BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL RECOGNISE THEM

BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL RECOGNISE THEM

In a day of profession it is an immense help that there is an unmistakable way by which we can discern between good and bad speaking. In the judgment of the Lord a speaker is either a good tree or a bad one. And in a day of profession as it was in Israel in the time of the Lord, He announces this unfailing test, that “by their fruits ye shall know them”. He had warned them that the false prophets would come in sheep’s clothing, that their outside assumption was quite the opposite to what they were in heart. It would seem almost uncharitable to suppose that one was quite contrary to his profession, hence our blessed Lord gives us this test, “by their fruits ye shall know them”. The fruit indicates the real nature of the tree. You cannot gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil”. The moment a man speaks he declares himself. If there be wickedness in his utterances, the wickedness was in his heart before he gave utterance to it: just as the braying of the ass covered with the lion’s skin betrayed him. Even in common things a great point is gained when a man declares himself, for the effort of the wicked to conceal his malice, very often awakens suspicion. If there had been simplicity there would not be the same amount of effort and elocution to conceal the motive underneath; consequently “The tongue is fire, the world of unrighteousness”. Thus is the tongue set in our members, the defiler of the whole body, and which sets fire to the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell. It is not that the tongue itself is the origin of the mischief, but it is the organ to express it; if the evil had not existed it could not have been expressed, and if there were godly rule, the tongue would not have expressed the evil, and hence its guilt because it had expressed it. Once expressed, there is no recalling it; you may repent of it, but you have made the wound, however you may try to heal it. Here hasty people damage themselves irretrievably. You may extract the sting, but the poison remains, and confidence is destroyed. Hence in religious controversies, where personal recriminations are allowed, there is seldom any true reconciliation. Remember if a man can rule his tongue he can rule his whole body. The license of the tongue betrays the real lack in grace.

^[p. 160] It is very necessary for the saints in this day to apply our Lord’s test to the multitudinous utterances which reach us from all sides. When any publication comes within our reach, the first question should be, Is this good fruit? If it be not good fruit it comes from a bad tree — the flesh; a very simple and very effectual way of determining the value of every composition. If I am jealous for the church with a godly jealousy, I seek in every way to edify the saints; and as they are simple, they soon discover and acknowledge those really interested in their welfare. The man occupied with points, such as elders, or baptism, or some one doctrine, declares the ruling thing in his own mind, instead of feeding the soul with the whole truth — Christ — the centre and source of all; nothing hid from the light and heat thereof, so that the whole circle and range would be communicated, and not one part of the grand whole left out. If I am dark on any subject there is a lack of light in my heart, like a room where there is not light enough to reach all the corners. The true remedy is to increase the light. If any one will take the trouble to study the history of a heretic, he will find that as a rule he began on some right point, but this so absorbed his mind, and so controlled his thoughts, that he eventually gave it an undue place, and the moment you give any one truth an undue place, you have deprived it of its actual verity. It has been perverted by you, and when a particular subject becomes thus unduly prominent, it indicates that there is a greater desire to establish one’s own opinion than to feed souls, or to supply the true remedy for every lack. In a day like this, the godly soul should take to heart the warning of our blessed Lord, “By their fruits ye shall know them”. And when any publication is presented to him, he should immediately subject it to the test — is this good fruit? “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good ... for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh”.

^[p. 161] It is comparatively easy to detect the grosser forms of this wide-spreading evil, and the object for which it comes. For example, Paul warns the Ephesian elders that of their own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things (Acts 20: 30). And again Colossians 2: 4, “And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words”. I refer to this as showing the purposes for which language would be used. There was at first, when there was but one language, a confounding of tongues, but now when there is but one doctrine or truth, the attempt has been to confound it by language.

Again in 2 Timothy, “Shun profane and vain babblings”. These indicate the corrupt fountain from which they emanate. Again there is another not so deeply unsound, but equally destructive because less open, in chapter 4: 4, “They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables”. If one were truly walking in the fear of the Lord, the fruit or the nature of the food would be at once examined. Surely if one were cast on an unknown land, one of the first inquiries would be which of the vegetables or fruits were fit for food. Does the question come as anxiously in divine conscientiousness before us as if we were eating the fruit of an unknown tree? Is this really good? will it minister grace to me?

There is another class of speaking of which we must be on our guard. There are false teachers who through covetousness shall with feigned words make merchandise of you. The apostle declares in 1 Thessalonians 2: 5 that he was free from anything of the kind: “Neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness”. I adduce this to prove how important is the test “By their fruits ye shall know them”, that is, that we were to be of a sound mind, that we might be able to detect whether there was divine nutriment or not in any speaking or writing.

Many through mercy have been preserved from the evil fruits which I have commented on, yet there remains ^[p. 162] another which I must not overlook, and that is speaking slightingly or opposingly of those who have been the ministers of Christ to the church, as Paul censures Alexander the coppersmith, “of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words”. And John writes of Diotrephes, “Babbling against us with wicked words”. Now it may be alleged in extenuation of those who fall into this evil in the present day, that it is not as grave as it was in the apostle’s day, for then it was against the inspired teacher. This is in a measure true, but the malice that would disparage any faithful servant is of the same order. Have not some availed themselves of the service and labour of valued teachers who in the heat of controversy have not hesitated to depreciate them? I need not add more; I hope I have said enough to awaken the truehearted to the importance of the Lord’s warning, and I now would say a word on the marks of ministry which is really helpful to souls.

There are two characters in the real servant of the church — the nurse and the father. “We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children”. This is a very peculiar ministry, whether in writing or speaking; the child of God very soon appreciates this servant. You feel that he has your interest at heart, and that he is thinking of serving you just as the nurse thinks of the child, and what suits it, and not what she is able to offer it; for often a true servant is too much taken up with the truth or food which he can present; instead of the state and capacity of the child. The child’s interest is the peculiar characteristic of the nurse; and the child is sure to be won by it, if simple and honest. The other mark is that of a father. Here it is not so much cherishing, fostering, or promoting health, as with the nurse, which is displayed in many ways, feeding, shielding you from the cold, and everything which would expose you to danger, or overtax your strength, a touch of consideration which though quite comprehensible, yet cannot be described. Now a father exhorts, comforts, and testifies;

^[p. 163] he would lead on souls as if they were his own children, that they should walk worthy of God, who has called us to His kingdom and glory. Where these characters are wholly lacking in any ministry, the spiritual mind will turn from it as not good fruit; for if there be any interest in the welfare of souls, one or both of these characters will be found in some measure in the ministry, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, and in this day of pretentious writing and speaking every one faithful to Christ is bound to subject everything to the test the Lord has given, remembering that He repeated it with emphasis: “By their fruits then surely ye shall know them”.