A Tree is known by its Fruit

Introduction: I am going to hold some fruit up and I want you to tell me from what type of tree it came from. Are you ready? Here we go.

· Apple

· Orange

· Pear

The Law of the Harvest

Have you ever heard of the law of the harvest? It states that if you plant an apple tree you will get apples. If you plant a peach tree you will get peaches. If you plant a pear tree you will get pears. And if you plant an orange tree you will get oranges. The law of the harvest states: A tree is known by the fruit it bears.

Now, take the law of the harvest and set it alongside of the teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught the same law. He taught that a tree is known by the fruit it bears (see Matthew 7:15-20; 12:33-37).

Here is the biblical truth that I want to drive home today: Christians are meant to bear fruit (see John 15:1-8). My life verse from God’s Word is John 15:3, it says,

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

All Christians are meant to bear fruit. Now, we won’t all bear the same amount of fruit, but we are all called to bear fruit. When we get into the teachings of Jesus’ parables (Matthew 13), we are going to read that the seed that fell on good ground produced fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty (Matthew 13:8). Yes, believers bear fruit.

I. You can choose the Fruit – 12:33

33“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

According to Jesus you and I get to make the choice as to what type of fruit comes from our lives. Either we will we bear good fruit, or else we will be bearing bad fruit? But we get to make the choice as to what type of fruit we bear. The Pharisees had the same choice. They choose to bear bad fruit – they spoke against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-30). They rejected Jesus and His message of the Kingdom of God.

Let’s look at the contrast Jesus mentions here in verse 33. We can either bear good fruit, or we can bear bad fruit.

A. Good Fruit – These are the works that Christ does through our lives. These works benefit the Kingdom of God. They help others.

Did you know that there is something like 100 variety of Apples grown in the U.S. My favorite is, Honeycrisp. I also like to take Golden Delicious and dip them in Carmel (O so good!).

How are apples inspected? Here are a few ways. Inspectors will look at:

· Color

· Skin

· Diameter

· Firmness

· Taste

· Cutting

· Insects and worms

Once the apples have been inspected the good apples go to the market, and the bad apples tossed aside.

As I contemplated how apples are inspected, I began to think about how Christians should do a self-inspection on their own life. Here is what I came up with using the same criteria that inspectors use for apple:

· Color – Red for the blood of Christ. I have been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

· Skin – I’m not thin skinned, but thick skinned, and I have skin in this thing we call, Christianity.

· Diameter – I am a well-rounded believer. Growing in the key areas of my spiritual life.

· Firmness – I am dedicated to Christ and the Christian faith.

· Taste – I have a sweet disposition. My words offer grace to the hearer.

· Cutting – I cut the Scripture straight and take God’s word at face value.

· Insects and worms – I deal with sins quickly, so as not to become rotten.

There we have something to think about, right?

B. Bad Fruit – These are the works that we do through our own human effort. These works benefit our own earthly kingdom. They help only us.

The world can tell rather quickly what type of tree we are. They are good fruit inspectors. The people of the world know if we are walking with Jesus and living out our Christian faith. They can spot a bad apple rather quickly.

Someone once said the only bad thing about biting into an apple and finding a worm is biting into an apple and finding a half of a worm.

II. Your heart determines your fruit – 12:34

34Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

As Jesus spoke to the scribes and the Pharisees, He calls them exactly what John the Baptist called them, “brood of vipers!” (see Matthew 3:7-10). Jesus saw in the scribes and Pharisees what John the Baptist saw in them.

Vipers are poisonous, and a brood of vipers are many poisonous vipers. One is bad, but a brood is worse. How did Satan show up in Genesis 3? As a serpent. I believe that Jesus words are carefully chosen. He knew the connection between vipers and Satan. Snakes have a snake nature – they will bite!

Jesus tells us that these vipers are evil. The word “evil” means, bad, grievous, vile, wicked, or diseased.

Jesus also tells us that they cannot speak good things. Vipers and those who are evil cannot speak good things. Jesus tells us why,

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

The word “abundance” means excess or overflow. Our words reveal what’s going on in our hearts.

One individual I read stated, “The heart is the root, and the language is the fruit.” (Sharingbread.com). The heart is the fountain from which our works flow.

D.A. Carson wrote, “It is the mouth that reveals what is in the heart. How, then, can these who are evil say anything good? What is needed is a change of heart.” (Bible Outlines.com).

The military had a saying that went like this, “Garbage in, garbage out.” Well, the scribes and the Pharisees had evil hearts, and so the only thing that could come out of their hearts is evil speech.

The law of the harvest states that if you plant evil seeds in your heart that once they geminate and grow, that it will eventually flow out of your mouth.

In Matthew 15:17-20, Jesus taught about the human heart,

17Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Since the heart is the root of the tree of our life, then what kind of fruit are we bearing? What are the words that flow from our mouth? May be words that honor and glorify God.

III. The contrast between the good and evil man – 12:35

35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

Now, Jesus speaks about the man who is fully following Him (12:30). What does this man’s heart look like?

The Good Heart

First, notice Jesus speaks of, “A good man.” Are you and I good men and women? It all depends on what we store up in our hearts.

Proverbs 4:23 reminds us,

Watch over your heart for out of it flows all the issues of life.

Second, Jesus says that it is out of the good treasure of his heart that he brings forth good things. Again, it is what we allow in our hearts that will appear in our lives. If we plant good stuff in the soil of our heart, then good stuff will grow in our hearts and good things will flow from our mouth.

You heart is a treasure chest. It is a place where you are to keep valuable. What are you storing in that treasure chest? Make sure you are only putting good stuff there.

Question: What is our theme for 2024 here at SLBC? It is “encourage one another daily.” (Hebrews 3:13). We will not be an encourager if we don’t plant good seeds in our heart. The fruit of encouragement flows from a well taken care of heart.

The Evil Heart

Now, Jesus also teaches us again that the opposite is also true. If you have an evil heart, then the evil treasure within your heart will bring forth evil things. Placing evil stuff in the heart will lead to evil stuff coming out of your mouth. How do we avoid putting evil stuff in our heart?

· Be careful about what you watch on television.

· Be careful about the type of music you listen to.

· Be careful about the books your read.

· Be careful about what you allow your mind to dwell upon.

· Be carful about using words that are acceptable by worldly standards.

Did you know that the Bible tells us about two things the Pharisees stored up in their treasure chests? Here they are:

· The praise of men – John 12:43

· Money – they were Lovers of money – Luke 16:14

We also know that they desired power and authority, and that this was one of the main reasons they rejected Jesus Christ.

WATCH OUT WHAT YOU STORE UP IN YOUR TREASURE CHEST!

IV. You will give account for every idle word you speak – 12:36

36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Write this statement down: Jesus speaks truth. What does Jesus speak? Truth!Truth in His heart is truth that comes out of His heart. The same is true with us.

Here is the truth that Jesus speaks,

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

What is meant by idle word?

Adam Clarke said that the sense of the ancient Greek word used for an idle word is “a word that does nothing, that neither ministers grace nor instruction to them who hear it.”

Idle words are worthless words, useless words, unproductive words. They are careless words. (When I was typing this I accidental typed, “They are careless swords”). That they are!

Warren Wiersbe wrote the following about idle words, “Words that accomplish nothing. If God is going to judge our “small talk”, how much more will He judge our deliberate words?”

Each one of us will give an account for every idle word that we speak. How many of us have been guilty of speaking idle words?

Contrary to the opinion of some, we will have to give an answer for every idle word that we have ever spoken. How does that make you feel? Does it motivate you to watch over the words that flow from your mouth? It should! It should also cause us to want to do an inspection on what’s in our heart (our treasure chest).

The way to tame your tongue is to address your heart. And the way to address your heart is to devote it to the King’s agenda.[1]

We read in Colossians 3:17,

17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

V. By your words you will be justified or condemned – 12:37.

37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Next, Jesus taught that by our words we will be justified. What does that mean? It means we can call upon Jesus Christ for salvation and become a part of His eternal family (see Romans 10:9-13).

I mentioned a few weeks back that the word “Justified” means, “the act of God whereby He declares a sinner innocent just as if he never sinned.” Each one of us can become a part of the kingdom of God if we use our words to call upon Jesus Christ to save us.

I want Jesus Christ = Justification.

Again, the opposite is also true. Your words can condemn you. Looking at our text the words of the scribes and the Pharisees were condemning them. They did not use their words to say they want to be a part of God’s kingdom. No, their words made it quite clear that they wanted nothing to do with this “fellow” (12:24). In this case the words of the scribes and the Pharisees will condemn them. They will stand before God guilty. So then, for the Pharisee to say,

I want nothing to do with Jesus Christ = Condemnation.

What are your words saying? Justification or Condemnation?

Conclusion: No doubt you have picked up from our study that both the tree and the fruit are an analogy of our lives. As I bring this message to a close, I want to read for us Psalm 1:1-3,

1Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

Christian, be a healthy tree and bring forth healthy fruit.

As we wrap up what are some practical take home truths from this section of Matthew 12?

1. Make the tree good and the fruit good. You have a choice.

2. A tree is known by its fruit. Seek to produce good fruit.

3. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. What is coming out of your mouth? Focus on uplifting language. Honor God with your words.

4. Our hearts are likened to a treasure chest. What are you putting into your heart? Deposit good stuff into your treasure chest.

5. From your good heart bring forth good things.

6. Stop with the idle words – you will have to give an answer for them in the day of judgment.

7. By your words you will be justified (saved), or by your words you will be condemned (lost). Make sure you are justified.

[1] Evans, Tony; CSB Bibles by Holman. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (p. 1906). B&H Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.