“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Mat 7:15-20).
We think we can spot wolves. We say to ourselves, “Well, if I ever come across one, I’ll be sure to stay away.” But Jesus said that the only way they can be known is “by their fruits.” This indicates just how incredibly covert they truly are. They’re so extremely convincing as sheep that we CANNOT know them by any other way. And we’re fooling ourselves if we think we can. A “corrupt tree” can only be known in that it cannot “bring forth good fruit.” Therefore, we’ll know wolves by their fruits.
Christ later applied this same analogy of trees and fruit to the Pharisees, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Mat 12:33-34). The mouth is to the heart what fruit is to a tree. As a tree is known by its fruit, the heart is known by the mouth. As Christ said of the Pharisees, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Mat 12:30). Anyone not with Christ—saying what He said, preaching what He preached, and teaching what He taught—is against Him.
What Jesus Christ taught about His Father God and about Himself is the truth, and anyone teaching different is wrong. Trinitarian ministers teach different. Therefore, they’re wrong. Now, all they need to do is repent and begin teaching what Jesus taught. But if they won’t, then they’re not with Him but against Him. They’re known by their fruits. Their fruits betray them as wolves.
Trinitarian ministers are warm, funny, and down-to-earth. They’re family men that love their wives and children. They invest in the lives of others and shed tears of joy and sorrow with them. They labor and serve in the church and in the community. They sing praise music and know their Bible well. They foster and adopt children. They enjoy visiting over a cup of coffee and having cookouts and gatherings. But there’s just one glaring problem—they disagree with Jesus! Wolves can seem just like sheep and in some ways even more so. They can only be known by their fruits.
Paul taught that as the serpent was in the beginning, his ministers are now, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit [breath], which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” (2Co 11:3-4), “Satan himself is transformed into an angel [messenger] of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness” (2Co 11:14-15). His ministers pose as messengers of truth. They’re extremely subtle and convincing.
Trinitarian ministers preach “another Jesus,” a “Jesus” that is God Himself. They deny His literal begetting by preaching that He has always existed as God. They deny that He is now 100% human by preaching the illogical claim that He is both 100% God and 100% human at the same time. They deny that His miracles were of God Himself by preaching they were of Himself as God.
Trinitarian ministers preach “another gospel,” a “gospel” of sola fide or faith alone. They deny that we can live righteously to the standard Christ commanded by preaching we’re born with an innate sin nature that prevents it. They deny faithful service to Jesus as Lord by preaching a faith confession. They deny eternal life and annihilation by preaching that man is an eternal spirit being that will always exist either in heaven or in hell.
I was a Trinitarian for almost 30 years and had plenty of amiable disagreements with them along the way. However, the dynamics changed completely once I began agreeing with Christ in contradistinction with them. And I was shocked to hear some of the things that began coming out of their mouths. If you want to put them to the test yourself—and I’m not suggesting you should—just keep pressing them to agree with Christ that His Father is His God (Mat 27:46; Mar 15:34; Jhn 20:17; Rom 15:6; 1Co 3:23,11:3; 2Co 11:31; Eph 1:3,1:17; Col 1:3; Heb 1:9; 1Pe 1:3; Rev 3:12). You’ll find out if they’re with Him or against Him. They’re known by their fruits.
Understanding Scripture 