The Good, the Bad, and the Fruity.

Oppening:

Goodmorning Connection Church.

It is good to be with you this morning! I am very glad that you have decided to gather with us this Lord’s day to worship God together. Last week I opened the sermon by discussig the importance of gatering together.

I talked specifically about the fact that we do not gather on the Lord’s Day to benefit ourselves, but we gather on the Lord’s Day to worship Him. We worship Him through giving, through learning truths about Him, through singing praise to Him, through the reading and preaching of His Word and more. These acts may benefit us but they are aimed at His worship.

I hope that you keep that in mind. We are not here to glorify ourselves but to worship our great God. He is the focus today. And as Christians our desire is to see all the earth glorifying God. Now, since we have worshipped God through singing and the learning of truths, we are now going to worship Him through the reading of His Word and the preaching of it.

Introduction of the Text:

With this is mind, would you open with me to Matthew 12:33-37. We have been working our way verse by verse through the book of Matthew. In this process I hope you have learned much. I know I have. The author of this book is the apostle Matthew. He wrote this book to a Jewish audience. Specifically Matthew is showing the audience that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophesy regarding the coming savior.

Review of Context:

Specifically in the recent passges Matthew has been showing us Jesus’ conflict with the pharisees. For those of you who don’t know, the pharisees were a sect of the Jewish religious system. They were teachers of the Law. They were known for their religious zeal. The pharisees however had corrupted the Word of God. They had added their own laws and rules into the Word of God. They were terrible teachers and leaders.

Matthew has shown us clearly the annomosity that Jesus and the pharisees had for each other. The pharisees clearly hated Jesus. They were plotting His death. Jesus had no love for them either. Jesus has openly rebuked them. Matthew has clearly identified the venom in Jesus’ words about these false teachers. Jesus has been calling out the false teachings of these teachers. He has made clear that they are not faithful but are hypocrites. In the previous verses to our passage today, Jesus has accused these men of committing the unforgivable sin.

The pharisees knew who Jesus was and they openly rejected Him. In doing this, they had blashphemed not just Christ, but the Holy Spirit. Now in these verses Jesus continues His rebuke of them. With this context in mind, would you stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Text:

Matthew 12:33-37 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. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Word of God, let’s pray.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come before you today humbled by the honor that it is to be able to gather together and worship you. We thank you that we have been allowed to worship you through singing and the learning of truths this morning. Lord, we ask that you would open our hearts to hear your sacred Word. May we not take it for granted, but view it with the propper respect and honor.

Lord, help us to be faithful in the work you have called us to. We know that we are not in this community simply for our own benefit. May we be faitful to share the hope that we have to those in need of that hope within the Lead community. May we not be silent. May we be bold when sharing the gospel here. Let us be a light in this community. May we see people come to faith in Christ through the witness we provide. Let us be a light in this place.

Lord we also ask that you would help us to live holy lives. Let us live lives worthy of the call that you have placed upon our lives. Sanctify us by your word. Guard our hearts in these troubled times.

Lord I ask finally for myself. Help me to lead this, your church, well. Let me teach and live truth. Help me not to speak anything agaisnt your name. Protect my mouth from speaking any lies. Let my fruit be consistent with repentance.

We ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.

Transition:

As we open this text we see that Jesus continues His rebuke of the pharisees by refferencing two trees.

Two Trees.

Explanation:

Jesus makes the command or the statement ““Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad.” This is a bizzare command. What does a tree have to do with anything Jesus has said unto this point? Nothing, and yet everything. Jesus is clearly using this as an illustration. He is refferencing two trees. He is using a clear example to make a statement about the nature of the pharisees. He says that a tree is known by its fruit. This is an obvious statement. When a tree is bearing fruit, you do not have to wonder what kind of tree it is.

When harvest comes and the apple trees are laden with crisp apples, you don’t wonder what kind of tree they are. It is clear by the apples that are weighing down the branches. You don’t see the apples and then wonder if it is a pear tree that has accidenally born apples. No, an apple tree can only bear apples.

However, Jesus is not just speaking about what kind of fruit a tree bears. He is also here addressing the fact that you can tell if a tree is healthy based off of the fruit it bears. For example, a living, healthy tree will bear good fruit. A rotten tree will bear rotten fruit. This is a clear illustration, and is one that is common in scripture. A good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit.

Argumentation:

The clear indication is that Jesus is calling the pharisees bad trees. In the following verses He leaves no doubt. The pharisees are rotten, dead trees. Because of this they can only bear bad fruit.

This idea of fruit is common within Scripture. John the baptist told the Pharisees to “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” Matt 3:8. Also in Matt 7:15-20 we see Jesus’ previous use of this image when talking about false prophets. Jesus says “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. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 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.”

This is not uncommon language. And here Jesus is using this language to address the sin and hard heartedness of the pharisees.

Transition:

As we move on, we see Jesus continues to rebuke the pharisees.

Jesus Continues to Rebuke the Pharisees.

Explanation:

Jesus next uses the language so common to reffering to the Pharisees. He says in verse 34, “34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil?” Make no mistake, Jesus is using harsh language to describe these men.

So often we see Jesus and make the assumption that He is always meek and mild. That He is constantly speaking in soft gentle tones. But this is not true. One can almost hear the way Jesus must have spit these words. “You snakes! You can do nothing good, for you are evil!” This is the essence of His rebuke. Gone is the gentle touch that Jesus so often has when dealing with the lowly and broken. Here is the anger stored up for those who are blaspheming God. Here is the wrath for hurting and harming the ones He loves. Gone is the laughter we so often hear behind the voice of our savior. Now the rebuke has come.

Argumentation:

I cannot but wonder if the pharisees really understood the nature of what was happening? It is a terrifying thing to be under the wrath of God. To hear these words of Christ and not be moved to weep is unimaginable to me. I cannot help but cringe at hearing them and be moved to worship at knowing that they are not directed towards me.

But can we be sure that they are not directed at us? Are these the words that Jesus will say to you? Will you hear these words from the mouth of Christ? We are so quick to hear the soft spoken words of Jesus. We think that He wispers gentle love to all people’s ears, but this is not true. We see the evidence in this passage of the anger of our savior. Jesus speaks words of rejection and anger to some.

Too often we twist Jesus into the image that we want Him to be in. In doing so, we are not worshipping Him, but an idol. We are here to worship the real Jesus. Too often we say, “I like that Jesus” when we see the sweet Jesus who invites the little children to come to Him. But when we see the anger in His gaze, we say to ourselves, “that is not my Jesus.” When we do this I fear we are right. He is not our Jesus.

Too often we forget that Jesus is a real person. He is a real man who is alive. He is our King and we have no right to pick and choose what we accept and reject about Him. Jesus is the one who invites the children to come to him with tones so sweet it brings tears to our eyes. Jesus is the one who damns the pharisees to be lost unto eternity with sparks of anger in His eyes.

This is Jesus. Not a made up religious idea, but a real person. He is infinitly beautiful, infinitly wonderful, and infinitly frightening. He is our King, who is now ruling over all things.

But to whom does Jesus direct the gentle response and to whom does He direct the angry curse? Let us continue on and we will see why the anger of Christ was kindled against the pharisees.

Transition:

As we move on, we see Jesus say that a person speaks out of the abundance of their heart.

A Person Speaks out of the Abundance of Their Heart.

Explanation:

This makes sense with the example Jesus has given. Rotten trees produce rotten fruit. Good trees produce good fruit. Following the logic of Christ we see the clear sense of what He is saying. From the center of the tree, the health of the fruit is determined. So, “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.” says verse 34-35.

Jesus is flushing out His example and rebuke of the pharisees. He says that the outpouring of a person is consistent with what is in their heart. A bad person will pour out bad, and a good person will pour out good. This makes sense, does it not? A person acts upon what is in their heart.

Jesus, in addressing the pharisees, is apealing to logic to justify His statement that they only do evil. They are evil in their hearts. They are rotten inside, so therefore their actions are rotten. He apeals to the obvious idea that good people do good because they are good, and bad people do bad because they are bad.

Argumentation:

But there is a question that is raised here. If a person can only act upon the state of their heart, then who can hope to do anything good?

This question must be answered in two ways. We understand that the teaching of scripture is that we are all corrupt. No one is good. Just listen to Psalm 14:1-3

“1  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

there is none who does good.

2  The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God.

3  They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.”

And Psalm 53:1-3

“1  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;

there is none who does good.

2  God looks down from heaven

on the children of man

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God.

3  They have all fallen away;

together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.”

In light of this, we must first understand that ultimately, we are all bad trees. No one is good. In this light there are no truly good trees. This is why our world is in the state that it is in. Mankind is inherently sinful. This is the sad reality we live in. We know that no one is good. Everyone is producing fruit out of their sinfulness.

However, the second way we must understand this is that sometimes the Bible compares us to other people. It uses language that is comparison within humanity. Jesus is specifically looking at the pharisees and declaring them to be bad trees when even compared to other people.

The pharisees were all around bad people. There are people who are more clearly under the restraint of God. They are less evil than others. They are still sinners, but their sin is more restrained by the grace of God. In comparison, the pharisees were wretched. Jesus is specifically addressing the evil nature of the pharisees. They had completely blasphemed God. This is Jesus’ main point.

This is why Jesus tells the pharisees that they are unable to speak good. Their hearts are so corrupted that they are unable to speak anything good. That is some serious corruption. This is a big deal.

Transition:

Then Jesus transitions into a warning that should bring not just the pharisees to fear, but should bring us all to fear. Jesus says that people will give account for every careless word they speak.

People will give Account for every Careless Word They Speak.

Explanation:

This is truly a frightening statement. Listen again to verse 36. “36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak...”

Even though Jesus is specifically rebuking the pharisees, we should all feel the twinge of panic upon our hearts at this statement. People will give an account for every single careless word they speak. But what does that word careless mean? How does one define that word careless?

Honestly it could mean two diffent things, and both are frightening. First it could mean careless, without care, reckless, without intent. This means that everytime you speak something without thought or care, you will be held accountable on the day of judgement. Who amoung us wants to be judged for every word you speak without thinking? Everytime you speak rashly to your spouse or your children. No husband wants to be held accountable for what he says without thinking. No wife wants to be held accountable for every word she says to her husband without thinking. This is a frightening thought. Jesus Himself says this. These are hard words.

The second meaning could be “empty.” In fact some translations render this as “every empty word.” To me, this is equally terrifying. What is an empty word you may wonder? An empty word is a word without meaning. A promise unkept. An oath left unfulfilled. Think of everytime you have said you would do something and then don’t do it. Those are empty words. Think of when a wedding vow is broken. That is proof that those promises are emty. This is frightening to me because many people ask me to be praying for them. If I say I will and then don’t, my words are empty and I will be judged for those words. And how often do we all do that. “Yes I will pray for you.” Then we do not.

Argumentation:

This statement of Christ is a weighty statement. If we arent careful we can see this as only applying to the pharisees and think ourselves to be safe from this condemnation. However, we are not safe. “All people”, Jesus says. This does not exempt us. You and I are part of the “all” in “all people.”

We must take this warning to heart from Jesus. We must not see this as an empty threat or statement. Jesus makes no empty statements. We however make them all the time and according to Jesus, we will be held accountable for them. But here is the next question. If I am to be judged according to my words, what hope have I?

Transition:

Well, let’s look at that, shall we. Jesus says that we are justified or condemned by our words.

Justified or Condemned by your Words.

Explanation:

Listed to verse 37, “37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” This is not a very hopeful statement, is it? This is not what we want to hear. We want to hear Jesus say, “I am very gracious to those of unjust words.” But that’s not what He says.

And in some ways, we enjoy that Jesus is so condemning. We enjoy it when it is laid against someone we don’t like. We can feel a sense of satisfaction when we think of the pharisees being condemned by their words. Our hearts swell up within us and we say, “yes, they deserve it. They are worthy of their condemnation.” And in a sense, we are right. God’s justice is a beautiful thing. When God acts justly, He is worthy of worship. He is equally worthy of worship when He acts justly as when He shows mercy.

But if we are not careful, we can forget that we are in the crosshairs of God’s justice. Who amoung us, if we were to be judged by our words would stand?

Illustration:

I want you to picture this with me. Judgement day has come. You are standing in the courtroom of heaven. You hear the testimonies of others being presented. You see some that you know in line ahead of you. Your memories flash back. You think of the times they let you down. You wonder what their judgement will be.

You look ahead and see a fellow church member. Someone in this room. They always seemed to you to be rather hypocritical. They were quick to make promises, and slow to keep them. Often, when they shared their oppinions, you judged them to be vain and empty. As you are standing in line in the courtroom of heaven, you feel a sick sense of pride begin to swell in your chest. “Thank God I’m not like them. They are in for it.” you think to yourself. As the lines move, hours and hours pass.

One by one you hear judgement passed. “Guilty!” you hear ring over the heavens. The gavel smash is enough to shake the whole earth. You slowly move forward. As you approach the front of the lines, the person you were judging is called to the front. This is it. You’ve been waiting for this moment. You hear every sin and failure brought to light. You are sickly disgusted. Every word this person has ever spoken is brought before the thrice holy Judge. Every promise that was broken, every empty word. With every word spoken it is like a stormcloud building. You wait for the thunderclap of the guilty verdict.

But something changes. As the crimes are presented, you begin to look around. You were only three places behind this person. Your turn will soon come. You bury the thought deep inside you. No need to be thinking about that; you are too preocupied with the person being judged.

Finally the end has come. The time for a verdict to be passed. Surely it will be guilty. There is not a shred of doubt in your mind. You wait sickly for the slam of the gavel. The Judge of all the universe looks to His right. Seated there is a blood soaked lamb. The gavel slams to the table with the fource of a thousand bombs and the cry goes out over eternity. “INOCENT. PAID IN FULL! CHOSEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATIONS!”

“Innocent?!” How could anyone who had done such things be declared innocent? Your heart wrenches within you. You want to scream in fear. What went wrong? You heard their crimes as clearly as anyone! Slowly it begins to dawn on you that you are only two spaces from being judged. Panic builds. You look around and there they are. There are faces surrounding you that you recognize. “No!” you begin to scream in your mind. “NO!” You remember how you wronged each one of them. You remeber the worst things imaginable. You remeber the broken promises. You hear them in your mind. The very words you had meant to be well intentioned are echoing in your head.

“How could they have been declared innocent? I must know!” But it is too late. It is judgement day. The bell is rung and cannot be unrung. The dice are cast. The words are said. It is over. It is time. You step forward. It is time for you to hear of all you did. What will the verdict be?

Argumentation:

The reality is that we will all face judgement. And if we are judged by our words, the verdict will be guilty. When the gavel falls on judgement day, if we are held to the standard of our words, we will have no hope. When you give account for your words, where will your hope be? Will it be in the hope that maybe you did just enough to outweigh your bad? That is no hope. We are not judged on a fifty fifty scale. The scale is labeled “perfect” and that is the standard we will be held to.

Just as with a human court, you are not judged innocent by the crimes you did not commit. You are judged by the crimes you did commit. One does not stand before a judge and plead innocent because of the people you did not murder. You don’t say, “Your honor, I murdered one person, but think of the people that I haven’t murdered! I passed by hundreds, maybe even thousands of people and did not murder them. Surely the ones I did not kill outweigh the one I killed!” That is a fool’s plea. You are judged by the crimes you have committed.

Jesus says that we will be judged and held accountable for every word we speak. So on that day, what hope will you have? You will hear the gavel fall. You will hear the verdict declared over you. Yes the pharisees are damned. Are you? Where is your hope?

Transition:

The only hope you will have is in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Trust in Him! Repent of your sins and trust in Christ!

Application.

Repent and Trust is Christ.

This is the only hope that you have. The only way you will hear those words called over your soul, “Innocent! Paid in full!” is if you repent and trust in Christ.

The reality is that Jesus came and lived a perfect life. He died in the place of those who will place their faith in Him. Are you one of these? When the Lord declares His judgement over you, will He look to the blood stained lamb and proclaim “Innocent?” You may think that you cannot know. This is incorrect. You can know. If you will turn away from your sin and turn to Christ, you will be forgiven and will be given Christ’s righteousness.

This is the process known as imputation. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to you and your sin is imputed to Christ. What this means is that if you place your faith in Christ alone for your salvation, then all your sin is placed upon Christ on the cross. God sees Him as having your sin and He sees you as having His righeousness. You are instantly declared righteous in God’s sight. You recieve the Holy Spirit who washes you clean and who begins to make you holy throughout your life. But this is the only way to be saved.

Without the attoning work of Jesus, you will hear that gavel ring out and you will be still in your sin. You will be held culpable for every sin you ever committed. And what could possibly be a punishment fit for someone who has committed so many sins against a holy God? It is known as hell. Eternal fire and punishment.

There is only one way. Repent and Believe. Turn to Christ today.

Transtion:

But for those of you who are in Christ, what should your response be? How should you hear those words? Perhaps you hear those words and you think to yourself, why should I care? My sins are covered. It doesn’t matter to me. This is the wrong attitude. If you are a Christian, does your fruit show it? Examine the fruit of your tree.

Examine the Fruit of Your Tree.

If you have been made new, then you are a good tree. This is the only way to be a good tree. Christ must make you a good tree. And if you are saved, you should see fruit. What fruit are you bearing? If your fruit is rotten and spoiled, then I question what type of tree you are.

You may say, “But I am saved by faith alone in Christ alone!” To that I would quote Martin Luther and the other reformers. “You are saved by faith alone, but you are not saved by a faith that is alone.” The reality is that we are saved by faith alone. However, that saving faith changes you. You begin to bear fruit keeping with repentance. You begin to mortify your sin. This means that you murder your sins. The fruit of your life begins to gain health and life. You begin to show the fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of the flesh dies.

Those of you here who claim to be Christians need to seriously examine your lives and check the fruit. What is the fruit of your life? Ask your spouse. Ask your friends. Ask them, “do I show fruit in my life that says I am a Christian?” If the answer is no, then you must re-evaluate your salvation. Do not just assume you are saved. Remember, the pharisees thought they were safe. They were dead wrong.

As we go from here, I am going close in prayer. But through today, I challenge you to ask the question, is there any outward evidence that I am saved? Tonight, when you return for the Psalm sing, if there is no evidence, talk to me. Let’s sit down and talk about how you can know if you are saved.

Closing Prayer:

Now let’s close in prayer and then we will sing out the Doxology.

Closing Hymn:

Closing Benediction:

Hebrews 13:20-21 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.