Reflecting on St. Matthew's Gospel: Distinguishing the Wolves

In St. Matthew’s Gospel Christ says something rather poignant for all time but especially today. He said: 

7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

7:16 By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit.

7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire.

7:20 Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.

7:21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.

(Douay Rheims Translation used)

The first verse is very relevant today. The sheep seem almost constantly surrounded by wolves with few true shepherds to protect them. In some cases shepherds, Bishops, are found amongst the wolves! There are so many out there who want to turn you away from Christ today. Luckily Christ gave us a good way of distinguishing between the sheep and the wolves. 

It is by actions that we can come to know a person’s intentions. The good will do their good works and only evil will come of the wolves. A good man will not be seen purposefully causing grave evils and a bad man will not be seen bringing about acts of the highest charity. This also serves as a reminder that bad hobbies will never produce good fruit and that it is better to throw out sin altogether than to try cleaning it up. Whether it be alcoholism, drug abuse, or fornication no good can come of a habitual evil and such evils cannot be made good. 

I must say my favorite part of this excerpt is the last part. It is a hard saying but a true one that must be said. Not everyone who acknowledges Christ to be God will waltz into the Kingdom of Heaven. No, even the demons recognize the fact that Christ is God. In some Bible passages the demons have a greater belief in Christ’s divinity than the people who would follow Him around! This excerpt shows that merely believing Christ to be God is not enough but that one must also act based upon that belief.  You must do the will of His Father in Heaven to be welcomed into the Kingdom. If you don't bear good fruit you are cast into the fire. 

This is something our protestant friends often misunderstand. They typically hold the position that it is by Faith alone that we are saved and that the Catholic Church has a works based Gospel. The Catholic Faith states that we are justified by our Faith AND works done in Faith. The Church does not teach that works alone can save but that when they follow after Faith works can justify. This is because works are merely a completion of our Faith inspired by the grace given from God. If someone has no Faith their works hold no true merit. There are numerous Scriptural arguments in favor of the Catholic view of justification that I encourage you to look into as it gets much more in depth than the simple description I have just given.

Overall this is a very edifying part of Scripture. It is one that accuses the reader and that is why I quite like it. Today we often have a skewed view of our own virtue and so it is important to remember Salvation is not some easy task. After all, Christ died to make it possible.