This warning comes as Jesus is teaching what we call the Sermon on the Mount. Beware of false prophets. These are people who claim to speak in behalf of God. These prophets are teaching the people with messages that they claimed came from God. That put responsibility on the people who were listening to Jesus. They had to be watchful of these false teachers, and the way to recognize them was to look at their fruit. People who claim to preach the Gospel need to live by the Gospel. Jesus set the example of how we should live, He set the example for us to imitate. This message is true at any age.
We who claim to be of Christ, our fruit should show it. When the people who do not know Christ see our lives and our fruit they will know that we are of Christ and not false prophets. Our lives are a louder sermon than the one we can preach. Let’s show this world that we preach the true Christ.