Luke 6:43-45
"For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh," Luke 6:43-45.
In the teachings of Christ there are no grey areas. These verses are plain, and they are revealing. People try to muddy up the water to justify their own actions or to support a false profession of faith, but what Christ says here is very clear. These false teachers have been producing false converts. The disciple is just like his master (verse 40). Many people in the crowd that Jesus Christ is speaking to have been taught a lie, they believe it, and their life is proof that they believe it. They have been taught that the pharisees are the spiritual examples to strive for. When comparing themselves with themselves, they come to the conclusion that they are ok because they are no worse than anyone else. Their life produces the same fruit as most everyone else they know. Surely so and so is right with God, so I must be also. Only a fool compares himself with others. We must examine ourselves by the Scriptures if we want to see the real us. One of the reasons we do not do this is because we do not like what we find out about ourselves. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil," John 3:19. Those who do not want to be examined by the Scriptures yell, "don't judge"! Or they say, "he that is without sin cast the first stone." Though they try to cover their sin by taking Scripture out of context, what they cannot deny is the lifestyle they live. We are known by our consistent lifestyle.
"For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit," Luke 6:43. This is a very simple illustration Jesus gives us. The tree represents the person; the fruit represents the person's consistent life. "Good" means good as to quality and character. We will look more at this person's character in verse 45. "Bringeth not forth" means to cause to exist, as spoken of generative power, to beget, to bring forth, to bear. A good tree does not produce corrupt fruit. "Corrupt" in this verse means rotten, worthless; (literal or moral). Jesus Christ makes this very clear. The end of verse 43 is just as clear, "neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." "Bringeth forth" is in the present tense which means continuous and repeated action that produces continuous results. A tree cannot deny the fruit it produces. It is the kind of tree based on the fruit it produces. We used to have a lot of tung oil trees in our area. I have never seen any type of animal feeding on the fruit from the tung oil trees. The reason is because the fruit is poisonous. It has a wide leaf and kind of reminds you of a huge fig tree, but if you ate its fruit you could die. Even the animals knew it by its fruit.
"For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes," Luke 6:44. Every person is known by his own fruit. You cannot claim someone else's fruit. There are no "fruits of merit" stored up for you to borrow from. You are known by your own fruit, and you are held accountable by your own fruit. Many claim to be a Christian, but their lifestyle says otherwise. Turn to Galatians 5:19-21, and then I Corinthians 6:9-11. Once the Lord saves you He makes you a new creation in Him and you immediately begin to produce good fruit. Yes, we are a work in progress and will be until the day we die, but all whom the Lord saves produces fruits of a Christian. According to Scripture, this is undeniable. "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you," John 15:16. Christ has ordained them into the ministry. In this ministry they will produce fruit. All of them produced fruit. Judas Iscariot was not present when Christ was teaching His disciples these things, but he still produced fruit which proclaimed what he really was, lost. Turn to Mark 4:13-20 and Mark 5:15-20.
Though we know a tree is known by its fruit, we must be patient and Scriptural when we are judging a tree (verse 38). What Christ is teaching should shock us and cause us to examine the fruit we are producing. There will be times when we are out of character. There will be times when we do not act or respond as a Christian ought to. But what fruit are we consistently producing? Paul said this in Philippians 4:12-14, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which I also am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Paul had not attained that which he sought for, but his life was consistent of one whom Christ had saved. His life would have ups and downs, but there was no denying that he was a Christian. Kind David is a great example. We know about the sin with Bathsheba and her husband Uriah the Hittite, but what about the rest of his life? One of the fruits that David is known for is repentance. Before one can repent he must first recognize his need for repentance.
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh," Luke 6:45. The heart in this verse is the seat of the desires, feelings, affections, passions, impulses, i.e. the heart or mind. In it is where we deposit that which is good or evil. That which fills our hearts is that which will flow out of our mouths. We are known by our actions and the words that we produce. "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name," Hebrews 13:15.
The religious leaders had taught the people wrong doctrine. Jesus is exposing this false teaching, and is also exposing false converts. If they would take heed and call upon Christ for salvation, He would save them, but they must first examine themselves by Scripture. What do the Scriptures say about you? What kind of fruit do you consistently produce? "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," John 6:37.
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