Right Thinking = Right Fruit

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

-Matthew 7:15-23

I have always had a fascination with gems, diamonds in particular. No, I would not consider them to be my best friend, but diamonds possess a unique beauty that is unparalleled. The reason for this beauty is the way they reflect the light. Since they are multifaceted one can examine the diamond, then turn it slightly and the light is reflected in a whole new way. 

The many attributes of God are similar to the multi-facets of a diamond. You can be transfixed as you consider one of God's characteristics, then gaze at another attribute and be left in total awe. I have been reading A.W. Tozer's "The Knowledge of the Holy." In it he examines various attributes of God and how they relate to one another. One particular quote stood out during my reading:

I think it might be demonstrated that almost every heresy that has afflicted the church through the years has arisen from believing about God things that are not true, or from overemphasizing certain true things so as to obscure other things equally true. To magnify any attribute to the exclusion of another is to head straight for one of the dismal swamps of theology; and yet we are all constantly tempted to do just that.1

I am a firm believer that the foundation to our faith begins with right thinking about God and His Gospel. 

Matthew 7 gets at the heart of this issue. It is a passage that is often gravely misunderstood. Verses 16 and 20 says, "you will know them by their fruits;" but this is usually taken to mean that we will know someone is a Christian by his or her good works. However, when we examine this verse in context, the opposite is actually true.2 These "false prophets" demonstrated all kinds of good works- even prophesying and performing miracles, but what they lacked was a proper view of God and a correct understanding of the Gospel. So Jesus says to them, "I never knew you; depart from me."

We all know people or religious groups that are nice, charitable, and relatively moral. But all these good works are not what matter. Is the Jesus these religions teach about, the Jesus of the Bible? Is the Gospel they share the Gospel preached in Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"? If not, they are still lost in their understanding and separated from God. 

What matters is the foundation of our doctrine. This is the fruit that should truly distinguish us. The Gospel, also like a diamond, is filled with simplicity and complexity:

• Simplicity: God is holy, we are sinful and, therefore, separated from God. The punishment for our sin is death. Since we couldn't get to God, He came to us. He sent His Son, Jesus, to take our sin on Himself and die in our place. God offers His Son as a free gift to us that we respond to through faith and faith alone. That is Romans 6:23! 
• Complexity: We could spend the rest of our lives unpacking the truth of that simple Gospel. I also believe that almost every attribute of God can be seen in the truth of the Gospel- His love, justice, holiness, grace, sovereignty, mercy, and the list goes on and on!

We must build our good works upon a foundation of sound biblical doctrine. A proper understanding of God's forgiveness is the only way we are able to extend forgiveness to others. It is by grasping the extent of God's faithfulness that we can maintain stronger fidelity towards our spouse. Don't get me wrong, though, I am not excusing a life without good works. It was just last week that I highlighted 1 John 4 and emphasized that if we want to love God, we must start by loving people. Our doctrine should lead us to action, but beware of shallow or misled doctrine. Is there a sin controlling your life? What lie might you be believing about God? Take time to study some attributes of God, start reading "The Knowledge of the Holy," or just get into the Word and let it saturate your mind. 

1. A.W. Tozer, "The Knowledge of the Holy," New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 1961.
2. For further reading on this interpretation of Matthew 7 see pgs. 194-199 of J.C. Dillow, "The Reign of the Servant Kings," Haysville: Schoettle Publishing Co, 1992.