A GOOD TREE PRODUCES GOOD FRUIT

PROCLAMATION

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.”  Matthew 12:33 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, which were spoken by Christ according to the Apostle Matthew.  After Jesus declared Himself to be The Lord of The Sabbath, (Matthew 12:8) He healed a man with a shriveled hand in the synagogue on the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:9-13)  Because of this, the Pharisees sought to kill Jesus. (Matthew 12:14)  He left that city and a great multitude followed Him and He healed all of the sick among them. (Matthew 12:15-17)  A demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Him and He healed him, and the man was able to talk and see. (Matthew 12:22)  Seeing this, some of the people thought that He was a Man of God, while the Pharisees said that He was a man of the devil, Beelzebub the prince of the devils. (Matthew 12:23-24)  Jesus refuted them by saying that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, devils would not drive out other devils. (Matthew 12:25-29)  He said, “He that is not with Me is against me…” (Matthew 12:30), and He went on to say, “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by his fruit.” (Matthew 12:33)

APPLICATION

Whatever is in a man’s heart, that is what will come out of him.  A man with good things stored up within him will produce good.  A man with evil in his heart will produce that which is evil. (Matthew 12:35)  Jesus, The Christ, said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16)  If we are saved, then we should produce the fruit of The Holy Spirit of God which is within us and that is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (self-control). (Galatians 5:22-23)  The fruit that we produce is visible to others and it is for the benefit of others.  If you are not happy with the fruit that you are producing, turn your life over to Christ and ask Him to change you.  He can create in you a clean heart and a right spirit (Psalm 51:10) and make you a new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD

Proclamation:

"But the fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control ... Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by The Spirit, let us also keep step with The Spirit."  Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Apostle Paul under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to the believers in Galatia, which was a mixture of converted Jews and Gentiles.  Paul’s point here was that it was not enough for them to cease doing evil but that they must learn to do that which is Christ-like.

Application:

Most of us think that we are okay because we are not as bad as the worse criminals in the world.  We forget that The Bible says as a man thinks, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7 and Matthew 5:28)  Sinful thought are still sins.  In fact, anything which does not give God glory, all unrighteousness, is sin. (1 John 5:17)  We need to not think so highly of ourselves and recognize that if we are not exhibiting the fruit of The Holy Spirit of God, then we are probably committing a sin.  Trees bear fruit based upon their nature.  The fruit that we produce, our behavior, should be the same as the fruit of The Spirit, if The Holy Spirit of God is within us.  In the previous verses, Galatians 5:19-21, Paul lists the things of the flesh that we should be dead to and which should no longer be a part of us.  Once we accepted Christ as our Savior, The Holy Spirit of God indwelled us.  We did not become perfect but we changed and became new creatures. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  We should now walk, talk, think, and behave in such a manner that the world can see the fruit of The Spirit in our lives.  We should not have to tell people that we are Christians, they should be able to detect that by observing us.  To the world, our actions will speak louder than our words.  Let us show the world that The Spirit of God is within us by our actions and by how we treat one another. (John 13:35)

WE ARE KNOWN BY THE FRUIT WE PRODUCE

Proclamation:

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.  People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers."  Luke 6:43-44 (NIV)

Explanation:

Luke, the physician traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded these words which Jesus spoke in His Sermon on the Mount to His disciples, and to the large crowd which had gathered around them, good trees do not bear bad fruit, and bad trees do not bear good fruit.  The fruit which is produced is determined by the tree type.

Application:

In this case humans are like trees, you can determine the type of person that they are by the type of fruit which they produce. (Jeremiah 17:10 and Matthew 7:17-19)  Good people do good things and produce good fruit.  Evil people will not do good and the fruit which they produce will not be good.  We will get a much better picture of a person by examining the fruit which they produce.  It will be more accurate to determine if a person is good by looking at the fruit which they produce rather than by listening to the words that they speak.  What we do is more representative of who we really are than what we say.  Our actions, and our fruit, speak louder for us than our words.

WE SPEAK THAT WHICH IS IN OUR HEARTS

Proclamation:

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.  People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."  Luke 6:43-45 (NIV)

Explanation:

These Holy Spirit inspired words were written by Luke, the physician and traveling companion and recorder for the Apostle Paul.  He wrote that good fruit does not come from bad trees, and bad fruit does not come from good trees.  Likewise, the same is true for people.  The good or evil that is in a man's heart will come out of his mouth.

Application:

For as a man thinks, so is he. (Job 24:13-17)  "We may not be all that we think we are, but what we think, we are." (Author Unknown)  It has been said that it is not what a man does when others are watching him that determines his character, but it is what he does when he is alone and thinks that no one sees him that determines who he really is.  We should be mindful of the fact that God sees all that we do (Job 34:21) and He knows our intentions. (Matthew 9:4 and Hebrew 4:12)  Since it is also possible to sin by thinking sinful thoughts, ( Matthew 5:28) we need to ask God to cleanse us of all of our sins and to forgive us for our sinful actions, words, and thoughts.  We need for Him to create within us a clean heart and a clean mind. (Psalm 51:10)  That is why we should pray like King David prayed, that the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts would be acceptable in the sight of God. (Psalms 19:14)

Good People Produce Good Fruit

"By their fruit you will recognize them.  Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit."  Matthew 7:16-17 (NIV)

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, recorded by the Apostle Matthew, the tax collector, as He spoke during His Sermon on The Mount.  Jesus warned His disciples, and the crowd which had gathered around them, to watch out for false prophets who come in sheep's clothing but are actually wolves underneath.  His message was that they may not be able to recognize who they are by their appearance, but they would know them by their fruit.  Bad people, like bad trees, produce bad fruit.

The point which Jesus made is just as true today as it was back then.  All people are not who they appear to be, or pretend to be.  That applies to some of our "friends" as well as some of our leaders.  Everything that they say which may sound good, isn't good for us.  However, their wickedness will soon reveal itself.  Their lack of honesty will manifest itself in behavior which is not in keeping with their words, or with The Word of God.  Bad people do not produce the fruit of good works.  Their lifestyle and the results of their influence on others, are the fruit that will determine whether or not their words are consistent with kingdom building.  If what is being said to us, or if what we are being asked to do, does not line up with The Bible, that person may not have our best interest at heart.  The standard by which we test all things, doctrine, teaching, statements, and behavior, is The Word of God. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)  The devil can use or influence anyone, so do not believe every word that you hear, try every spirit by The Word of God. (1 John 4:1)  Good people produce good fruit, bad people don't.

We Are Known By The Fruit We Produce

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.  People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers."  Luke 6:43-44 (NIV)

Luke, the physician travelling companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded these words which Jesus spoke to His disciples, and to the large crowd which had gathered around them, good trees do not bear bad fruit, and bad trees do not bear good fruit.  The fruit which is produced is  determined by the tree type.

In this case humans are like trees, you can determine the type of person that they are by the type of fruit which they produce.  (Jeremiah 17:10 and Matthew 7:17-19)  Good people do good things and produce good fruit.  Evil people will not do good and the fruit which they produce will not be good.  It will be more accurate to determine if a person is good by looking at the fruit which they produce rather than by listening to the words that they speak.  Our actions, and our fruit, speak louder for us than our words.