine will arise than what has been summed up in the catechism from the Holy Scripture. Therefore we ought faithfully cling to it so that when a heretic or fanatic appears with his contrary teaching we can counter it and say that is not true teaching, for it is not in harmony with my catechism."
III.   Why contend for The Faith? False faith damns. (Mt. 7:21-23). Our Christian confession is not just outward words, “Lord, Lord.” What is the Father’s Will? John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." Behold the Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God who takes away your sin in His Church breathing forth the Holy Spirit in His Word preached, in His Sacraments, daily and richly forgiving -hear His voice! We are poor miserable sinners - clinging to His cross - not boasting in what we do. Daily we die to self rising to new life serving one another in love. Be vigilant and listen only to your Good Shepherd: John 10:27-30 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (28) And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (29) My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. (30) I and My Father are one." Amen.