My Daily Pause

They shall be know by their fruit

The world (and many that claim to be Christians) will use Matthew 7:1 as a way to avoid being told they are living wrong. To make that verse an instruction against judging good and evil causes a conflict with nearly everything else Jesus taught.

Take for instance Matthew 12:33-37. Jesus gives us a benchmark on how to tell the difference between good and evil. We can use a person’s actions and their speech to determine what kind of people they are because:

• We can easily know the kind of tree by the fruit hanging on it.
• Good speech comes from good people
• Good things come from good treasure

In this passage, Jesus tells us we simply cannot be expected to consider sinful people good.

To prove my point, I challenge the reader to a little mental exercise. What goodness is demonstrated by a few of these “harmless” activities?

• Gambling (The lottery, gas station slots, boy’s night poker games)
• Social Drinking
• Showing cleavage (Or dressing immodestly in other ways)
• Crude language

Through Jesus’ point we can understand our lifestyle is a very accurate indicator of what is inside our heart. It will definitely be used in the final judgment!