Pastor Scott Andrews | June 30, 2024
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Luke 6:43-45
Good morning – it’s great to be back with you as Tana and I took off last week to visit family in Montana. In fact, they usually watch our livestream, so hello Dad and Jan. I’m deeply thankful for Cam faithfully filling the pulpit last Sunday – we, too, watched from Montana and were encouraged.
The last time we were together in Luke, we talked about everyone’s favorite topic – judging. How the world loves to wrench Jesus’ words out of context – judge not, lest ye be likewise judged. So don’t judge – which is actually a way the world uses Jesus’ words to justify their sinful behaviors and quiet any objections we may hold. Further, the church has misused the verse – thinking any form of judgment is wrong, listening to the world rather than Scripture. I won’t take time to review all the numerous passages that contradict that idea – that teach it is our responsibility to faithfully and graciously hold one another accountable – which requires judgment.
The issue is to not judging, but to not be judgmental – defined as non-loving, condescending, hypocritical, condemning judgment that does not have the other person’s best interest in mind. No, judgmentalism only seeks to highlight other’s sins and condemn them, which we have no right to do. Instead, our judgment should have the other’s best interest in mind as we seek to gently, graciously, lovingly evangelize unbelievers and restore believers.
You see, with unbelievers, we gently expose sin, because in order for sinners to be saved – they first must be sinners – there must be something from which they are being saved. I’ve said it this way a million times – there must be bad news before there can be good news. The bad news of sin and the need of salvation followed by the good news of a savior – the gospel, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for sinners.
And with believers, since we are making this community trip to heaven, we want to encourage one another on the way – course correcting when necessary and encouraging righteousness. Let’s be transformed to be like Jesus.
Now, at the end of all that, Jesus talked about the proper way to judge, starting with, non-hypocritical judgment. You remember that – be sure to take the log out of your own eye before you try to take the speck of sawdust out of your brother’s eye. Meaning, make sure you don’t have equal or greater sins, sure…but more, make sure your judgment is loving, gentle and restoring, not unloving, unkind and condemning. Not superior, looking down on others as if you have the upper track on morality. Particularly if you judgment highlights other’s sins and ignores your own.
So, how do we do that? You know, take the log out? How do we self-examine to make sure we are loving and judging one another rightly? How do we even know if we are truly believers who seek other believers’ best? Our text today. You remember in the previous verses as Jesus talked about not having a judgmental spirit, to judge rightly – in the middle of that, He said, a blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? Meaning, someone still blinded by sin cannot possibly lead another blind man, can he? They are both bound for a pit – eventual destruction. Further, a disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone, after he is fully trained, will be like the teacher. So faithfully follow those ahead, who follow Jesus.
That was odd – it seemed misplaced. Until we understood that to judge rightly, and to lead others to judge rightly, you can’t be blind. You can’t be blind to the log that’s in your own eye. You cannot be hypocritically blind to your own sin. And you have to follow the right teacher – namely Jesus – follow Him. So again, how do we do that? How do we judge ourselves rightly? Our text today.
Given the time, we are only going to look at three verses this morning – Luke 6:43-45. But what I want you to notice is how verse 43 starts with the word for. Don’t miss that – it’s an important word. It’s a conjunction – it ties to what Jesus is about to say to what He just said. Remember, He’s talking to His disciples, and says don’t try to judge a brother until you’ve dealt with the log in your own eye. For – now read the text. Verses 43-45. For…
How do you know? Well, you have to be a fruit inspector – and understand that the fruit is inextricably linked to the root. You see, it’s the tree that produces the fruit – incidentally, not the other way around. Don’t get technical with me – yes, I know the seeds are in the fruit that produce the tree – but that’s not Jesus’ point. We’ll come back to that.
Now, this is important – the context here is not necessarily judging the fruit of others – although in the similar Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7, Jesus said:
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17 “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
This is again, like a couple weeks ago, familiar parabolic teaching – a commonly known parable Jesus used in different settings with different purposes. In Matthew 7 – yes, examine the fruit of teachers to determine if they are true or false. And some suggest Jesus is taking another sideways glance at the Pharisees, and that’s possible. But the context in Luke is making sure you take the log out. How do you know if you’re in the right place to judge rightly? Examine your fruit – not necessarily another’s. So, let’s look at it for a few minutes with this outline:
- The Horticultural Parable (43-44)
- The Parable Applied (45)
So, take the log out of your own eye, for…a parable. For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. That makes sense. A good tree, an apple tree, a pear tree, an orange tree, a grapefruit tree – wait – a grapefruit tree does produce bad fruit. It’s why you have to put so much sugar on it. Anyway, a peach tree – they all produce good fruit. Conversely, a bad tree like the manchineel tree produces a little apple-like fruit that the Spanish conquistadors called the manzanille de le muerte – the little apple of death. It’s one of the most toxic fruits in the western hemisphere – it will at least make you sick. Bad tree, bad fruit – incidentally, it looks good, but it could kill you.
Now notice, and this is important – the good tree produces the good fruit, and the bad tree produces the bad fruit. As I said earlier – the tree, the root, produces the fruit. Not the other way around. If the fruit were somehow good, it would not make the bad tree good. Nor does a bad fruit produce a good tree – unless it’s a grapefruit. Whatever. The point is – the root, the nature of the tree produces its kind – good tree, good fruit. Bad tree, bad fruit. And it won’t be mixed.
Jesus even says that in verse 44 – For each tree is known by its own fruit. Stop right there – a tree produces its own fruit – it can’t produce another tree’s fruit. All this is important when get to application in verse 45. The rest of verse 44 – for men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. You don’t go to a big thorn bush looking for edible fruit like those really good Middle Eastern figs or dates. Nor to you go to a briar bush to eat grapes. You’re not driving down the road in the west and say, oh look, there’s tumbleweed – let’s see if it has any pomegranates. No.
So let’s apply the parable – Jesus does in verse 45 with two important truths. First, the good man out of the good treasure of his heart – the root – brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart [that’s the implication] brings forth what is evil. That’s the first truth. Several thoughts.
In the Scripture, the heart is the center of a person’s being – it is there we find his character and his thinking – the core of who he or she really is. So the person who has a good heart will bring forth what is good – that’s who he really is; and the person who has an evil heart, that’s who he really is, will bring forth what is evil. Meaning, we can only produce the kind of fruit that is in our nature to produce. You see how the parable is applied – good tree, good fruit, good heart, good deeds. Bad tree, bad fruit, bad heart, bad deeds. You want to know if you are in a place to judge rightly – examine the fruit. If you have a good heart with good fruit, then do so – judge rightly. If you have an evil heart with evil deeds, then don’t.
Now, as I said earlier, please notice it is not the good deeds that make the heart good – the root produces the fruit. It is the good heart that produces good deeds. Why am I making such a big deal of that – why is that important? Because, your good deeds don’t make you a good person. It’s the other way around – you have to have a good heart before you can do good things. In other words, God must change your heart by His Spirit – by grace through faith – taking out the heart of stone to give you a heart of flesh – before you can ever do good things. You’re dead in trespasses and sins – you need regeneration.
Now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking about unbelievers you know who do good things. I would say a couple things about that. First, even their good deeds are tainted by sin – usually with selfish motivation. Further, their good deeds do not make them good. Just because they are able to muster up a good deed or two does not make them righteous before God. And also, their good deeds are shortsighted and limited – what I mean is, not only are they tainted, but goodness is not the overall character of their lives. Along with the sin-tainted good deeds, come an awful lot of sin-tainted evil deeds. Jesus said a bad tree only produces bad fruit. An evil heart only produces ultimately evil actions.
Everybody always wants to know – what about people around the world who follow other religions who are good? That’s the problem – they aren’t good. Let me make a side comment here. A well-known pastor in Houston is known for saying something like, “I believe most people are basically good.” That is not true. The truth is, all people are born sinful – dead with hearts of stone – dare I say evil. And it takes the work of the Holy Spirit to cause them to be born again to have spiritual surgery – to have the heart of stone taken out and the heart of flesh – the good heart – transplanted within.
Here’s the point – we must stop, when we do evil things – we must stop saying, that’s not who I am. That wasn’t me. Yes, it actually is. That’s out of character for me. Really. If it is the overall character of your life – even if you’re able to do a good deed or two – if your character is betrayed by evil actions, you have an evil heart. You need to be redeemed. Stop saying when you do something wrong, that wasn’t me, or somebody made me do it. No – it was you. Start saying, I’m sorry I did that – I was wrong – God is still making me holy. Will you forgive me?
You see, that is not to say we – you or me – will be perfect. We still live in not fully redeemed bodies in a sinful world with temptations all about. We are not fully sanctified – our sanctification is not complete. We headed there – but we’re not yet there. And we will sin. But the difference is, when we do sin, it grieves us, and we confess. We make it right. But the overall character of our lives comes from a God-redeemed good heart – and our actions are therefore characteristically good.
Here’s another thing we often do. We blame others for our sinful words and actions. You won’t believe what they said or what they did. They made me respond that way. Not really. Paul David Tripp in his book War of Words writes, “It is very tempting to blame others or to blame the situation around us,” but “word problems reveal heart problems. The people and situations around us do not make us say what we say; they are only the occasion for our hearts to reveal themselves in words.” That’s convicting. You see, that’s who I really am, and don’t want to be.
Notice the last part of verse 45 – for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. That’s interesting – Jesus narrows down what He’s talking about to the mouth. To the words we say. And the root – the heart – produces the fruit – either good words or evil words. Meaning, who you are comes out. Again, that’s not saying if you say something bad or wrong that you are evil. But, if the overall character of your mouth is evil – it betrays an evil heart. The tongue, Philip Ryken says, is the sound system of the heart. It blares that which is true of you. James 1 says, “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.” That’s hard to hear.
Pastor Kent Hughes says it this way, “One’s words are the most direct communication of the inward being. When a man’s conversation is ungodly, his heart is graceless and unconverted. If his speech is carnal, he is carnal. If it is worldly, he is worldly. If it is godless, he is godless. If it is profane, he is profane. If it is mean, he is mean.”
Just briefly, what is the good fruit of a good tree – the good actions of a good heart? We know, don’t we. If our hearts have been changed, and we have been filled with the Spirit, then the fruit of the Spirit is evident: love comes first. That’s interesting – it’s the central theme of Jesus’ Sermon on the Plain. Later, when asked what the greatest commandment was, He said love. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And the second is just like it – love your neighbor as yourself. Then at the last supper, He gave them a new command – that we as His followers love one another. By this love shall all know that we are His disciples.
The fruit of the Spirit should define the character of the believer’s life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. If you possess those in ever-increasing measure, you are a place to judge for the purpose of evangelizing unbelievers and restoring believers.
Similarly, in the same Galatians 5 passage, Paul tells us what the actions – the fruit of the flesh – of the evil heart are – they are evident, he says: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, and carousing or partying. He goes on to say, those who live like that as a character of their lives betray the heart of evil – and such people will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Jesus is giving us the means by which we can assess if we are first, Christians, and second, if we are in a place to judge. Such a self-assessment helps us know our true spiritual condition – and whether we’re in a place to see clearly to rightly judge another – for their good. The truest profession of our faith is the practice of our faith.
So, who are you? Which fruit describes you? What comes out. Let me close with this thought – what you put in often comes out. You are what you eat. Years ago, there was this paperback book on the plane – someone left it – it was some kind of assassin novel. It was good – it appealed to my flesh for the good guy to gruesomely kill the bad guys. Or sure, it was too descriptive with bad language – the occasional gratuitous sex – but it was the good guy getting the bad guys. And it led me to the next assassin novel, and the next. And for some time, it became my pleasure reading – and it began to darken my redeemed heart. I finally woke up one day and said, what am I doing? What am I feeding on. What goes in comes out. No – I didn’t kill anybody. But my heart was not strengthened, it was not encouraged in the things of Christ. What are you reading? What are you watching? Feed your hearts with the good things of the Word of God and thereby continue the sanctification process.