For teachers and Bible study leaders of Lifeway’s Explore the Bible lesson of Matthew 7, for Sunday, January 11, 2026. Includes a sample introduction to the lesson, text outline and highlights, illustrations you can share, discussion questions for your group, and spiritual life applications. A video version of this overview, that you can read/study/print to use, is available on YouTube at:

INTRODUCTION:

??? Is there a sermon you remember, about which you might say, “That was the best/most memorable sermon I have ever heard?”

(Mine might be theologian Carl F.H. Henry’s message from Ecclesiastes 12 at the SBC in St. Louis in 1987, entitled “Neopaganism: Life Without the Emmanuel Factor.” Henry made what many consider an obscure passage just come alive with meaning for how most modern people live today. I have never forgotten it.  

You/your group can share messages you remember — and then  transition to the lesson by saying that today, we’ll finish our look at likely THE greatest sermon ever preached — Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. When He’d finished it, the Bible says the crowds were amazed at His teaching — in a few minutes we’ll see just WHY they were!  

CONTEXT:

We continue our study in Matthew with a final look at Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, the first major teaching segment in the Book of Matthew (chapters 5-7). We’ve had one segment each from Matthew 5 and 6, and today we’ll close our brief look at the Sermon with its final verses in Chapter 7. 

In Matthew 5 Jesus gave us the standard of righteousness that God requires for us to enter His kingdom: a righteousness greater than the scribes and Pharisees had, even a righteousness as perfect as God’s Himself! (which points us to our need of the gospel!) Then in Chapter 6 Jesus teaches His followers not to be hypocrites, but to store up treasures in heaven. Now we come to Chapter 7, where Jesus commands His followers not to judge (the only verse many Americans seem to know!); He also gives the famous “Golden Rule,” and encourages us to enter by the Narrow Gate/Way — which brings us to Lifeway’s “focus passage” for this week, Matthew 7:15-29, which contains some of the most dramatic, convicting, and oft-quoted verses in the whole Bible. This sermon is like no other, and the multitudes responded appropriately to it at the end, as we see in :28-29.

OUTLINE:

I.   The Fruit That Identifies (:15-20)

II.  The Profession That Is Empty (:21-23)

III.  The Foundation That Lasts (:24-27)

IV.  The Authority That Is Unique (:28-29)

TEXT:  Matthew 7:15-29 

I. The Fruit That Identifies (:15-20)

:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will [c]know them by their fruits.

After exhorting His disciples to “enter by the narrow gate” in :13-14, Jesus then warns us against some of the false ways that people might be tempted to enter: “Beware of the false prophets.” He gives us several warnings about the false prophets here: 

A. We see the EXISTENCE of false prophets. “Beware of false prophets.” The New Testament is FULL of such warnings:

— Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24:24, “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will [n]show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.”

— Paul told the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:29-31, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be on the alert …”.

— I John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

So repeatedly the New Testament warns us against false prophets/teachers. We are foolish if we don’t heed these warnings. It’s not just a “few,” but as John said, “MANY”! We need to be careful. A lot of God’s people have the tendency to want to be “nice” and not look like we’re being “divisive” or “critical” — but we must also know how vital it is to guard ourselves, our families, and our churches against false teachers. 

B. We see the DECEPTION of false prophets: “who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”

This is what is so insidious about false prophets/teachers: they don’t come with a “sign” that says “false prophet”! They look like sheep! 

???DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“Can you share a movie where the bad guy LOOKED like a bad guy?”

(There are numerous examples, but one that sticks out to me is the character “Grima Wormtongue” from “Lord of the Rings.” 

 He just LOOKS like a bad guy, right? As soon as he appears in the scene, you know he’s bad! (And his name: “Grima Wormtongue”! You just KNOW this is a bad apple. Easy!)

You/your group can share your examples. Then make the point:

In tv/movies, the “bad guys” are often very obvious by their appearance. They are “type cast” and specifically made up to look like bad guys. BUT WE NEED TO KNOW — and we need to let our loved ones know — IT IS NOT LIKE THAT IN REAL LIFE! “Bad guys” don’t always come with ugly looks and an evil smile. They often look very appealing and attractive. 

+x II Corinthians 11:13-15 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” 

This is just what Jesus is saying here. False prophets and teachers are deceptive. You can’t judge them on looks alone — and that’s hard in a land like America where we place such value on appearances, that you have to “look” a certain way to even be considered as a candidate for President. We can’t do that with preachers and teachers. How will we know? We see in the next point:

C. We see the EVIDENCE of false prophets, :16 “You will know them by their fruit.” And He explains that in the rest of :16-20, that whatever kind of fruit the tree has, reveals the kind of tree it is. 

ILLUSTRATION

We’ve all had similar experiences to the one I had, driving down I-75 in Florida, when I called out “orange trees” as we approached Orlando. How did I know they were orange trees? I’m no tree “expert;” there’s only one way I knew: there were little oranges hanging all over the branches! 

You/your members have had similar experiences, and of course the point is that FRUIT is the best “giveaway sign” of what kind of tree it is. 

So we get the idea of “fruit” here — but how do we apply it? What IS the “fruit” we are to look for in preachers/teachers? It’s not like “apples or oranges” are going to literally be growing on them! So just what IS the “fruit”? It consists of two things:

— 1) their teaching

— 2) their lifestyle

Paul refers to both of these in I Timothy 4, where he tells Timothy, “pay close attention to YOURSELF, and to your TEACHING.” These are the two “fruits” Jesus said we would know true/false teachers by: the “fruit” of their teaching, and the “fruit” of their lifestyle. 

1) Their teaching. Jesus had just said that you need to be sure to “enter by the narrow gate,” for the way is broad that leads to destruction. The false prophets point people to these “broad ways” that don’t lead to salvation.

Paul warned the Galatians against those who share a false gospel. There are many such today (just as John warned) which will lead people astray.

???DISCUSSION QUESTION???

“What are some false teachings that are present in our day, that people need to beware of?”

(— Islam/eastern religions line Buddhism/Hinduism that are becoming more popular. 

— Mormonism is one of the most insidious, as they say “Of course we’re Christian; we have ‘Jesus Christ’ in our name!”, but it is a “different Jesus,” who is not eternal, who is the brother of Satan, and they teach salvation by works. 

— One of the most common today is that all the different roads will get you to God. 

ILLUSTRATION

I just finished reading a thrilling book by former aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery, which included how he survived a plane crash in the desert. He also shared about his beliefs — some of which were true, like the unique value of every created person — but he also taught “we must never set one man’s truth against another’s. All beliefs are demonstrably true.” (Wind, Sand, and Stars, p. 217)

This is the kind of thing that sounds good to so many today, but it is just not right. All these contradictory beliefs cannot possibly be true at the same time! But this is typical of that “broad way” teaching that characterizes false prophets.  

2) Their lifestyle. False teachers are also known by the lives they live. Galatians 5 talks about “the fruit of the Spirit” as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” These are “fruits” the Spirit will produce in His true children. Many of us are familiar with these. But we may not be aware that just before this, the passage also tells of “the deeds of the flesh” in :19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” 

Jude talks about false teachers in his book, and he says of them in :16, “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.” So again, it’s not just false TEACHING but the LIFESTYLE of false teachers that we should watch out for: immorality, use and abuse of money, outbursts of anger and lack of self-control. All these things are “bad fruit” of false servants of the Lord.

II.  The Profession That Is Empty (:21-23)

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

This is a powerful and convicting set of verses from Jesus. It is especially applicable for many of us Southern Baptists, who have grown up hearing “once saved always saved,” and who too often assert that someone is saved because they “once made a decision” when their lives did not back it up. This is why we call it a “PROFESSION of faith.” We don’t know what’s in heart; if it truly has “POSSESSION” of faith. There are many “empty” professions of faith. 

A. The Empty Claim:

:21 “NOT everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Jesus is very clear here: just because a person CALLS Him “Lord,” does not mean they will go to heaven. Sadly, isn’t this almost the OPPOSITE of what many people today assert: if you just call Jesus Lord, you will be saved! Jesus says, no, there is much more to it than a surface claim.

ILLUSTRATION:
 

For example, for years “televangelist” Kenneth Copeland has prominently posted and professed the basic Christian confession: “Jesus is Lord.” 

But his teachings, some outright heresies (that we are “little gods”) and his lifestyle ($750 million net worth, $10 million mansion, etc.) show this claim of “Jesus is Lord” to be empty.

But it’s not only “big names” like that for which this is true:

I heard a pastor share that after he baptized a young man, he came up from the water and muttered “Now maybe that will get my mother off my back!” He’d made a “profession” of faith; but it sure didn’t seem like he really had “possession” of genuine saving faith. And that is what Jesus talks about here: many people have only an empty claim to know Him.

B. The Corresponding Fruit 

“But he who DOES the will of My Father who is in heaven.”

Jesus says those who truly are His, will not only CLAIM His name, they will also DO His will: “DOES THE WILL of My Father.”

“Doing the will of the Father” is another way to say “fruit,” like Jesus mentioned in the first section. It’s like James says in 2:14, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” And of course the implied answer is, “NO!” Following Jesus is not just a matter of SAYING, but of DOING. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)  If a person is truly saved, they will have more than just a profession of faith; they will have the fruit of obedience in their life to show it. 

But then He points out another danger:

C. The False Claim to Fruit (:22)

“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

Jesus said that some of those falsely professing to know Him will claim miraculous works in His name. NOTE that ALL of the examples Jesus gives here are what we might call “supernatural” fruit: “prophesy,” “cast out demons,” “perform many miracles.” Yet Jesus said he would tell them He never knew them! (Again, this is the exact OPPOSITE of what many teach, that they ARE the genuine signs — but they are not!)

There is one big problem with their claim, and we see it in the text: He called them “you who practice lawlessness.” Again, it was their LIFESTYLE that condemned them before Him!

Jesus actually quoted this statement “Depart from me,” from Psalm 6:8, “Depart from me, all you who do iniquity.”  The emphasis here is on the evil works of those who vainly claim His name. Their LIVES do not back their profession, and they will not enter His kingdom.

This is a sobering statement by Jesus — and I believe it is meant to be! We can’t take comfort in some past “profession of faith” that did not change our lives. Similarly we can’t take much comfort in the supposed salvation of our loved ones if their lives didn’t consequently bear good fruit. Jesus clearly and repeatedly teaches here is that if we are truly saved, our lives will show it. This is true for the false teachers, and it is true for every one of us as well. There is a kind of “profession of faith” that is empty, if our lives don’t back it up with our works — and there is no assurance or genuine salvation in an “empty profession.”

Now, someone might say, “This sounds like ‘works salvation.’” 

So a good ???DISCUSSION QUESTION??? might be:

“What is the difference between the kind of “fruit” and obedience that Jesus is talking about here, and “works salvation”? 

(In your discussion, make it clear that Jesus is NOT teaching “salvation by works.” The Bible makes this clear in places like Ephesians 2:8-9, “By grace are you saved through faith … it is a gift of God, not of works …”.  But He also emphasizes here that if a person is genuinely saved, there WILL be some fruit of a changed life. Simply put: “works” are an effort to “earn” our salvation; whereas “fruit” is always the natural result of genuine salvation by grace through faith.)

And apply this to yourself and your group: If I claim to be a Christian, what “fruit” is there in my life to back up this claim? It’s like the old question: “If I were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict me?” What evidence WOULD there be? It’s a serious question that everyone who professes to know Jesus as Lord, should consider.  

III. The Foundation That Lasts (:24-27)

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

So next Jesus says in :24, “Therefore …” — in other words, BECAUSE of everything He’s just said, about the need to bear fruit, and not just to “profess” Him, but to really DO what God says, “Therefore …” — He gives this famous parable of the differing foundations of the righteous and foolish men. 

NOTICE these similarities and difference in the two men:

— BOTH men HEARD the words of Jesus (:24, 26)

— BOTH men experience STORMS (:25, 27)

— ONLY the wise man “ACTS” on “these words of Mine;” the foolish man “does not ACT on them.”

— ONLY the wise man’s house did not fall, “for it had been founded on the rock.” The foolish man’s fall was great.

Now, be sure you make the right application here: 

Sometimes you hear people say things like, “This teaches that you need a good foundation” and so on. That may be partially true, but it’s not the real point. JESUS’ STATED DIFFERENCE IN THE TWO MEN IS THAT ONE “ACTED” ON HIS WORDS AND THE OTHER DID NOT! THAT is His main point here.

It’s not enough to just come and “hear” the words of Jesus. This should be chilling to a generation of church-goers who were brought up thinking that if you went to church to hear the word every week, you were a “good Christian.” But Jesus topples that false tower. He says it is NOT enough to just hear the word — remember, THE FOOLISH MAN “HEARD” THE WORD! It’s only the person who hears God’s word and DOES it; applies it; lives it; bears the fruit of it, against whom the storm will not prevail. 

It’s just like James 1:22-25 says, “22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

Jesus makes this same point repeatedly in this great Sermon: just coming and listening is not enough; you have to DO what He says! “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:26) 

ILLUSTRATION

Since the late 1960’s, Ralph Nader has been a well-known consumer advocate. Quoting from William Manchester’s The Glory & the Dream: “Each week he received 50 invitations to speak; he accepted 150 a year …. Yet for all his evangelism, his devotion to the public good, and his monastic life, Nader’s impact on society was questionable. … His audiences appeared to regard him as a performer. They applauded him, but it was as though they were applauding an act. Few of them felt compelled to get involved, to follow his example or even his advice. They went right on driving big Detroit cars, eating processed foods, coating themselves with expensive cosmetics and smoking poisonous cigarettes. … The painful fact — excruciating for him — was that however loud their cheers for Ralph Nader, however often they said that they were for him, in this Augustan age of materialism they were not really with him.” (Vol. II, p. 1541)

Ultimately more tragic than how Americans responded to Ralph Nader, is that this is exactly the way many people respond to the words of Jesus: they listen to sermons about Him week after week; they applaud good ones — but it’s like they are applauding a performance. Few really follow His example, or His commands. And the truth is, they are NOT really with Him. And He knows it; and one day He will say “Depart from Me … I never knew you.”

It’s convicting; it’s chilling — and I believe Jesus meant it to be. There is nothing more important than making sure you aren’t just “toying around” with religion, but that you are truly committed to Jesus as your Lord & Savior. He is the only One deserving of that commitment, as we see in the last point:

IV.  The Authority That Is Unique  (:28-29)

:28 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

This multitude who heard His teaching (remember Chapter 5 had opened with how He had gone up to the mountain to teach His “disciples” — but evidently the whole multitude gathered to hear Him. And they were not let down. They were “amazed” at His teaching. The Greek word “amazed” here is “ekplesso,” “ek” (“out of”), and “plesso,” (“struck”) — so it means to be “struck out of one’s senses” — quite a picture! 

BUT WHAT WAS IT about Jesus’ teaching that left them “struck out of their senses”? The scripture specifically tells us here: it says in :29, “FOR (here’s the reason) He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

We talked about this some in Matthew 5, but we’ll go into it a bit more now. The Jewish scribes and teachers always quoted OTHERS in their teaching: “Rabbi so-and-so taught this …” or “Rabbi such-and-such said that …”. 

ILLUSTRATION:

Two of the most famous “schools” of thought in Judaism were those of rabbis Hillel and Shammai, both of whom lived about a century before Jesus. The Mishnah (first written collection of Jewish oral tradition) refers to these two with the remark: “These are of the lenient views of Bet Shammai and the restrictive views of Bet Hillel.” (“Bet” in Hebrew is “house,” so it’s referring to the “houses” or “schools of thought” of rabbis Hillel and Shammai.) Hillel was evidently more “conservative” or “restrictive” in his interpretation of the Law, and Shammai was more “lenient” in his. So Jews might quote them, and say, “Hillel said …” or “Shammai said …”.

So quoting other rabbis was very common for the Jews. (Preachers do the same today, right?) But contrast that to Jesus here in the Sermon on the Mount. Repeatedly (especially in Chapter 5 — but also throughout the message) He says, “You have heard that it was said (by these rabbis), but I say to you … but I say to you …”. Even here in Chapter 7 He says, “Whoever says to ME ‘Lord, Lord’ …”; whoever acts upon “MY words,” and so on. One might legitimately ask, WHO IS THIS who speaks with such authority, that He doesn’t “quote” anyone, but just says “I say to you”?!

ILLUSTRATION:

N.T. Wright wrote: “One of the great Jewish scholars of our day, Jacob Neusner, has written several major books on Judaism, and he also wrote a book about Jesus. In it he said that when he reads that Jesus said things like, ‘You have heard that it was said thus and so, but I say unto you this and this and this, he says, ‘I want to say to this Jesus: Who do You think you are? God?’” (N.T. Wright in Appendix B, Anthony Flew, There Is A God, pp. 191-192)

The answer is YES! This is exactly Who He was saying He Was — and Is! This was NOT just another teacher, or scribe, or rabbi; this was not even just another inspired prophet. As Matthew 1:23 had said earlier, this was “Immanuel, — GOD with us,” giving us His word directly from the top of that mountain more surely than He gave the Commandments from Mt. Sinai. 

So as Hebrews 2:1-3 says “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” 

The answer of course is, we WON’T! These are the very words of God. That’s why it’s not enough to just “play around” with these words of Jesus; it’s not enough to just come and listen. We must both hear and OBEY everything He commanded, or, as He says in this message, our own houses will not stand.  

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