A Tree and Its Fruit

15 ^j“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ^kravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them ^lby their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, ^mevery healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 ⁿEvery tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them ^lby their fruits.

I Never Knew You

21 ^o“Not everyone who ^psays to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will ^qenter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who ^rdoes the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 ^sOn that day ^tmany will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not ^uprophesy in your name, and cast out demons ^vin your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 ^tAnd then will I declare to them, ‘I ^wnever knew you; ^xdepart from me, ^yyou workers of lawlessness.’

Paul and the False Apostles

1 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since ⁿI betrothed you to one husband, ^oto present you ^pas a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that ^qas the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts ^rwill be led astray from a ^ssincere and ^tpure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes and ^uproclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept ^va different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

8 But even if we or ^qan angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, ^rlet him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, ^rlet him be accursed.

Test the Spirits

1 Beloved, ^tdo not believe every spirit, but ^utest the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^vmany ^wfalse prophets ^xhave gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: ^yevery spirit that confesses that ^zJesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit ^athat does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and ^bnow is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for ^che who is in you is greater than ^dhe who is in the world. 5 ^eThey are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and ^fthe world listens to them. 6 We are from God. ^gWhoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know ^hthe Spirit of truth and ⁱthe spirit of error.