Many people get this wrong. They think good trees produce love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, & temperance. That is incorrect.
Galatians 5 says... 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Believers do not produce the fruit of the Spirit. Believers produce new believers like trees produce fruit. The Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit... in believers.
Matthew 7 says... 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
A good tree produces good fruit.
A believer produces a new believer.
A corrupt tree produces evil fruit.
An unbeilever produces a new unbeliever.
If somebody is a good tree then ask them how to be saved. If they say by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ plus nothing minus nothing then you have a good tree. If they say you have to repent of your sins, live a good life, be a good person, have good works or anything else then you know they are a corrupt tree and can only produce corrupt fruit.
It's that simple. Joel Osteen cannot accidentally get somebody saved because he is a corrupt tree. Many if not all big name megachurch pastors are corrupt trees. They can only produce evil fruit. Why? They have 'another' gospel that is not 'the' gospel.
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
The sad thing is they SOUND like they have the gospel but, they deceive many with another gospel. My first blog post shared who and what the Gospel is. Check that post out.
My pet peeve is those preachers who preach a "repent of your sins and trust in Jesus" works based salvation. We are not saved by works so that no man can boast. If you stand before Jesus and say I REPENTED OF MY SINS! therefore I am saved, Jesus will say depart from me for I NEVER knew you.
The problem with corrupt trees is they produce evil fruit.
Here is an example of what that means...
Heath Lambert preaches it's about your sins, it's about your sins, it's about your sins... So, repent of your SINS & trust in Jesus... every Sunday.
He preaches a works based salvation. He sends everybody to hell every Sunday, including his mama and his children. He is also a Calvinist. He is a wolf come in unawares.
Galatians 2:4 ... who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage...
Heath can only produce evil fruit.
Here is another example...
Josh Reavis preaches the same repent of your sins false gospel as Heath. But, he enhances the definition of repent of your sins. It varies every service.
He says if you will repent of your sins, if you will come to Jesus, if you will cry out to him, if you will cry out for mercy & grace, if you will turn from your wickedness, if you will surrender your life to Jesus, say not my will but thy will, if you will give yourself completely to him, if you will die to yourself and live for Christ...
Josh says you can be saved... BUT ONLY IF you have repented of your sins AND placed your faith in Jesus.
Josh is wrong. You are saved by faith in Jesus Christ plus NOTHING, minus NOTHING. He can only produce evil fruit.
Corrupt trees produce evil fruit. Salvation is by grace through faith alone... plus nothing, minus nothing.
The world is going downhill quickly because of men like Heath and Josh. There are more corrupt trees producing evil fruit than good trees producing good fruit.
The sad thing about trees and their fruit is... most fruit gets consumed... most fruit never falls to the ground, dies, gets buried, and then comes back to life as a new tree. The same thing holds true for believers. Many never produce much fruit. And, the fruit they do produce never takes hold and grows into a new believer.
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