Check the Fruit
Matthew 7:15–23
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.” — Matthew 7:15–16
Here’s a sobering reality: not everyone who claims to speak for God actually does. Deception rarely announces itself. A wolf doesn’t walk up wearing a sign that says wolf. It comes in wearing wool. And in a world where information and misinformation travels at the speed of a screen tap, the ability to discern the real from the counterfeit has never mattered more.
Jesus gives us three tests, and they’re worth committing to memory.
First, the fruit of their doctrine. Does their teaching add to what Scripture says by piling on extra rules and requirements that God never required? That’s legalism, and it was the Pharisees’ great failing. Or does it subtract by watering down, softening, or outright denying what God has clearly said? That’s liberalism. Either direction moves away from truth. The best protection against both is simply knowing your Bible well enough that the counterfeit stands out.
Second, the fruit of their lives. Is there consistency between the public platform and the private person? Humility, faithfulness, integrity? Or is this a ministry that seems to exist primarily for the minister’s own benefit?
Third, the fruit of their followers. What kind of people does this ministry actually produce? Are they becoming more like Jesus, or being shaped into something else?
Paul tells us in Galatians 5 what genuine spiritual fruit looks like: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. And Jesus reminds us in John 15 that this fruit only grows one way — by abiding in Him, the vine. All true teaching, all genuine ministry, is Christocentric. The hero of every true story told in His name is Jesus.