190811 Sermon on Jeremiah 23:16-29, Matthew 7:15-23 Two topics are prominent in our readings today. The first is the topic of false prophets. The prophet Jeremiah, in our Old Testament reading, speaks about the false prophets who were saying the opposite of what he is saying. Jeremiah was telling the people to repent because the wrath of God was coming upon them. These false prophets were saying, “Oh no, Jeremiah is overreacting. No such thing will happen.” They claimed also to have the Spirit of God, they had dreamed dreams, and who is Jeremiah to say that they are wrong? This topic of false prophets also comes up in our Gospel reading. Jesus warns us to beware of false prophets. They come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.The second topic in our readings is about the good works that must be present in those who belong to the Lord. If someone believes, then the Holy Spirit will produce good works. If there are no good works, then it is evident that the person’s faith is a sham, a self-delusion. I’ve already mentioned this with the prophet Jeremiah. He was telling the people that their turning away from God’s commandments meant that they were not the people of God even though they had God’s promises and covenants. They thought that they were believing these promises and covenants, but what was really going on was that they were enslaved to their flesh and devoted to false gods. They thought that they were believers, but they were actually unbelievers. Their ongoing rebellion against God’s commandments was proof of it.In our Epistle reading St. Paul says that those who have the Holy Spirit will put to death the deeds of the flesh. So if you are living in harmony with the sinful flesh, then you will die. But if the Spirit of God has been given to you, then you will seek after righteousness and live. In our Gospel reading we perhaps have the starkest preaching of all. Jesus says that if you are good, then you will do good. A good tree bears good fruit; a bad tree bears bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. It is by their fruits that you will know whether someone is genuine. It doesn’t matter if someone says over and over, “Lord, Lord,” if they are living contrary to the will of God. They will not go to heaven even if they were able to cast out demons and even work miracles in Jesus’s name. To them it will be said, “Depart from me, you evildoers.” And so the second topic that is found in all our readings is that God’s people live according to his will. True faith produces good works. The people of God, led by the Spirit of God, value and strive after the God’s will. Otherwise they are not the people of God. So the first topic is false prophets. The second topic is the teaching and keeping of God’s will. What I’d like to consider is how these two topics are related to one another. What does the warning against false prophets have to do with the requirement that God’s people live according to God’s will?In order to begin to answer this question, I’d like to recall what we talked about last week. Last week I spoke about the way that we are lawless by nature. The sinful flesh is not interested in God’s will. The sinful flesh only looks out for itself. Nobody has to teach us this. We are born this way.In order to show you that this is indeed so, I’d like to point to young children. Babies are very selfish creatures. They want everything just so. If it isn’t just so, then they will make you pay for it. It’s a good thing that we indulge infants in their selfishness because they are too young to be taught anything otherwise. But when a baby is two or three, then they can start to be taught. They can’t just take whatever anybody else has. They have to share. They can’t do whatever they want, they have to do what they are supposed to do. You might say that the Law is imposed upon them. And how do these toddlers like the Law? They don’t like it at all. It is v