Proverbs 11:30 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise.”
Scripture speaks figuratively of men as trees. God, speaking of a godly man in Psalms 1:3, says, “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper.”
Likewise, Jeremiah 17:7-8, says, “Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
I used to think of trees of righteousness as though they were the cedars of Lebanon. After reading the parables of Jesus, however, I have come to consider our roles to be that of fruit-bearing trees.
When God created man, He commanded him and his wife, “Be fruitful and multiply.” He told Noah and his sons, upon leaving the ark, “Be fruitful and multiply.” When God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, He commanded him, “Be fruitful and multiply.” To all these God was commanding natural increase, to populate the earth with people who would be faithful to Him.
When the Messiah was to come forth, whose increase would be of spiritual multiplication into a spiritual kingdom, God continued figurative speech, referring to Him as “the highest branch of the high cedar.” (Ezekiel 17)
The prophet Isaiah, speaking by the Spirit of God, revealed what God would do for those who would receive the Messiah. The meek would receive good tidings; the broken hearted would be strengthened and healed; captives would be liberated; those who were imprisoned by sin would be set free; and those who mourned would be comforted; they would receive beauty for ashes and a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. And as a result of this ministry to them they would be called “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.”
When Jesus was entering the final phase of His earthly ministry, He gave one great commandment to His followers, the commandment we call the Great Commission. He said, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” effectively saying, “Be fruitful and multiply.” Only this time, the mission was to populate God’s spiritual kingdom with those born into the Spirit, new creations he called “trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.”
As trees of righteousness, we must bring forth good fruit because “every good tree brings forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.” Jesus names only two kinds of trees: good trees and corrupt trees. If you are not a good tree, by default you are a corrupt tree, because you have not been born-again as a new creation.
Generally speaking – and appropriately – the fruit of these good trees will be “the fruit of righteousness.” And how will these trees be distinguished from other, “corrupt trees”? Jesus answered that question this way: “You shall know them by their fruits.”
Since I pointed out that we “must” bring forth good fruit, let me explain why we must: “…every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” (Matthew 3:10b) That “fire” is exactly what it sounds like. And it’s a very important point in scripture, as it is emphasized by significant repetition. (Matthew 3:10-12, 7:19, 13:40, 42 & 50, 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; John 15:6; Hebrews 6:8; Revelation 14:11, 20:14-15, 21:8. OT: Isaiah 66:24; Malachi 4:1)
For clarity’s sake, let’s break that down further: Which “trees” will be burned? Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit. Specifically, these trees that do not produce good fruit are corrupt trees. They were corrupted in the Garden of Eden, where they acquired the sin nature. And they did not become new creations (“trees”) in Christ, with the new nature of holiness and righteousness, bringing forth the fruit of righteousness; instead, they maintained the corruption of the old life, which is “corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,” not submitting their corrupt minds to transformation by God’s Word. (See Romans 12:1-2)
So, the question for us is this: Are you producing good fruit? If you are not, then by default you are producing evil fruit and are headed for destruction.
Therefore, it behooves us to learn what fruit to bear and begin bearing it.
Now, I will stop here and see if anyone reading this wants to know about the fruit. If you want that information, contact me at gracewarriordiscipleship@gmail.com.
Following Jesus 