“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”
“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
“Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?
“Out of the same mouth proceed blessings and cursings. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
No spring yields both salt water and fresh water.”
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”
“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
(Matt 7:16-20; 12:34-37; James 3:10-12)
Do these passages have your attention yet? They should! They sound serious.
John the Baptist was kind of a serious guy too.
He is recorded as saying, after calling many of the Pharisees and Sadducees a ‘brood of snakes’, …”even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. And every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.!” (Matt 3:7-10)
You do remember, do you not…the first time God ever had a conversation with His ‘kids’ discussing the difference between a couple of fruit trees, a serpent showed up and started talking. You know, whispering things that were in contradiction to what God has said. You can read about that in Genesis 3.
“Has God really said…?”
After reading the opening verses here…did you by chance hear any quiet whispers in the back of your mind wanting to explain away or water down or dismiss them because ‘they didn’t apply to you’, perhaps? Since…after all…you’ve been a ‘Christian’ for a long time.”
By their fruits…you will know them.
Jesus gives this word of ‘advice’: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.” (Matt 12:33)
I don’t know about you, but if I’m sitting in that class and hear Him say that…my hand is going up and I have only one question which is “Will you please tell us how to do that?!”
Interestingly, it might have been a similar question that had Jesus offer up these words in John 15…
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit….”
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” (vs.5)
“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire and they are burned.” (vs.6)
If there is any question to regarding what kind of fruit we are talking about, may I simply refer you to the graphic/image I posted today, and yesterday. You can also refer to Galatians 5:19-21.
Let me close with these thoughts this morning…
There really is more to this ‘abiding thing’ than what we have probably known or been taught.
It’s not something we do when we ‘feel like it’.
It’s not something we do ‘part time’ or just on church days or when we are around other church people.
It is a new way of living. And, it will cost you your life, just so you know.
That part about a branch ‘cannot produce fruit of itself’ is something to make note of.
You nor I can read these verses and then just decide to go out and work on ‘producing more kindness or patience or love…’. How many times have you tried doing that in the past and eventually fell back to your old ways/nature and fruit.
We can’t do it. But He can.
We just have to abide in Him. And the first thing you and I have to come to terms with is we have to ‘die’ first.
That’s what the Spirit will begin to do first before anything else. (Rom 8:13)
Oh…one other thing. Aside from the ‘fruit test’, do you want to know how else one can tell if someone is abiding in Him? - “Whoever abides in Him does not sin.” ( 1 John 3:6-9)
There is a good chance that some of you may have just felt something tighten up inside of you and an angry voice rose up and hissed: “That’s impossible…nobody lives that way!”
(I wonder who whispered that to you?!)
I would think that some reading this are feeling a bit ‘troubled’ at the moment. That is ok. And that is good. It’s just the ‘Word’ and we need not fear or dread it. But it’s a good idea if we respond to it. We should be wanting and needing to respond to it.
All I beg of you is to ponder these things before you are tempted to dismiss them. It’s good information to have.
As they say….’The more you know!’
IF….any man is IN Christ…he is a NEW creation…the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:17)
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