A Tree and It's Fruit

Beware of False prophets

What is a false prophet?

Spokesman, herald, or messenger falsely speaking for, or on behalf of, someone else.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Prophet, False. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1780). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

If we connect v. 15 with the preceeding passage it help us get a deeper understanding of the whole chapter.

We are told by Jesus there are two paths; a narrow one that leads to life and a wide one that leads to death.

A false prophet is a a spokesperson, herald or messenger that teaches that the way to eternal life has a board path.

We are told to be on the look out for people that teach this way. We are to be on the look out for false teachers.

But how do we know what a false teacher looks like?

The Tree and The Fruit are inseparably linked to one another.

The good tree will produce good fruit.

The bad tree will produce bad fruit. There is no way around it.

Does every piece of fruit on tree turn out to be good?

For example, take a bunch of grapes, is every grape in a bunch always unspoiled? No sometimes that vine has a bad grape or two.

What does the master of the vineyard do? John 15 tells us. He prunes the branch. They cut the branch back. They take the part that is not producing good fruit so that it can produce even more fruit.

When people come into the faith they will ask sometimes ask, “How do I know that I am in Christ and Christ is in me?” Which is a great question because after all the gate is narrow and the path difficult that leads to eternal life. So how do we know if we are on the narrow path?

We examine ourselves. We look over the tree of our lives and ask, “What kind of fruit am I producing as a whole?”

The person that has just came to Christ needs to be pruned or transformed more aggressively than a person who has already been through the major pruning process.

The person that has served the Lord for a while only needs a little pruning, but the question is the same, “What Kind of fruit am I producing as a whole?”

Either way we need to seek the Lord to trim back that in our lives which hinders us from bearing more good fruit

So how will you know if you are a tree that needs a little pruning or a tree that needs a full overhaul?

You Will Recognize them by their fruits

What kinds of fruit should we be looking for?

I believe we should be look for growth in Galatians 5:22-26

English Standard Version Chapter 5

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Questions of the week?

Is it judgmental to call an apple tree an apple tree if it produces apples?

What kind of fruit are you producing in your life?

Are you asking the Lord to allow you to be more fruitful?