Those of you who live near the university campus know that it’s not an entirely safe place. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people down here who prey on unsuspecting people. You can get robbed, assaulted, etc.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t live down here—there are many wonderful benefits—it just means you need to be careful.
It’s the same way when it comes to spiritual things. Spirituality is popular today, but unfortunately, many people think that anything “spiritual” must be good or safe. But according to the Bible, we do not live in a spiritually safe (or even neutral) environment.
The main danger is not demon possession—it’s spiritual deception. That’s why Jesus ends this teaching with a warning. He mentions three forms of spiritual deception that can ruin your life unless you discern and avoid them.
Read 7:13–14. The first form of spiritual deception Jesus warns against is what we might call sheepism—the tendency to uncritically follow the herd we’re a part of.
People tend to arrive at their spiritual beliefs not so much by careful examination and deliberate choice as by osmosis—absorbing the opinions of those around them. There is a subtle but powerful pressure to conform to the majority ethos.
While this is no big deal in areas like musical taste, Jesus says there is great danger in doing this with spiritual beliefs—because at any given time in any given society, the majority is usually wrong about spiritual truth. Therefore, those who are truly on the right path are usually in the minority and moving against the herd.
The “narrow way” refers to the message of biblical revelation, fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
You can see this clearly in Jesus’ public ministry. The dominant view of salvation was that it came from being Jewish and doing good works. Most rabbis taught that being born Jewish gave you a direct path to heaven unless you committed some terrible sin.
There was even a popular teaching that Abraham stood at the gates of hell to redirect any accidentally lost Jewish souls back to the right path. In this view, as long as you kept the rituals and avoided big trouble, you were in.
But Jesus and John warned against trusting this “Jewish exemption clause” (Matt. 3:9; Luke 13:28–30). Jesus also critiqued this understanding of works-based righteousness (Matt. 5:20–48), and His parable of the Pharisee and tax collector (Luke 18:14) ends with a shocking conclusion.
It isn’t your ethnic origin or relative moral performance that determines your eternity. It’s your response to God’s offer of grace: whether you humble yourself before God, admit your need for forgiveness, and trust His Son to pay for your sins and secure your acceptance.
For this message, Jesus and His followers were ostracized, marginalized, and persecuted—but they were right.
Example: When I was in college (25–30 years ago), the dominant worldview was philosophical materialism—the belief that only the natural/material world exists. No God. No afterlife. So why worry about spiritual questions?
Today, the dominant view in most American universities is religious relativism—the idea that all spiritual beliefs are equally valid and that claiming only one way to God is arrogant and bigoted.
In a community that prides itself on freedom of thought, there’s remarkable conformity on this point. No matter that it’s logically self-defeating (relativism excludes all non-relativistic views), or that it gives people an excuse to avoid investigating truth—this is the new dogma. And you’ll feel the pressure if you disagree.
But Jesus says He is the narrow way (John 14:6)—because:
So what will you do?
Even if you have decided Jesus is the true way to God, there are still two more dangerous spiritual deceptions to be aware of.
Read 7:15. “False prophets” refers to counterfeit Christian leaders. These are people who, like wolves in sheep’s clothing, appear to be followers or spokespeople for Jesus—but actually lead people astray.
In fact, many are self-deceived (read 7:21–23). They call Jesus “Lord,” preach in His name, and even do miracles—but Jesus says they never truly belonged to Him.
Jesus warned that the whole period between His first and second comings would be marked by a steady stream of false prophets (Matt. 24:11)—and history proves Him right.
The first-century church immediately faced many false teachers. Virtually every New Testament letter warns against them.
Church history is full of outbreaks:
All of them claim to represent Jesus. All use the Bible. All destroy spiritual lives.
In such a polluted environment, how can you discern truth from deception?
Jesus says it’s not that difficult: become a fruit inspector (read 7:16–20). If you know what to look for, and examine closely, you can avoid being taken in.
What fruit should we be looking for?
The rest of the New Testament gives two key tests:
(See 7:13–14; Titus 1:9–10)
(See 7:23 – “lawlessness”; Titus 1:6–8)
Important: They must pass both tests.
Beware of any leader or teacher who resists accountability in these areas. We value your trust, but not because you exempt us from this kind of inspection—we want your trust because our fruit holds up under scrutiny.
Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount by addressing one more form of spiritual deception. Read Matthew 7:24–27.
This warning is for people who have already avoided the first two deceptions. You may have chosen the narrow way of the Bible and Jesus. You may have discerned and rejected false prophets. And yet—you can still wind up in complete spiritual ruin.
In other words, you can possess the truth, but be deceived about how to respond to that truth.
Most people know the Bible says that faith in Christ is required for salvation. But what kind of faith?
There is a kind of faith that stops at understanding and agreeing with what Jesus teaches. Don’t get me wrong—both are important and necessary. But they’re not enough.
Jesus says that kind of response won’t survive the storms of life or the final judgment of God.
James echoes this warning: “Even the demons believe—and shudder” (James 2:19). Demons have intellectual agreementwith the truth about God—but it clearly doesn’t save them.
It’s like knowing that a medicine will cure you, but never actually taking it. Or knowing that food can rescue you from starvation, but refusing to eat.
For some of you here tonight, this is exactly where you are with Jesus.
You’ve been hearing the message of Christ over the past few or several weeks. You now understand His offer. You’ve come to the point where you think it may be—or probably is—true.
That’s great! But Jesus says there’s one more step: You need to act on His words.
If you don’t take this step, none of the truth you’ve heard will ultimately benefit you.
You need to actually call out to Him:
When you do this, your life will be anchored to the bedrock of Christ Himself. And no storm—no matter how terrible—will ever be able to separate you from Him or the eternal life He gives.
