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According to what we hear at most funerals, the majority of people make it to heaven when they die. But that’s not true, according to Jesus. In a world full of false teachings and false teachers, how can we KNOW that we KNOW Jesus? Today we discover His answer.

According to what we hear at funerals, most everyone goes to heaven. When is the last time you attended a funeral when the person who died DIDN’T make it to heaven? But if Jesus has it right, this is NOT the case. Few enter the narrow gate…that leads to life. Those who claim there are many ways to God are in disagreement with Jesus. 

False prophets are those who claim to speak for God, who pretend to be a part of the flock (in sheep’s clothing), who are really ferocious wolves.Jesus says we can recognize them...by their fruit. 

What FRUIT should we be inspecting? What a person SAYS and DOES. Jesus says it this way…

Do their LIVES match what their LIPS say? Are they teaching the right things & are they practicing what they’re preaching? 

The Berean people who heard Paul teach, tested what HE taught to see if it lined up with the Scriptures (Acts 17:11).

Test what teachers say about God, Man, Sin, Jesus, & Judgment.

GOD is the Creator & Lord over all. He is perfect - the standard of what is right. False teachers attempt to dethrone God as the perfect Creator of all things and bring Him down to our level and subject to our laws. 

• Mormons do this. Listen the the words of Joseph Smith, their founder, just 2 months before his death: “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens!” Is that what the Scriptures say? NOPE!
• Kenneth Copeland said: “The Bible says [God] measured out the heavens with a nine-inch span. Well…my span is eight and three-quarter inches long. So God's span is a quarter of an inch longer than mine. So you see…God…stands somewhere around 6'2",6'3", weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple hundred pounds, little better. (Hear the clip)

MAN is: 

created in the image of God, with value. 

Man is relational, creational, & eternal. 

Yet mankind has also sinned against God. 

• False teachers not only attempt to bring God down to man’s level, but they lift man up to God’s level. There is little focus on repentance (turning from sin & agreeing with God on what is right & wrong) & more focus on mankind’s goodness and spiritual authority.
• Word-faith teachers like Kenneth Copeland, TD Jakes, Jesse Duplantis, Joyce Meyer, Paula White, & Joel Osteen claim that Christians have the ability to, LIKE GOD, to speak life & death into existence. We can HARM or HELP other people with our words. But these people twist the Scriptures (e.g. misquoting Rom. 4:17) and say things like this: 
• Joel Osteen “Your words become your reality…Words are like seeds. When you speak something out, you give life to what you’re saying…Whether you realize it or not, you are prophesying your future.” Osteen goes on to say, “James said in the Scripture, with our tongue we can bless our life or we can curse our life.” Where did he get that from? The only place would have come from is James 3:9-10, and as you’ll see, it is NOT teaching us to bless our own lives with our words. (Watch the clip)

James 3:9–10 (NIV) With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.

SIN has separated us from relationship with God. We must turn from our sin and change our thinking to agree with what God says is right and wrong. Those who never talk about sin…instead calling sin ‘mistakes’…if they never talk about repenting of sin, it’s FALSE TEACHING. 

• Andy Stanley has now moved away from the Scripture to say those who participate homosexual activity don’t need to repent of this sin, as long as they marry one another. This is FALSE!

JESUS is God-in-skin (fully God & fully man), who came to live the perfect life without sin & pay IN FULL the penalty for our sins. Because of this, it is by God’s grace that we are saved, and not by our good works (Eph. 2:8-9). False teachers add something to the cross, it’s the cross PLUS. They either downplay the need for Jesus to die, claim He didn’t pay for all our sin, or teach that Jesus broke the law of God to pay for us.

• Mormons teach that it is by grace AFTER ALL YOU CAN DO. Jesus didn’t pay it all. (And Jesus is just one of many deities - our spirit brother & the brother of Lucifer)
• Jehovah’s witnesses deny that Jesus is God. They teach that the Trinity is a doctrine of the devil. They don’t believe that Jesus physically rose from the dead, nor should He ever be worshipped. According to them, Jesus originally created by Jehovah as the archangel, Michael.
• Word-Faith teachers claim that Jesus had to make a deal with the devil and suffer in hell to pay for our sin - which is NEVER taught in the Scriptures. Jesus is God the Son who paid for our debt - ON THE CROSS! 

JUDGMENT is coming. 

• Following Jesus = Eternal Life.
• Refusing Jesus = Eternal Punishment. False teachers often claim that God will forgive everyone (e.g. Rob Bell)

The doubling of “Lord, Lord” is amplifying the claim that Jesus is Lord over your life, your ultimate AUTHORITY. To proclaim “Jesus is Lord” with your lips but not with your life is like saying: 1) I respect you…2) I trust you as the Ultimate Authority in my life BUT.... I refuse to DO what you SAY.”

• THIS is a clarifying characteristic of those who will enter the kingdom of heaven - It’s only the one who does the will of the Father - those who actually obey what God says.

Allegiance without obedience is just talk. Don’t call Jesus “Lord” if you don’t obey His word, because you’re fooling yourself and confusing others.

Think of the audacity of one of your Bible teachers saying what Jesus is about to say...

Matthew 7:22–23 (NIV) Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Jesus is claiming to be the ONE who judges false followers who claim He is their Lord, and send them away for eternity. And just look at the FRUIT these people offer to prove their legitimate relationship with God. But regardless of their spiritual resumé, Jesus calls these people are evildoers, because they aren’t obedient to God.

Where is Jesus sending them away to? Matthew later records what Jesus says about this.

‌Do you think Jesus believes in an eternal place of punishment we typically call HELL? Yep. 

1. They both built houses. One took the time to dig deep to find a foundational stone to build on; The other didn’t worry about all that extra work and quickly started to construct his house.

2. A flood came to both houses. 

• Some say this is referring to tough times that come to all people. 
• Others say that Jesus is pointing to what will happen on Judgment Day. 
• Whether both are intended, certainly both are true. All people WILL go through tough times. Followers of Jesus are NOT immune to difficulties. And bigger than that…ALL people WILL face judgment one day. 

3. One house stood & the other collapsed. What made the difference? Whether or not they built their houses (representing their lives) on the words of Jesus or not.

• Can you imagine ME or some other pastor or teacher talking like THIS? Jesus was not just another Rabbi pointing to the words of a former rabbi. Jesus speaks of people BUILDING THEIR LIVES on His Words!

Take some time to discuss these questions with your family, friends, or group.

1. What challenged or encouraged you most from today’s teaching? You might need to look back in your notes to help explain your answer.
2. Read Matthew 7:15-20 and 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. Why are false teachers so dangerous? How can examining what people teach & if they practice what they preach, help protect us from being sucked into false teaching?
3. Were there any false teachings/teachers that surprised you from today’s teaching? How might you gently approach and help someone who is listening to false teachers? 
4. Read Acts 17:11. Why didn’t Paul get upset about these people daring to question what he taught? Why should we follow the example of the Bereans? What might that look like in our current culture? 
5. Read Matthew 7:21-27. What is the problem with calling Jesus ‘Lord’ and not obey what He says? Explain how the illustration of the foundation of houses & a flood demonstrate the ultimate outcome of calling Him ‘Lord’ and obeying what He says.
6. You might have heard that a person who prays, “Jesus save me” is ‘saved’, but what would you say to the person who Pledges Allegiance but refuses to Practice Obedience? Why is it important to know where Jesus talks about these issues in the Scriptures? Can you share about a time when YOU were confronted with what the Scripture said and you bent your belief to fit what the Bible said? How might sharing a story like that help you to gently correct a brother/sister who needs to change their views based on what the Scripture says?
7. Read this: “Obedience doesn’t save me, but obedience demonstrates that I am saved.” Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.
8. Read Matthew 7:21-23 & 25:31-34, 41. Where is Jesus saying he has the authority to send those who don’t obey God? What would YOU say to a person who says a loving God wouldn’t send someone to hell for eternity?
9. Share prayer needs and pray for one another.