You'll Know Them By Their Fruit

Posted by Rev. Mark Slay

It's very easy for people to see the faults in other people, but it's not always so easy to see our own faults, and that's by virtue of the deception of the enemy. There is plenty of opportunity for us to be deceived, but we don't have to be.

Matthew 7:13 - "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it."

Notice what He says here: "the gate is wide and the way is broad." Jesus didn't stop after He said the gate is wide. He put an and in there. He said and the way, or we could say the road, is broad or very wide. It is a lot easier to go down that road. There's just so much room for error; there's so much deception that can happen. He goes on to tell them that a lack of fruit in your life is way of deception.

Fruit can be inward and it can be outward. Inward fruit would be things like: love, joy, peace, kindness, faithfulness, goodness etc. Outward fruit would be things like: how you treat others. Do you ever witness for Jesus? Have you ever won anybody to the Lord?

Matthew 7:16-17 - "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit."

You can go all the way back to the book of Genesis and see a theme presented here. Everything produces "after it's kind". The cattle bore their young after it's kind; dogs don't create monkeys. When you go to a grapevine, don't expect to see bananas on it. This is telltale of mankind; what you are will be manifest. What is in you will come out of you.

Matthew 7:18 - A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

This is a statement of definitive fact and on judgment day this is what will stand - your fruit will tell God what you are.

Matthew 7:19 - Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Now, for those who believe "once saved always saved", explain this verse to me. You can see it doesn't say the fruit is cast into the fire. It says they are, the tree is, the thing producing the fruit.

Matthew 7:20-21 -So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter."

Do you know what the will of the Father is? It's extremely varied. It can be to treat our enemies with love. It can be walking in your calling instead of somebody else's calling. It can be being nice to family. It can be not walking in pride in church. Keep in mind that the Bible says that love and mercy towards people is first and foremost.

Matthew 7:22-23 - Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'

You can't just do (practice) what you want to as a Christian and say, "well, I believe". The fruit of your life matters.