The Fruit of Words

Introduction

Summary of 12:22-32

The Metaphor of Two Trees

While the ESV translates this very literally, make the tree good…make the tree bad ect. Jesus is using a figure of speech that draws the listeners in to compare two things, in this case, the good tree that produces good fruit or the bad tree that produces bad fruit. In other words, Jesus is saying that if someone is a good tree, they must be a good tree, including the fruit it bears. The same goes for a bad tree, which is destined to produce bad fruit. You cannot have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. You cannot be a good tree and bear bad fruit, or a bad tree and bear good fruit. A tree’s goodness is defined and proven by the kind of fruit it provides.

This is not the first time Jesus has taught this. You may recall in Matt 7:16-20

Matthew 7:16–20 ESV

You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

So in our text, we are told that “A tree is known by its fruit.” The metaphor is simple. The nature of someone is defined by what they produce. If what they produce is good, it is coming from something good in them. If what they produce is bad, the same goes.

But what or who defines what is or is not good fruit? As we will see, as we continue, Jesus puts himself in the place where he is the one who defines what is good fruit and what is bad. That is because it is he who tells the Pharisees what is blasphamy against the Holy Spirit. The message of this text, then, is simple. Either, you confess the truth and are one with Christ, or you profess the lies you try to force upon your mind and show yourself to be a bad tree. The good tree is one who confesses the truth that they truly believe, and a bad tree is a tree which holds to the lies that deny Christ, who he is, and what he has done.

The Sin of the Pharisees: The Fruit of Their Lips

At this point, Jesus points out the true sin of the Pharisees, this sin which we saw Jesus say to be unforgivable in verses 31-32. Jesus names these Pharisees ‘offspring of vipers’ a name we have already seen used by John the Baptist when the Pharisees came to see him at his ministry. This is more than just an off-the-cuff derogatory remark, this is accurately depicting the fruit of the Pharisees. They are the offspring, or brood, of vipers, that is, they are those who spread venom. They are the spiritual offspring of Satan, the father of lies and the father of vipers.

John 8:44 ESV

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

In a sense, the unforgivable sin, the sin of the Pharisees, is to be an ally of lies. It is to disseminate the lies of the devil rather than believe the obvious: that Jesus Christ is the Saviour. One may be deceived into blaspheming the Name of Christ or of the Father and find forgiveness afterwards, having foolishly believed the lies of Satan, but to be a brood of vipers emphatically means to have seen enough of the Spirit’s work to know the truth, and yet remain one who scatters the lies of Satan concerning the person and work of the Son of God.

This leads to Jesus rhetorical question: “How can you speak good, when you are evil?” The implied answer is you cannot. This is in reference to what the Pharisees had said about Jesus being one who cast out demons by the prince of demons. Having proven that this cannot be true, Jesus is exposing these men in their desperate attempt to proliferate the lies of Satan, just as the offspring of a snake proliferate the venomous nature of the parent. If you have some very venomous snake and that snake lays eggs, they hatch, and the little snakes grow up, the bite of those snakes is going to be just as deadly as the parent snake. So it is, those who are spiritual children of the devil will not be harmless in their bite, just as the bite of the offspring of a venomous snake will not be harmless or beneficial. Likewise, if the bite of the snake is venomous, it proves that the snake is the offspring of likewise venomous snakes. The offspring of a Garder snake will be harmless, but the offspring of a pit viper will be deadly. This is Jesus point. Having proven that the Pharisees’ teaching that he casts out demons by the power of Satan is illogical, he has proven that the Pharisees are those who proliferate lies. They are venomous by taking the clear power of God and teaching others that it is the power of Satan, and thus leading astray those whom they teach from salvation’s power. Such lies can only be described as venomous, and if they produce venomous lies, they are of their father, the source of all venomous lies, Satan himself.

Those who are spiritual children of the devil prefer listening to lies rather than the truth, since the venom of lies is in their nature.

John 8:47 ESV

Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

The nature of natural man, without the converting work of the Spirit, is to be a child of Satan, rejecting the truth in exchange of lies.

Romans 1:22–23 ESV

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

This is the clear difference between those who belong to God and those who do not. If they bite like a viper, if the fruit of their mouth is that of a viper, they are a viper. But if their words are words of truth and like, words that heal, that bring glory to Christ, then their confession lends credance to the claim that they are children of God.

However, it is important to note that Jesus is not saying that words alone matter, or that everyone who claims to believe the truth is a true believer. There is often a wide gap between what someone professes and what someone actually believes, a gap so wide and yet so discrete that even they may be convinced it is genuine. The fruit of the lips must be the true fruit of the heart, not the adornment of saying the right things so as to be seen as a true believer.

The Christian should resemble a fruit tree, not a Christmas tree! For the gaudy decorations of a Christmas tree are only tied on, whereas fruit grows on a fruit tree.

John Stott

A bad tree may have good fruit stapled onto it, or may have plastic apples that look very pleasing from the outside but inside are nothing but tasteless foam and plastic. But the stapled fruit rots over time, and the plastic fruit is shown to be false on closer inspection. It is not a genuine production of the heart.

You often see the real nature of a person by the words they speak in trying times. When their confession is put to the test through trials, persecutions, and temptations, their true nature begins to come out. Think of the coral snake and the Scarlet Kingsnake. Both snakes look almost identical, and you would be afraid to handle either as their bright colours and banded patterns both warn of a deadly, venomous bite. However, the scarlet kingsnake is completely harmless, and when put into a stressful or threatening position it may bite you, but it can no longer hide its true nature. It is a harmless snake, not venomous by nature although it looks almost exactly like the coral snake, which is both venomous and deadly and would show itself as such when put into the same threatening position.

Likewise, it is often the case that true Christians are separated from false hypocrites, not by the words they speak in their confession in a comfortable church foyer, but the words they speak when they find out about their cancer, when they stand beside their child’s grave, when their biblical beliefs cost them friendship or job, when they are tempted by their own desires, or when their beliefs are questioned intensely by those who spew venom from their lips.

Charles Spurgeon said of John Bunyan, author of the Pilgrim’s Progress, that if you cut him, he would bleed Scripture. How great a priority we must make it to have the same thing said of us. May we never be seen as fair-weather Christians. As this world grows darker, many are giving up the doctrines of the Scriptures in order to conform to the changing world. The Scripture’s teachings on sex, gender, marriage, salvation, judgement, wrath, and mercy are being given up or compromised to allow for a more world-friendly Christian message. These are the venomous of a brood of vipers.

On the contrary, those who trust in Christ are like Isaiah the prophet, whose mouth was touched with a burning coal, purified and ready to speak the pure and wholesome words of God with power and without shame. “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.” Anyone who claims to have something when they don’t have it is a scammer. Much like the emails and phone calls we all get from time to time that promise if we just pay a little fee we will inherit millions from some prince from Kenya, but we all know that such emails and calls are nothing but scams. They good thing that is promised doesn’t come into being because they don’t have the money to send you, and even if they did they wouldn’t send it. Out of someone’s good treasure comes good things, but if they are full of evil things they pay out evil. In this case, the evil intentions are what come out of a scammer’s words. Pharisees are scammers of another kind, putting on the appearance of righteousness but unable to produce the promised fruit.

Justified by a Word, Condemned by a Word.

Our text ends with this final warning,

Matthew 12:36–37 ESV

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jesus brings our attention to the day of judgement, the end of days when everything ever thought, said, or done by everyone is brought into account and God judges the good from the bad, the godly from the ungodly, the righteous from the unrighteous. God’s preparation for the new creation is this separation, and Christ makes it known that every careless word will be taken into account and we will be expected to answer for it. Now, this might seem very harsh to us. After all, everyone lets things slip out of their mouths from time to time. An insult in the heat of anger, a snicker at an immoral joke, a secret we were supposed to keep, a lie in the spotlight of questioning.

The point here is not that God will find us guilty of the unforgivable sin if we let a lie or immoral word out of our mouths, but rather that our words reveal the truth about who we really are. In effect, Christ is saying that when God judges who is his and who is not, who are righteous and who are wicked, he takes every little word into account as an expression of the truth of who we truly are in the inside.

Leon Morris:

What Jesus is saying is that at the judgment what we are is what matters, and that our words, especially those to which we give no particular thought, reveal what we are.

People often like to try and differentiate between what they say and do and who they are. The truth is that people act according to their nature. They pursue and practice and form into habit the kind of behaviour that reflects who they are in their heart. Jesus points this out in the Pharisees’ words. They are accused of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit because the fruit of their lips, the blasphemy, displayed their nature and their heart. Although it is said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin, it is the evil heart of unbelief that produces this blasphemy. Just as it is the nature of a venomous snake to produce a venomous bite, it is the nature of a venomous and satanic heart to produce evil words.

This is why Jesus tells us that we will give an account for every careless word we speak. The careless words that slip out of our mouths are glimpses into our souls. The unrealistic theory that Jesus was using the power of Satan slipped out of the mouths of the Pharisees because in their hearts they were liars. What kind of words will pour out of the mouth of a liar when they are not paying attention? Will it not be lies? What kind of words will a blasphemer utter when they’ve had a few too many glasses of wine and their lips are loosed? Will it not be blasphemy? What kind of words will spill out of the murderous heart when he isn’t thinking? Will it not be anger? What about a slanderer? A gossip? A betrayer? An adulterer? A proud heart? What will these people say when they are not watching their mouth? People can be careful to guard their mouth, to hide their true heart with deceitful words, but as James says, no one can tame the tongue. He goes on to say,

James 3:8–12 ESV

but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

There is a reason that, only a few verses earlier, James says,

James 3:2 ESV

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

James’ point is not that someone who can keep their words in check is sinless, but rather the opposite, that only someone who is perfect is able to perfectly control his mouth. In other words, anyone with sin in their heart will let it stumble out eventually, which is why James says that we all stumble in many ways. This is a relief for us who know that our mouths and lives are far from perfect, including our tongues. Jesus isn’t so harsh as to suggest that our sinful words are beyond forgiveness, but rather he is pointing out that the kind of words that come out of our mouths will prove the nature of our hearts.

On the other hand, we are told that by our words we will be justified, just as by our words we will be condemned. Again, it must be understood that Jesus is not saying that simply saying the right words will get us into heaven, while saying the wrong words will condemn us to hell. Rather, we must remember that Jesus is point is that a good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. We are not justified or condemned by the fruit, but by what the fruit reveals about us. Our words do not justify us in a saving sense, but rather they justify the reality of the faith that justifies. We are justified, that is declared righteous, by our faith in God, and that faith changes us and therefore produces fruit that is different, fruit that is good.

The mouth of the person that knows God declares their faith in Jesus Christ. Beyond this, their words are characterized by faith, reliance on God, and proliferation of truth and life-giving words. As Paul instructs the Colossian believers:

Colossians 4:6 ESV

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Conclusion

Doctrinal truth matters. The venom of the serpent is doctrinal error. It is proliferating lies about God. There certainly is a theological triage, some issues being primary issues which define the Christian faith, secondary issues separate denominations which all can be called orthodox in their understanding of salvation and issues relating to saving faith, and tertiary issues being important issues that we nonetheless can worship together with. We need to be discerning in separating the primary issues of the faith and issues of Christian practice. If we allow faith-defying lies to infect our church, we will cease to be the true people of God. Such was the case of the papacy, with the Eastern Orthodox Church by and large, and such is the case with many theologically liberal religious organizations who have disregarded the inspired, unerring nature of the Scriptures, and following this have rejected Biblical morals and any doctrine that offends modern sensibilities. It is in any religious fad or cultic offshoot that ignores some of the gospel-defining issues such as the divinity of Christ, justification by faith apart from works, The Trinity, and the doctrine of original sin. Any tradition or theology, movement or practice, that differs from these fundamental truths can no longer be called “Christian”. We must be careful and gracious when we draw the line in the sand between what is and is not Biblical Christianity and belief in the Gospel that saves, and yet we must draw that line, firmly and clearly, so that we are not incited to be yolked with venomous snakes. Those who cross that line, whether it be in doctrine or practice, and clearly abandon the clear teachings of the Gospel and how it works out in the life of a saint, cannot be considered fellow saints, and we need to be willing to say so. When differentiating between coral snakes and scarlet king snake, we must be able to tell these apart. The venomous coral snake has a yellow band, whereas the harmless scarlet king snake has a white stripe. If you see a snake, you are well to be cautious of someone until you’ve taken the time to tell the signs between the harmless saints whom we are commanded by Jesus to love, and the venomous vipers who will poison our community with lies from Satan. If we get it wrong, we greatly risk the destruction of the church of Christ. If we, Faith Baptist Church, cannot study enough to know the difference between those who are venomous and those whom we are commanded to hold tight as our brothers and sisters in Christ, we will be unable either to create meaningful fellowship, or keep a pure environment for the church to grow in holiness. Let us then each think of ourselves as theologians, not for intellectual satisfaction alone, but simply because we want the wisdom to be able to tell the venomous from the beloved. This means we should all study what other traditions teach on all thee levels of priority, primary, secondary, or tertiary, all the while studying the Scriptures and the theology that develops from the story that the Bible tells. Then we will be able to compare and contrast, and draw those lines in the sand so we know who to love and who to reject.

We, if we consider that our nature is judged by even the most careless words that we say, must take care to pursue a pure heart. Not just a pure mouth, for many people can try to tame the tongue, but we know that none can tame it. Eventually it will slip, and your true nature as a child of snakes will show itself. This is what we will find if we ignore the warning given hear. On the contrary, if we meditate on the truths of the Gospel in which we have believed, the doctrines of Christ, his teaching, and the subsequent teachings of his disciples, we will be led in our entire life into the way of truth. This is what Paul calls, in Romans 8, walking by the Spirit.

Romans 8:5–6 ESV

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

If we set our minds on the things of the flesh, that is, if we give ourselves over to the ways that are not linked to the truth of the Gospel, we will be led to eternal death. But if we set our minds on what we have come to know through faith is true concerning Jesus Christ, we will come to live a life that is in conformity and parallel to that truth, melded to it. This is what it means to have the law written on your heart. Your phyche is so fixed on the truth of the Gospel that everything is viewed through that lens and only those teachings and practices that conform to and make sense of that holy teach of Christ will be found in our lives. This is the way to life. That is why we say we are saved by faith alone, but not by faith that is alone. First, faith in what? If we are said to have faith, we must have some doctrinal knowledge in order to know what it is we are placing our faith in. And if we are said to believe it, our actions will naturally follow a course that is consistent with what we believe is true. A true belief that this building is on fire will doubtless trigger the appropriate response of trying to get outside. So true faith in Christ will produce a life that, as faith grows, will grow in godliness which is in line with true faith, active faith. It will also produce a biblical theology that is consistent with the Gospel taught by Christ and his Apostles.

Let us then, take care of the least of our words. Let us take precious care to guard our lips on every front. Let us, as representatives of Christ, as those who know how every word we utter will be under God’s scrutiny. Let us take extra care to guard the words that proceed from us, lest we show ourselves to have a venomous bite rather than loving words in our mouths.

Psalm 19:14 ESV

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Let this be our prayer, not only that the words of our mouths, but also the meditation of our hearts, be of such a nature that shows we have been changed by the Spirit of God and come to truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.