Well, we're continuing on this morning in our journey through Luke's Gospel.
! If you have your Bible with you, you can open it up to Luke chapter 6.
We are in verse 43.
Luke chapter 6, verse 43.
And right now we're in the midst of a sermon that Jesus spoke.
Possibly the Sermon on the Mount, or possibly a slightly different sermon with much of the same content.
And let me just read the few verses that we'll be looking at this morning for us, and then we'll dig into them.
So this is Jesus talking here in verse 43.
He says,
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.
People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briars.
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart.
And an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.
For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Now as we come to this in this passage in Luke, we may wonder,
What's the connection here between this and everything that's come before it?
It kind of seems like a totally different topic.
Just a moment ago in the verses prior to this,
Jesus was talking about the hypocrisy of judging others,
and being hypercritical of others.
But now he's all of a sudden talking about fruit trees as an analogy of what comes out of a person.
And so, what's the connection?
Or is this just a new topic?
This is where it's helpful to look at the parallel passage in Matthew's gospel,
which adds some key context here.
So let's just look for a second at Matthew chapter 7, verse 15.
In Matthew's gospel, we read Jesus saying this,
Watch out for false prophets.
They come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
By their fruit you will recognize them.
Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes,
or figs from thistles?
Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit,
but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
And so, as we look at Matthew's gospel,
it seems that at this point in the sermon,
Jesus is introducing a new subject.
He's giving a warning to his disciples,
and this whole analogy of fruit and fruit trees that we see in Luke
is applied specifically to false prophets.
Watch out for false prophets,
says Jesus.
And then Jesus tells us a couple characteristics
of the false prophets.
The first characteristic,
they come to you in sheep's clothing,
he says.
And so outwardly,
they look like one of us.
Sheep are often used in the Bible
to describe the people of God.
God is the shepherd,
and we who follow him
and fear him are his sheep.
And then later on,
Jesus will call himself
the good shepherd,
and his followers his sheep.
And so when Jesus says
that the false prophet comes
in sheep's clothing,
it means that
they are dressed like us.
It means that they look like us,
which probably means
that on the surface,
they talk like us,
they act like us.
It may at first be difficult
to identify a false prophet.
Well, there's another thing true
about sheep here
that might be in view here,
and it's that sheep are very safe.
See the contrast between the sheep
and the wolf?
Sheep are very safe creatures.
Probably most of us
wouldn't even think about
moving away from a sheep
if it was just kind of
walking right by us
in a field somewhere.
They're not threatening at all.
They're soft,
and they're fluffy.
But the problem here
is that the false prophets,
they're only wearing
the sheep's clothing.
They are not true sheep of Jesus.
how they appear on the outside
is a facade.
It's a deception.
And so this leads us
into the second characteristic
of a false prophet.
Jesus says that
inwardly,
they are ferocious wolves.
In other words,
they're not safe.
They're actually very dangerous.
And I think we have to think
through this analogy carefully
at this point here
because when we hear
ferocious wolf,
our minds go straight
to something that's
very visibly
and obviously violent.
But remember,
outwardly,
they're dressed
in sheep's clothing.
And so the external behavior
of the false prophet
or the false teacher
is probably not blatantly immoral
or violent.
Rather,
the damage they inflict
is not physical.
The damage is done
through the false words
that they speak.
The division that they cause.
The way that they lead people
away from the truth.
These false prophets
or teachers
are not hungry
for flesh
but for attention
and for people
to follow them.
That's how the damage
is done.
Finally,
let's just consider
for a moment
the meaning of the word
prophet.
Contrary to
popular Christian conception,
a prophet is not
mainly one
who predicts the future.
Rather,
a prophet in the Bible
is one who speaks
for God.
One who,
like his mouthpiece,
speaks on his behalf.
And so a false prophet
is one who claims
to speak for God
but God has actually
not sent him
or chosen him
and is not actually
speaking through him.
But,
if a false prophet
can convince people
that he is speaking
on God's behalf,
boy,
can he lead people
astray.
Once a person
accepts that
someone is speaking
on God's behalf,
a person
will believe
almost anything
they say.
Look at how
the massive cult
known as Mormonism
traces back
to a single man
who had a special
revelation from God,
Joseph Smith.
or how far
from the Jewish
faith a Muslim
is and how
many Muslims
there are
tracing back
to the false prophet
Muhammad.
False prophets
are indeed
ravenous wolves
and very dangerous
and the danger
is in the lies
that they speak
which they claim
are truths
from the mouth
of God.
So,
how do we
recognize
these wolves
in sheep's clothing?
Well,
this is what
the analogy
of the good tree
and the bad tree
is applied to.
Jesus says,
by their fruit
you will
recognize them.
let's flip back
to Luke
and hear it
from Luke's words
the words
that Luke
recorded
Jesus saying,
no good tree
bears bad fruit
nor does a bad tree
bear good fruit.
Each tree
is recognized
by its own fruit.
People do not
pick figs
from
thorn bushes
or
grapes
from
briars.
a good man
brings good
things
out of the good
stored up
in his heart
and an evil
man
brings evil
things
out of the evil
stored up
in his heart
for the mouth
speaks
what the heart
is full of.
So,
that first
analogy
given by Jesus
is that of a wolf
in sheep's clothing.
The second
analogy given
has to do
with how
to identify
the wolf
in sheep's clothing
and it's this
analogy
of tree
and fruit.
Think about
a tree
for a moment.
It's difficult
to identify
what kind
of tree
is in front
of you
in the middle
of winter.
If it's a
deciduous tree
it has no leaves
and so you
might look
at that tree
and wonder
if it's even
alive
or if it's
just
dead sticks.
There's nothing
on the branches
but then when
spring rolls
around
all of a sudden
the leaves
begin to form.
They just kind
of pop out
of nowhere
and suddenly
you can tell
what kind
of tree
it is.
Not only that
but in that
one tree
you can see
which branches
are alive
and which ones
are dead
because the dead
ones have no
leaves.
And then
for fruit
trees
there's a
step beyond
that.
For a time
unless you
have a really
keen eye
for identifying
fruit trees
for a time
it just
looks like
a tree
and even
if you can
figure out
what kind
of tree
it is
from its
leaves
and other
characteristics
say that
it's an
apple tree
you don't
know just
from the
outward
appearance
whether it's
the kind
of apple
tree
that produces
delicious
red apples
or sour
little green
apples
you don't
know that
until the
fruit actually
forms
and ripens
and so
fruit in
this analogy
is not the
thing that you
see initially
from the
person
it's what
comes from
the person
over time
it's the
product
of their
life
their
interactions
their words
over time
you will
recognize them
by their
fruit
says Jesus
but fruit
usually
takes a
season
to grow
and to
show itself
now in
this passage
Jesus
actually
contrasts
the kinds
of fruits
that we
might expect
from a
fruit tree
he says
no good
tree
bears
bad
fruit
nor does
a bad
tree
bear
good
fruit
it's
helpful
to know
here that
the word
for bad
that's used
here is not
the usual
Greek word
for bad
it's actually
the word
for rotten
or putrid
or spoiled
and so we
might even
think of
good and
bad as
far as
the tree
is concerned
in terms
of healthy
or diseased
or sickly
really what
Jesus is
saying is
no good
healthy
tree
produces
rotten
sickly
fruit
and no
diseased
or sickly
tree
produces
good
tasty
fruit
a fruit
tree can
only produce
according to
its health
whether
good
or bad
and it
may take
some time
and even
some tasting
to see
whether that
tree
is
diseased
or healthy
Jesus is
saying that
it's the same
with recognizing
false prophets
and false
teachers
initially we
may not see
anything wrong
with them
some of the
things we hear
from them
may sound
fine
but eventually
they will not
be able to
hide
their true
nature
that inward
nature
they will
produce fruit
and things
will come
from their
interactions
and from
their teachings
that are
either good
or rotten
those things
will give
clear evidence
to whether
they're a
true prophet
or a
false prophet
to whether
they're a
faithful teacher
of God's
word
or an
imposter
Jesus even
takes this
analogy
one step
further
first it's
just two
different kinds
of fruit
but the
same kind
of tree
and now
he takes
it on to
two different
types of
plants
even
in verse
44
he says
each tree
is recognized
by its own
fruit
people do not
pick figs
from thorn bushes
or grapes
from briars
now the point
Jesus is making
here is really
the same point
as the
previous
statement
he's saying
that the type
of tree
it is
is proven
with certainty
by what kind
of fruit
comes from
it
but a fig
maybe this
just doesn't
resonate with
us as much
or even
grapes
because it's
just not
something that
we eat
here
and grow
here in
our climate
in Davidson
it's more
common in
the Middle
Eastern
climate
and so
let's just
think of a
cultural
equivalent
for
just so
that the
argument
lands in
our hearts
people do
not pick
apples
from thorn bushes
it's a pretty
extreme
and obvious
contrast
when you hear
it that way
that's what
Jesus means
to say
with this
a thorn bush
simply does
not produce
any good
fruit
for us
to eat
and enjoy
and Jesus
is basically
he says
the same
thing twice
here
for emphasis
people do
not pick
grapes
from briars
briars
just another
word for
thorn bush
all that
comes from
a thorn bush
is prickles
because that's
the type of
tree that it
is
and it can
really only
produce
according to
its nature
well it's
the same
with people
is Jesus
point
what's really
on the
inside
is what
will eventually
come out
Jesus
just goes
on to
spell it
out super
clearly
in verse
45
a good
man
brings
good
things
out of
the good
stored up
in his
heart
and an
evil man
brings evil
things
out of
the evil
stored up
in his
heart
for the
mouth
speaks
what the
heart
is full
of
what's
stored up
on the
inside
is
eventually
what comes
out
now we
may wonder
sometimes
about this
and how
helpful
this is
because
after all
we all
still
sin
sometimes
right
we have
moments of
temptation
and regrettably
we give in
or we have
moments when
we are tested
by others
and get
angry
or impatient
or say
something
that we
shouldn't
but
Jesus
I don't
think
he's not
saying that
a false
prophet
can't ever
do something
right
neither is
he saying
that a true
disciple of
his can
never
sin
here's
what I
think
the
difference
is between
the false
teacher
and the
true follower
of Jesus
first of
all I
think we're
intended to
look at
the majority
of the
fruit
when the
fruit on
the tree
appears
and ripens
the majority
of it
is the
same
is the
majority
of the
fruit
rotten
or is
it good
is it
mainly
selfishness
or is it
mainly love
coming from
that person
is it
mainly
greed
or is it
mainly
graciousness
and generosity
the majority
of the fruit
tells what
kind of
tree it
is
second we
have to
remember that
the whole
point of
this analogy
is that it's
not the
tree that
you see
initially
that tells
you what
it is
but it's
the fruit
which
comes
later
over time
what comes
from the
false
teacher
mainly
self
promotion
greed
division
indifference
to those
who are
in need
compromise
eventually
it becomes
apparent
that they
are as
Jesus
referred to
above
perhaps
a fault
finding
hypocritical
hyper
critical
type of
person
claiming to
speak for
God
in contrast
to that
what about
the true
disciple
of Jesus
well over
time
there should
be the
fruits of
God's
spirit
in them
we should
see mainly
love
and kindness
patience
gentleness
humility
reverence
generosity
as we
mentioned
before
a true
believer
still sins
at times
but then
what happens
after we
sin
unlike the
false teacher
or the
false prophet
there is
repentance
and confession
and restitution
that too
is good
fruit
and it's
always lacking
from the
false teacher
or the
false prophet
because they're
like the
Pharisees
they're like
the man
with the
log
in his
eye
that we
talked about
a couple
weeks ago
unable to
see their
own fault
and sin
and so they
don't ever
admit to it
or own it
it's always
someone else's
fault
it's always
that speck
in somebody
else's
eye
so how do
we apply
these words
of Jesus
well first
I think it
should be
obvious that
the
the first
place to
look is
we should
use these
words to
discern who
is the
false teacher
and who
is the
false prophet
that's the
context that
Jesus gave
these words
in
he said
watch out
for false
prophets
they're
dangerous
I've said
this before
but I'll
say it
again
in our
day in
particular
and in
our context
as a
small town
church
the false
teacher
or the
false
prophet
rarely
walks
through
the door
and requests
to become
a member
of the
church
there's
no need
the false
teacher
the false
prophet
today
has an
easier time
putting on
a facade
and peddling
his teaching
online
on his
YouTube
channel
through X
and Facebook
with that
sort of
distance
it's much
harder to
see the
fruit
of this
person
influencing
who we
actually
really
almost know
nothing about
does he
even belong
to a
local
church
does he
even
attend
regularly
and then
there are
all those
tools
today
in our
online
world
where you
can
cut
segments
out of
the
video
and edit
it
and polish
it up
and make
it look
really good
so that
all people
see is that
put on
version of
yourself
exactly what
you want
them to
see
and yet
I would
argue that
even here
the fruit
can be
seen
is that
influencer
online
hypercritical
of other
good
Christian
pastors
and teachers
and preachers
authors
are they
often taking
their words
out of
context
and picking
at every
little detail
of what
they say
is that
online
influencer
that teacher
helping
Christians
to become
more connected
and involved
with their
local church
or less
are they
causing
division
or are they
bringing
greater unity
in local
churches
even the
online false
teacher
can't hide
his bad
fruit
what's the
effect that
this teacher
online is
having on
others
are their
followers
becoming
more like
Jesus
are they
producing
more
of the
fruit
of the
spirit
are they
becoming
more
patient
more
gentle
more
gracious
more
generous
or are they
becoming more
and more
critical of
others
more anxious
more worried
more frustrated
more impatient
so this is the
first place to
apply these
words of
Jesus
I think
beware
of false
prophets
or false
teachers
they are
dangerous
by their
fruit
you will
recognize
them
the second
place that we
might apply
these words
probably the
next place
that we feel
inclined to
go
is we may
see these
words as
helpful
for judging
whether a
brother or
sister is
walking with
the Lord
is there
mainly good
fruit
coming from
their lives
or mainly
bad fruit
but while
these words
of Jesus
are helpful
in discerning
what's inside
of others
let's not
forget
what Jesus
said
just a
moment ago
look up
the page
a little bit
he said
you hypocrite
first take
the plank
out of
your eye
and then
you will see
clearly to
remove
the speck
from your
brother's
eye
and so
we should
not rush
straight to
judging
one another
by these
words
what kind
of fruit
is in
your life
are you
a good
tree
or a bad
tree
before we
even think
of doing
that we
need to
first apply
these words
of Jesus
to ourselves
so I want
to encourage
us to
prayerfully
ask this
question
Lord what
kind of
fruit is
coming from
me
am I
producing the
good fruit
that you
long for
me to
produce
we notice
in this
passage that
Jesus
specifically
highlights
our speech
he says
for the
mouth
speaks
what the
heart
is full
of
and so
Lord what
kind of
words have
been coming
out of my
mouth today
and this
past week
and lately
what kind
of tone
have my
words had
I'm
encouraging us
to ask
God about
ourselves
I'm not
saying just
do some
self-reflection
because you
know
we always
tend to be
more lenient
with ourselves
than with
others
these words
here today
invite us
to ask
God whether
it's good
fruit coming
from us
or bad
fruit
but then I
want to
challenge us
all to
take it
one step
further
I want to
challenge each
of us not
only to ask
God but
to ask one
other person
in your life
who you're
close to
what kind
of fruit
they see
coming
from your
life
do they
ever wonder
whether you
are a true
follower of
Jesus
and if so
why
and if not
do they see
you as a
healthy and
growing disciple
of Jesus
or do they
see you as a
struggling and
sick disciple
of Jesus
right now
this is going
to take a
little bit of
courage to
ask somebody
this kind
of a question
but what
does the
majority of
the fruit
that they
see coming
from your
life indicate
about what's
inside of
you
maybe the
Lord would
use these
words and
these kinds
of questions
to convict
us and to
help us see
that we've
gotten off
the right
path a little
bit perhaps
that we've
been storing
up evil in
our hearts
in ways that
we've become
blind to or
maybe it's not
that extreme
not that we've
been storing
up evil but
maybe it's
been that we've
been neglecting
to store up
good in our
hearts lately
through our
regular prayer
and relationship
with God
through time
spent reading
his word
spent worshiping
him spent
fellowshipping
with others
only after
we've asked
these questions
of others
what fruit do
you see
coming from
me are we
ready to
discern in
others what
fruit do I
see coming
from you
and of course
at this point
when we get
to that last
question we're
not talking
about false
teachers anymore
we're talking
about looking
at one
another's
lives and
there's two
ways that we
can do this
we can look
at one
another's lives
and we can
try to discern
the fruit for
the purpose of
fault finding
and with a
critical spirit
a judgmental
spirit like the
Pharisees had
and Jesus just
warned us about
that don't do
that he said
or we can
look at one
another's lives
and try to
discern fruit
motivated by
a loving
concern for
the spiritual
well-being of
a brother or
sister when a
person's drifting
away from the
Lord and maybe
getting into
habitual sin or
into addiction
then it begins
to show in
their lives
there's a fruit
that we may
begin to
recognize and
it's an
opportunity for
us to love
them and to
draw near to
them and to
say hey I've
noticed this in
your life
what's going
on
this is the
opposite of
how our Lord
Jesus asked us
to live
have a
conversation about
it and maybe
they even shoot
straight with you
and confess to
you well I've
been drifting away
from the Lord I
haven't been
walking as closely
with him as I
should you now
have an opportunity
to encourage that
brother or sister
and say come
back to him
repent
maybe they even
need some help
with that
can I walk
with you through
this is there a
way that I can
help you out
with this
especially if
they're entangled
in something
that's addictive
or really
challenging
and of course
we must always
do this graciously
and humbly
and gently
we too still
sin and
fumble and
falter
finally as we
draw things to a
close here I
want to remind
us of the
gospel as we
hear those words
of Jesus the
mouth speaks
what the heart
is full of I
don't know about
you but I feel
convicted I
think back to
when's the last
time I yelled
at my kids in
frustration or
when did I
snap at someone
or share a
piece of gossip
that I
shouldn't have
I want to
remind us that
it was for
these sins and
all the sins
that we've
committed that
Jesus died to
forgive us
there is complete
cleansing in
Jesus for
every evil thing
that has come
out of us
every piece of
bad fruit
even for the
evil that's been
stored up inside
of us he died
to wash us and
cleanse us
completely to
forgive us and
take all of our
guilt away
and so that's
good news
not only that but
when it comes to
this good fruit that
Jesus is talking
about we're not
left to ourselves
to try and
produce it
there's a good
news here too
God is at
work in us
who believe in
him if we've
believed in
Jesus and we
have been born
again by his
spirit his
spirit lives in
us and produces
that good fruit
in us
Jesus told us
that we need
to I should
say Jesus told
us that what
we need to do
to produce an
abundance of
fruit is to
abide in him
to remain in
him to stay in
his words to
stay in his
love
now this doesn't
mean that producing
good fruit doesn't
take effort it
does and it
will but our
efforts are
helped supernaturally
by God's spirit
who lives in us
as we seek to
imitate our
father in our
lives and so
this too is good
news by the grace
of God by the
spirit's power we
can store up good
inside of ourselves
and we can expect
to see good fruit
flowing out of our
lives and through
out of our lips
because of our
relationship with
Jesus
Jesus makes all
the difference in
the past for all
the bad fruit that
we've produced and
from now on for
all the good fruit
that he will
produce through
us this is the
good news
let's pray
father in heaven we
thank you that you
have not just left
us to ourselves
to get what we
deserve from you
that your mercy and
grace is so great
that you looked at
us as sickly
diseased unhealthy
sinful trees that
we are and said
I'm going to
cleanse them and
wash them and make
them new and I'm
going to produce all
kinds of good fruit
through them you
didn't have to do
that for us Lord
and so we're
grateful we know
our own frailties
and weaknesses and
sins and you know
them even better than
we do and we thank
you that you will
bring glory even
through through us
in our brokenness in
our weakness in our
struggles help us to
submit ourselves
completely to you
Jesus give us
wisdom to discern
but even deeper
than that make us
full of the good
that you long to see
in us and may it
flow out of us
through us blessing
one another and
blessing our world
and our community we
ask this for your
glory amen
miracle miracle