Fruit From a Firm Foundation

Introduction

What does a real Christian look like?

Not what do they claim to be. Not what do they post about. Not what they say. But what does a genuine Christian look like? Unfortunately, we’ve gotten to a place in our world where someone saying “I’m a Christian” is no different than someone saying “I’m a Chiefs fan,” or, “I’m a Missourian,” or “I’m a Ford fan.” Is real, genuine Christianity simply a label, or is it something more?

If we go back nearly 1900 years, we learn of a man named Polycarp. Polycarp was a disciple, a student, of the apostle John. John taught him many things about Jesus and His ministry and teachings. By God’s grace, Polycarp was saved at a young age and used by God in some remarkable ways… but one of the things that we know the most about this man is the way that he died. In 155 AD, he was brought before a Roman governor on the charge of being a Christian and following Jesus. Polycarp was brought into an arena, where there was a stake ready to be lit with him on it. The Roman governor asked him to reject Christ and swear an oath to serve Caesar… and Polycarp replied with this, “86 years I have served him, and he has never wronged me. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” With that statement, he was killed. What got Polycarp killed was not simple words… it was the reality that he belonged to Jesus. He lived for Jesus. He would die for Jesus. Because his life was about something greater than himself.

This morning, when the rubber meets the road, when the fire is lit, when the crowd is listening to hear your answer, how would you answer this question? Bend and live, or defy and die? You’re thinking that’s really intense, I won’t face a fire. I won’t face a Roman governor. I won’t face death for being a Christian. You’re probably right! But there is a danger here: Sometimes it’s easier to imagine dying for Jesus than to live for Jesus. It’s easier to imagine in our brains making a heroic stand and laying down our life for what we know is right, instead of doing what is right each and every day when seemingly no one is paying attention. But that’s where transformation takes place. This is what Jesus will show us this morning in Luke 6:37-49 as Jesus isn’t after more fans, He has enough of them. Jesus is after sold out followers. Not the one who claims Christ, but the one who has been changed by Christ.

Let’s dive into this passage together

Luke 6:37–49 CSB

37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over—will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” 39 He also told them a parable: “Can the blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 “Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye, but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,’ when you yourself don’t see the beam of wood in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter in your brother’s eye. 43 “A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit; on the other hand, a bad tree doesn’t produce good fruit. 44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs aren’t gathered from thornbushes, or grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. 46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say? 47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great.”

Do you see the counter-cultural things that Jesus commands of His people? Do you see some areas where you fall a bit short? You’re not alone there. This passage shows us how Jesus changes us and how He shapes us into people who treat others differently and who build our life on the foundation of His Word. Let’s ask Him to help us do this today, let’s pray

True Christians Show Mercy (37-42)

From the very beginning, we’re met with what we can call the American Gospel in verse 37. One pastor called Luke 6:37 the Magna Carta of American Religion. Many people that know next to nothing about the Bible can quote the beginning of this verse for you: Judge not, lest you be judged!” Our world loves to quote this verse when it suits our arguments, positions, and views… like whenever someone says something that convicts us, there is a part in us that would love to quote this and say, “Don’t Judge Me!” or “Only God can judge me!” But what we mean in that moment is often this, don’t tell me that I’m wrong, don’t point to Scripture, don’t remind me of repentance. In the 21st century, being “judgmental” is seen by society as the unpardonable sin because tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion are the words of the day. How on earth do we live this out? Look back a verse to where we ended last week in verse 36, Jesus calls on us to be merciful as our Heavenly Father is merciful… now in the next verse Jesus tells us not to judge. There is a contrast here. Jesus is pitting these things against one another. DO - be merciful. DON’T - be judgmental. How do we live this out? The consensus in our world is that to be merciful and not judgmental, we must celebrate, affirm, and tolerate whatever someone else wants to do or feels is right. If you ever claim the contrary, this is seen to many as “judging” them.

Look at what Jesus says later in this section of this sermon:

Luke 6:44 CSB

44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs aren’t gathered from thornbushes, or grapes picked from a bramble bush.

How do you know if a person is a good tree or bad tree? By looking at their fruit. Their actions. Their beliefs. Their words. What is another word for that in our society? Judging. This is a conundrum! We have to make judgments every day:

The traffic light just turned yellow, should I slam on my breaks or can I make it? That’s a judgment.

Each Sunday you bring your Bible to church in order and ask yourself this question: Is the message the pastor says in line with what the Bible says. That is a judgment.

This isn’t a bad thing - this is a Biblical thing that we are commanded by God to do. We are commanded to practice discernment. To know right from wrong. To call sin what it is. This isn’t what Jesus is saying. He’s saying this: You aren’t God, so don’t think that you’re the judge, jury, and executioner of other people. Have you met people that live that way? They judge others with a magnifying glass and are blind to their own shortcomings… who consistently assume the worst. Yes, Jesus doesn’t want His bride to act like that because that’s how the enemy wants us to act.

This makes us hypocrites! Think about the story of King David in the Bible when he sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, killed. There was a prophet at the time named Nathan who told the King a story of a man who had 1 sheep and a man who had many sheep. The wealthy man stole the poor man’s sheep and killed it in order to feed his guests, leaving the poor man with nothing. David was outraged by this and said, “The man who did this deserves to die!” Nathan turned to David and said this, “You are that man!” David heard this story and it made him so mad, he said the person should face death… but he turned a blind eye to his own sin, which wasn’t the stealing of a sheep, but the stealing of another man’s wife and the killing of another man. As one commentator said, “The ambitious charge others with self-ambition, liars love to call other people liars, the judgmental people imagine somehow that they will feel better by judging their own sins in other people.”

Understand this, friends, Jesus doesn’t want this for His people! True Christians shouldn’t have a judgmental attitude or seek to condemn people, instead they forgive sincerely and they give generously as our text says! Jesus has something better for us. And in what follows, Jesus gives several things to do and not do.

Don’t judge. Don’t condemn. Do forgive. Do give.

If you look for bad in people, guess what you’ll find? You’ll find bad. I hate to break it to you, but each person in this room is a sinner who makes mistakes. Your pastor sometimes makes mistakes. If you go to another church, you’ll find another pastor and another congregation of people who are sinners who make mistakes. Christians don’t nitpick with magnifying glasses, we look for ways to forgive and love others. Jesus wants us to be generous to others, because He was generous with us. Because we have been forgiven, we should forgive. Because God has given to us, as we talked about last week, we should give to others. As we think about giving, this is the basis not only of us giving to others, but also giving back to God. See verse 38? For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. This isn’t the prosperity promise that some preachers claim it to be as they’ll say that if you give _____, then God will give you back so much more money and you’ll be rich. He’s saying this: Do you give graciously and generously to God and to others? If so, you’ll discover that God has been even more gracious and generous to you. When we remember that, we realize that we have so much to be thankful for and we give radically, and faithfully!

Next, Jesus warns us about following the wrong influences—because disciples become like their teachers. (Jr. High illustration where I struggled to find where I fit in and was influenced by bad influences for a season) Blind leaders produce fallen followers. So we want to be around godly influences and people who push us to be more like Jesus, not less. People who demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness—these things… not the fruit of Satan: gossip, slander, bitterness, hatred, and anger. As Paul once said,

1 Corinthians 11:1 CSB

1 Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ.

This should be our goal! Because as we do this, as we imitate Jesus, Jesus changes us and those around us as well. Look at the example Jesus gives in verses 41-42. This is a story that many of us have heard before and it’s humorous! Can you imagine how painful it would be to have a speck of wood stuck in your eye? Jesus says that we’re good at noticing splinters in the eyes of other people, but often we have a log stuck in our own eye - and He calls that what it is: hypocrisy! Our culture has taken this 2 ways, one is right, one is tragically wrong. Some read this and say that they cannot ever say anything to those in sin because to do so would be to “judge,” which verse 37 tells us not to do. But notice verse 42 - there is an order here: First, take the beam out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye. If your definition of “judge” means to never tell someone that what they’re doing is sinful, you have an incorrect definition of judge. This is not a Biblical definition. Look at Galatians 6

Galatians 6:1–2 CSB

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. 2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Restore this person, watch out for yourselves, carry one another’s persons burdens. This means that we need one another to help us carry our burdens. And at times, that means that we need someone to let us know that we’ve stumbled. When I wvas in high school, I had a friend who did this. We sat down one day, and in love he shared some things that I had done recently that concerned him… some of those were things that I was aware of, and some of those were things that I wasn’t. We talked, we cried, and we left that conversation with a better understanding and better appreciation for God’s grace. I needed someone to help me grow in that season, and it took a hard conversation that was soaked in prayer and love. I don’t know about you, but if I have a speck in my eye, I want it out because when something gets in your eye it’s painful! I want it gone, and sometimes we need help from other people to see the problem and help us get through the problem. I’m thankful for the men I have in my life who want me to be as much like Jesus as I can be - people who speak the truth in love. This is a mark of what Christians do. We’re hardest on self. We’re quick to forgive because we’ve been forgiven. We’re generous with mercy because God was generous in giving us mercy. Mercy is not optional, it’s evidence of salvation!

True Christians Bear Good Fruit (43-45)

We move here from relationships with people to the results that show up in our lives. And Jesus paints a picture with trees and fruit. It sounds simple: Healthy Tree = Healthy Fruit. Bad Tree = Bad Fruit. Think about whatever your favorite fruit is - for the Hayworth household, we love a good honey-crisp apple. That apple is the fruit that came from an apple tree. It didn’t come from an orange tree or a banana tree, it came from an apple tree. I had to look this up because I’m not the most knowledgable about apple trees, but it takes most apple trees 4-10 years to get to the point that they can produce good apples. That’s quite a while where you’re waiting to get the fruit from the tree. But the point Jesus is making here is this: Eventually, your fruit will be produced and we can recognize what kind of tree we have.

Matthew 7:20 CSB

20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

This is deeper than just trees and apples, though. Jesus is using this to cut inside our hearts and make a powerful point. We all bear fruit and our fruit is connected to our root. As humans, if we are connected to a good root, we’ll produce good fruit. If we’re connected to a bad root, we’ll produce bad fruit. This doesn’t mean that everything someone does is good - even the best of people still sin, but their life is marked and characterized by good fruit that glorifies Jesus! He’s not saying that Christians are perfect. He isn’t saying that Christians don’t struggle with sin. He isn’t saying that Christians never go through difficult seasons. We all do! But He is saying that as time goes on, you produce fruit and that fruit reveals your root. Genuine Christians over time will produce good fruit. They will grow. They will look more like Jesus. They will abide in His Word. The reason why is found in verse 45

Luke 6:45 CSB

45 A good person produces good out of the good stored up in his heart. An evil person produces evil out of the evil stored up in his heart, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

A true Christian produces good because their heart has been changed! If you don’t see any change on the outside, it’s because there hasn’t been a change on the inside. A fruit of a genuine Christian is that they speak differently. They think differently. They act differently. They produce fruit consistent with Scripture, and this fruit is observable by others. So, as you look at your life, what fruit are you producing?

Trees are known by fruit. (John 15:5) One of the clearest cultural fruits of rebellion against God is the shedding of innocent blood. And church family, we’re living in a day where people don’t just tolerate sin—they celebrate it. We’re even seeing churches redefine what God calls sin as something good and I saw some of you share about a church hosting an event celebrating sin and having pride in that sin. That’s not the fruit of Christ. This Sunday is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday—a day where our convention of churches and many others remember the value and miracle of human life. I’m reminded of the circumstances that I was born under and the reality that I easily could have been torn limb from limb and aborted before I ever had the opportunity to draw a breath. I’m thankful that my parents chose life 29 years ago. It’s estimated that roughly 20% of Gen-Z was aborted. That’s ~15 million kids from the ages of 13-29 in our country. We talk in academic circles that there is a higher education drop off happening as universities have fewer and fewer students going to college. You know why? They never got a chance to breathe! And brothers and sisters, abortion is not the fruit of a good tree. It’s the fruit of a demonic lie—that man is god and life doesn’t matter. And when Christians go quiet and don’t call bad fruit what it is, the world convinces the masses that it’s okay. We must speak for the voices who can’t.

But let me say this carefully: in a room this large, maybe this directly impacts you. Maybe you’ve pursued an abortion, or maybe you know someone who has and you have deep regret. Hear me: Jesus offers forgiveness. Jesus changes us. He changes our root, which then changes our fruit. There is mercy at the cross for every sinner who comes to Him in repentance and faith. The vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives!

Jesus forbids judgment that condemns people, but commands judgment that examines fruit—starting with our own hearts.

And this is why we need discernment today. The Judge of all humankind will render perfect judgment. As Christians, we look to God’s Word as we make doctrinal judgments, moral judgments, and heart judgments. This requires wisdom, humility, and clarity—and that is what we desperately need from Jesus today.

True Christians Obey Jesus (46-49)

Jesus lands the plane here with a pointed question. He has given plenty of commands so far. He has reminded us of the truly blessed people and those who need to check their heart. He has told us to love our enemies, and pray for those who mistreat us. He has told us to not judge or condemn and to forgive and give generously. There is a lot here, and then Jesus gets pointed: Who do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do the things I say? Why do you say the right things and not do what you know to do? Remember who this is said to, friends! This is to the crowd that was following Him. This is the religious people - not the atheists. These are the false disciples. Those who look good on the outside, but who are dying on the inside. The ones who play the church game and know the words and always have their Sunday smile, but who do the right thing for the wrong reason. Here, Jesus warns that person. Jesus warns the person who doesn’t have an obedient heart. He warns the person who is near Him, but not in Him. He warns the person who admires Him but does not obey Him. He warns the person who sings to Jesus but who has not surrendered to Jesus. He warns this person with a story of a house and a storm.

You’ve heard this story. 2 people. Same area. Same storm. Different foundations. Different results. The person whose house stands is the one who builds his house on the rock. When the storm struck the house, it didn’t budge because its foundation is solid! There is a flow here in verse 47.

Flow: Coming. Hearing. Doing.

You’ve done the first 2 today!

You are here - I know!

You are listening - I think!

What are you doing?

Where is your foundation? See, both men go through a storm. Christians go through storms, just like non-Christians. We have people in this room today who right now are enduring storms. Relationally. Physically. Financially. Even spiritually. Just because you’re a Christian, it doesn’t mean that you get to avoid the waves and the wind… but it does mean that you don’t face them alone. We all face storms in this life, but there is a coming storm that is far greater than any storm we face in this life, and that is the storm that we’ll face whenever we stand before a holy God. Imagine Him asking you: Why should I let you in?

Many will say, “Because I did _______!”

It is good even Biblical to forgive others, give generously, come to church, serve in our church, go on mission trips, and memorize Scripture. These are good things! But there is only one answer that satisfies this question, there is only one answer that will save, there is only one Name that qualifies you for heaven - and that name is Jesus. We build our live on the Words of Jesus because we have been bought by the blood of Jesus! See, an answer that says “Let me in because I _______” is the law repackaged as New Testament Gospel. The law condemns us and reminds us that we all fall short. We desperately need grave! We don’t “DO” in order to be saved… we “DO” because we are saved!

Understand Jesus’ math lesson:

Coming + Hearing + Doing = Standing

Coming + Hearing + Disobeying = Falling

Because of what Jesus has done. Because He has changed us. Because He has saved us. Because He knows what is best for us. We obey what His Word says - and in a world full of change, God’s Word is a firm foundation.

Isaiah 40:8 CSB

8 The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.”

God’s Word will stand. It is living and active. It is stronger than a double-edged sword. It is relevant and inspired. It is authoritative and sufficient. We must build our life on it!

A foundation that is not built on Christ is like a house built over a sinkhole… you don’t know when, but eventually disaster will strike and bring destruction! Think of some popular sinkholes - sexual ethics, subjective truth, selectively believing in only parts of the Bible? These are mainstream, and they will always cause problems!

Think about this, if you were down at Table Rock Lake in a boat and you were in the middle of the lake and you noticed a tiny crack in your boat was allowing just a little bit of water to get inside, what would you do? You’re a smart person, you know that if enough water gets inside your boat then you’re helpless! So what do you do? You start by patching the hole in the boat and then you go to work on getting the water outside of the boat as quickly as you can. You know that a crack in a boat is dangerous and you act to fix the problem. For so many of us, we find ourselves out on a boat today and sin is like a tiny crack in the boat that allows water to flow inside. What should we do with this crack? We should seal it! What should we do with sin? Jesus has already told us that we need to get rid of the plank in our eye - we must repent and get rid of that sin! Yet, for so many of us there’s a temptation to let sin fester. To think that it’s not a big deal. To think that it isn’t dangerous. To let the water into the boat. Jesus’ point is that this isn’t just a little important, our eternal destination is at stake here.

For the person who builds your life on the solid rock. The person who trusts in Jesus and banks your eternity on Him, rest in this truth.

John 6:37 CSB

37 Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out.

The wind can roar, the waters can rise, but there is rest in the arms of Jesus because His anchor holds! Your foundation isn’t your flimsy feelings. It’s not in your good works. It’s not checking the boxes society says to check. No, Jesus is the rock. And He will not be moved! So, where is your foundation today? Understand that your foundation = your conclusion. If your foundation is built upon Jesus, you’ll be safe. But if your foundation is anything else, you will be shaken. Blood-bought, born-again believers build their lives on the foundation of God’s Word. We don’t just hear God’s Word, but we DO what God’s Word tells us to do. Today, whose voice are you listening to? Yours? The algorithm? Or your Creator?

Maybe you don’t know - and there’s some tension. This passage is a warning! But it doesn’t have to be worrying. Look to your foundation. Today you can leave this place with deep assurance and comfort. You will face storms, but because of Jesus, you don’t have to face them alone. Maybe you think that you’re built to handle all that life throws your way, brother or sister I love you enough to tell you the truth: You aren’t! There are storms that you will face in this life that will knock you off your feet and catch you by surprise and take you to places you never imagined you’d be. But you weren’t intended to face these storms with your own strength. You were created by God for God. 2000 years ago, the Son of God entered this world and lived the life that we could never live, and died the death that we deserved to die. He knew no sin, but became sin for us! Today, Jesus provides you with a way to stand in the storm… not through your strength, but with His. Today, Jesus provides you with hope whenever everything else fails you, because He promises to never leave nor forsake you. Today, we all need Jesus!

Ask yourself: What Have I Done With Jesus?

Today you’ve heard about Him… but what have you done with Him? Is He your Savior? Is your life built on His Word? Do you display mercy to those God has placed around you, even when it’s hard? Are you producing the fruit of the Spirit? Are your actions lining up with Scripture? These are the fruit that flows when your life is built on the firm foundation. This is what Jesus is after! Not fair-weather fans whose feeling fluctuate… but faithful followers who finish their race.

Wherever you’re at. Whatever you’ve done. Today as Verse 47 invites us - come home to Jesus!