A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

“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.” Matt. 7:21.

We often hear people say “Lord, Lord,” both in their prayers and in their testimonies, but not all of these people will enter the kingdom of heaven. You can judge their tree by looking at their works. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit.

If you have always thought that the best Christians are the ones who most frequently cry out “Lord, Lord,” from now on start paying attention to people’s works. Look at the motives behind every work, and see whether or not the goal is godliness. Perhaps you will discover that everything revolves around “me” and “mine.” Take a careful look at your own works and purify them from all selfishness. Choose to do the works that lead you into a deeper rest in God. After completing your works, rest from them, just as God rests from His. If your works seem useless and do not turn out the way you had expected, do not be anxious. It has been done in God, and if your works brought you rest in your spirit, you can rely on God to take care of everything else.

As long as the tree itself is good, every motive will be good, and the works that are done will also be good, even if they meet bitter opposition. What do we know about our own spiritual training? How can we know beforehand what type of works God has use for in His masterful plan of salvation? He works with all the small individual pieces and combines them into one complete work. Our task is simply to believe and obey and walk on the way of the Lord. Which prophet or apostle was ever appreciated or honored for his life’s work? They were appointed to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant. Jer. 1:10. No one receives honor for this kind of work. If you were to build first, it is possible that you would receive some honor; but when you start with rooting out and throwing down, you will only reap hatred from other people.

This is God’s work. He does not allow His true witnesses to build on an unstable foundation of sand. They are only allowed to build after they have cleared and prepared the ground. In spite of the fact that these works and fruits come from a good tree, people still think, as they always have, that such a tree is completely rotten. The truth of the matter is that only the rotten trees are uprooted. How could you ever uproot people who have built on the rock and who have anchored their tent pegs into the truth? Has lying gained the upper hand? Is it now capable of defeating the truth? No, thanks be to God! “That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them abideth.”

For a tree to bear good fruit, a person must be vigilant. Once people start looking up to you, it is extremely easy to end up in the arms of those who are highly esteemed according to the flesh. Riches have corrupted many souls. Was not the Savior Himself anointed by God to preach the gospel to the poor? Luke 4:18. Do you think we have been anointed to preach it to the great and mighty of this world? If we tend to position ourselves as close as possible to the rich, our tree will not be good; it will bear evil fruit. Merely associating with great men does not make a person truly great. Those who in their love for Christ have been anointed to proclaim the gospel to the poor are truly great, and they will become even greater by being faithful in their work.

Do not walk on two different paths, because you will certainly fall on one of them. The error of Balaam is widespread among believers. May God liberate us from evil and teach us His ways in truth. There are people whose tree was good at one time, but it has been corrupted by the deceitfulness of riches. Prosperity grows, and with it grows a reputation. People get a taste for vanity, and in their heart, they begin to disdain lowly things because they appear insignificant. At this point, a fall is imminent. Do not rely on what you received from God many years ago. Instead, rely on God today. Many Christians are caught in Satan’s snare and are taken captive by vanity; many have been ensnared by luxurious living. Their life is far from being “completely pure,” despite their efforts to make it seem so. Their tree has been spoiled and can only bear evil fruit. Everyone who exposes and rebukes evil will be hated, because evildoers love their fallen state and cherish their own lusts. The parents of the blind young man were afraid to accept Jesus because of their fear of being cast out of the synagogue. In the same way, many people in our day understand what is true and right, yet they are afraid of what people think about them, and they are afraid of not being welcome in people’s homes. Because of this, they try to walk on two paths in order to get the best of both worlds. Such hypocrisy will never be successful in the long run. As always, whatever is true and right will triumph in the end. God is mighty to raise up witnesses who are even more powerful. In the final analysis, it is the fruit borne from the good tree that tastes the best.