“A Tree Is Known by its Fruit”

Sunday, August 14, 2022

The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden. (1 Timothy 5.24-25)

A persistent gripe among atheists and others hostile toward Christ and the Bible, is that the ostensibly perfect and unchangeable Word of God is so full of contradictions.  Many have published lists of these supposed contradictions, and while a few are genuinely difficult to explain, the great majority of examples cited on most lists serve only to demonstrate that the skeptic has no more than a passing familiarity with the text he so despises.  The context—textual, narrative, historical, and theological—in almost all cases clears up the confusion and leaves us in awe of the author’s wisdom and obvious authority.  Nevertheless, as we do our best to wrap our feeble minds around the nature of the immortal, invisible, eternal, all-knowing sovereign of creation, it’s not surprising that our ability to comprehend comes up short from time to time.  Often, he tells us through his Scriptures things that are not exactly in conflict with each other, but that stand in tension with each other, setting an outer limit on the silly extremes to which we would otherwise try to take God’s commandments and observations.

An example of this can be seen in Jesus’ well-known Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus spends considerable effort illustrating that the outer appearance does not always match the inner man, beginning with the instruction,

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6.1)

Yet, he says before the sermon is over,

“You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.” (Matthew 7.16-18)

There is certainly no contradiction here.  The most straightforward conclusion to be drawn from Jesus’ combination of warning against putting on a show of righteousness, and his prediction that the unrighteous will reveal themselves, is simply that putting on a show doesn’t work—people see through it.  This is, of course, true; but it’s not the whole story.

Jesus gives examples—giving to the needy, praying, and fasting.  These are all good things to do.  They are the fruit.  But doesn’t that mean those who do them are healthy trees?  Similarly, Jesus’ instruction is to keep your giving a secret, pray in private, and do your best to conceal your fasting.  But to an outside observer, the person who keeps Jesus’ instructions about this may appear to be bearing no fruit at all, and what is he left to conclude?  Sure, he’s not the judge who matters, and Jesus says three times over, “your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt 6.4, 6, 18).  But how are we to know a tree is healthy, when the tree keeps concealing its fruit from us?

This isn’t all that challenging to figure out.  It’s not that Jesus is mistaken, nor has he changed his mind; it’s just that there’s some tension between the instruction and the prediction.  When we observe a single good work from an individual, we know it would be foolish to pass a sweeping judgment based upon one action, that this is a righteous person.  Even if we didn’t know better, Jesus tells us to beware of judging and pay careful attention to the standard we use, in the very same sermon (Mt 7.1-5).  Just as we wouldn’t pick a single apple and judge the tree based on a glance at that one specimen, we know to look at the whole picture before declaring a tree good or bad.  Even when we notice someone giving to the needy, or praying in public, or fasting out of devotion to God, if we pay attention we’ll easily see whether he’s trying to make a spectacle  of himself, or just doing a good deed without drawing attention or accolades.  If he’s putting on a show, he won’t fool most people.  They’ll generally notice the defect in the fruit, and rightly conclude that this is not a good tree.

On the other hand, if you’re “always abounding in the work of the Lord” (1Co 15.58), you’ll be noticed no matter how hard you try to hide your good works.  Some of that attention will be unwelcome and uncomfortable.  Jesus tells us—again, in the very same sermon—“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5.10).  Even the severest persecution and most damning lies will not change God’s mind about you, and his chosen people will generally not be fooled, either.

Paul covered both sides of sin and righteousness in the short quote at the top of this article.  “The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later” (1Ti 5.24).  They may hide them for a while, but try as they might, their sins most certainly will become apparent.  “So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden” (v25).  Try to hide them.  It’s an incredibly effective way to make sure you’re doing them out of devotion to God, and not a desire to exalt yourself.  But don’t be surprised when you’re found out.  An abundance of good works will not escape notice.

…if you pour yourself out for the hungry

        and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness

        and your gloom be as the noonday. (Isaiah 58.9)

Jeremy Nettles

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