I have never gone out and looked for oranges on a cactus. Cactus won’t produce oranges. Only an orange tree will give oranges. Just so there is a difference between the one who is filled with the life of Jesus, and those that do not have the gospel.
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
Good tree, good Fruit. Bad tree bad fruit. Common sense.
Just so The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
A good person producing good from the treasure that is stored in his heart. What is the treasure? The gospel! Are you rooted in Christ? Are you drinking from the life everlasting. Are you forgiven. Washed. Cleansed and sanctified. Have you received grace upon grace. Are you a child of God? Then out of that treasure in your heart, good fruit will come.
An evil person also has evil treasures. This is the sickness that is in him. The flesh. His desires, the desire to be first, to be noticed. His lusts, and passions. The desire to be like the world. And from those desires fruit comes forth. In this case a spirit of criticism, and judgment.
Indeed, it is only when you place yourself in the light of the grace and mercy of God that you will even begin to show mercy and grace to others from the heart. Have you done that lately? Considered the Love of God for you? The mercy of God for you? The forgiveness of God for you?
Good tree or Bad Tree?
- Bad tree leads to bad fruit just like Judgement leads to Condemnation
- Good tree leads to Good fruit, just like Mercy leads to Forgiveness.
- Examine yourself
Bad tree: Judgement and Condemnation.
Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned;… Before we dive in, let me just say, this is not about being tolerant of sin, evil, or immorality. NO way. This is about how we deal with it. It is clear from other parts of scripture we must be unequivocally clear about sin. But how? That is what this section deals with.
You have basically three options when someone sins. You can judge them and then condemn them, you can avoid them so that you don’t get hurt, or you can pursue them in mercy to forgive them.
In the one you are the judge, in the other you are a bystander who does not get involved in others business and walks away when the relationship gets messy. And in the last you are a fellow forgiven sinner and brother. I have seen all of these. I understand all three. But only one of them lives out the gospel, and what Jesus as done for you. If you judge and condemn, or avoid and run, it reveals a heart not transformed - it reveals someone who does not know the love of Christ and cannot love others in that way.
A Bad tree produces bad fruit like condemnation flows from judgement. Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned;… First you judge them, and then you condemn them. This kind of sinful judgement takes many forms. But let me give you two examples.
There is Superficial judgement and hypocritical judgement,
Superficial judgement
Superficial judgment means you are passing judgment on someone based solely on appearances (John 7:24 says, Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.). This happens when we see someone, and before we have even shaken a hand, we have made a judgement. Simon the Pharisee passed judgment on a woman based on her appearance and reputation, but he could not see that the woman had been forgiven.
How quickly are you to judge based on appearance. Tattoos and earrings, poverty, and smell, ragged clothes, put us off. Or maybe it’s other things, like culture, or language. Or maybe you are one to judge someone because they are rich. Or you judge someone on the way they live. The world judges this way; the church must not!
Dear brother, God looks at the heart. And guess what? Your heart was ugly, repulsive, and hateful, when God found you and loved you. You were stinking, filthy, in rags with nothing. You were self-righteous, and hard. And he did not shy away, or judge, but showed mercy. He washed you and clothed you. Fed you with the bread of live and quenched your thirst with living water.
Hypocritical judgement
Hypocritical judgment happens when we point out the sin of others while we ourselves commit the same sin, we condemn ourselves (Romans 2:1). This is what he is getting at when he says, “You hypocrite first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
How is this possible? Easy. We see the tiniest sin in others, but don’t notice that daily we slander people, gossip, lie, lust, are lazy, and greedy. We see huge problems in the church, but no problem in ourselves. But the moment we see problems in the church, it reflects on us, because we are ONE body.
The Bible says that your and my sin against heaven is higher than you can imagine.
If you have not meditated on the gospel lately and confessed and repented of your own sin. Then the chances are you are focusing on all the problems in the church, in other people’s lives, and wherever else you see them, but you are not helping them, your critical and judgmental spirit is hurting. Why? Because there is no true grace, and mercy, no desire to listen and walk with the person the way God walks with you. It is like a guy walking around with a massive log in his eye. What happens when he gets close to you? He whacks you in the eye!
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye?
We are not to show superficial or hypocritical judgement. God calls us to “always to be gentle toward everyone” (Titus 3:2). It does not mean that we are not to take the speck out of our brother’s eye, but before we even get there, we must do self-examination.
How are you judging. Are you judging in such a way that someone is afraid to tell you anything, because either you will share with the world, or you will think less of them? Or are you judging in such a way that people feel like they can tell you things and know they have someone who will be honest about their sin, while still being patient with the sinner as they deal with it. We so desperately need each other’s help in fighting sin, not judgment. Part of discipleship is walking with each other, and really confessing sin to each other.
So let me address two people. The broken and self-righteous.
First to the broken: Maybe You are afraid that if God or anyone else really knew you, you would get stamped as a reject, because you have been judged in the past! You may judge yourself so harshly that you never confess sin, because you think there is no way out, and you are lost! There is grace. There is someone who comes alongside us in our time of weakness. The Holy Spirit, the comforter, the paraclete. There is a priest who understands what it is to be tempted – even though he never sinned. There are brothers and sisters here who are much like you. Let’s talk. Gods grace often comes through other believers. There are people here who will listen who will love.
To the self-righteous. Stop making little of the law. Stop comparing yourself to others, but to Christ. Let Jesus break your heart of stone. Without his grace for you, you may be able to see sin, but only in order to criticize and break down, but you will not be able to bind up and heal. You need to see yourself in Christ. Are you one who is poor in spirit, mourning, and broken, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, recognizing you need it as much as the next person in the pew.
Let grace reign, so that our first inclination is not judgement, shock, and gossip, but love, grace, and gently but firmly guiding our brother or sister to repentance, by showing them Christ.
Because the opposite is also true. Judge and you will be judged. Condemn and you will be condemned. By God himself! As you have crushed others so you will be crushed. O that you would know what it is to be forgiven so that you may forgive.
Good Tree: Forgiveness and Generosity
Forgive, and you will be forgiven; This ought not to be a shocking statement for anyone that has prayed the Lord’s prayer.
we pray Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Do not judge us according to what we deserve, do not judge us according to your judgement, but according to your grace.
Grace, by definition is undeserved. It is a gift. And Gods grace is abundant. Amazing. Overflowing for the sinner such as you and I. It does not just wash, but sanctifies, and empowers us to walk in newness of life. And what is this grace? It is nothing less then the revelation of the Son of God in us!
God in Christ gave himself for us, which led to our forgiveness, and a new life revealing the Love and forgiveness of Gods to others!
The Gospel creates a community of repentance, confession and forgiveness. With relationships of accountability. These relationships are of utmost importance. Each one of us needs them. This is why Jesus came, not just to save individuals but a new humanity – a way of relating with God, each other and creation that is radically different then the way of sin and death. So, lets live it out a church.
Do you have these relationships. Are you seeking out mentors who can help you to grow, are you seeking out brothers and sister who you can pray with, confess your sin to, forgive each other. It is humbling, hard, but gloriously beautiful as the gospel takes root in our relationships with each other.
This is about a life of love! give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down , shaken together, running over, Give and it will be given to you…This is the gospel principle. There is no greater act of generosity, of sacrifice then forgiveness of someone who has sinned against it. You give yourself and don’t demand retribution, or justice. But you say I will not hold it against you.
But giving extends beyond forgiveness. In sowing generously you prove to the world, nothing belongs to you in the proper sense, it is all grace given to you by God! And he wants you not to hold onto it, but invest it! This is what the parable of the talents is about.
And then what happens, Good measure, pressed down , shaken together, running over! This is a picture of someone filing a grain bag. They would fill it up three quarters, then give it a good shake, to make the grain settle, then he fills it to the top, and gives it another shake. Next, he presses the corn together, and finally he heaps it into a cone, tapping it carefully to press the grains together. He keeps tightening the top and shaking it and pours in a few more grains, until there is literally no more room. So, the customer was assured of a full measure!
Let me put in in child language. I don’t know if you have ever had to fill an ice cream cone for a child. If so, here is the way that they want it. In good measure, pressed down into the very bottom of the cone, shaken together, and running over. This is what is promised.
For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” What measure are you using in how you treat others? Are you using the measure God uses, or your own measuring stick. Are you showing them the mercy and kindness and grace God has shown you? Or are you reacting to them at a human level.
Jesus says in Luke 18:29:Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” But if we spend our lives generously pouring out God’s grace, forgiveness, and love onto others, we will receive back “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over” (Luke 6:38). The greatest blessing of all is intimate fellowship with God, new relationships with other believers that are open, honest, vulnerable, and loving, and the presence of the Holy Spirit power to transform your life.
Self-examination
So it is time to stop and do some self-examination: who are we following? Jesus or someone or something else? 39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? If you are still blind to God’s grace, and to your own sin, then you must not advise others - do not disciple others, for both of you will fall into a pit. A hypocrite is blind to his own faults; how do you expect him to help you with yours. At the end of the day, he can only hurt you more.
The gospel must open our eyes, then we can lead others. This the Spirit of God alone can do. This Jesus alone can do. And then follow those who know God. Seek their example. And above all for the church to grow, the elders MUST understand the gospel, if they are to lead the church to Christ.
Who is training us? Jesus? Or some other version? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. This is true both if your teacher is pharisee or if your teacher in the Lord Jesus. You become like the thing that you follow. Who is your ultimate guide, God, or the traditions. Grace, or Law? Your pastor or what he preaches. Your church traditions, or the word of God.
Who is training you today? That is the question? Who has the influence in your life? The world, your own heart, or the gospel? The world says accept everyone, be tolerant, until you disagree with them, and then you are destroyed. There is no grace, only cancellation. There is no forgiveness, only condemnation and payback. You don’t need to be on social media long to see it. Is this your training ground?
Everyone, when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Who is training you. From what stream are your roots drinking! From the water of life! Is your teacher Jeus Christ and his Spirit. Are you hearing his word. Being trained by it. Formed by it. Is it taking root in your life. Or are your teachers in the world? Remember a good tree will bring forth good fruit. A good person will reveal the treasures of the gospel in his life through real embodied relationship.
May we as church live out the treasure of the gospel that has been deposited in us!
Amen.