THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey
Luke 6:43-45
INTRODUCTION
Please take God’s Word and turn to Luke chapter 6 and verse 43. The title of our message is “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”. No, we are not going to review a Clint Eastwood movie. We are going to see what Jesus had to say about trees and the fruit that they produce and how that applies to us.
On May 6, 2004 CBS News carried a segment by Ira Dreyfuss titled: “Ugly Fruit a Supermarket Smash”. Ugli fruit™ lives up to its name that is deliberately misspelled. It is not spelled U-G-L-Y but U-G-L-I. Some say it looks like a grapefruit crossed with a Shar-Pei. Remember that a “Shar-Pei” is a dog with unusually wrinkled skin. I understand that as the Shar-Pei gets older he loses his wrinkles. Don’t you think it would be good to be like a Shar-Pei in that respect? Actually, Ugli fruit ™ is the trademarked name for a tangelo which is a cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit.1
“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:43-45).
I. THE TELLING EVIDENCE
First, I want us to see the telling evidence of fruit. “Evidence” is something indicative, an outward sign and it is something that furnishes proof. “Telling” means “having force and producing a striking effect.” Therefore, telling evidence is evidence that demands a verdict.
Walking down the driveway several weeks ago, I noticed some things hanging from a nondescript tree. At first glance it appeared to be apples but upon further investigation they were pears. In fact there was another tree that was also loaded with luscious fruit. For almost three years this was the first sign of fruit. These previously unidentified trees were suddenly undeniably pear trees.
Now it is possible that someone could have tied pears to an oak tree. But these pears were the natural fruit of the tree. Jesus says, “every tree is known by its own fruit” (Luke 6:44a).
On another occasion Jesus warns about “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15-20).
Notice that Jesus did not say by their foliage you will know them. The leaves of profession must be accompanied by the fruit of reality. “By their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:20), this is the telling evidence.
Jesus gets to the heart of the matter with the religious leaders of His day as we read in Matthew 15:1-20: “Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ‘Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.’
He answered and said to them, ‘Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God’”— then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘ These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’ Then His disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’ But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.’
Then Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Explain this parable to us.’
So Jesus said, ‘Are you also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.’”
In Jude 12 we read about “. . .late autumn trees with no fruit.” Here Jude refers to false teachers who make a profession but do not produce the fruit.
Evidence must be carefully collected. We must make certain that it is legitimate fruit. As “the works of the flesh” recorded in Galatians chapter 5:19-23, are contrasted with”the fruit of the Spirit”. Paul the apostle writes to those in Galatia: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the
kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:19-23).
II. THE TESTIMONIAL EVALUATION
Next, we need to see the testimonial evaluation of the trees. A “testimonial” is associated with the presentation of evidence.
J.C. Hare explains, “If we do not bring forth good works, we ought to be convinced that we cannot have been created anew in Christ Jesus, that in one way or other the process of our regeneration has been marred. Good works are the mark, the proof, the evidence of Christian life; they are the means through which the members of that community are bound together, and the Christian life is brought to pervade them all.”
Joseph S. Exell shares in The Biblical Illustrator about “A Fair Test: [C.H. Spurgeon tells] ‘When I was in Rome a priest came to one of my meetings and asked me what authority I had to preach. I said, ‘Two horses ran a race on your Corso. One had a grand pedigree, but he was lame in three legs and could not stand on the other. The second horse had no pedigree, but quickly ran over the course. Which should have the prize? Can you show thieves made honest, drunkards sober? Come to my tabernacle and I can show you hundreds. These are my certificates.’ The people cheered vociferously, and the priest, a notorious profligate, beat a retreat.”2
May each of us be able to genuinely sing, “What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart”!
“Even a child is known by his deeds, Whether what he does is pure and right” (Proverbs 20:11). I remember Mrs. Shirley Dumas teaching us this verse in the Primary Department at Memorial Baptist Church in Citronelle, Alabama.
Make sure that you have a valid test. I knew a fellow that read what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:3: “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” He wanted to know if people were saved so he would ask them if Jesus is Lord. If they said, “Yes,” he automatically assumed they were Christians. However, we must remember that our church rolls are filled with people who know how to say the right things but will go to hell when they die. In fact, Jesus says, in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
WARNING: Do not rush to judgment based on false assumptions like the Israelites did in Joshua’s day in making a treaty with the deceptive Gibeonites recorded in Joshua 9:1-27.
Matthew 12:36-37 Jesus says, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
This is the testimonial evaluation!
G. Curtis Jones shares, “In Matthew’s Gospel (12:31-32), Jesus declared that all sins would be forgiven except those ‘against the Spirit’. As a young man, John Bunyan lived in horror and despair because once in a rash moment, he had spoken what he thought was a blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”3
Matthew Henry (October 18, 1662- June 22, 1714), writes in his Exposition of the Old and New Testaments , “Not but that a good man may possibly drop a bad word and a wicked man make use of a good word to serve a bad turn; but, for the most part, the heart is as the words are, vain or serious; it therefore concerns us to get our hearts filled not only with good, but with abundance of it.”
In Romans 10:9-13 we read, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
There is to be a self-evaluation at the Lord’s Supper: “Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come” (1 Corinthians 11:30-34).
Paul also writes, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Jesus said to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).
There will be a supreme evaluation. We read in Hebrews 9:27: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Believers will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ for reward in heaven, and the unbeliever will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment for retribution in hell.
Jesus asks in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not the things I say?”
Dr. Thomas Guthrie (1803-1873) the very popular preacher from Edinburgh, Scotland, writes, “The tree is known not by its leaves, nor we by our
professions; not by its blossoms, nor we by those the promises of which they are lovely images: but by its fruit, and we by those things that fruit represents—our hearts and habits, our true life and character.”4
III. THE TERRIFIC EVENTUALITY
As we consider the passage in Luke 6 we see the terrific eventuality. The word “terrific” has two meanings. For example, it can mean to be “very bad, frightful; exciting or fit to excite fear or awe; or it can mean “extraordinary; unusually fine: magnificent”. From time to time we hear about “terrific weather on the Gulf Coast.”
Our Lord said of the Pharisees, who rested upon an outward appearance of holiness, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted” (Matthew 15:13).
The terrific eventuality for you will either be very good or very bad. It will be weal or woe. The choice is up to you. It will either be wonderful in heaven or it will be horrible in hell.
The good news of salvation that Jesus preached in the synagogue is found in Isaiah 61:1-3:“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
CONCLUSION
In the summer of 1984 I served as a camp counselor at the Coffee Baptist Vineyard, Ariton, Alabama. On the wall inside one of the buildings there was a large sign that read, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
ENDNOTES
1 Available from: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/06/national/main616040.shtml Accessed: 08/20/07
2 The Biblical Illustrator, ed. Joseph S. Exell, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, N.D.), p. 639.
3 G. Curtis Jones, 1,000 Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1986), p. 162.
4 The Biblical Illustrator, ed. Joseph S. Exell, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, N.D.), p. 642.
By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor
First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort 30775 Jay Drive Spanish Fort, Alabama 36527
Author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice http://www.webspawner.com/users/franklinlkirksey
Available on Amazon.com and WORDsearchbible.com
fkirksey@bellsouth.net (251) 626-6210
©August 26,2007 All Rights Reserved
