You’ll recognize them by their fruit.  Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?  In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.

A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.

Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.  Matthew 7:16-20  HCSB

Growing up in the country, I spent a lot of time during my summers in the woods behind my grandparent’s house.  There were lots of blackberries that we could pick.  We would pick them bring them home and wash them and eat them.  There were other plants out there that we could not eat because they were poisonous.  There were trees that produced a fruit that looked just like a small orange.  However the tree had huge thorns all over it.  Those we did not eat.  My grandparents grew strawberries which I loved to eat, but there were also a number of plants on their property that my grandmother would warn me not to eat them because they were poisonous.  I took her word for it. But she had several fig trees which produced big sweet figs and I loved to eat those as well.

Now, sadly, I don’t grow any fruit.  I buy my fruit from our local fruit stand or grocery market.  But there are times when I will eyeball a big navel orange or a red apple and think, “Oh, I’ll get that one”,  only to pick it up and find that it is rotten on the bottom side.  What a let down.

Unfortunately, people often let us down in much the same way.  They look really good on one side, but when you pick them up and start inspecting them, they are rotten to the core. In Matthew 7, Jesus begins by telling us not to judge others but then He says that we must beware of false prophets.  Jesus then goes on to say that we must inspect the fruit.

This brings to mind a few questions.  First of all, if someone were to inspect your fruit, what would they find?  Would they find a sweet looking outside, but a rotten, bitter inside?  Are you a Sunday morning church goer, but a Monday -Saturday sinner?  We must first take a look at ourselves before we run around inspecting others, just sayin’.

So let’s say that you pass inspection, have you inspected the company you keep?  1 Corinthians 15:33 tells us, Do not be deceived, Bad company corrupts good morals.  Often times when we accept Christ as our Savior, we are just on fire for Jesus.  We want to please God by loving Him with all our heart, loving others, focusing on Him, attending worship services regularly, getting involved in our church and all of these things are good.  However, some of our old friends are going to try to put out that fire.  We must be very careful.  I have lost some acquaintances over my surrendering to Jesus, but I have gained so many more good, Christian brothers and sisters.

Have you inspected the church you are attending?  Have you inspected the pastor or pastors to whom you listen? Our church needs to be Christ centered, not self centered.  A self centered church is really just a country club with a steeple.   We need to be sure that the pastor is preaching God’s Holy Word and not his own.  We need to be sure that God runs the church and that it is not run by someone who has issues with control.  We need to be sure that a Jezebel Spirit is not present in the church.  When we listen to preaching on the television or elsewhere outside of our churches, we must also be careful to be sure that it lines up with God’s word.

If you are a Christian, then you must know that everyone around you is inspecting your fruit and you need to be producing good fruit.  If you are not a Christian, but you are seeing what looks like good fruit and you think you may want some of this fruit in your life, inspect it carefully.  If you are a Christian and you are trying to soak up all the Jesus you can, be careful.  Be sure that the fruit is good.

With good fruit we can lead others to Christ.  No one wants rotten fruit.  You will run into those that are trying to pass rotten fruit off as good fruit.  Pray to God for wisdom and discernment to help you know the difference.  And always carefully inspect all fruit.

Have a great day!