Bible Truth #370 - Luke 6:43-45

Luke 6:43-45

43  For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

44  For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

45  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

A good tree does not bring forth corrupt fruit, nor does a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. In those terms, which are the lost and which are the saved? I pray it is obvious that a good tree represents the saved and a corrupt tree portrays the lost. If that is the case, and it IS the case, would not a lost person repenting of his sins and trusting in Christ to save him be the equivalent of a corrupt tree bringing forth good fruit?

Of course it is! This is why Jesus in verse 45 tells us that an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil. An evil man (a lost man) can bring forth nothing else! He does not give an an exception where an evil man can bring forth good (i.e. believing and repenting). Jesus is confirming that Moses wrote the Word of God in Genesis 6:5, every imagination of the thoughts of the heart of man was only evil, continually! Jeremiah states the same thing in Jeremiah 13:23, a man who is accustomed to doing evil can NOT do good any more than a black man change the color of his skin or a leopard change his spots. There is no exception in Luke, there is no exception in Genesis, there is no exception in Jeremiah, nor is there an exception anywhere in God’s Word.

For of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh - Jesus did not add “...except when he is drawn by the Holy Spirit he then exercises a choice.” The lost man will accept nothing from the Holy Spirit for it is foolishness to him, he CAN’T understand it because it is spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). The reason a lost man can’t spiritually discern it is because he is spiritually DEAD (Ephesians 2:1, 2:5; Colossians 2:13). Salvation is a spiritual change in a man wrought by God. God-honoring belief & repentance are spiritual activities, something impossible for a man who is spiritually dead. God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him MUST worship Him in Spirit (John 4:24). This is why lost men, they that are in the flesh, can’t please God! (Romans 8:8)

A corrupt tree can NOT bring forth good fruit = a lost man can NOT repent of his sins and believe on Christ.