Matthew 12.33-37 says, “Either make the tree good and its Fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit (i.e. its fruit is evidence of what kind of tree it is). You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are *evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The **good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil - (i.e. whatever is in the Heart, good or evil, flows out. This is not describing something we must do, it's simply telling us what happens based on the condition of our heart).
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (ESV)
The ERV also gives a helpful interpretation...
33 “If you want good fruit, you must make the tree good. If your tree is not good, it will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. 34 You snakes! You are so evil. How can you say anything good? What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts. 35 Those who are good have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. 36 I tell you that everyone will have to answer for all the careless things they have said. This will happen on the day of judgment. 37 Your words will be used to judge you. What you have said will show whether you are right or whether you are guilty.” ERV
Early in my Christian life, I found this passage confusing as I did many of the things Christ said. The reason is what Christ says sounds like salvation is the result of our efforts "...by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
If a man is condemned by his words, are not his words the cause of his condemnation? If you do bad things you get a bad result i.e. condemnation - and if you do good things you get a good result i.e. justification. The result is based on what you do or don't do; on good or bad words. So it sounds like our salvation is based on saying good words i.e. Salvation by works - good deeds.
But is this what Christ is saying? No, it is not! At a closer look, He is actually saying just the opposite. He is saying our words are evidence that we are already under condemnation i.e. We are not a child of God. This is also the point of the following passage.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God...” John 3:17-18
Our words and deeds are simply the result/evidence/fruit of the state of our heart. If we are evil we produce evil words/fruit. If we are good, we produce good words/fruit.
Once I got a better handle on this passage, I found it very exciting. Why? Because it indicates living the Christian life is not something we must or can do in our own power but only by God's power, spirit, love, etc. God and his love is the power behind our good deeds. If we wish to bear much fruit we don't double down in our efforts to do good, we double down in our faith in and understanding of God's love. For a fuller discussion on this, the following posts should help.
Empowered by what...
It all depends on God and you
Love is power
*So what exactly was the evil Christ was referring to? It was the evil of being disconnected from God and in rebellion against him. Note the passage says "you being evil" and does not say you doing evil. He talks about doing later - i.e. "bringing forth" good or evil things - as the fruit of being evil. If we are made to be in union with God and disconnected from that union, we are broken and we break/hurt others. This is the essence and heart of evil; to do things that harm others because we are not tied to our Creator as we were designed to be. We have chosen to be our own god and to live contrary to God's design of complete dependence/Union with him. And when we are not in union with him we cannot do the things God designed us to do. Out of the void of a broken and empty heart only comes broken actions and words - evil - not good loving actions and words. As a result we are under a state of condemnation if we are not in Christ.
Christ is clearly saying it is impossible for good fruit to come from an evil heart. And if a heart is good it will bear good fruit. In other words, good fruit is evidence of a good heart, a heart that has been made righteous and set free from the requirement of perfect obedience in order to be approved and accepted by God. Good words do not cause one to be righteous but are evidence that he already has been made righteous by Christ's efforts.
Elsewhere Christ stated, "...Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 ESV
It is not possible to produce good fruit unless we are in union with - abiding in God.
**What does Christ mean by "good person"? He is simply describing a man who is in union with God i.e. Abiding in him and his love. When we abide in him we produce good fruit. It is the organic and inevitable outcome of that union because God is the source of life, love, and all things. To be "plugged in" to Him and to His love by grace, results in us being loving i.e. The Father is the Vine keeper, Christ is the Vine through which life flows, and we are the branches through which life - God's very own life - is manifest in and through us as fruit i.e. loving acts - good deeds.
