Matthew 7:13-20

In chapter 7, Jesus has been warning His disciples about correct and incorrect judgment. He has instructed them that there are two types of judgment. One is correct and the other is incorrect. There is first a judgment that condemns, which is unacceptable for believers. Second, there is also a discerning judgment that is good, and must be done by all believers. In chapter 7, Jesus also has explained how all of us can obtain discernment so we can make these correct judgments. In verses 6-12, Jesus discussed two very important principles that help with discernment. One is prayer, and the second is love. Now, let’s look at two further principles of discernment. Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matt. 7:13-20).

Many times, when people read this section of Scripture, they see no connection between the principles Jesus taught concerning judgment, and what is taught in verses 13-20. But I assure you that Jesus knew exactly what He was doing by connecting these concepts together. There is a clear continuity from the previous statements to what comes here in these passages. Jesus was still teaching how you can make correct discerning judgments.

What are these further principles for making correct discerning judgments?

1. Discernment comes from simply entering into the life of Christ.

Jesus began in these verses with a simple command to His disciples, and to any who desire to follow Him. He declared that if you want to possess the correct discernment in life, you must enter into a relationship with Him so you can experience His life. To enter and experience this life, you must come through the narrow gate, and then continue on the narrow path. Entering the gate is one thing, but continuing on the narrow path is quite another. Jesus was teaching that discernment came from simply entering through this narrow gate, and following the narrow way, which would produce the fruit of life within you. Once you possess His life within, then you have the ability to make correct judgments. Why? Because you have moved from death, darkness, and spiritual blindness, into Christ’s life, light, and the ability to spiritually see with His eyes. Paul declared that, “If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Cor. 4:3-4). Likewise, the Apostle John declared, “He who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11). This is why Jesus wanted His disciples to truly experience His life within them, so they could see the kingdom, and enter it. Remember Jesus told Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). If someone cannot even see the kingdom, they surely would not be able to possess the knowledge and discernment of kingdom principles.

Never forget that the overall theme of this sermon was to get His disciples to enter into His kingdom. What do I mean by this statement? In Matthew 5:20, remember what Jesus told His disciples, “I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” The important word Jesus used here was enter. Jesus didn’t want the disciples to just know about the kingdom; He wanted them to actually enter the kingdom. Look at the verse that follows our present text in Matthew 7:21. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Notice again that the word enter is the point of this verse.

What did Jesus mean when He commanded His disciples to, “Enter in at the narrow gate.” First, the Greek word enter, according to the Dictionary of Biblical Languages, is a word that literally means to experience. You can see a similar usage of this word in Luke 22:40, where Jesus said, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” This verse makes it very clear that Jesus was explaining how His disciples might not experience temptation. He taught them that if they didn’t want to experience temptation that was ahead of them, then they needed to pray. The deeper and the more intimate your prayer life is, the more you will be protected from temptation. If you have a very weak prayer life you will have much more temptation to deal with every day. Why would this be true? Without a vital prayer life, you simply won’t be experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. To experience His power and life, you must continually go to Him, and wait upon Him in prayer. Are you entering and experiencing His life and power as you wait upon Him? Or, are you walking in your own power as you live your life?

Be assured that each of you reading these words today have either entered the narrow gate, and are on the narrow way, or you have entered the broad gate, and you are on your way to destruction. Jesus was making it absolutely clear by this statement that there were only two options in life. I can’t give you a third option, or I would be adding to the Word of God, and misrepresenting Jesus. If I gave you a third option, I would be lying and deceiving you. There is no third option! There is either heaven or hell. There is no purgatory from which you can work your way into heaven. Jesus said, you are either with Me or against Me (Matt. 12:30)! You have either life or death within your soul. That’s it. There is no place of neutrality. Jesus would never allow anyone to sit on the fence, and not take a position concerning Him. Here is the point! Once you enter into the narrow gate and experience His life within, then you will know the difference between those who are real sheep, and those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing. This is why this discernment principle is so important. So, are you sure you know what these broad and narrow paths entail, and are you absolutely sure which path you have chosen?   

What is the broad gate and the broad way vs. the narrow gate and the narrow way?

First, let me explain the narrow gate and the narrow way. Once you understand these terms then it is easy to understand what the broad gate would be, and also the broad way. So, let’s first define the gate, which is the point of entry into the sheepfold. The narrow gate or door is Jesus Himself. Jesus made this clear when He taught, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:7-9). You can’t come into the sheepfold, through the narrow gate, except by Him. There are many people who are trying to enter into a relationship with God without going through the door, Jesus Christ. If someone tried to come in any other way, Jesus called them thieves and robbers, or as He called them here in the Sermon on the Mount, wolves in sheep’s clothing. The wolves in sheep’s clothing clearly would refer to the scribes and Pharisees.

Peter also taught this narrow gate principle in Acts 4:12 when he said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” That means there is only one gate into the kingdom, and one way into a relationship with the Father. There is one God, and one way to this one God. It’s so natural and logical to think that there is only one way to the one true God. There was only one way into the sheepfold where the shepherd would keep and protect his sheep at night. Then the shepherd would himself lay across the door, thus becoming the only door into the sheepfold.

Then you must ask the question, what is the name “given among men by which we must be saved?” It is the only name by which a man can be saved It is the name of Jesus, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew name Yeshua, or Yahweh is salvation. But, people say today that it doesn’t make any difference what we call God’s name. Is that true? Are the people who worship and call upon Allah worshiping the same God? No, they are not. God’s name is Yahweh which is used interchangeably with the words “I AM” found in Exodus 3:14. In the Old Testament when Moses stood before the burning bush the Scripture declares, “Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' Moreover, God said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’” (Ex. 3:13-15).

Knowing God’s name helps you to understand exactly who Jesus claimed to be. In the New Testament Jesus claimed to be the I AM several times. Jesus said in John 8:58-59, “Before Abraham was, I AM. Then they took up stones to stone Him with.” Why did the Pharisees want to stone Him? Because they knew exactly what He was claiming. I usually bring this particular passage up to Jehovah Witnesses, and I say, “Look at what Jesus was claiming in this text. Do miss this fact, because it means your salvation!” But, the people of Jesus’ time clearly understood who He was claiming to be. In fact, earlier in John 8:24, Jesus also declared, “Unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” Jesus was making it absolutely clear that you must believe something very specific about Him, or you will die in your sins. Do you believe that Jesus was and is the great I AM, who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush? Believing in Jesus entails believing who He claimed to be. Believing in Jesus will allow you to then enter into the narrow gate.

At another time, Jesus asked the Pharisees a very specific question, which is found in Matthew 22:42. He said, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” I think you would agree that Jesus would not ask a question like this, if it wasn’t an important question. The answer to the question is even more important. In other words, who is Jesus? Whose Son is He?  They responded to Him, “The Son of David.” Then Jesus asked, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord?” Then Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1, where David calls the Messiah Lord. Jesus goes on to say, “If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?” Jesus brought this passage up because it revealed not only the humanity of Christ as the son of David, but also the Deity of Christ, because is the Son of God, and Son of Man (Matt. 16:16; Matt. 27:43; Luke 12:8; Luke 22:69). The Messiah had to come through the family lineage of David to be the son of David (1 Kings 8:25). But Jesus was much more than just the son of David. He was also the Son of God, or more literally God the Son, or God come in human flesh. This fact is what must be believed for someone to enter the narrow gate!

A further fact that established who Jesus claimed to be, was when Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. When Jesus made this claim, the Pharisees took up stones to stone Him, because he claimed that God was His own personal Father. This is a very specific term in Greek. The Greek word idios, refers to something that is uniquely your own. Thus, Jesus was claiming that His Father was uniquely His own. Most of the places in the New Testament where this word is used, it is translated his own, denoting something uniquely yours (Rom. 14:5; 1 Cor. 3:8). The Pharisees clearly understood what Jesus meant when He claimed that God was His own Father. They understood Him to be claiming equality with God. Notice John’s commentary after Jesus made this claim, “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18). So, there should be no question about who Jesus claimed to be. There should also be no question about who you should be calling upon to save you. The narrow gate simply means you must come into a relationship with the Father through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. 

What is the narrow way? 

The word way means the road or the path you follow. Therefore, the narrow way refers to the path you take in your continuing fellowship with Jesus. Jesus not only described Himself as the only door to the sheepfold, but He also declared that He was the way, or the road to the Father. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). In other words, once you come to faith in Jesus, your next step in your path is to now daily fellowship with Him. You can’t come through any other gate to get to the Father, and there is no other way to know God except through faith, fellowship, and obedience to Jesus. The narrow way is just simply hearing and obeying what Jesus has commanded. As you hear His voice through His Word, and obey Him, this is how you will know the truth, which will lead you to experience real life.

However, many times people enter into the narrow gate, but they choose not to walk on the narrow way. The gate is one aspect of relationship with Jesus, but the path you take is another issue all together. Are you walking on the narrow way? If the narrow way is just obeying what He commands you to do, where should you begin? In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said it this way, “If anyone desires to come after Me,” which refers to a decision to enter the narrow gate. But, Jesus continued, “let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” This latter part of the verse referred to the narrow way that you must walk. The narrow way requires that you deny your selfishness, die to self as He did on the cross, and follow Him. This is the path you must take throughout your life. Jesus said that if a person refused to take this path, then he or she could not be His disciple (Luke 14:26-27; 33). In Proverbs 14:12, Solomon said, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” There can be a way that seems right to you, but in reality, it will destroy you and your faith. Why? Because it doesn’t require a denial and a death to self. Just examine the fruit of your life, and that will tell you a lot about the way you have chosen to live. Sometimes people reject the narrow gate of salvation through Christ alone, but others reject the narrow way once they realize what it will cost them. This is why Jesus warned in the Parable of the Sower, that there were some who have the seed of God’s Word planted within them, but choose to be distracted by, “the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19). May you not make this mistake!

Why did Jesus teach that there would be many that would choose the broad gate, and few that choose the narrow gate? Jesus gave the answer to this question in Matthew 7:13-14.  He taught, “Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. And difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Jesus knew what was required to walk the narrow path. He said it would be difficult. What did Jesus mean when He said it is a difficult lifestyle? Why would it be difficult? Because it costs you living for self. It will cost you giving up your life, giving up your rights, giving up the way that seems right to you; this is what it means to die to self. This is why it is difficult. You have to die! But that is what it requires to experience His life within you. But, no one likes dying to their own fleshly desires, and yet this is exactly what stumbles the many.

Two problems with the narrow gate and the narrow way.

We all have two problems as believers; our self-will and our fleshly nature. These are the two issues that keep a person from the narrow gate and the narrow way. Let me show you this in Scripture. In John 5:40, Jesus declared exactly what the problem was with the Pharisees, and why they would not believe in Him. He said, “You are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” They were “not willing” to come to Him, which again refers to the narrow gate. They wanted religion and religious rituals, not a relationship with God that would bring them real life. They wanted an external religion, not a changed heart. This is the first problem that we all have; we are willfully rebellious. Before I came to Christ, I willfully resisted Him for a long time. I didn’t want to have to admit that I was a sinner. I refused to surrender because I wanted to continue with my sinful behavior. This same struggle with your will occurs even after you come to Christ. This is why Jesus taught us by His example to pray, “Not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Real maturity and growth begin when you surrender your will to Him.

The second problem that hinders you from walking the narrow path is the battle with your fleshly sin nature. This battle rages inside every one of us every day. You struggle with your sin nature before you enter the narrow gate, and also after you get onto the narrow way. This is another major reason why many don’t stay on the narrow way. It’s like having a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde living inside you. One day you are walking and living as a Christian should, and the next day your flesh seems to raise its ugly head and seeks to drive you in the opposite direction. Sometimes this struggle takes place in your thought life, and no one sees it. But you know that it is taking place. The frustration and condemnation from this battle within can be overwhelming at times. You think to yourself, What am I going to do? This struggle inside me is taking me down. Is there any way out? Yes, there is a way out! The way out is surrender to God and the power of His Holy Spirit. Notice what Paul taught in Galatians 5:17. He explained, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” This is the battle that all true Christian’s have within them. You want to do the right thing, but there is a battle that goes on inside of you. First, just by the fact that you are having this battle within, is proof that you are a true believer. It reveals that you have a new nature fighting inside you against your old nature. The solution is to first use your will, and choose to surrender to the Holy Spirit. The power of the Spirit is what makes the old nature to die, loosen its grip upon you, and also what allows your new nature to begin to reign inside of you. Paul declared, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). Surrendering to the Spirit will determine whether you experience life or death within, the broad way or the narrow way. Only as you surrender and experience the power of the Spirit setting you free, will you experience life. His life within you is where the discernment for all things in life will be found.

Let me show you how Paul taught this same truth in a little different way. In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul said, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Notice, Christ dwelling in your heart is you entering in the narrow gate. Then Paul said, “That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height -- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Once you are rooted and grounded in love, then you will be able to “comprehend.” Here again is this issue of discernment being brought up in Scripture. What are you to comprehend? What is the width and length, and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. You are going to have spiritual understanding and confidence that you are a true Christian, which gives you the absolute assurance of your own salvation. His life and Spirit within you will also enable you to discern if others are true believers. Remember, this is the theme of this seventh chapter of Matthew.

2. Discernment comes from examining fruit.

The ultimate discernment that God will give to you, will always come by from examining the fruit of a person’s life. Jesus explained to His disciples, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matt. 7:15-20). Let me illustrate this principle of discernment through a process you experience regularly. Every week we all go to the grocery store, and when we are there, we usually buy some fruits and vegetables. When you are choosing each piece of fruit, what do you do? Do you just grab fruit indiscriminately, and throw it into your cart? Or, do you carefully examine each apple, peach, or plum before you put them into your bag? Of course, you inspect them closely, because sometimes you pick up a piece of fruit, and it looks good on one side, but when you turn it over it is bruised or rotten on the other side. When you find a piece of rotten fruit do you buy it anyway? No, of course not. Why? Because you don’t want to eat something that is rotten. You make these decisions weekly because you have become a good fruit inspector. However, even though the piece of fruit looks great on the outside, sometimes you are fooled, because when you get home and bite into that juicy apple of plum, it ends up being rotten within. It tastes terrible, and you throw the piece of fruit away. So, if you know how to inspect fruit at the grocery store, why shouldn’t you do the same thing when you deal with people? If you can discern physical fruit, surely you can discern spiritual fruit in a person’s life. When you need discernment for any decision concerning other people, you must always first consider their fruit. This is your responsibility. This is what Jesus commanded His disciples to do in this sermon. If you fail to take this action, you will end up making poor decisions that will result in harm to you and those you love. The bottom line in all wise discernment will always result from careful fruit inspection. So, let me explain how you should do this.

The most important place to begin with any fruit inspection, is to first determine if there is good fruit in your own life? Why? Because you have been called to bear fruit, and that fruit should be obvious. Jesus said in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” Notice, that Jesus made the connection between someone having good fruit in their lives, with being chosen by God, and seeing answered prayer. That is an interesting connection. Good fruit is something that every true believer should possess. If you are to be enabled to examine another person’s fruit, you need to know what good fruit looks like. But this self-examination also keeps you from self-righteous judgment of others as I have already addressed in this seventh chapter. Remember what Jesus said earlier in this sermon. “First remove the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck in your brother’s eye.” If I am ever going to be able to become a good fruit inspector, then I must first see fruit within my own life. Only then will I be able to know what I should be looking for in others.

What fruit should you be looking for in yourself, and others?

What was Jesus talking about when He used this term fruit? This is a very important question to answer. Scripture describes many different behaviors as the fruit He wants to see in our lives. First, fruit is the proof that fruit tree is alive. Jesus said of the Pharisees, “For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matt. 23:27). These men looked good on the outside, but inside they were spiritually dead. The Apostle John declared, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). If you are a true believer, then you will have Christ’s life within you. John also equated this life within us with possessing love for others (1 John 3:14). Love is clearly taught as the fruit of the Spirit, and is the proof of a healthy spiritual life. Paul declared in Galatians 5:22-23, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” This is the fruit that you should see when the Holy Spirit is living in you, and reigning as Lord in your life.

Paul also spoke of the fruit of righteousness that you should see in the life of every true believer. Righteousness describes the attitudes and actions that will be revealed in your life when the Holy Spirit is in control of you. The Apostle John declared, “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29). To obtain this righteousness is a process of correction and God’s discipline in our lives. This is how we grow as believers! In Hebrews 12:11 the apostle declared, “There is no chastening that seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” We go through trials and correction so that God can do the necessary pruning on the tree of our life, so that we will bear more fruit of the Spirit and greater righteousness.

In addition, God warned His people concerning the fruit of their thoughts. In Jeremiah 6:19 the Lord declared, “Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words, nor My law, but rejected it.” This passage makes it very clear that your thought life is a really important thing to God. He knows your thoughts, and if you are heeding His words, or rejecting them. He knows every thought you think, and the motivation behind these thoughts. God revealed this same truth to Solomon when He commanded him to, “Know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chron. 28:9). Since God knows and understands the intent of your thoughts, should you not reject the evil that comes into your mind, instead of rejecting His Words? Why is knowing that God can see your every thought so important for you? Because if you don’t want to become a Pharisees, then reject all evil thoughts so you can have a close fellowship with your heavenly Father. Also, if you do not control what you think about, you will eventually act on these thoughts. The fruit of your thoughts is the fruit of where your heart is at. Remember Jesus said, “Out of the heart comes evil thoughts” (Matt. 15:19). If you are dwelling on evil in your mind, then your heart has becoming corrupt. You need to repent, and get your heart right before Him, or you cannot continue on the narrow way.

Another fruit that Scripture refers to is the fruit of your lips. In Hebrews 13:15 the Scripture declared, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Not being concerned with the fruit of your lips will cause you to engage in gossip, evil speaking, using flattery to gain advantage with people, foul language, and many other sinful behaviors that reveal the fruit of corrupt lips. Instead, the fruit of your lips should be giving the sacrifice of praise and honor to the God who has given us every good and perfect gift (James. 1:17). The fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of your thoughts, and the fruit of your lips are all areas in your life that you must be concerned about. What kind of fruit is coming forth from your life? Is it good fruit overall? 

I believe that it is important to think and look at the issues of fruit in your life. You should ask yourself many hard questions on a regular basis. Does the fruit of my lips line up with the teaching of God’s Word? Am I counseling and encouraging others to do what the Bible teaches? Or, am I adding to, or subtracting from, the Word of God? Does the fruit of my life line up with the teachings of Scripture? Or, am I living contrary to His Word? Is the fruit of my attitude in harmony with the love of God? Or, is my attitude like the rest of this world?

If you had a fruit tree in your yard at home, what would you do with that tree if it didn’t bear fruit, or did not bear good fruit? Wouldn’t you go out and chop it down, and get rid of it. This is why Jesus said in verse 19, “Every tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” The word bear in this verse is in the present tense, which means that the tree continually did not bear fruit. If a fruit tree continually did not bear fruit, then it is a worthless tree. Why would you want to keep watering and feeding a tree that didn’t produce any fruit? You wouldn’t! But also, sometimes a fruit tree will get diseased. In this circumstance you wouldn’t cut it down, you would feed it and spray the tree to kill the disease, because you know that if you don’t, the disease will ultimately kill the tree. If the tree still did not bear fruit, then it is good for nothing except to be cut down and thrown into the fire. Remember, good fruit is the ultimate sign of a healthy tree, and a healthy life.

Is Jesus teaching that you must be perfect?

Now, a word of caution at this point. This teaching of Jesus does not mean that a believer must be perfect, or have perfect fruit every day of your life. Let me illustrate this point. When you go to the grocery store to buy fruit, do you only buy perfect fruit? No! Why? Because there is no perfect fruit. There is a difference between a speck on the skin of the apple, or the discoloration on the skin of a plum, and it being rotten. Some fruit is over-ripe and some fruit is under-ripe. Does that mean you won’t buy it? No, in fact sometimes you want only over-ripe fruit for canning, and other times you want under-ripe fruit so it will last longer in your refrigerator. My point is that there are flaws, and small specks that can be removed before you eat it. Remember, this is why Jesus spoke about the difference between taking the beam out of your own eye, before you take the speck out of your brother’s eye. This statement means that specks will always be present in the life of a believer, and they can be removed. We are all removing specks on a daily basis from our own lives. You remove specks through repentance, prayer, and good counsel from other believers. It is important to note that when Jesus spoke about this issue of fruit, He was talking about what is the general practice in your life. In verses 17-18 Jesus clarified, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.” All of the words bear in these two verses are in the present tense, which means that Jesus was referring to a tree that continuously bore good or bad fruit. Understanding these facts gives you a clearer understanding then of what Jesus meant that a good tree cannot continuously bear bad fruit. It also helps you understand that this statement of Jesus was referring to the consistent practice of a person’s life, and not some perfect person. There are no perfect Christians! I surely don’t have perfect fruit always coming forth from my life, and neither do you. But the consistent practice of our lives should be producing good fruit. When you get upset and yell at your mate, or your child, or you get into a conflict with someone; these actions only prove that you are a sinner, and need to address some specks in your life. Other times you may have a plank that needs removal. But, when these conflicts occur, what do you do? Don’t you repent, get your heart right, and go back and ask for forgiveness? This is the fruit of a truly repentant heart, that motivates you to do the will of your Father in these circumstances. Jesus illustrated this truth that revealed the heart of someone who was sincerely following the Lord, when He taught the Parable of the Two Sons. Jesus explained who was doing the will of the Father, and who was not when He said, “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said to Him, ‘The first.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him” (Matt. 21:28-32). The point of this parable is the fact that repentance is difference between a person of does the will of the Father, and a person who will not. Just by the fact that you see your sin when you fail, and repent, proves that you are someone who has chosen to believe in Jesus who has commanded you to do the will of your Father. You are just like the tax collectors and harlots that chose to believe and follow Him.

Let me give you some examples of those who are on the broad and narrow path.

Each of the examples I am about to give to you are from real people that I have counseled over the years in my ministry. These examples reveal how I made discerning judgments in these cases. Here is how you make a discerning judgment.

There are some individuals I have met that are extremely nice people. They seem like they are very loving people. They seem to say all the right things, they have all the Christianese correct, but at the same time they are using drugs, or they are sleeping with their girlfriend or boyfriend, or with someone else’s spouse. Or, these nice people are compulsive liars, and get caught in their lying on a regular basis. Again, some of these nice people are involved in some illegal business practice, and all of a sudden, their illegality comes to light. At that moment you see a big red flag waving over their head! You realize there is something wrong with this picture. Their profession of words, do not match the fruit of their behavior.

There are other people that you meet who seem to be doing what is right externally like the Pharisees, but in private, they behave very differently. You realize they are extremely harsh and abusive toward their spouse; they are exclusionary and promote cliques in the church, they are prideful and self-righteous, which is the exact opposite of the fruit of the Spirit. When you see these contradictions, you must come to the conclusion that something is wrong. They look like true sheep, but they are in reality a false-believer. Why would you come to this conclusion? Because the fruit of the Spirit is missing in their lives, or the fruit of righteousness is absent from their behavior. At this point you must come to the conclusion that their profession of words is empty and deceitful. 

Jesus said in John 13:35, that there was one very important way to determine those who were His true followers. “By this, all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus was not talking only about a person’s external actions; He was referring to the essential fruit of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, which is the proof of life within. If you don’t first see this fruit of love in yourself, you need question if you have truly entered through the narrow gate, and if you are on the narrow way. Have you really come to Jesus by faith? Are you truly walking with Him? If not, you need to come to Jesus by faith and repent of whatever is hindering your relationship with Him. He can transform anyone and change any heart, if you will only surrender and believe Him to do it!

If you see others who do not have fruit that matches their words, pray for them, and share with them the specific verses of Scripture that will help them see the contradiction in their lives. If they hear you, then you have gained your brother, and covered a multitude of sins. James commanded us, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20). If they refuse to hear you, and continue in their hypocrisy, follow the instruction of Matthew 18:15-17.

In conclusion, remember, fruit is the ultimate means of discernment. This is why Paul warned the Corinthian church, “Let no one deceive himself” (1 Cor. 3:18). Why did Paul say this? They were professing faith in Christ, but they were practicing immorality at the same time. Paul told them, “You will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9). What a sobering thought that someone could be in the church, and still miss entering into heaven. This is where Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount, by encouraging His listeners to examine themselves.