15"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
I had often wondered if I would recognize Jesus if He came. Would I believe He is the Christ, or would I discount any good works or miracles He performed as tricks or subterfuge? Or would I be conned into believing someone else who I shouldn't believe. There are many who have come to start up religious movements which have ended in tragedy. The people who fell for these leaders were not stupid people. How do we protect ourselves from falling into these traps?
Jesus says we cannot tell who is false and who is true by looking at the leader. Outwardly they may look like the real thing. We would not be able to see what they were like inwardly. But what we can see are their fruits. What is the fruit of their labor? Do they build unity or dissension? Do they build peace or destruction? A bad tree cannot bear good fruit. So if we see good fruit, we will know it must be from a good tree. Even the fruit is not always clear if it is good or bad. The only way to recognize it is by understanding what Jesus wanted. Are some of these peaceful communes what Jesus wanted? Are they good or bad? Only the Bible can tell us what is good or bad.
But this makes me wonder. No one can know what I am like inwardly. But they can see the fruit I bear. Do I bear good fruit or bad fruit? Do I even bear any fruit at all?
And one final thought, when you see conflicts of how things ought to be done, examine the fruit. There are many different churches that do things many different ways. It sure seems that some ways ought to be right and others wrong. But Jesus says to take a look at the fruit. Good fruit cannot come from a bad tree. If they are bearing good fruit, they are doing good. There are no right or wrong ways to do things, as long as the fruit is good.
Prejudices get in the way of so many things. Don't get sidestepped into judging people by their outward appearances, by how they do things, by their religious beliefs, or even by their sexual orientation. Take a look at their fruits. If they are bearing good fruits, they cannot possibly be bad people.