8th Sunday after Trinity – July 21st, 2024
Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas
Rev. Joshua Woelmer
Text: Jeremiah 23:16–29
“Trees Bear Fruit”
Theme: False prophets deceive people by divorcing actions from their consequences, but true prophets preach so that sinful actions may be repented of and forgiven.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Friends often play fun jokes on each other at their expenses. Hopefully these jokes are not too spiteful or harmful. I remember my brother and I challenging each other to touch the electric fence that was around our garden. We always wore those rubber muck boots when working in the garden, so you had to convince them to touch the ground while touching the electric fence. Those were fun times. Brothers and friends can sometimes be cruel to each other in this way, but it is funny how the dynamic shifts when you need to stand together. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” I suppose tough love is also a thing. But what makes situations like the electric fence funny is that one person knows the consequences of touching the wire but someone else doesn’t. This can be fine and fun among friends; even still, you must not take it too far amongst friends. On the other hand, it is evil when done on the general public
Let’s start by looking historically at the Old Testament reading. Jeremiah preached to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. They had gone astray, following idols and doing evil. Jeremiah had warned them that punishment was coming. This is like a parent threatening their child. But he wasn’t the only one speaking. We have an example of what false prophets were saying: “They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you’” (17).
Here is one of the messages of false prophets: you can do whatever you want with no consequences. It wasn’t true for Judah and their idols. It wasn’t true for Eve when God had told them that eating the fruit of the tree would bring death and Satan told her, “You will not surely die” (4). It’s not true for anyone. Actions have consequences. Sometimes those consequences are delayed. God does not slap your hand immediately every time you do something bad. Sometimes punishment is delayed, even after your death. Hezekiah showed the Babylonian envoys all the treasurers of his kingdom, and then Isaiah told him that they would come back and take it all away many years after his death (2 Kings 20:17–18).
There are false prophets today in our nation who say similar things. We can certainly see this in some pastors. Jesus would warn us against them: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (15). As Lutherans, we may be more attuned to those who tell you that you must earn your salvation by works, or that you’ve got to do something for God to accept you. There are consequences for those beliefs.
But it’s not just that. There are consequences for sins, especially when you are constantly told there are not consequences for those actions. We could run down the whole 10 Commandments. The consequences for skipping church once may not be much, but what if you hear those words, “It shall be well with you” and “No disaster shall come upon you” time and time again? Skipping church for years may have consequences. There are consequences for rebelling against authorities, beginning with your parents. There are consequences for sexual sins as well. There are consequences for living life outside of God’s order of marriage, marital relations, and children. There are consequences for divorce on you and your children. There are consequences for lying and gossip and on and on. There are also good consequences for living according to God’s Word and will. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a false prophet.
Who Are False Prophets? False prophets can certainly be religious figures. There are many who have gone off the deep end because they do not know or care about the Scriptures. You should be cautious about those you see on TV. You should even hold accountable the pastors preaching from this pulpit.
False prophets may not be explicitly religious figures. We could broaden this out to many, many people: those in the media, self-help gurus, TikTok influences, psychologists, politicians, and so many more. The question to ask is this: are they talking on topics that the Bible addresses? If they tell you that you need to be “true to yourself in all things,” then be warned.
Anyone who says that the greatest good in your life is yourself, then you are falling into the trap of Satan. Remember what Jeremiah said: “to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’” Do not follow your own heart. Earlier in Jeremiah, the prophets says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (17:9). Follow God and His heart. Follow him by understanding the Word.
What Then Should We Do? The first thing that we as Christians should do is to cling to God’s Word. We should have a sort of lie detector that buzzes when we hear something that isn’t quite right. We should not trust just anything we hear or see online or on TV. There should be resistance to both outright and subtle lies. Even those who are “on our side” in some debates are themselves not entirely telling the truth.
The second thing that we should do is pass on wisdom from generation to generation. When I was talking about how actions have consequences, you could look online to countless studies about the effects of divorce and living together before marriage and any number of issues. But sometimes the best pieces of advice come from faithful parents and grandparents. They’ve been around the block. They’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work. They can give you advice tailored to you. When this is combined and augmented with God’s wisdom in the Bible, you will not be led astray
So, next time your brother or friend tempts you to touch the electric fence, maybe you should ask: “what will happen if I do?” If they get that grin on their face, perhaps it’s best not to. If you hear from someone that it’s fun and great to do something that your parents have warned you against, well, maybe it’s not in your best interest. After all, false prophets come in many forms. Whether they are a pastor or your friend, false prophets will always fail. God does promise that false prophets themselves will be punished, perhaps in this life, and certainly in the life to come. To go astray for oneself is one thing, but to lead others astray is another. God’s wrath goes out upon all those who are deceiving their fellow man. But for those who stick to God and His Word, who know that actions have consequences, we know that we can repent of our actions and receive the blessed consequences of Christ’s death and resurrection for us. That is worth more than anything in this world.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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