Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Judging

“I’m Just Judging Fruit!”

I once heard it said when someone was rebuked for judging a fellow Christian that they were NOT judging the person just their fruit. It is a common mistake that many people make. They think they can judge the actions of a person while not judging that person so that they, the self appointed judge, are clean from judgmental sin, all the while knowing that they are just as sinful and wrong as the person they judge. Allow me a moment to clarify something if I may.

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 43-45 NIV

So, looking at the above verse we have Christ making a comparison of man kinds works compared to the fruit of a tree. Illustrating that good works come from good people and evil works come from people with evil in their hearts. It all comes down to the condition of your heart. It is not the person that defines the heart, but the heart that defines the person. What you choose to fill your heart with is a free choice you get to make. That choice then is reflected in your words and actions during your day to day life. SO your fruit is the direct reflection of your choice of good and evil and therefore can not be evaluated separate from the individual creating that metaphoric fruit. SO when you judge a persons fruit, you are judging their character, choices, decisions and state of heart. How can that NOT be judging the person? So just a word to the wise:

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:37 NIV

What does this mean for the people NOT judging others? It means that if you do not see that you are blessing others then you have not filled your heart with blessings to give to others. What you fill your heart with will be the fruit you bear to others. SO if you fill your heart with the word, you will have the word to give to others. You can not fill your heart with doubt and think you will give hope to others. “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers” Therefore fill your heart with the things you wish to give to others. Give hope to the lost, wisdom to the confused, life to the dead and peace to the troubled. Bear the Godly fruits and you will ensure YOUR fruit can stand the test of the one and only judge of mans heart/fruit, Christ Jesus.

Things to study:

Fruits of the Spirit -

Gal 5:22

Eph 5:9

Fruits of Righteousness:

Fruits of Sin:

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