Good Trees & Bad Trees
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
The story is told a little boy who used to escape from his bedroom every time after being punished.
He would crawl out of his bedroom window down an old fruit tree to the ground.
One day, his father told him that he was going to chop down the fruit tree, because it hadn’t borne any fruit for a number of years.
.......
That evening, the boy and his friend bought a bushel of apples, and during the night, tied those apples on the barren branches.
.......
The next morning, the man could not believe his eyes.
.......
He said to his wife, “Honey, I just can’t believe it!
That old tree hasn’t yielded any fruit for years,
And now it’s covered with apples...
.......
And, the most amazing thing is that it’s a pear tree!”
.......
So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 6 and focus on verses 43 through 45.
Our message this morning is titled, “Good Trees & Bad Trees”
.......
This message today will focus on the next section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain...
Today we will discuss good and bad fruit...
And the trees that produce them.
.......
So, this morning we will cover three main points:
The Fruit...
The Tree...
And...
The Heart.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
.......
Heavenly Father...
Eternal One...
You are worthy of all Your praise...
You are worthy of all the glory!
.......
Create in us a heart that will produce the kind of fruits You desire to see Lord....
Search us and reveal to us our shortcomings...
And give us the strength and endurance to walk in Your statutes and commands!
.......
Guide us in all your ways...
And reveal to us the eternal truths contained in Your Word.
.......
Forgive us our many sins...
Forgive us for our disobedience and our many failures...
We desire to live a life that would be faithful to You...
And we desire to one day hear the words, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
.......
Thank You for allowing us to serve You on this blessed day...
And may we always depend on You for everything.
.......
And it is in Jesus’s name we pray all these things...
Amen.
.......
Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
43 “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
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.
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Fruit
1) The Fruit
Verse 43: “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
Continuing the theme we covered last week...
The one about the fact that repentance for one’s own sins is a prerequisite to correcting others...
To attempt to correct others while not dealing with your own flaws is extremely hypocritical in the eyes of God...
Jesus now uses the analogy of fruit trees to show that only a changed heart that has been made new by regeneration can yield works that are “good fruit.”
.......
So, Just like a good tree can only produce good fruit...
Or like an apple tree can only produce apples...
So, too can a regenerated individual produce good works...
It is not the good works that make someone a believer in right standing with God...
It is the person who already is a believer in right standing with God that will a a by produce good works.
Good works can never merit or earn us entry into God’ Kingdom...
Good works are more like proofs that reveal to the outside world the change that has happened internally...
Good works reveal evidence that one is a believer and shows other what God already know for He both sees the heart and transforms the heart.
.......
However the negative of this statement s also true...
The unregenerated...
The one who ignores God’s truth and is still lost and in total darkness...
That individual...
No matter how hard they try...
They will produce bad fruit if they don’e have fellowship with God.
They are not able to produce any good fruit...
Even the good fruit that they seem to produce are false and do not originate from a genuine heart...
The only hope for them...
Just like all of us...
Is hope found in Jesus!
.......
The same truth is found in the Gospel of Matthew in Matthew 7:18 which says:
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
A diseased trees usually produce shriveled and unhealthy fruits...
They even alter the taste or texture of the fruit...
Fruits from diseased trees have a dry, soggy or rotten taste and are extremely unappetizing...
Additionally, eating a fruit from a diseased tree could make a person sick or even lead to death.
.......
Jesus uses a vivid picture to show the clear difference of what a good tree produces versus a bad tree.
.......
Elsewhere in Scripture we see similar illustrations presented to reaffirm this truth...
James the brother of our Lord and Savior says it like this in James 3:12:
12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
Like with our opening illustration...
The father in the tale was shocked that the dead tree in his yard started to produce fruit which it hadn’t done for years...
But the most shocking aspect was that he saw apples growing on a pear tree...
But we know that those apples did not really grow on these trees...
That ridiculous result was the work of little boy and his friend...
For in reality...
A certain tree like a fig tree will only grow figs and not olives no matter what we do...
A grapevine will only make grapes and never in a million years will we ever see figs growing on it...
James even expands the illustration to water...
One will very disappointed if they search for fresh water in a salt pound.
.......
Only a man or woman with the Holy Spirit living in them will produce good fruit...
And despite the greater effort of the unbeliever no man or woman outside of Christ can even produce one good fruit.
.......
You see Church, as believer although we are not perfect and fall short...
Our life as a whole is lived in a way to give God glory...
Our good deeds are done not to earn heaven but produced out of love for Him...
Our motivation and driving force is God.
For example when a genuine born-again believer gives to a charity...
They are doing it out of the outpouring of love God has saturated them with.
.......
Yet, for the unbeliever it is a totally different story...
They have never surrendered to God...
They don’t live for Him...
Something else drives them...
Maybe it is themselves or a person they love or a goal they have...
Whatever it is...
Whether it is viewed as a noble cause or not by our world...
It is something that is not God and that will not do.
.......
So, when an unbeliever gives to a charity...
They are doing it out of a selfish desire...
Something that is not God and anything that motivated us that is not God is not a good work no matter how noble it may seem.
.......
Despite what the world tells you...
A pear tree can’t produce apples...
An orange tree can’t produce mango...
And a lost person can’t produce good fruit.
.......
In order to produce good fruit one must be regenerated...
And in order to be regenerated it takes an act of God...
Just look with me at this truth found in John 15:16 which says:
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Beloved, we are not comparing the individuals who produce good fruit and the individuals who produce bad fruit in order to boast about ourselves!
That is not what we are doing...
This is not why Jesus taught us this truth.
.......
We can’t ever forget this truth in our minds...
If we today produce good fruit...
It is not because you choose God...
It is because God choose you first...
And only then did you choose Him back.
.......
That is nothing to boast about...
God had compassion on you and me...
So, let us be gentile and understand for those who are producing bad fruit for that was us at one point before...
Let us lovingly share God’s truth with the lost hoping one day we will see those individuals produce the good fruit only the Holy Spirit can produce.
.......
I love how Paul puts it in Romans 7:4:
4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.
Paul makes it clear that our old self had to die first...
For we belong to another...
But now...
As believers we belong to Christ...
And the purpose of Him saving us was so we could bear much good fruit for God...
We are called to serve God and produce more and more good fruit...
A lack of good fruit production in one’s life is evidence of someone who is yet to be born-again...
There is no exception to this indestructible law of God...
For the fruit one produces reveals who that person is on the inside...
And this takes us to our second point.
2) The Tree
2) The Tree
Verse 44: For each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
Again, here Jesus is making it clear that observing the good and bad fruit produced by people allows one to judge wisely in dealing with others...
A person who has a pattern of producing good fruit would help us to see that the individual is a believer and follower of Christ...
Yet a person who has a pattern of producing bad fruit would help us to see that the individual is still in darkness and has not yet surrendered their life to the Lord.
.......
The Pillar New Testament Commentary on Luke provides with a crucial point that needs to be understood when interpreting this passage:
“The summary of Jesus’ teaching, ‘Each tree is recognized by its own fruit,’ may erroneously suggest that fruit determines the tree.
Each example employed by Jesus actually moves in the opposite direction, however.
Each subject—good trees, bad trees, thornbushes, good people, and evil people—is the source of a corresponding product—good fruit, bad fruit, thorns, good things, and bad things.
The tree, in other words, determines its fruit.
Fruit is not a work, i.e., something external from and perhaps disassociated from its source, but a product that corresponds to the nature of the tree.
The Greek of verse 44 makes this apparent:
‘Each tree is known by its own fruit.’
Ignatius cites this verse as evidence that a true profession of Christ is testified in deeds as well as words.
In more modern and psychological parlance we might say that we inevitably live out what we believe.
This teaching advocates a form of virtue or deontological ethics rather than utilitarianism, i.e., the good is the result of character.
The emphasis in each example in verses 43–45 falls on the good person—’the good stored up in the heart,’ rather than simply the good deed.”
.......
In Matthew’s Gospel account we see this truth directly related to false teachers as it says in Matthew 7:15–17:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
There is a reason we are instructed to pay attention to the fruit that others produce...
Again, it is not so we can sit over them and judge them...
The reason we need to be able to witness the kind of fruit that a person produces is so we will be able to see if a teacher is a false prophet or truly called by God...
We are called to have discernment...
And we are called to pay attention to the fruit people produce...
To lack this in your spiritual tool belt is to ill equipped.
.......
This truth goes beyond just evaluating teachers...
In order to minister to people correctly we need to pay attention to the fruit they produce...
An unbeliever and believer are dealt with differently...
For example, an unbeliever is a slave to sin and can’t live by the standards of God’s Word until they are first transformed and born-again...
And a believer although no longer a slave to sin still sins an may need to be rebuked or even go so far as being put under church discipline.
.......
Although we treat all with love and compassion...
And although we share the gospel with everyone...
Ministering to a believer and an unbelievers requires different approaches as instructed by the Word of God.
.......
So, it is unacceptable to live a life blind and not paying attention to the fruit one produces and claim you just don’t want to judge others...
That is not loving or wise...
It is unbiblical and foolish!
.......
We are commanded to be a lot more aware and that protects us from the influence of false teachers...
And it allows us to serve others the way God called us to do.
.......
Beloved, we must come to the realization that although we can’t see into the heart of another individual...
That does not mean we can’t have a pretty good idea of were that person stands in regards to their relationship with God.
.......
A person who claims with their mouth to be a believer...
And even who attended church regularly...
Does not automatically mean they are a follower of Christ.
.......
If they are truly Christ’s...
Then their faith will be accompanied by good works...
That is always the case...
100% of the time!
.......
One only has to look at James 2:14–19 for confirmation of this biblical truth:
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
.......
Church, the fruit one produces is directly related to the condition of one’s heart...
And that takes us to our third and final point for this morning.
3) The Heart
3) The Heart
Verse 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.
Beloved, the major difference between a good and a bad tree involves the heart...
A heart of stone is cold and unloving and against God...
But, a heart that God has turned into flesh is warm and loving and is in line with God.
.......
A stone heart is evil and only produces more evil like a twisted evil factory...
But, the heart of flesh is good and out of the abundance of love poured into it by God that heart produces good that reflects Christ’s love for us.
.......
As the ESV Study Bible points out:
“The true nature of people’s hearts can often be seen when they speak off-the-cuff, without reflection.”
When we are in our most natural element...
And when we speak the most freely...
Out heart is revealed.
.......
It may take some work but we as humans can really put on a good show for others...
We love our masks that we hide behind...
But usually the ones closest to us see the real us...
And that is when we are most transparent...
That is when our guard is down...
For everyone acts like a saint on church on Sunday morning.
.......
But who are you Monday through Saturday?
Who are you on your way to church?
Who are you after you walk out those church doors and get into your car?
Who are you in the eyes of your spouse?
Who are you in the eyes of your children?
Who are you in the eyes of your family members and friends?
.......
As Paul Washer once said:
“If I wanted to find out whether a man was a Christian, I wouldn't go to his minister, I would go and ask his wife.”
.......
So, how you speak and how you act in those more intimate and closed off times reveal your heart.
How you talk and act and think when no one is watching is a reflection of what master you serve.
.......
Furthermore, theologian James R. Edwards shares this insightful note regarding our study:
“The Greek word for ‘heart,’ kardia, refers to the source, center, and seat of the acting agent.
It is thus not good deeds that make a good person (although good deeds may be a stimulus to becoming a better person), but rather inner virtue, particularly the agapē [love] of verses 27–29, that bears fruit in true goodness.”
So, the condition of our heart is very important to consider...
It is no small matter if our heart is not right with God...
For there are many sever warnings of what will happen to the person who breathes their last breathe without ever knowing God...
Just take a look at what Jesus says in Matthew 7:19–20:
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 is saying pretty boldly here that the only thing a bad tree is good for is firewood...
This is a hard and heartbreaking saying...
Nut it is a necessary warning to those living a life of sin and wickedness...
For eternal Hell fire is the actual future judgment for the enemies of God.
.......
Do not be deceived, Beloved...
Don’t for a second think anyone can overcome their sin nature without God first transforming them...
That is why if you are hearing this and know that your heart is a heart of stone you need to beg God to come in an shatter that stone heart and make it brand new...
You have to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus and truly see Him as your personal Lord and Savior!
.......
As Matthew 12:33–35 says:
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.
Likewise, understand this saying that is found in Matthew 15:10–11 which says:
10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand:
11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”
How you speak and act is important...
Your words and actions will not save you or merit you heaven...
But your words and actions are an indicator of the state of your heart.
.......
The Word of God is very bold about this point...
Again we look to the God-breathed truth recorded by James in his epistle as found in James 1:26 which says:
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
I can’t sugar coat this for you, Beloved...
I love you all to much to do that...
God all throughout the Scriptures keeps giving us warning after warning on signs to look for to see if we are in right standing with Him...
Many times we can deceive others...
And we can get so good at it we start to deceive ourselves...
But our God is no fool and He can see right through your act.
.......
So stop playing games and pretending you are safe if all the evidence points to the fact that you are in danger!
God in His infinite mercy gives us a mean in which we can evaluate ourselves...
Each and everyone of us needs to evaluate our selves regularly...
If we are believers then we need to continue to grow in our walk with the Lord and put away childish behaviors...
We need to be more Christ-like...
And if you are not a believer then you need to cry out to Him and plead for His mercy...
The good news is that if you cry out to Him with a broken heart..
And approach Him with humility...
It is a sign that God is already working in you...
And as Philippians 1:6 says:
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
And have confidence that for every single person who genuinely cries out to God they will not be rejected as it says in John 6:37-39:
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
.......
So, with this understanding...
Let us all commit to changing how we talk...
Let us pay attention to the words that leave our tongue...
Let us speak words that build up those around us...
Let us speak in the manner like Christ did...
And let us heed the command in Ephesians 4:29 which says:
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
.......
Furthermore...
For those called by God to salvation...
Be more and more diligent to confirm that calling and election by God...
And follow the instructions given by Peter in 2 Peter 1:5–11 which says:
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like to share this that I came across in my study:
A farmer one planted two fruit trees on opposite sides of his property.
The one he planted to provide a hedge hide the unsightly view of an old landfill;
The other to provide shade to rest under near a cool mountain stream which ran down beside his fields.
.......
As the two trees grew, both produced began to flower and bear fruit.
One day the farmer decided to gather the fruit from the tree nearest his house (the one used to provide a hedge from the landfill).
As he brought the fruit inside the house, he noticed that it was a little deformed (the symmetry of the fruit was not very good, but still the fruit looked edible).
.......
Later that evening, while sitting on his porch the farmer took one of the pieces of fruit for a snack.
Biting into the fruit, he found it to be extremely bitter, and completely inedible.
Casting the fruit aside he looked across the field to the other tree over by the mountain stream.
.......
After walking across the field, the farmer took a piece of the fruit from the other tree and bit into it.
Finding the fruit to be sweet and delicious he gathered several more pieces of fruit and took them to the house.
.......
The fruit was greatly affected by the nutrition of the root.
Just as the tree grew by the landfill to be bitter, and the tree by the stream produced sweet fruit, so the Christian has a choice.
He can either put down his roots into the soil of the landfill of fleshly pursuits, or into the cool refreshing stream of the person of Jesus Christ.
We must understand that the root bears the fruit.
The fruit of the Christian is the outward evidence of the inward motivation.
.......
So, Beloved...
Let the light that God put in you shine for the who would to see...
Be the mirror that reflects God’s love so that others can see Christ’s love in action...
as Jesus said in Matthew 5:16:
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Your actions will either lead others to praise God or curse God...
Don’t take that responsibility lightly...
For those saved by God we have work to do!
We are saved but not taken out of the world for a reason...
God has chosen to use us to bring Him glory...
He has crafted us and molded us to produce good works for others to see...
And when they see those good works we produce they will glorify our God!
Again, Jesus makes this point as stated in John 15:8 which says:
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
So, continue to produce good fruit for God’s glory!
Continue to confirm the reality that God had called you and elected you in love!
.......
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
.......
Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.