Matthew 7:15-29

New Testament for Everyone

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They will come to you dressed like sheep, but inside they are hungry wolves. ¹⁶ You’ll be able to tell them by the fruit they bear: you don’t find grapes growing on thorn-bushes, do you, or figs on thistles? ¹⁷ Well, in the same way, good trees produce good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. ¹⁸ Actually, good trees can’t produce bad fruit, nor can bad ones produce good fruit! ¹⁹ Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. ²⁰ So: you must recognize them by their fruits.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Master, Master’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; only people who do the will of my father in heaven. ²² On that day lots of people will say to me, ‘Master, Master—we prophesied in your name, didn’t we? We cast out demons in your name! We performed lots of powerful deeds in your name!’

²³ “Then I will have to say to them, ‘I never knew you! You’re a bunch of evildoers—go away from me!’ ”

True obedience

²⁴ “So, then, everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ Heavy rain fell; floods rose up; the winds blew and beat on that house. It didn’t fall, because it was founded on the rock. ²⁶ And all those who hear these words of mine and don’t do them—they will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ Heavy rain fell; floods rose up; the winds blew and battered the house—and down it fell! It fell with a great crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching. ²⁹ He was teaching them, you see, on his own authority, quite unlike their scribes.