Matthew 7:15-23
“Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” Matthew 7:17
My friend Howard Ball used to say, “You can spot a Christian every time--if you’re God.” There are people who profess to be Christians, or who pretend to be Christians, who are not. How can we, who are not God, tell the difference?
Do we need to know the difference? Indeed,we do. Why? So we will not be deceived and misled. John warned us in 1 John 4:1, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Jesus Himself warned us. We read in Matthew 7:15, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
God has given us a way to recognize false prophets and others who are not really believers. Matthew 7:16-18 tells us how we can know the difference between real Christianity and false religion. These verses say, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.”
Not only does God want us to use discernment so we will not be misled by false prophets, but He also wants us to discern where people are in their spiritual lives so we can minister to them more effectively. To have discernment, we need to be fruit inspectors.
By what kinds of fruit will we recognize true believers? What “fruit” are we to inspect?
Do we need to know the difference? Indeed,we do. Why? So we will not be deceived and misled. John warned us in 1 John 4:1, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Jesus Himself warned us. We read in Matthew 7:15, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
God has given us a way to recognize false prophets and others who are not really believers. Matthew 7:16-18 tells us how we can know the difference between real Christianity and false religion. These verses say, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.”
Not only does God want us to use discernment so we will not be misled by false prophets, but He also wants us to discern where people are in their spiritual lives so we can minister to them more effectively. To have discernment, we need to be fruit inspectors.
By what kinds of fruit will we recognize true believers? What “fruit” are we to inspect?
- The fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; Christian character; true righteousness.
- John indicates in the book of 1 John that a real Christian will love others.
- One fruit of a Christian life is that lost people are won to Christ through that person.
- Christians bearing good fruit serve God, doing good works, good deeds, for others, not to earn their salvation but in gratitude for it.
- Real Christians display their fruit by their commitment to God. They obey God and keep His commandments.
Not everybody who goes to church or talks about God will enter the kingdom of heaven. There is a spiritual that says, “Everybody Talkin’ ‘bout Heaven Ain’t Going There.” Only those who obey God, who do His will, will be admitted to the place that God has lovingly prepared for those who belong to Him. Those who have never come to God by way of accepting His Son will be turned away. What a sad day that will be for those people.
Father, give us the discernment to be good fruit inspectors so we will know best how to minister to different people. May we bear good fruit to be examples and encouragement to others. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment