11/16/2023 – They will know you by your fruit
Matthew 7: 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Seek Objective Evidence that your life is pleasing to God. God provides ample objective evidence to let us know when our lives are pleasing to Him. We need clear objective evidence because we have a tendency to self-deception. Assurance cannot come from us. We need assurance from God.
The scariest passage in the Bible for me is the warning from the Lord Jesus about the greatest self-deception. He warns that on the last day, many will be condemned even though they lived their lives convinced they were doing the right things for salvation. It is one thing is you are rebellious, and you know that you are doing wrong. It is a much more troubling and shocking outcome when you convince yourself that you are good, but you are not.
Humans are, by virtue of our sinful nature, liars. Our fastest reflex is to lie. Sometimes we can do it without even thinking and before we can stop ourselves. Every lie has the potential for great damage- but the most damaging are the lies we tell ourselves. We can convince ourselves of anything. We discount all reality that opposes our desires. Christians should never be afraid of the truth because all truth belongs to God. If we want assurance from our Father in heaven, we need to look no farther than our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only person in history that received confirmation directly from our Father in heaven that His entire life was pleasing to Him. Our heavenly father spoke with an audible voice, not once, but three times to confirm this to the Lord Jesus.
We tend to justify our deeds and declare ourselves good. We rely on appearances. A person may look like a saint, may even be called a saint…but if they we were to examine their lives according to the Bible, they would surely be driven to repentance. But God demands evidence that demonstrates that we are saved by faith in Christ. He will know us by the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.