WHAT JESUS SAYS ABOUT OUR FRUITS

We shall study the last chapter of the Sermon on the Mount in light of fruits and fruitfulness. This issue of fruit is the all-important issue. The kind of fruits we bear determines whether we will receive the fullness of God’s purposes for our lives.

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Where are we looking for fruits?

Matthew 7:1-5
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

In trying to understand the Sermon on the Mount it helps to remember that the sermon was given to God’s people and mostly applies to the local church. The passage “Judge not...” does not mean to not judge at all. Jesus is not calling us to simply turn our backs on situations that need to be corrected. Part of the role of Christian leadership is in fact to judge issues among church members. However, what Jesus is telling the believers not to do is to condemn or criticize others (Caram: 123). Often the very things that a man sees wrong in others are simply the issues that can be found in his own life. God is warning us against the works of the Pharisees who were hard on others for their failures yet they themselves were guilty of the same sin.

Looking for fruits at the right place is crucial in Christian growth. Are our eyes always looking at others if they are bearing fruits or are we looking at ourselves? It can be quite easy to see everything that is wrong in others while neglecting to reflect on our own frailties. However, God is telling us to do the reverse. Let the scrutiny start with one’s self because only when we have a right assessment of ourselves will we also be able to more accurately discern others. In the middle of a disagreement, this practice of seeking the Lord first of where we could have gone wrong also helps develop humility and meekness that can lead to reconciliation. On the contrary, when we do not properly deal with our thoughts regarding others, this will affect the way we read their actions. We may begin to see the actions of another with malice and wrongly interpret their motives which will then fuel our ill feelings towards them. The tendency to judge another wrongly is a result of one’s own failure to consider another person’s situation.

How do we then handle situations where we see a brother doing something that is not right? We are certainly not just to turn our back on it. Instead of just mulling it over, it is better to pray for that person and if needed to raise the matter with those who are over you who can help address the matter. We must seek to have the mind of Christ rather than simply having our own opinion of another. And when we need to judge, may we judge with mercy.

1 Corinthians 10:12
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Galatians 6:1
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

Further, the Lord calls it hypocrisy to be seeking others to be made right yet we ourselves are not. God truly desires that we remove the sliver in the eyes of the brethren, however we can only do so, we can only make clear judgments, if we first allow the Holy Spirit to surface the issues in our own lives. The Lord told Jeremiah to separate the precious from the vile and he shall become as the Lord’s mouth. This means that if we want to speak a clear word from God, we are to first separate the precious from the vile in our own lives (Caram: 128).

How do we receive fruits?

Matthew 7:6-12
Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

For one, Jesus tells us to whom the things of God are not given. He says what is holy ought not be given to dogs, which represent unbelievers; and pearls (revelations) to swines that speak of the unclean. His holiness and revelations are not for all. It requires a relationship with God and a consecrated life. There are qualifications to receive from God.

To whom will God grant the fruits? To those who ask, seek, and knock. We need to have a very active stance in waiting upon God. There has to be an importunity in our prayers. This means to be constantly asking God for what we are praying for, pressing on until we receive the promise. With respect to fruits, whether it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit or fruits of people won for the Lord, they call for us to cry it out to God. When we cry out to God, it demonstrates our desire to bear fruit. And God honors desire. Fruits come from the Lord and we can be encouraged at the thought that He desires to give us good things.

Another aspect to bearing fruits is doing unto others what we want others to do unto us. We will reap what we sow. Thus, if we desire to reap a good harvest we must be sowing goodness as well.

Galatians 6:7-9
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Where do we gain eternal fruits?

Matthew 7:13-14
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

In the times of Jesus, the sheepfolds had very narrow doors. If the sheep were to enter these gates, they had to almost squeeze themselves in. The reason for this is because the shepherd wants to be able to accurately count his sheep and also to ensure that nothing else gets in to the sheepfold apart from the sheep. The way that God is calling us to is a narrow path because He seeks to see who are really His. Yet today we hear messages in the Christian world to the contrary. There is a growing pressure among believers to forsake the narrow path and instead pursue a broad way. The narrow path has been taken to mean being narrow-minded rather than having the mind of Christ. There are those who are espousing that since we have such a loving God, everything is permissible with Him and as long as you prayed the prayer of salvation, you should be alright even if you are not walking in your faith. The broad way is a cross-less way. It is the easy way because everything there is acceptable. However, because the broad way does not call us to deny ourselves and take up our cross, it is also a way where our sinful nature cannot be changed. The narrow path is a path that clearly shows us what pleases God not because it seeks to condemn but because it is intended to set us free from the bondage of sin.

Discern Through Fruits

Matthew 7:15-20
Beware of 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.

It is the call of every believer to bear fruits. God is longing to see fruits in our lives whether they are the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of souls. However, God is not only looking for just any fruit, He is seeking for good ones.

Not all ministers are from the Lord. Just because a person proclaims the Christian message, cites verses here and there, and moves in the supernatural does not make him a true minister of God. There is a wave of deception in the world today and many are flocking to it. Deception may not be easy to spot. How can we be spared from these false ministries? We must practice discernment. For one, Jesus tells us that by looking at the fruits of a man’s life we get to see if he is genuine. The lives of his family and his congregation reveals a minister’s condition.
God will also look for fruits in our lives

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!’

Time will come as well when it will be our turn to show forth our fruits before God. And He is saying that not everybody who thinks they are walking with Him are really walking with God and will be saved. It is those who do the will of the Father who are known by the Lord. In verse 22, the Lord says that many will present God their gifts and works thinking these are what He asked for. However, God is not seeking after our gifts but our obedience. We can have plenty of works but if these are not the ones that God called us to or if they are not pleasing to God, they will count for nothing. What does it mean that God does not know a man? It could mean that that man did not have an intimate walk with God or that the man does not resemble God. What makes us known of God is walking in obedience to Him and not only to His logos word but also to His rhema word. Doing the will of God is not simply not committing things that are outrightly wrong but also allowing Him to lead us in His direction for our lives. What a commendation Daniel received in Daniel 10:11:

And he said to me, “O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.

God did not simply know him. He was said to be greatly loved by God. If we also look at the Church of Philadelphia. The Lord Himself said “I know your works.”

Revelations 3:8
“I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.”

God knew Daniel and the Church of Philadelphia. May we seek to be known of God as well.

Our fruits will be tested

Matthew 7:24-29
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Fruits are going to be tested whether or not they will be able to endure trials. What will make our fruits stand the test? If we hear the Word of God and obey. There will be many trials in this life. We are even told that a time is coming that shakings will come to shake and remove everything that can be shaken.

Hebrews 12:26-27
Whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Yet we know that there is also this promise that the Word of God will endure.

Matthew 5:18
For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Thus, if we want our lives to stand the shakings that will come to the world, our lives must be founded on the Word. Decisions we make in life will be challenged. And when those tests come, what can uphold us to stay on the right course is the Word that God has given us. The Word of God is our Rock. Those who are leaning on His word will be men and women of real stability. Thus, we must make sure that our choices are founded in the Word of God.

In sum, Matthew 7 teaches us that the search for fruits must begin in our own lives. If we want to develop fruits, God will give it to us if we have a relationship with Him and are living consecrated lives. Also, He will grant us fruits if we ask, seek, and knock with persistence. We shall also receive that which we sow. Thus, if we sow good fruits, we will receive it back. Further, we gain fruits, as we walk the narrow path. God works out His nature in us when we choose to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. Finally, we must bear in mind that a time is coming when God will seek for fruits in our lives. He will see whether we have been fruitful and if our fruits withstood the trials. Our fruits will only remain if they are founded on the Word. May the Lord of the Harvest be pleased with us when He comes to seek for His harvest.

Source:
Daniel G. Caram. The Sermon on the Mount-An Introduction to the New Covenant, Zion Christian Publishers, 2002.