Anchor My Faith

Good Fruit

Scripture: Matthew 7:17-20; Luke 6:45

In our previous lesson we looked at false prophets and saw the importance of evaluating their fruit. In this lesson, we will look more carefully at fruit and how it applies to our lives. Jesus continues his teaching by saying: ^{Mt 7:17} So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ^{Lk 6:45} The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. ^{Mt 7:19} Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

Jesus introduces the idea of our lives as believers producing good fruit by using the illustration of trees bearing fruit. He claims there are two kinds of trees; those which are healthy and those that are diseased. As would be expected, the healthy trees produce healthy fruit and the diseased trees produce bad fruit. It is just not possible for a healthy tree not to bear bad fruit, or is it possible for a diseased tree to produce good fruit. The fruit and the tree are the same; both are good or both are bad.

Jesus then applies this to people by equating people to trees. As there are two kinds of trees, there are two kinds of people: good people and evil people. Whether a person is good or evil is determined by the treasure of the heart. If the treasure is good, then the heart will produce good, but if the treasure is evil, then the heart will produce evil because it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks or the person behaves. That good treasure Jesus speaks of is the presence of God in a spiritually alive heart. In Colossians 1:27, Paul describes it as “Christ in you the hope of glory.”

Going back to the trees, Jesus points out what will happen to the trees that do not bear good fruit. Since they are of no value and are occupying space in which a good tree could be placed, they are cut down and thrown into the fire to be destroyed. It is by their fruit that determines if the tree is to be cut down and destroyed. The implication can be applied to our lives. If the heart is evil, it will produce evil fruit and like the trees producing evil fruit, people bearing evil fruit are evil and will be destroyed.

What determines whether a heart is good or evil? Jesus will speak more about this later, but looking back to the conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus told him that he must be born spiritually; to become a new person in Christ. Good fruit, or good works, is only possible from one who is born spiritually. We will learn that two people can do the same thing, but one will produce good fruit and the other bad fruit. The one who is born spiritually has the Spirit of God dwelling within and thus brings God into the fruit bearing process to produce an effect that involves God. Imbedded in the good fruit from the spiritually alive heart is the influence of God, which will be lacking in the fruit of the one who is still spiritually dead. More about this when Jesus teaches on this in the future.

Prayer

Father, even though we might be born again, that is no guarantee that we will not do evil. In Christ we are a new creation, but that new creature is contained in a body with a sinful nature, which exerts its influence more than we like. Father, thank you that when we sin the Holy Spirit convicts us of wrong. Thank you that we have the right to confess that sin, to be forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness.