15“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. 21“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ (Matthew 7:15-23 NLT)
These words from Matthew are not often thought of as one teaching, but they are. Jesus warns all who would follow Him about false teachers and how to recognize such teachers: Verse 20, “20Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” There it is, plain and simple. I know we like to apply it to other people, but I am asking you this day to apply it to yourself. You see, to use an old cliché, it is easy to talk the talk; but can you invest the effort to walk the walk? I hope you can. (I hope I can) because the last part of this teaching clearly indicates that we are judged on what is in our HEARTS not just what comes out of our mouths – and what is in our hearts is made clear to all by the actions in which we choose to invest. Jesus is clear, very clear, that the first action in which we must invest is submitting our lives to HIM. Many will claim to have done good deeds in the name of Jesus but in reality did them according to THEIR will – not HIS. It is not a great thing to get to heaven and brag to Jesus about everything you did in His name only for Him to say, “That’s great, but I never asked you to do any of that; you were too busy, however, to listen to what I really wanted.”
These words from Matthew are not often thought of as one teaching, but they are. Jesus warns all who would follow Him about false teachers and how to recognize such teachers: Verse 20, “20Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” There it is, plain and simple. I know we like to apply it to other people, but I am asking you this day to apply it to yourself. You see, to use an old cliché, it is easy to talk the talk; but can you invest the effort to walk the walk? I hope you can. (I hope I can) because the last part of this teaching clearly indicates that we are judged on what is in our HEARTS not just what comes out of our mouths – and what is in our hearts is made clear to all by the actions in which we choose to invest. Jesus is clear, very clear, that the first action in which we must invest is submitting our lives to HIM. Many will claim to have done good deeds in the name of Jesus but in reality did them according to THEIR will – not HIS. It is not a great thing to get to heaven and brag to Jesus about everything you did in His name only for Him to say, “That’s great, but I never asked you to do any of that; you were too busy, however, to listen to what I really wanted.”
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