Lesson Seven (Chapter 7)
Fruit
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the Torah of HaShem and in His Torah he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For HaShem knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
Psalms 1
Introduction
- For the past few weeks we have been focusing on the “Sermon on the Mount”. We have seen that Yeshua used this to teach His disciples the meaning of Torah.
- In the “Sermon on the Mount” we saw that Yeshua:
- Described what Kingdom people were like.
- How they were to live as Kingdom people.
- How their “deeds of righteousness” were to flow from the first 2 points – not of their own (i.e. alms, prayer, fasting not to be external only).
- Common errors in reading Matt 5-7: General “principles” trump commandments; public “righteousness” is bad vs. “piousness” in a “religious” setting is good; “believing” is better than “doing” (i.e. bad definition of “believing”). All of these are FALSE.
- We continue with a whole chapter on Fruit.
Righteous Judgment: Fruit Inspection
- Matt 7:1-5: Are usually quoted as being “new” – and usually out of context. Yeshua is speaking of justice and mercy!
- Lev 19:15-18 (because “I am HaShem” vs. 16 and 18):
- Judge neighbor in righteousness
- Don’t gossip
- To see a brother in sin and not rebuke him is hating him.
- Love neighbor as yourself (xref Matt 7:12: the “Golden Rule” is a summation of Torah and Prophets).
- 1Cor 5:9-13: Only “fruit-inspect” brothers/sisters.
- Eph 4:15: But always in love.
Bad Fruit: Torah-lessness (anomia)
- Matt 7:15-20: False prophets - do not go on appearances – examine their fruit. Bad fruit comes from thorn bushes and thistles. – a bad tree bears bad fruit.
- Matt 7:22-23: Many will say, “HaShem, HaShem” – He will say “I never knew you, depart from Me you workers of anomia[Torah-lessness]. Note: it is first a problem of relationship – from which come deeds.
- Matt 13:41-42: Those who practice Torah-lessness are tares, among the righteous wheat.
- Matt 24:12: Torah-lessness [anomia] = love grows cold. Torah [nomos] = brings love.
- Heb 1:8-9: He loves righteousness, and hates Torah-lessness.
- Hebrews 8:10-12: Torah in their minds, and on their hearts… anomia remembered no more.
- 1 John 3:4: Sin = Torah-lessness = Sin
- Matt 7:21: Torah-lessness [anomia] is the opposite of “doing the will of the Father”.
- Matt 7:13; 19; 21; 27: Those with bad fruit will find destruction, be cast into the fire, not enter the Kingdom, will fall.
Good Fruit: Righteous Living, Righteous Deeds
- Matt 7:15-20: Good fruit is consistent – outward and inward.
- Matt 7:21: Good fruit = doing the will of the Father, which is the opposite of anomia.
Wide Gate, the Many, the Foolish Build Upon the Sand
- Wide gate (7:13):
- Way of destruction
- Many in it
- The many (7:22-23):
- Say “HaShem HaShem”, but no relationship to the Master
- Torah-lessness
- The foolish builders upon sand (7:26-27):
- Hears, but does not do what Yeshua said
- Will fall
Narrow Gate, the Few, the Wise Build Upon the Rock
- Narrow gate (7:14):
- Difficult way
- Leads to life
- Few who find it
- The few (7:21):
- Say “HaShem, HaShem”, and He knows them
- Will enter the Kingdom of G-d
- Do the will of the Father
- The wise builders upon rock (7:24-25):
- Hears, and does what Yeshua said
- Does not fall – founded upon the Rock
Summary
- How’s your fruit?
- “And so it was, when Yeshua had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”