“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 thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 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.” Luke 6:43-45 ESV
In this passage Jesus speaks about the authentic nature of the heart. What we love in our heart will ultimately dictate what type of person we are. What we love (or where our affections are placed) will dictate what flows out of our lives. It’s an essential question to ask yourself, “What do I really love? What am I truly passionate about?” Can you earnestly say that you love God and are passionate about His ways? In the next chapter of Luke, Jesus gives an example of the person who most loves God (Luke 7:36-50). It is not the person who knows the most about God, but the person who knows they have been forgiven the most by God. A self-awareness of sin and the heart knowledge that by grace alone we have been forgiven our sins by a loving and merciful Jesus – works out in a thankful heart of much love toward Jesus.
A person that does not see themselves as a ruined sinner before a holy God, but as a basically good person in need of minor improvement, will not have a heart of great love toward God. But this passage is clear that there is not a sliding scale of the heart before God. There are hearts that love God and hearts that do not love God. Hearts that love God demonstrate authentic love for God through authentic godliness. Words that are gracious, pure, and true. Actions that are obedient to Jesus’ commands, full of self-sacrificing service, and honorable. Priorities that reflect the priorities of God laid out in the Bible instead of the priorities of worldliness.
Those who love the world are going in a different direction. The affections of their hearts are different from the root up. People of the world love their own comfort, pleasures, affluence, and fame. They do not believe that the ways of the Lord are good, so they go in a different direction and their lives bear different fruit. Those who love the world speak differently. Their words do not value Jesus or eternal things; they are often profane, self-justifying, angry, or proud. Those who love the world act by accumulating what the world has to offer, pouring out their lives to achieve rank and position in the world. The priorities of the unbeliever are not the priorities of God, but priorities that they create from their own accounting of the world around them.
Each tree will be known by its own fruit (v. 44). The nature of the heart of a person can be known by the way a person lives. It may be unclear at first, but will grow unmistakable over time which way the affections of the heart lean.
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of the house was great.” Luke 6:46-49 ESV
In this next passage Jesus addresses how the affections of the heart work out into living real life. The person who authentically loves the Lord will strive to obey His commands. The person who does not truly love the Lord may hear the commands of God, but ignores them. This is a passage of warning! A life lived in authentic obedience to God will not end the same as a life lived in rebellion and disobedience. Understand that a life lived in rejection of God’s stated will is not just another way to live in a world of many morally equivalent ways to live. When we hear God’s commands and reject them, there will be consequences.
We will either submit to God’s authority by faith and in love unto God, or we will go our own way. When we walk in obedience to God’s command there is blessing, peace, and eternal reward. This does not mean wealth and health, but peace between you and God. A life lived for Jesus is a life filled with the fruits of His Spirit – a life of love, peace, joy, kindness, and hope. This passage is accurate to point out that the strength and endurance of the Christian life is not truly made known until hardship comes. When times of testing and suffering come, the life of the godly will not be swept away and crumble. In Christ our foot is set upon the immovable foundation of hope in eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
However, the unbeliever will have their lies and self-made priorities exposed and ruined. Under pressure the ungodly will fall. Under stress those who have sought to make their own truth will be swept away. The ungodly may rail against the design and purposes of God, but they cannot make their own truth and they cannot undo the design of God in the world. The unbeliever cannot become master of their own destiny no matter how hard they try. The world is filled with trial, struggle, suffering, war, and sickness. Apart from the active protection and upholding of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we will not be able to stand.
I urge you today to see yourself as the sinner you are. See Jesus as the merciful Savior that He is. Believe in Jesus as the Son of God. Confess your sins and be forgiven your guilt. May your affections be upon Jesus Christ and set heavenward. May your heart be turned away from all this world has to offer. May you love Jesus and understand His ways to be right and good. May the energy of your life be used in a great effort to live for Jesus in obedience. In this you will find eternal life!
Soli Dei Gloria,
Pastor Vic