Trees and Fruit

An excellent opportunity to apply the teachings of the narrow road comes in the very next passage. The road to salvation is a narrow one. What Jesus is about to say is that those that widen it are false teachers. This conclusion is consistent with the theme of this part of Jesus' sermon that we actually have to put our faith into practice.

 ¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. ¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ¹⁹ So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.       Matthew 7:15-20

Wait a minute. Didn't Jesus just tell us not to judge others (Matt 7:1)? This is another perfect example of the type of balance I discussed in my last post. The Bible is not being inconsistent here. It is an opportunity to grow in maturity and understanding. Since this passage is talking about church leadership (False Prophets/False Teachers), let's look at this in terms of the church and its dealings with sin.

Ditch on the left: Jesus tells us not to judge people. We just need to love and accept everyone for who God made them. Some people are born to love people of their same sex. That's wonderful - they are welcome to be who they are in our church. They can even be in leadership and teach our children! Some couples want to live together and try things out before they get married. That's great - we think people should be free to make whatever choices they see fit.

Ditch on the right: God hates homosexuals. They are an abomination - it says so in scripture - we'll know them by their fruit! These people living together before they're married - they're going to hell. In fact, most of you are dirty, filthy sinners and are going to hell!

When I put it in extremes like that, it's easy to see the error in both sides. How does scripture instruct us in this? How do we know the edge of the ditch when dealing with sin in the church? On the 'right' side we're driving people away by not loving them where they are. On the 'left' side we're allowing people to continue down the wide path that will send them to hell, without so much as a warning.

A proper understanding of what it means to "judge" is a good place to start. When Jesus tells us not judge others, in the original Biblical language, Greek, it comes from the word "krino", which means to pronounce judgement. We know from other uses of the word in the New Testament that it usually means to determine salvation or the lack of it in someone. In this sense, what is forbidden is to pronounce final judgement on someone. There are several reasons why we shouldn't do this. First, it puts us in the place of the judge and we are not qualified to do that because we are not without sin. Second, it ignores the redemptive power of God to change a person. How can you make a final judgement on someone when they can still repent and change?

We are to discern fruit, though. When a professing Christian is living in habitual sin, the spiritual authority in his life has a duty to bring it to their attention.

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[b] sins,^[c] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^{[d] 17} If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.           Matthew 18:15-17

 How did Jesus treat the pagan and tax collector? He loved them and accepted them and tried to bring them to Himself. We have to accept people where they are. We're not doing anyone any favors by allowing them to stay there, though.

One final word on judging the fruit of prophets and teachers. Teachers that are too inclusive and allow for other ways to heaven except through the sacrifice of Jesus are false. How do we judge whether they've gone out of bounds (into the ditch)? It is by their fruit - by what their ministry is producing. Are sinners finding Christ? Are believers growing in the Lord? If so, they are producing good fruit. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit (Matt 7:18). 

The Narrow Road

Something I've found helpful in my own bible study is to look at the big picture of the bible passage at hand - reading in context, to put it more simply. As many of you know, chapter and verse markings were added later for ease of reference and were not part of the original manuscripts. Sometimes we can miss things when we stop at the end of the editor's markings and miss the flow of the whole passage. I love the One Year Bible - it's a great way to systematically get through the Bible and create discipline - it is no substitute for Bible study though, for this reason.

I noted last post that the parable of the two builders was part of a larger message - the final punchline of Jesus' sermon. One practical way to read in context is to see if the conclusion drawn from a verse in the Bible is consistent with the passage as a whole. I concluded that the parable of the builders was about what we do with the words of Jesus, not an observation that Christians will be rock solid and sinners will see their lives crumble to pieces - although that is often the case. Let's back up a few verses from the parable of the two builders to see if the context supports this conclusion.

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.         Matthew 7:13-14

We see the road to heaven is narrow. It is only through accepting the sacrifice of Jesus and making Him Lord of your life that you can be saved. The idea that only a few find the narrow road is not a pleasant thought, but it begins to set up the idea that "being a Christian" (in name only) does not guarantee that you're going to heaven. This thought will be further developed as we look at the upcoming passages.

This illustration of a narrow road is rich with revelation. Like the parable of the builders, it not only speaks of our salvation, but also of our lives on this earth. Since I was not asked to co-author the Lamb's book of life, most of this blog will deal with the latter. If building on sand or picking the wide path by not living in a way that demonstrates your faith affects your eternal destiny, how much more so does it affect how successful we are as followers of Christ on the earth.

I believe the narrow path can be a picture of our theology. When thinking about having a balanced theology, a narrow path with a ditch on either side is a much better image than a scale. With a scale, one thinks of being right in the middle, balanced on either side. Some Christians scoff at this notion - and rightfully so - as being wishy-washy or lukewarm. They tend to look at issues as completely black and white. If given a choice between taking the middle ground as to not offend anyone or taking a firm stand on the issue, I wouldn't blame anyone for opting for the black and white, especially in this postmodern culture. The problem is both views are wrong. Balanced theology IS most like a narrow path with a ditch on either side. It's not about where your belief falls on the spectrum, it's recognizing that nearly any belief can be taken beyond its limits. We can over or under compensate a truth at the expense of a truth on the opposite side. An example is in order.

Free will and God's sovereignty: I absolutely believe that we have been given a degree of free will. I see this as clear going back to the garden of Eden when God put two trees in the garden. I see it all through scripture with exhortations to seek after God and choose wisely. I also believe that it’s naïve to think that my creator who knows everything about me, knows what makes me tick, what motivates me, doesn’t sometimes align circumstances in a way that my decision is already made for me. Balance in this case is not to try to know our exact level of input on our salvation - many theological problems arise when we try to fully understand a God that is inherently beyond our ability to comprehend - but to recognize that there is truth on either side. If I fail to see that, I have "fallen in the ditch". 

When we fall off the narrow road, we end up on the broad road that leads to destruction. There are all kinds of examples of our wrong thinking setting us up for failure, but I will continue with the same example. In practice, let's look at how our view of God's sovereignty and our free will can affect how we live: Ignoring the truth of our free will can lead to blaming God for our circumstances and not taking an active role in pursuing our destiny. Ignoring God's sovereignty can lead to us trying to make things happen in our strength and in our own timing, rather than accepting that some of our circumstances are placed their by God to shape our character. 

Could it be that true balance is not finding the proper spot between seemingly opposing truths, but recognizing when one truth has been taken too far that it contradicts the other? In other words balance is not knowing where to stand on the narrow path, it's knowing when you've fallen in the ditch. The only way to do this is with humility. We have to be ready to admit when we miss it and take a belief too far. A saying I use a lot (I believe is my own) as it relates to humility in this instance, " 'I don't know' is the the beginning of wisdom."  

Staying on the narrow road is our pursuit as we put our beliefs into practice. 

Two Builders

The story of the two builders found in Matthew 7 is one of the more famous parables of Jesus. We've sung songs about it, discussed it at vacation bible school - maybe even seen a flannelgraph or two on Sunday morning. If you were to ask the average person what the parable was about, you may get several responses. A common answer would be that the man who built his house on the rock was a Christian, while the man who built on the sand wasn't. Hence, the point is that it pays to believe in God, otherwise your life will be a disaster.

On the surface that makes sense. Although it would seem to contradict what Jesus said just a few verses earlier:

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. - Matthew 5:45

No, the men were not a Christian and a heathen (defined as someone that doesn't know anything about God). They were both followers of Christ - or I should clarify - they were both religious. How do I know this? Because they both heard the words of Jesus. Let's look at the parable:

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

The difference between the two men is not that one was a church goer and the other wasn't. What made one wise and the foolish was not a difference in intellect or education. The only difference between them was what they did with what they heard. The foolish man heard and didn't act accordingly, while the wise man allowed what he heard to influence the way he lived.

What difference does it make? Does a slight misunderstanding of this parable really matter? I see at least two points that say "yes".

1. Misunderstanding in this specific parable can set up a false expectation. If you believe that just "being a Christian" will shield you from the storms of life... well, you're in for a rude awakening. In a more general sense, these types of misunderstanding can be damaging to our faith. If we have an unscriptural expectation that inevitably doesn't work out, it can cause us to doubt legitimate promises of God. The cynicism of unbelief is a slippery slope. The Bible is filled with wonderful promises from God, but these promises are filled in God's timing - and we certainly do ourselves no favors by misunderstanding the stipulations of the promises.

2. To miss the point of this parable is to miss the point of a much larger picture. This parable is actually the punchline of an entire sermon of Jesus. He says at the end (Claassen paraphrase), "If you apply what I just said you're wise, if you don't apply what I just said you're a fool". The idea of putting God's word into practice is the central theme of this blog. Living in the bible belt, you can see scores of people that are content to attend church and proceed to live however they want. They are the ones building on sand in this parable - not the criminals, prostitutes and politicians.

Next post will continue this thought about the parable being part of a larger sermon. What do you think? Who are the builders Jesus is talking about?

Why Me?

This blog will chart my ongoing journey from a place of ineffectiveness and immaturity in my walk with the Lord to a life transformed by grace - as Jesus described it in Matthew 7 - from building my house on the sand, to building my house on the Rock.

This might beg the question, "why me"? What does a 27-year-old man, just beginning his career in counseling and ministry, have to say about matters of maturity and wisdom? What can a recent seminary graduate (M.A. Christian Counseling from Oral Roberts University) add to the field of practical theology? To answer this question, I'd like to borrow a response from one of my heroes, C.S. Lewis. In his book, Reflections on the Psalms, Lewis addresses his qualification to write such a work since he was neither a Hebrew or Biblical literature scholar. A few excerpts of his response:

If an excuse is needed (and perhaps it is) for writing such a book, my excuse would be something like this. It often happens that two schoolboys can solve difficulties in their work for one another better than the master can. When you took the problem to the master, as we all remember, he was very likely to explain what you understood already, to add a great deal of information you didn't want, and say nothing at all about the thing that was puzzling you. 

The fellow-pupil can help more than the master because he knows less. The difficulty we want him to explain is one he has recently met. The expert met it so long ago that he has forgotten. He see the whole subject, by now, in such a different light that he cannot conceive what is really troubling the pupil; he sees a dozen other difficulties which ought to be troubling him but aren't. 

I feel inspired to write on matters of growing into a mature disciple of Christ, not because I know so much on the subject, but because I don't. The struggles of putting my faith into practice are all too current. I wouldn't dare minimize the value of the wisdom of the elders in our faith. As Lewis suggests, however, the flip side of mastery of a subject is difficulty in empathizing with the struggles of a novice. I have little formal training in Biblical languages, so as I share insight into nuances of Bible study, my hope is that it will benefit the beginner.

Having grown up in church, attending countless services and devotions, one can get the sense that one has heard it all. If there has been one core revelation in the last few years, it is that the basics of Christianity are everything. No further depth is required or necessary. The difficulty is putting the basics into practice. It doesn't get any simpler than to "love God, love people", but as we all know, it is easier said than done. This blog will explore how we can put God's word into the practice and become a Builder on the Rock. Thanks for reading and your comments are welcome!