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“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
— *Matthew 7:20*
The central truth in these lyrics is very simple, but very searching: what you are inwardly will inevitably be revealed outwardly. Jesus does not say, “You will know them by their gifts,” or “by their claims,” or “by their anointing,” but “by their fruits.”
God is not confused by religious language. Hell is not intimidated by spiritual gifts. Heaven looks for fruit.
The lyrics echo and expand the words of Jesus:
> “By their fruits you will know them.
> 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.”
This is not merely a moral observation. It is a spiritual law, as fixed as the law of gravity. Your inner nature—what you are in your heart—determines your fruit. And the fruit reveals the nature of the tree.
So we must face this question honestly:
What does my fruit say about what I am?
Let us look at what the Word of God says.
Matthew 7 is part of what we call the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). Jesus is speaking primarily to His disciples, but in the hearing of the crowds. He is describing the lifestyle of the kingdom of God and contrasting it with outward, religious appearance.
The specific verse (Matthew 7:20) comes near the end of the sermon, in a section where Jesus warns about false prophets and false 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?”
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