"By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them" (Mat. 7:13-20)

by K.O. Dorricott, Toronto, Canada | Category: The Sermon On The Mount | Nov 1984

It has always been difficult to distinguish truth from error - or from the appearance of truth. It was difficult in the Lord's time when the uneducated common people had to rely on the teaching and interpretations of those in authority - the Pharisees and the chief priests. It was difficult in Old Testament times before that - with prophets prophesying messages which sometimes contradicted each other. And it certainly is difficult today with Christendom consisting of thousands of churches and denominations - with their own private doctrines and interpretations of scripture, and each convinced of their validity.

And so it is necessary in this world today to search for the truth. The present diversity is not of God; freedom to worship in a way which seems best to the individual is not God's way. God is looking for unity, not just a unity based on compromise, but a unity of those who adhere entirely to the truth that He has revealed. But how to recognize this today? The truth of God does not stand out as a beacon, apart and obvious, in this world so full of voices and beliefs. It will not be recognized by its popularity, for the seeker after God's truth will find himself as has always been the case, in the minority. "Few be they that find it," said the Lord Jesus of the narrow gate that leads to life (Matthew 7:14). And He instructed His hearers to strive to enter it (Luke 13:24), for the way is constricting; it requires submission to the will of God.

In Old Testament times, God provided His people Israel with the means of distinguishing a true prophet from a false prophet. In Deuteronomy 18:22 they were told that the test of a prophet who claimed to speak in the name of the Lord was whether what he had prophesied actually came to pass. Otherwise he had spoken "presumptuously." But a situation was also envisaged where a prophet might give a sign or wonder to draw away the people after other gods (Deut. 13:1-5). That prophet was clearly false because what he said was contrary to the plain commandment of the Lord. He must be put to death.

At the beginning of New Testament times, God provided evidence to substantiate those who were claiming to proclaim a new divine truth. They were given miraculous powers that others might believe (Hebrews 2:4). It was the test of the truth for that time. Jesus Himself said in John 5:36: "the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me."

And so it was in Matthew chapter 7. To a multitude unable to discern for themselves false prophets and false teachers, He set out the cardinal rule: "by

their fruits ye shall know them." Just as He took His illustration from nature, so the test of the truth was as foolproof and inevitable as the law of nature itself. Nature always reproduces after its own kind. Ten times that principle is repeated in the record of the creation in Genesis chapter 1. For example, it is impossible for an apple tree naturally to produce anything except apples. It is impossible for an animal such as a sheep to give birth naturally to any kind of an animal except a sheep. And, as the Lord pointed out in this chapter, it is impossible for a good tree to give corrupt fruit, and vice versa. The test is the result that is produced everything "after its kind." In winter time, with only bare branches, trees may look alike. How can you tell one from the other? Not always from their branches, or necessarily even, with the coming of spring, by their leaves or their blossoms. Eventually the fruit itself will appear, and there will be no mistaking. The fruit is the real test.

Similarly, how can you distinguish one person from another - whether he has the truth of God? Not by his appearance, or even by his words - all that can be deceiving. The true evidence of the character and faith of the man is what he does: is it in accord with Scripture?

James recognizes this in his epistle. In chapter 2, verse 20 he says that "faith apart from works is barren." From verse 14 to 26 he explains clearly, not that works are a substitute for faith, but that they are the evidence of that faith. This evidence serves an important purpose. It is quite possible to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ today secretly. But we are instructed to let others know, not to hide our light under a bushel. And how will they know? By our fruit - our works. When the Sanhedrin saw the boldness of the apostles Peter and John, they marvelled, and acknowledged that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). John the Baptist demanded that those who were coming out to him to be baptized should "bring forth fruits ... worthy of repentance" (Luke 3:8). Even God Himself said (in Malachi 3:10), "prove me now herewith ... if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing." In these cases and others, it was important that there be the evidence.

Let us make sure at this juncture that what we are saying is not misunderstood. Works are not a substitute for faith; they do not give salvation. The scripture is very clear on this: "by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, that no man should glory" (Eph. 2:8, 9).

But, notice Paul's next verse: "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works..." Again, works are not the cause, but the product, the evidence of what has taken place. Just as the apples do not make an apple tree, but merely show that it is an apple tree, so our works do not make us believers, but just reveal what we do believe.

Our good works are important to God. Not for salvation, but for proof of our faith and for service. We have been created in Christ Jesus that we might do them! It is significant to note that what God judges in every dispensation of men is their works. It is true of believers in Christ today; at the Judgement-seat of Christ, it is the believer's works that will be evaluated - for reward or loss (2 Corinthians 5:10). His eternal salvation is already secure. So also it is in the future judgement of the nations in Matthew 25; it is their works on which they will be judged - as the proof of their faith. Similarly, at the great white throne judgement at the end-time (Revelation 20:12), the dead will be judged "out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works."

What then are the works, the fruit, that faith should produce - the fruit which is the evidence to others of the truth of God within us. Certainly not success in winning converts, or the popularity of our cause. Firstly, it is that we shall be doing the will of God, as Jesus went on to say in Matthew 7:21. And then, as He told His disciples, this is how the world would know them:

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:35).

Surely this is the greatest work of all, the truest evidence of the genuine work of God in a human heart, the unselfishness of love. This is the fruit of human character changed by God Himself. It can't be manufactured; it can't be imitated, because the fruit is the product of what's inside.

1 John 3:9, 10 (NIV) says:

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. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are.

We see then that the test of the tree is its fruit; the test of the person is his works. How often has it been said, in one form or another, "what you are speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you're saying." Or "what you do tells me what you really believe." It's a serious thing to realize that the test of the validity to others of what we say and what we preach is our works, our actions. How much effort is expended in personally testifying to the gospel of the Lord Jesus and in teaching His disciples, and yet our influence in this is only as great as the extent to which our own lives are consistent with it. Our hearers are examining the fruit.

Each of us who professes to have the truth of God in his heart must first apply this test to himself. "Try your own selves," the apostle Paul told the Corinthian saints, "whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?" (2 Corinthians 13:5).

If we in the churches of God, in the Fellowship of the Son of God, have been uniquely privileged with divine insight into God's truth, how are others to be able to see that? By the fruit. By the genuine love, and the consistency of our actions. Do we live Christ as well as preach Christ? Do we show the truth as well as teach the truth? That's how others will tell and how we'll be effective in reaching them. And if not, can we expect the truth to remain with us? For, as Jesus said, "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." (Matthew 7:19) May the world be able to see clearly and distinguish in us the truth of God, and know us by our fruits.

K.O. Dorricott, Toronto, Canada | Nov 1984
The Sermon On The Mount