Whose Character is your Fruit Reflecting? Luke 6:43-45
Gladstone Baptist Church – 15/5/05
In 1999 John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren, had a wedding to attend in Hyannis Point, Massachusetts. Since John had his pilot’s license, they decided to fly there. Now John had 310 hours of flying experience, but not a lot over water at night. I suppose he must have believed he could handle it though and they set out for Hyannis Point. But the plane never made it to it’s destination and unfortunately all were killed.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigation found no evidence of mechanical malfunction in airframe, systems, avionics, or engine, and determined that the probable cause was "the pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation. Factors in the accident were haze, and the dark night."
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, three simple letters resulted in the tragic death of such an influential young man, VFR-Visual Flight Rules. In essence, John Kennedy was flying that evening only by what he saw visually. For all he knew, it was a picture perfect flight. But he made one very fatal mistake; he failed to fly by IFR-Instrument Flight Rules. If he would have used his instruments and relied on them to guide his flight, he probably would have known that he was headed straight down into the ocean.
The instrument panel is what identifies the truth. A pilot can not depend on their feelings, eyesight, or the opinion of others. Those instrument gauges of the only reliable source for determining one’s true position. That is why pilots who only fly by visual contact don’t like flying at night or in bad weather.
Though most of us aren’t pilots and therefore don’t need to know about airplane instruments, most of us here are claiming to be disciples or followers of Jesus. We claim and think our lives are headed in the right direction but are they really? How would we know? What identifies true disciples who are going in the right direction?
Can we depend on our feelings, ideas or the opinions of others to guide us to the right answers and in the right direction? No! Just like a plane has instruments to indicate it’s true position there are also the spiritual indicators or gauges that indicate our true position as true followers or false followers of Jesus.
What indicators identify true disciples? The answer to that question is found in Luke 6:43-45.
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Pray:
Last Sunday morning, we had a look at the whole topic of judging – when we as Christians are to judge others and when we are not. We learnt that instead of judgment and condemnation, our default position should be grace and forgiveness.
When Jesus walked this earth nearly 2000 years ago, He hit heads often with some very judgmental people. The Pharisees were walking around with all their religious rules and standards. When people were not living up to them, they would judge and condemn them.
Jesus faced off against them and others who regularly judged and said “why are you looking for specks in others eyes when you’ve got a log in your own.” The Pharisees were leading the people astray from God’s way of salvation. They were upholding “obedience of the law” as the way to get right with God. Obey our laws and you’ll be acceptable was their war cry. But when Jesus looked at them, all he saw was their judgmental attitudes and their pride. For all their religiosity, they were producing BAD FRUIT.
The illustration that Jesus uses here is a simple one that all of us would be familiar with … Every tree bears it’s own type of fruit. Orange trees bear Oranges. Apple trees bear apples. Fig trees bear figs. Even Rose bushes bear fruit – but their fruit is not edible. It is not a pear, it is not an apple. It is the fruit of a rose bush. You don’t get apples on roses or on thorn bushes or on fig trees. You get apples on apple trees.
Jesus’ point is simple … you want to know what type of TREE it is? Look at it’s fruit because the outward fruit show you what is at it’s heart – a particular type of tree. In a similar way, if you want to know what type of PERSON one is, you look at their fruit because the fruit they bear reflects their heart. What does he mean by fruit? I don’t know about you, but it has been a few years since I gave birth to a good bunch of bananas and even longer since I had a good crop of Oranges hanging off me. The word “Fruit” appears in the bible over 200 times. Many of these instances are in relation to the food group that comes from plants that we eat to keep us healthy and regular – figs, grapes, prunes etc. But another common usage of this word is in relation to the result of an action. Every action has consequences or results which may be good or bad. So it is in this context that we get good or bad fruit. A Bad heart gives birth to bad actions and bad consequences that the bible refers to Bad fruit.
Jer 6:19 - Hear, O earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.
Hos 10:13 - But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception.
In contrast, a good heart gives birth to good actions and good consequences are called Good fruit.
Eph 5:8-10 Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.
Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
You see what Jesus is saying here is that … True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus. Their character is manifested by good fruit – good actions and characteristics. Why? Because their heart has been transformed by Christ.
Therefore, in order to find out whether a person is a true disciple of Jesus, Jesus suggests we need to look at 2 things. 1) Their Character and 2) their Commitment. I am going to focus on our character today and then in 2 weeks time, I’m going to focus on the second element of this – our commitment.
True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus.
When Jesus was looking around Him, he was looking at people who did not display the good elements of his Character. The PHARISEES were deeply religious, but they did not display the character of Jesus. This is why Jesus taught the people that they were love their enemies in vs 27 and to not judge others vs 37. What he was seeing were people who were claiming to be following God, but not acting like it – Their fruit was not matching up to their claims.
Matthew’s record of Jesus teaching throws a bit more light on who Jesus was aiming these words at…
Matt 7:15-23
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Jesus here clearly has in mind people who are false prophets – wolves in sheep’s clothing. Prophets had 2 functions … 1) FORETELLING – telling the future events - prophecying 2) FORTHTELLING – Telling forth God’s standards – preaching or teaching. Jesus has clearly in his sights people who were claiming to speak for God - those who were the teachers, preachers and prophets of the day.
He warns the people – beware of false prophets or false teachers (vs 15). How do we know if someone is a false teacher or a false prophet? By looking at their fruit.
True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus.
A bad tree can’t bear good fruit. God warns through his word again and again that we are to evaluate whether people can be trusted by looking at their actions and their character. This is what we spoke about last week – We are to use the mind of Christ to judge all things – not to condemn them, but to work out whether they can be trusted to be followed.
The Pharisees were false prophets. They were sticklers for the rules, but they lacked the character of Jesus. They were telling people that “In order to be saved, you must obey this rule and this rule. Then there is this law about what you must eat and these laws about what you can do on certain days of the week. There are these laws and these commands. These requirements and those statutes. If you obeyed them all, God would be pleased.” But this was not the teaching of Jesus. Jesus taught that salvation comes from repentance and faith not from keeping rules.
There are 2 quick tests we can use to determine whether a person is a false teacher …
1) Do their ACTIONS (or character) reflect Jesus?
1 John 3:7-10 - Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he [Christ] is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus.
No one who is controlled by God will continue to go on sinning. Instead, God’s conviction will come on that person and they will be brought to repentance. By their fruit you will know them.
2) Is their TEACHING (or commitment) focussed on Jesus?
Deut 13:1-5 … If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God,
True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus.
We are to test the reliability of all teaching against Scripture – against what God has revealed. It doesn’t matter how good a speaker is or how charismatic a personality one might have – it they are not teaching the truth about Jesus, they are a false teacher. This is why it is so important for you to bring your bibles and check the teaching you receive from this pulpit. Don’t trust it just because Roger or I say it – check it out in God’s word.
So that is the 2 tests – look at their actions and the focus of their teaching. If we are talking about miracle workers or prophets who tell the future, you could add a third test to the above two
3) Does what they SAY come true or what they CLAIM to do actually happen? - If not, they are not speaking from God. They may well be a Christian, but they are not speaking from God and should not be listened to.
Jer 14:14-15 - Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine.
False prophets or witnesses don’t speak from God, they speak from the delusions of their own minds. What they say must come true if it is from God. If it doesn’t then what they said was not from God. Too often people say “God told me this” when actually He didn’t. They just thought it would be a good thing for you to know and putting “God told me …” on the front of their advise it gives it so much more weight. People who are doing this sort of thing are false prophets. They don’t speak for God and more often than not, what they predict will not happen.
But can I add a word of caution here, that just because someone has the power to do something miraculous or predict the future, doesn’t mean that they are from God. Satan has the power to do some pretty incredible things also – witchcraft, sorcery are all evidence of this.
In Acts 8:9ff … Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.
Simon wasn’t a Christian, but had power. So don’t be deceived by people who can do some fairly impressive stuff – consider the other couple of tests about their character and their teaching before you place your trust in them.
True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus.
I wonder how Jesus would describe you if He were here today? If he looked at your character what would he say?
Would he recognise good fruit in your life? A Good character overflowing with – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? Would he see Good actions?
If he were to look at your testimony and your witness to others, would He be pleased with the gospel you are proclaiming? Or are you leading people astray by proclaiming some other means for being saved?
Are you claiming to speak or act for God when you haven’t even stopped to ask Him what he wants you to do?
Jesus warns his listeners in Matthew 7:19 that Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Beware, God will not tolerate bad fruit for ever. On the appointed day of judgment, Jesus will judge us all. He will be looking to separate his true disciples from impostors. How will he know???
True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus.
Vs 20 … 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
On that day of judgment, there will be many people who say the right things. They’ll have the religious language down pat. They’ll know all the answers to Bible Trivia. They’ll even have an impressive resume of all the miracles they’ve performed on this earth. But Jesus’ answer to them will be ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’.
Jesus isn’t looking for language, knowledge or what you have done. He is looking for true disciples. People who display good fruit and live lives committed to him. Remember …
True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus.
It is important to note that a person is not saved or made right with God by having good character. We are made right with God only by his grace and mercy as we turn from a life of sin and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Salvation is 100 percent a free gift of forgiveness from God. Godly character is not a means of salvation rather it is only an indicator of true discipleship. Like the instruments on a plane do not make the plane fly but only indicate that is going in the right direction - Godly character does not make us right with God but it does indicate that are hearts had been changed, that we are true disciples, and that we are going in the right direction.
True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus.
Whose character is your fruit reflecting? If Christ is in control of your life then you will be reflecting his character because good trees produce good fruit.
But is your fruit does not reflect the character of Jesus. If you hate your enemies, if you cause fights wherever you go, if you are selfish instead of kind, if you have a bad temper, if you are prone to judging, then you are reflecting someone else other than Jesus. Your fruit reflects your heart and so I urge you to examine whether Christ has full control of your life. In 2 weeks time we will be talking about the second mark of a true disciple – living totally committed to Christ and I urge you to be here for that message.
Whose character is your life’s fruit reflecting?
True disciples have the Character of Jesus and live totally Committed to Jesus.
