Recognizing the Fruit

By Dean Collins

Reading Scripture has many benefits. It can deepen our faith. It can teach us things we need to do that we aren’t doing and help us stop doing things we shouldn’t do. Since Scripture is “God-breathed,” it has life-giving power.

When we read Scripture, we may have many different reactions or responses. Sometimes we read out of a feeling of obligation. You may have started a reading plan and feel obligated to get the reading in for the day, but your head and heart just aren’t in it on a particular day. You may come to Scripture hungry to learn and make a connection with God. And sometimes we come to Scripture looking for a verse or two to prove some point in an argument. While Scripture is good, we come to it with a variety of needs and moods.

Often when I read, I cut and paste verses into a draft that I can go back to later and read again. I simply think about the ideas and instructions that are given. The Sermon on the Mount is one of those sections of Scripture that I come back to over and over, pondering all that Jesus said.

One section I have been looking at for a few days is the closing portion of the sermon. Beginning in verse 15, Jesus said:

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits.”

Those who were listening to the Sermon on the Mount that day would not have been surprised by Jesus’ warning about false prophets. Moses, Jeremiah, and others had warned about false prophets and those with lying tongues. The Psalms and Proverbs also often spoke against behaviors associated with false prophets. Those listening to Jesus that day would have understood that false prophets were not simply people who said the wrong things; their lives and their motives mattered as well.

So it is not unusual for Jesus to say that one of the best ways to recognize whether someone is truly speaking for God has as much, or perhaps more, to do with how they live than simply with what they say.

Fast-forward to the world we live in today, where almost anyone can use technology to spread a message. Our inboxes, social media accounts, and cell phones are inundated with messages. It would be difficult to identify which groups, politicians, preachers, authors, and schools don’t have a practice of sending out information that supports their positions or causes.

At any given moment, there are thousands of sermons available for anyone to listen to and learn from. The challenge we have is at least twofold.

First, most of the time we do not really know anything about the person we are listening to in a podcast or sermon. So, being aware and watching out, as Jesus encouraged us to do, requires discernment. We need to consider whether the teaching is sound and rooted in God’s Word. Simply quoting Scripture does not guarantee that what is being taught is faithful to Scripture.

Second, since we have no personal access to the preacher’s or teacher’s life, we really don’t know whether the way they live bears the kind of fruit Jesus described. Jesus makes it clear that what we say and even what we do publicly are not the only things that matter. Our lives should bear evidence of the truth we proclaim.

As I write this, I am aware that my website is public and that my devotionals are shared with others from time to time. My hope is that someone will find encouragement and perhaps learn something that will strengthen their walk with Christ.

Even with all our technology, we simply don’t have enough time to really know much about the preachers, teachers, authors, politicians, or government leaders whose content we consume. But we do need to consider whether what we know about those whose content we consume gives evidence that they are living their lives in a way that bears good fruit.

I do not want to discourage anyone from learning from great leaders, and Christian leaders in particular. But I am challenging myself—and perhaps you as well—to do what Jesus said we must do: look for the fruit of their lives.

Good trees produce good fruit.

Father, thank you for the Sermon on the Mount. May the words of Jesus sink deeply into our hearts and minds and produce fruit cultivated by the Holy Spirit that exhibits the life of Christ every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
Matthew 7:15-29 ESV

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