Biblical Theology for Transformation - 22nd Posting

"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. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

-Matthew 12:33-37


Due to the amount of questions I have recently received regarding the life of a Christian and living as if Christ is your Lord, I found it important to address the issue here. These verses, spoken by Jesus, give us great insight into the mind of our Savior and His perspective on the life and fruit of believers and non-believers. Here is the question that really needs to be addressed here; how do you know if someone is a Christian? The answer seems clear from what Jesus is saying in this text. You will know them by their fruit. In Matthew 7:16 & 20, Jesus says, "You will recognize them by their fruits." In Matthew 7, Jesus is referring to false teachers and the ability to recognize if they are true or false is seen in their lives and whether or not they produce fruit or not. But the same principle holds true for others. What if someone claims to be a Christians but does not live as if Christ is their Lord? Jesus says you will know by their fruit. But this is not a black and white area. It is actually quiet gray. As you think of people you know who claim to be believers but are not "walking the walk" but only "talking the talk," you must not be too quick to judge. We must remember that we too, as they, are lost in our sin in so many ways.

So can we judge someone on their fruit just because they manifest their sin in more profound ways? Is the man who claims to be a believer, yet is sleeping with his girlfriend any worse than the man who is secretly lost in porn? We must realize that even the people who claim to be believers, yet living sin outwardly, may be actual believers. But where is the fruit? Some may be producing fruit in ways we may not see. I remember when I was living in outward sin, there was a young man who I saw needed direction. Of course, with my lifestyle I probably wasn't the best choice for him, but God used me anyways. Though I was deep in my own sin, God used me to help lead this young man to the Lord and lead him to a good church and his life was dramatically changed. Though many would have said that I was showing no fruit in my life, God was still producing little pieces of fruit on some branches in my life, while at the same time, pruning other branches.

As we look at what Jesus said in Matthew 12, we must understand the primary statement in his address is in verse 34, "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." When Jesus talks about good treasure bringing forth good and bad treasure bringing forth bad, His reference to "treasure" is the heart. The heart that has the seed of Christ has the treasure of Christ in it. Therefore, when the heart pours out, it pours out the good of Christ. And the heart that does not have Christ can only pour out bad.

It seems a bit harsh that Jesus would judge us based on our words. Think about all the negative, sinful, hateful and spiteful words you have spoken. Will that really be the measure Christ uses when I am judged? The point that Christ is making is logical. He says in verse 33, "for the tree is known by its fruit." Meaning that your actions and WORDS are the fruit. Your words are a manifestation of your heart. So it is not unfair that we should be judged by our words. Because judgment on our words is direct action taken on our hearts. Though we are sinners always and will continue to sin in this life, believers still have the treasure of Christ in their hearts. Though we may say things we regret or say things that are sinful, our manifestation of the heart is still to be the treasure of Christ. We are judged by our words because our words are a gateway to our heart. The one who's words are blasphemy speak from a blasphemous heart, an unbelieving heart. But the one who cherishes Christ, will speak and manifest that love for Christ in many ways. So we are to be encouraged to continue to be careful what we speak because the outpouring of our words is an obvious tell of our hearts. It is also an encouragement to get our hearts right with Christ so that as we manifest our hearts, we are showing Jesus to the world.

But what about those who claim to be believers, yet are living in sin? Treat them as Christ treated sinners...with love and compassion. I think we are so quick to judge those who are living in sin and forget Jesus' words in Matthew 7:3, "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" Of course we should be encouraging and challenging our brothers and sisters to be free from their sin. But are we too quick to point out their sin without ever evaluating our own? The best way to help a brother or sister in their sin is to come alongside them and show them Christ in your actions, words, in prayer and in God's Word. Remember, just because we don't see fruit does not mean there is no fruit. But also put on discernment which will allow you to see the reality of a persons salvation. With discernment, we will be able to truly evaluate, by the Holy Spirit, whether this person has a loving relationship with Christ. With discernment from the Spirit and the Spirit's guidance in recognizing fruit, we should be able to rightly judge those who claim to be Christians though they are not manifesting it.

Paul said to Judge and judge not. Meaning we can judge people's actions and say, "that action was clearly sin according to the Bible." Yet, we do not know the intentions of the heart which is why Paul also said judge not. So we can judge the actions, but not the motives of the heart. This is why it is important to be like Christ....gracious! We too are like those who manifest sin, we may just be better at hiding it. So come alongside those who are lost in their sin and show them how Jesus, in His grace, had brought you out of your sinful ways and into a life that is pleasing to Him. And you may just see God begin to produce and manifest fruit in their lives. You may just start to see them living as though Christ is their Lord.