Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. Matthew 12:33-35

Earlier we looked at one of Jesus strongest teachings in Matthew 7 Being Known By Their Fruit, today Christ kind of echoes the same message however this time it’s directed at the religious leaders. Even today, there are a lot of corrupted people “working” in religion, even in Christianity. We see this with the religious leaders, as Jesus calls them “A generation of vipers”

So how do we know who is a real leader of God and who is corrupted? As Jesus said “The tree is known by their fruit” These wolves that run fake ministries and corrupted Churches, the question is what spiritual fruit are they actually producing? Are people becoming Born Again in Christ? Or do we see works of the flesh, money, power , and sex? Pretty much every time you turn on the TV, these ministries are begging for money or bragging about their accomplishments, is this really being a servant of Christ?

As Jesus challenged the religious leaders, “How can you be evil, speak good things”? These wolves don’t have the Holy Spirit, they can’t provide you with any wisdom of God or miracles from God. Their entire ministry is ran by Satan, it’s a total deception! You need to use spiritual discernment when listening to a preacher or pastor (1 John 4:1)

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Matthew 12:36-37

The Apostles James said “Not many of you should become teachers” (James 3:1) Why was James saying this? Because of what Jesus said “Every idle word that you speak should be given an account on the day of judgment” All these false prophets and teachers will need to give an account to Jesus Christ on judgment day.  They may be laughing all the way to the bank today, but in eternity they will be weeping and gnashing of teeth

But this is a warning for us also, don’t preach unless God makes you qualified. These words that I write today, I will give an account for them to Christ, because they are based on his words. It’s a responsibility we must bear, but it is one that must be done. Let them that have spiritual ears, hear! The false prophets and false teachers will be known by their fruit and stand in Judgment before Christ Amen!