Matthew 7:16-18 - By their fruit will you know them

7:16,17

So how do we recognise them? And recognise the implication that we should be watching out for them (and the direct command in the previous verse that we should be doing this). We recognise them by their fruit, by the fruit of their lives, and the types of “disciples” that they produce. A bad tree will not produce good fruit, but a good tree will do so. What we believe matters and has real effects in life.

7:18

“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit ...” This ties in with Jesus’ later words that it is what is in our hearts that matters, much more than outward appearance. Jesus came to change our hearts, we needed to be born again, and the Holy Spirit needs to be continually working on the inside. This should also guide us in how we approach the Sermon on the Mount. If we view it as a set of rules we have really missed the point and will get nowhere. For the inside will not have changed at all. In fact we will be even worse off because the “rules” are even stricter than the Law. Instead we need to see it as the direction that the Holy Spirit is leading us in. He will be working on our innermost being to make us people who do live in accordance with the Sermon on the Mount.