Figs From Thistles?

Dear Evangelicals:

Jesus said it this way in Matthew 7:15-17 (NKJV):

"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. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."

The way Paul says it appears in the graphic at left. Essentially they mean the same thing: If someone has the Holy Spirit, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will come out of them. If they don't, you'll get the opposite of all those things.

Yes, it's pretty simple to tell when someone's preaching Jesus, and someone's preaching Satan (or as Jesus puts it, "ravenous wolves") -- even though they claim to be a Christian, a man of God, Spirit-filled, or whatever sanctimonious claptrap they use to gaslight you (Honestly, do you see "gullibility" on that list of the fruit of the Spirit?). Everything that isn't the Holy Spirit is of the devil (again, ravenous wolves) -- even if someone preaches in church every Sunday.

See, the Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn't necessarily come out of the mouth of someone who says they are Christian. That's what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7. That's what Paul is talking about in Galatians 5. And while we are admonished to be like children if we want to enter the Kingdom of God, it's crucial to know the difference between childishness and childlikeness. Naivete and purposeful defenselessness have no place in the Christian life.

Once again, it's Jesus who offers the proof text in Matthew 10:16, when He says:

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."