#50 Lu. 6:43-45 GOOD TREES WITH GOOD FRUIT AND EVIL TREES WITH EVIL FRUIT

Introduction:

    Jesus warned His disciples against false religious leaders such as the
Pharisees and Sadducees, saying that if the blind lead the blind they shall
both fall into the ditch.  He warned them not to have an overly critical
attitude such as the Pharisees had.  He said that one who had a beam in his
own eye could not see how to cast the mote out of his brother's eye.  He
challenged them to learn from Him the truths of God.  He said that as they
learn from Him they would become like Him.

I.  What Jesus said about trees

    In our text today Jesus refers back to these things He has said with the
word, for.  The word, for, as used here refers back to things He had already
said.  It carries the idea of "because of."  Because of the warnings He had
already given He uses two kinds of trees from the natural realm to
illustrate truths in the spiritual realm.
    At first He used a good tree which bears good fruit to illustrate a
point that He is making.  V.  43, "For a good tree bringeth not forth
corrupt fruit..."  In speaking of a good tree Jesus is not saying that this
tree has no broken or diseased branches.  Neither is He saying that there is
no rotten spot on any of its fruit.  Jesus is talking about the kind of tree
bearing a certain kind of fruit.  A good kind of tree will bear a good kind
of fruit.
    Then Jesus uses a corrupt tree to illustrate another point that He is
making.  (V. 43), "...neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
In talking about a corrupt tree, Jesus is not saying that the limbs are all
broken up and diseased.  Neither is He talking about the fruit of the tree
being all diseased or rotten.  He is talking about the kind of tree and the
kind of fruit.  A corrupt kind of tree will bring forth a corrupt kind of
fruit.
    In the next verse He gives further explanation.  V. 44, "For every tree
is known by his own fruit..." This is true of all trees whether it is a good
kind or a corrupt kind.  For instance, one good kind of tree is called a
peach tree.  It is called a peach tree because it bears peaches.  The tree
is known by the kind of fruit that it bears.  A pecan tree is called a pecan
tree because that is the kind of fruit that it bears.  An apple tree is
called by this name because it bears apples.  A cherry tree is called by
this name because it bears cherries.
    Remember that He said that a good tree brings forth good fruit and that
a corrupt tree brings forth corrupt fruit.  He also said that every tree is
known by its own fruit.  He sets forth an example of His own.  (V. 44), "...
For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they
grapes."  You don't go out to a thorn bush and pick a bucket full of figs.
A thorn tree is an example of a corrupt kind of tree and it does not bear a
good edible kind of fruit such as figs.  Neither do you go out to the
bramble or briar patch and gather a bucket full of grapes.  You might pick
some black-berries off of the bramble bush and black-berries are a good
fruit.  You can make cobblers or pies or jelly.  This is a good fruit.  But
you would not gather grapes, which the people of Israel valued even more
highly than the berries.
    Now let me repeat for emphasis.  Jesus is not saying that every piece of
fruit on a good tree will be good.  He is simply saying that a good kind of
tree will bear a good kind of fruit.  Neither is he saying that every piece
of fruit on a corrupt tree will be rotten.  He is merely saying that a
corrupt tree will bear a corrupt kind of fruit.
    Let me illustrate.   A pear tree is a good kind of tree and would be
expected to bear a good kind of fruit.  That does not mean that every pear
on the tree will be without blemish.  Some may have rotten spots on them.
On the other hand a bodark tree, commonly called a "horse-apple tree" is a
corrupt tree.  It bears horse-apples which are not good to eat at all.
Jesus is not saying that all of the horse-apples will be rotten.  Rather He
is saying that this tree does not have the nature to produce an edible
fruit.  It produces a fruit that is inedible.  The same is true with a
number of other trees.  For example the tongue-oil tree produces a fruit
that is poison if eaten.  The tongue-oil is valuable for other purposes, but
it is not good for food.

II.  The point that Jesus was making about people

    Now what is the point that Jesus is making?  Jesus, Himself, explains
the point that He is making in verse 45.   V. 45, "A good man out of the
good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil
man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil:
for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."
    The point that Jesus is making has nothing whatsoever to do with
literal trees and literal fruit.  Jesus is talking about men.  A good man
produces good fruit.  That is, a good man does good deeds.  He lives a
righteous life.
    This brings up a question:  How can Jesus call any man good in view of
the Scripture?  Psalm 14:2-3 reads, "The Lord looked down from heaven upon
the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek
God.  They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is
none that doeth good, no, not one."  This statement will later be repeated
by the Apostle Paul in Romans 3:10.  Also in Romans 3:23 Paul said, "For all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God."  It is very clear that the
Scriptures teach that all men have sinned and that none have any goodness of
their own.
    Yet Jesus in our text clearly calls some men good.  How can He do that?
The answer is that Jesus is talking about those who have been made good
through the new birth.  Jesus is not talking about man's natural goodness.
He is talking about the goodness that comes from being born again.  When a
man is born again by the Holy Spirit of God then the spirit within the man
is made new and takes on a completely new nature.  In the natural birth each
man inherits the nature of sin from his parents.  His spirit nature, which
he gets from his father, is corrupted by sin.  His flesh nature, which he
gets from his mother, is also corrupted by sin.  When one repents of his sin
and trusts in Jesus Christ to be his Savior then his spirit nature is re-
born.  It becomes a totally new nature which partakes of the nature of the
Holy Spirit and is therefore good.  In spite of the sinful flesh nature,
which the born again person still has, he starts producing good works in his
life.  Inwardly he wants to do what is right in all things and this desire
is made evident by his effort to start living right.  The result is that he
produces good fruit.
    This good fruit comes from the abundance of good that is in his heart as
a result of the new birth.  As Jesus said in verse 45 of our text, "A good
man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is
good..."  He is not good because he starts to do good.  Rather he starts to
do good because he has been made good inwardly by the new birth.  The
good deeds that he does is a result of the good treasure that is in his
born-again heart.
    But note the contrast to this in the latter part of verse 45:  "...and
an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which
is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."  The man
whose heart has not been born again is still evil.  He still has the nature
of sinful Adam in his heart and his actions are a result of that sinful
nature.  He lives a live of sin and rebellion against God.  His evil actions
proceed from and evil heart.  His evil words proceed from an evil heart.
    A good tree brings forth good fruit and therefore a good man brings
forth good conduct from a good heart.  A corrupt tree brings forth corrupt
fruit and therefore an evil man brings forth evil deeds from and evil heart.

III.  How This text applies to us

    Now there was a time in our own lives when all of us fit into the
category of corrupt trees.  Before we were born again we were all corrupt.
We had all sinned and come short of the glory of God.  We all had the evil
sin nature within both our flesh nature and our spirit nature.  Our hearts
were corrupted by this evil nature.  When we told a lie, it was in perfect
harmony with our nature.  When we coveted that which belonged to another, it
was in perfect harmony with our own evil heart.  When we hated and despised
somebody, it was a result of our own evil sin-nature.  When we committed
adultery even in thought and desires, that sin was perfectly in harmony with
the evil in our hearts.  If we stole, then that sin came from our evil
heart.
    That is why we needed to be born again.  That is why we must be born
again if we would stay out of the fires of hell.  That is why be must be
born again if we would ever get to heaven.
    And that is why it was impossible for us to be saved by our good deeds.
It was not in our nature to do good.  Just as a corrupt tree could not
produce good edible, delicious tasting fruit, even so it was impossible for
us to so change our lives as to deserve heaven.
    But once we were born again, once we were saved, our lives turned
around.  We now want to do good.  We want to stop doing wrong.  We want to
serve the Lord.  We want to bring honor and glory to the Lord who saved our
souls.  And this is why we are now able to produce good fruit in our lives
and do that which is right in the sight of God.
    Oh, let me remind you that not every piece of fruit that grows on a good
tree is flawless.  Some of the fruit even on a good tree may have a rotten
spot on it.  Even so, in the life of Christian, some of the things that he
does is not right in the sight of God.  This is because of the sin nature
that still dwells in his flesh nature which is not born again.  But the
heart is right and because of it, to a great extent, the life is right with
God.
    On the other hand there are some who must still be classified with the
corrupt trees.  There are some who have not yet been born again.  They have
not yet been changed inwardly.  They have not yet been saved.  They may
think that they are doing good in this world, but the Bible says that all of
their righteousness is as filthy rags in the sight of God.  There is not one
thing that will stand to their credit and help get them into heaven.  There
is not one deed that will help to keep them out of hell.
Conclusion:

    Now the question is, in which group are you?  Does God count you in the
corrupt trees that bring forth corrupt fruit or does God count you in the
group that has been born again and produces good fruit?  Unless you are
absolutely certain that you have been born again then you had better do some
soul searching here today and get right with God.
    Are you saved?  If not then turn to God right now in repentance of your
sin and trust Jesus Christ to save your soul?
    Are you saved?  If so are you bringing forth the kind of fruit that God
would have you to bring forth in your life?  Are you yielded to the will of
God and doing the things that God would have you to do?  Do you need to make
some move here this morning that would help to get your life straightened
out with God?  If so, will you step out right now and make that move?