Christian Trees

Matthew 7:15-23

The New Testament if full of warnings about the dangers of false teachers.  This was a very real problem in the first century and it continues to be so today.  Here our Lord tells us how we can recognize false teachers: we will know them by their fruits.  This is easy to understand and needs no explanation here.

But if false teachers are known by their fruits doesn’t it hold true that the rest of us are known by ours?  Indeed, we too will be known by our fruits.  It seems there are three categories our fruits can fall into: good fruit, bad fruit or no fruit.  The good fruits are those actions and activities we engage in that strengthen the church and bring the lost to Christ.  By contrast, bad fruits are those that harm the church and keep the lost from salvation.  But, what about those that are neither good nor bad but merely unproductive?  I think the parable of the talents answers this question.

This parable, found in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, compares three servants who are entrusted by their lord with varying amounts of talents.  Two of the servants use what they are given and produce additional talents in kind.  But the third buries his talent and is punished for being unproductive.  His master calls him wicked and lazy and cast him into outer darkness.  And so it will be for all who do not labor in the kingdom.

We are Christian trees and as such we ought to be producing Christian fruits!  The day of the Lord is coming and in that day our fruits will be inspected by the Master.  Those who have produced good fruits will be invited to enter in to their reward.  Those who produced bad fruits and those who did not produce any, will be cast out.  Are you ready to have your fruits inspected?

Thomas Sneed