If it smells like a dog, has fleas like a dog, looks like a dog, and sounds like a dog then it must be a……dog. Oranges come from orange tree. Apples come from apple trees. Humans come from humans. Fish live in water; bird don’t. None of this is rocket science. It’s the way of nature. It’s what we see every day. That’s the way God made it all to be. Alligators don’t come from elephants. Grapes aren’t picked from trees. A man with a man cannot reproduce another human. A woman with a woman cannot reproduce another human. These things go against nature. It just doesn’t work. It just ain’t so. These facts are solid. They do not change. It is reality. It is truth. It is the way God intended it to be.
Sadly, this has been a problem in our religious society when it comes to the Bible. God gave His Word to us. Singular. There’s only one. God’s Word is God’s Word. It produces what God wants when it is obeyed. God is straightforward in what He wants. If we follow what God has given us then we will be what He wants. But God’s Word has been taken by many and what has been produced by them doesn’t match up with the Bible, whether it’s false teaching or justification for sin. Jesus dealt with this and warned the people about it in Matthew 7:15-20.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
Jesus said that there are people who appear to be following God’s Word but their actions and teachings reveal that they aren’t. If someone is teaching something that doesn’t match up with what the Bible actually says, then there’s a problem. If the way someone is living does not match up with what the Bible actually says, then there’s a problem. Apples don’t come from orange trees. Cats don’t come from pigs. False teaching and immoral living don’t come from the Bible. There are many people teaching things that appear to be good and right, when in reality they go against what the Bible says. There are many people who profess to be Christians, yet they are living in sin.
We are known by our fruits. If my beliefs do not match up with what the Bible says, then I know I have to correct them and believe what the Bible really says. If I am hearing other people teaching things that differ from the Bible then I know that’s a red flag. I can’t wear the name Christian and still live in sin. We’re either living God’s Word or we’re not. It is so important for all of us to understand this. God says be holy; so be holy. God says don’t sin; so don’t sin. God says repent and be baptized to wash away your sins; so obey Him in faith. It’s not hard at all to understand. Let’s produce the fruits of God and not of the world. Know God. Know His Word. Live for Him. Be the true fruit of God.
A Cord of Blue 