FRUIT INSPECTORS

Are you a fruit inspector?

Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits.  Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?” (Matt. 7:16.)  At first look, it may seem that Jesus is saying in this verse, “You can tell if someone’s ‘for real’ by the fruit they bear.  So go ahead!  Inspect away!”

Have you ever heard someone say, “I know we’re not supposed to judge, but we ARE called to be fruit inspectors.”

Are we?

First, let’s go back to that judging thing, which just happens to be in the same teaching, right before Jesus begins talking about fruit.  Matt. 7:1 - “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.”  The word judge comes from the Greek KRINO, which is the same word used in Jn. 3:17, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge (condemn) the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”  Jesus Himself didn’t come to judge; He warned against judging; so why should we think we’re called to do this very thing?

So was Jesus contradicting His own teaching, when He said, “Don’t judge.  But know them by their fruits?”

No.  Jesus was not contradictory, nor schizophrenic.

Let’s look a little deeper, which brings us to my second point.

If we read Verse 15 of that same chapter, we find that Jesus wasn’t talking about everyone, but prophets, specifically false prophets.  He warned, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”  So what is a prophet?  And what is a false prophet?

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         A prophet is not just one who speaks of future events, but one who speaks “as an interpreter or spokesman for God,” a PROPHETES (Thayer's Greek Lexicon - Strong's G4396).

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        The words “false prophet” are actually a combination of two Greek words, PSEUDO + PROPHETES, meaning “one who, acting the part of a divinely inspired prophet, utters falsehoods under the name of divine prophecies” (Strong's G5578).

Jesus compared the false prophet to a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  The false prophet, disguising himself as a sheep, goes into the flock for the sole purpose of leading them away from the Shepherd.  The sheep follow the “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” because of their instinctive tendency to stay together for protection (Cobb, 1999).

Jesus’ warning, then, is that we should not take prophets, or teachers, at face value, but to consider their fruit, or their words.  Are they speaking truth?  Does it line up with the written Word of God?  If not, it’s false.  It’s fake fruit.  Don’t follow them.

Thirdly, the only Inspector General that I find in the Bible is God Himself.

“And He began telling this parable: ‘A MAN had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and HE came looking for fruit on it and did not find any’” (Luke 13:6).  A basic understanding of Jesus’ parables lets us know that when He says, “A MAN,” or “A CERTAIN MAN,” this MAN is God.  God looks for, and at, the fruit we bear.

Just one more point, and in my opinion, the most important.

We ARE called to be inspectors of our own fruit (1 Cor. 11:28).  I don’t know about you, but for me, this is a full-time job!  Just guarding my own heart, watching my own tongue, staying positive, resisting the temptations that are a result of my own lust, forgiving others when they’ve wronged me, asking forgiveness when I’m the offender - without trying to keep everyone else straight – is challenge enough.

Are you a fruit inspector?

Peace,


Davina