What Does You Will Know Them by Their Fruit Mean
By Bob Wilkin and Zane Hodges
Question: Doesn't Matthew 7:15-20 teach that all believers will inevitably have some good fruit in their lives? Does the evidence of skilful works in a person's life prove they are saved?
Bob Wilkin (BW) : The saying, "You volition know them past their fruits," is found twice in Matt 7:xv-xx, at the kickoff of the paragraph in v 16 and once more at the end in v twenty. Verse 15 and the first office of v 16 reads, "Beware of faux prophets who come to yous in sheep's habiliment, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Y'all will know them by their fruits."
Zane Hodges (ZH) : In budgeted this passage information technology'due south important to observe the two preceding verses (vv 13-14). Jesus says, "Enter by the narrow gate; for broad is the gate and wide is the way that leads to destruction, and in that location are many who go in by information technology. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and in that location are few who find it."
These verses are the first verses of the decision of the Sermon on the Mount. Immediately preceding them is our Lord's summary of the body of the Sermon, "Therefore any you lot want men to practise to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Matt 7:12). In the decision He is saying, "Be careful that you get started in the right place. Be careful that you go through the gate that leads to life and not the gate that leads to destruction." So, in terms of the larger audience, both the full general audience and the disciples, He wants them to be certain that their starting point is the correct i.
This leads immediately into Matt 7:15-20 which deals with the question of imitation prophets. Ane of the bug that people take in finding the correct gate is that in that location are people who atomic number 82 them to the incorrect gate. There are people who profess prophetic ability or profess to exist sent by God only lead people off-target. Wanting His followers to avoid such simulated prophets, Christ explains how they can be identified: They are known by their fruits.
So, start of all we should notice that He's not talking about professing Christians. He's not talking almost the event of whether we're saved or unsaved. He's talking well-nigh how we can spot a imitation prophet. I have often said that if I could lay a bet on earth and collect in sky, I would lay a bet that this passage doesn't refer to works at all and that the fruits are not the works of the imitation prophet. That is nearly obvious on the surface considering the false prophets look like sheep ("Beware of false prophets, who come to you lot in sheep's clothing") but inwardly "they are ravenous wolves." You can't spot false prophets by their behavior.
What would be the real test of a false prophet? It is the bulletin that he brings. A false prophet is uncovered, non past his works, but past his words. That this is the correct estimation of our Lord'south warning is confirmed in Matt 12:33-37. In that passage Jesus once once again uses the imagery of a tree being known by its fruit and says that in the Twenty-four hour period of Judgment people will exist judged past their words. He is saying that fruit is the product of the inner life. The fruits are the words that are produced. This fits entirely with the idea of false prophets.
The only way we tin can determine whether prophets are good or corrupt within is by the message they bring. If they bring a message contrary to what Jesus taught, they are false prophets.
BW: There is another puzzling part of this paragraph. Jesus went on to enquire, "Do men assemble grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?" He then said, "Fifty-fifty and so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot comport bad fruit, nor tin a bad tree bear good fruit." The way a lot of people empathize this reference is that believers are good trees and therefore believers can only deport good fruit. Logically that would hateful sinless perfection, because if a person is a believer then they are a good tree and a good tree can simply produce skillful fruit. If they produce whatever bad fruit, where did it come up from?
Similarly, many call up that Jesus is saying that unbelievers are bad trees. Therefore unbelievers can but produce bad fruit. Just that would mean that not just is the image of God marred in unbelievers, but it must also be totally extinct in them because (according to this view) unbelievers do zippo whatsoever that is good.
ZH: The style you accept expressed this only shows the quicksand into which the simulated interpretation of this passage rapidly slides. If we continue in heed that Christ is talking about false prophets rather than true prophets, we don't have any of the problems you take articulated.
A person who professes to exist a prophet is either a rotten tree or a good tree. He is either a false prophet or a true prophet.
If he is a rotten tree he is a false prophet, and so he is not going to produce a practiced bulletin. There is no fashion he's going to exist able to produce it because the rotten tree does not produce anything but rotten fruit.
But if he is a true prophet of God, then he is going to give the true bulletin. This is i of the tests of prophecy all the fashion through the prophetic history of the Bible. Expert prophets and the false prophets are tested past the message that they bring. The good prophet does not bring a fake message and the false prophet doesn't bring a skilful i.
BW: But this passage isn't saying that good Christian teachers infallibly teach the Bible. This is specifically looking at the prophetic gift, isn't it?
ZH: That's a very of import point. Some people today place prophets with teachers but without any kind of say-so from the Scripture. Wherever we meet real prophecy in the Scripture we read about people who received direct revelation from God. A person who claims to be a prophet is really claiming to get directly revelation from God.
This doesn't refer to Christian teachers because their instruction may be flawed past misinterpretations of Scripture. This passage is talking nigh prophets of old who either brought a message that had been revealed to them by God, and that always was a true message, or they brought a message that God hadn't given to them, and that always was a fake one.
BW: Finally, in v nineteen Jesus says, "Every tree that does not bear skilful fruit is cut downwardly and thrown into the fire." Many people recall this is referring to hell. Is it?
ZH: This ways that God is going to judge the imitation prophet. We often have a knee-jerk reaction to the symbolism of burn in Scripture thinking it always refers to hell. But information technology almost ofttimes refers to judgment. In a general way we would say the fire of God's judgment is waiting for these people. Of course, if a man who claims to be a prophet of God is unsaved, so ultimately he will wind upwardly in the burn down of hell. The following verses, Matt 7:21-23, have something to say about that.
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Bob Wilkin is the Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Guild. Zane Hodges taught NT Greek at Dallas Seminary and went to be with the Lord in 2008. This is an extract from the forthcoming book, Tough Texts .
Source: https://faithalone.org/grace-in-focus-articles/by-their-fruits-you-shall-know-them-matthew-715-20/
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