Well, good morning to you. If
you would open your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 12, Matthew chapter 12. We're going
to continue our study in the book of Matthew this morning.
Before we begin, let's bow together in prayer. Our Father, which art in heaven,
holy and reverent, is your matchless name. And Father, we bow before
you. We bow thankful that thou art
God Almighty, that you rule and reign in all things, that there
is nothing going on in your creation that is outside of your control
or is against your express will and purpose for the events of
your creation, and that you're working those things together
according to your will and purpose for good. to accomplish the eternal
redemption of your people. And Father, we're thankful. We're
thankful that you are God and pray that you would give us the
faith to bow to thee and to rest, knowing that thou doest all things
well. And Father, we're thankful for
your many mercies and grace that you have reserved for your people
and so freely bestowed upon us. Father, we're thankful. And I
pray this morning that this would be another demonstration of your
mercy and grace to your people, that you would open up your word
to us, that you'd open up your word to our hearts, to our understanding,
enable us to see Christ, see Christ the Savior, believe on
him, rest in him. Let us, Father, see the glory
of Christ in this portion of scripture you've given to us
to study this morning. And Father, what we pray for
ourselves, we pray for all of your people who are meeting together
this morning to worship Thee. Father, bless Your people. Cause
Your Word to go forth in power for Your good and for the good
of Your people. And Father, we dare not sin against
Thee, forgetting to pray for Your people who are in times
of trouble and trial. They're brokenhearted, they're
in sickness and great difficulty. Father, we pray for them. We
pray that Your hand of healing Comfort and direction would be
upon them. Father, bless us. We beg of thee
that you not leave us alone in this hour, but that you bless
us with your spirit and enable us to see the Lord Jesus Christ
and worship thee in our text this morning. First, in the precious
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, for his glory, we pray and give
thanks. Amen. All right, I've titled
our lesson this morning, The Heart Revealed. The point of
the passage that we're going to look at this morning is to
show us how desperately that you and I need the Lord Jesus
Christ. The point of our text is not
that we judge people to be saved or lost by judging their actions. That's not the point that the
Lord's teaching. The point here is not a threat from God that
your good works had better outweigh your bad works. You better not
have any idle words or you'll be damned. That's not the point
of the passage. The point is not our works at
all. Our works are never the issue at any time, in any way,
in any form, in any fashion. The point the Lord is teaching
us here is how desperately we need the Lord Jesus Christ. Our lesson begins Matthew chapter
12, verse 33, where the Savior says, either make the tree good
and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit
corrupt. For the tree is known by his fruits. Now the Lord uses
the illustration of trees, something that we can understand, to represent
people, to teach us something about people. Now you can tell
what kind of tree you're looking at by looking at its fruit, by
looking at its leaves. Those things are the outward
evidence of the inward nature that's in the tree. You know,
the reason that the fruit on a tree is good fruit is because
the tree is good. It's good from the root up. And
the reason that the fruit on a tree is bad fruit is because
the tree is bad. It's bad from the root up. The
fruit's bad because of the nature of the tree. The reason that
the fruit on a tree is an apple is the nature of the tree is
an apple tree. The reason oranges are hanging
from a tree is because of the nature of the tree. It's an orange
tree. The reason there are pine cones
in a tree is because the nature of the tree is a pine tree. You
see what I'm saying? That's what the Lord's teaching
here. Now, there's a spiritual application. Spiritually, if
a tree, a person is good, then all of their fruit is always
good. It cannot produce bad fruit.
If it's a good tree, a good person or tree or person is bad. If they're bad, all of their
fruit is bad all of the time. A bad person cannot produce good
fruit. It's impossible. There can't
be a mixture where there's some good fruit and some bad fruit.
It's either all good or it's all bad, depending upon the nature
of the person. Well, how did the tree get to
be a bad tree or a good tree? How does a person become a good
person or a bad person? Well, the answer to that question
lies in the word that the Lord uses here, make. He says either
make the tree good and his fruit good or else make the tree corrupt
and his fruit corrupt. That word make means exactly
what you think it means. It means to cause to be. It means
to make to be something. It means to institute, to start
something. The exact same word is used in
2 Corinthians 5.21. For he hath made him sin for
us. It's the exact same word. He
made him sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. So a good person is a person
who's been made good. made good by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ took their
sin away from them. He took their corruption away
from them so they have no sin. They have no corruption because
Christ took it away from them by imputation. It was imputed
to him and he paid for that sin by his sacrifice. He put it away
by his sacrifice. So he made that person good by
taking their sin away and then putting it away. And an evil
person was made evil. They were made to be a sinful
person in Adam. All of Adam's race were made
to be sinners when Adam sinned because we were in Adam doing
what he did. See, the whole problem for a
bad tree begins in the root. Well, the whole problem with
our sin and our rebellion started with our root, our father, Adam. Verse 34, The Lord says, O generation
of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For
out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. Our Lord
here calls the Pharisees, these most strict, most religious Jews,
he calls them a generation of vipers, a generation of snakes,
because they're under the direction of their father, the devil. They're
under the direction of their father, that old serpent. who
first appeared to Eve in the garden. And their heart is a
dead, desperately wicked, natural heart of flesh. It's the heart,
the natural heart they received from their father, Adam. It's
a fallen, dead, sinful heart. This heart is sinful. It's desperately
wicked. It does not believe and it cannot
believe. It cannot believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. It cannot love the Lord Jesus
Christ. It cannot understand nor love
the word of God. Their heart is desperately wicked.
So what comes out of their mouth can only be wicked. Out of the
abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. Well, their heart's
wicked, so all that can come out of the mouth is wickedness,
because that's all the heart can produce. You see, the heart
is the fountain and the words are the stream. Well, if the
fountain's wicked, the stream's going to be wicked. If the heart's
wicked, what comes out of the mouth is going to be wicked.
That person was made a bad, corrupt person in their father Adam. Now anyone who God does not make
to be like Christ, He does not make good in Christ, that person
is made just like Adam. And anyone who's not in Christ,
they are under the control of Satan. They're the seed of the
serpent. See, there's a difference. Remember
back there in Genesis chapter 3, The Lord talked about the
seed of woman and the seed of the serpent. There's a difference
between those two seeds. They're opposites. And those
who are the seed of the serpent, they're known by their words
and by their works. Let me show you that in the book
of John, John chapter eight and verse 39, John eight, 39. They answered and said unto him,
Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, if you're
Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But
now you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth,
which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham. You do
the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, we be
not born of fornication. We have one father, even God.
Jesus said unto them, if God were your father, you would love
me. For I proceed forth and came
from God. Neither came I of myself, but
he sent me. If you were of God, you were
children of God, you would love him whom God has sent. That's
what the Lord is saying. But why do you not understand
my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. You cannot understand
it. And here's why. You are of your
father, the devil, and the lust of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and a bow not in the truth, because
there's no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own, for he's a liar and the father of it. And because
I tell you the truth, you believe me not." You don't believe me. You don't believe the truth because
you're of your father, the devil, who's the father of lies. You
don't believe because you're not of my sheep, but you're of
your father, the devil, which hates the truth. cannot stand
the truth. Look at another place in Matthew
chapter 23. Matthew 23 verse 29, those who are of the
seed of the serpent, they're known by their words, by their
works. Here our Lord says in Matthew
23 verse 29, woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Because
you build the tombs of the prophets and garnish the sepulchers of
the righteous and say, if we had been in the days of our father,
we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the
prophets. They're just like people today, aren't they? They love
the dead prophets. They love those who are not around
preaching now, but they hate the ones who are preaching now.
Pharisees were the same way. The Lord called them hypocrites.
Now, why did they do that? Verse 31. Wherefore ye be witnesses
unto yourselves that ye are the children of them which killed
the prophets. You've got the same nature, the
same heart. Fill ye up then the measure of
your fathers, ye serpents, ye generation of vipers. How can
ye escape the damnation of hell? The evidence that they're a generation
of serpents and vipers, the evidence that they're the seed of the
serpent, is their works. They hate God's prophets. They
hate those who preach Christ, who preach the Word of God. Those
who are the seed of the serpent, they're known by their words
and by their works. And those who are a generation
of vipers can only speak evil things. They can only speak lies. And the root of the problem is
that they are the seed of the serpent. Now that's seen by the
evil things that they say. Look back at Genesis chapter
3. They say the words they say are the same words that Satan
used. Genesis chapter three, verse
one. Now the serpent was more subtle
than any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said, you should not
eat of every tree of the garden. And the woman said unto the serpent,
we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, But of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
has said, you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it
lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman,
ye shall not surely die. For God does know that the day
ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall
be as gods, knowing good and evil. The serpent said, you shall
not surely die. Now people who are of the seed
of the serpent, They say the same evil things that Satan says. And the evil things said by this
generation of vipers is not what the world calls vile and filthy
words. It's not what the world says
at all. Saying evil things is saying anything that is contrary
to the word of God. That's what Satan says. It's
an evil thing if we say something, anything, that's contrary to
the word of God. See, first Satan came to Eve
and he twisted the word of God. He put a question mark on the
word of God. And then he openly denied the
word of God and said, thou sh, thou, you shall not surely die. Saying something contrary to
what God says, it's evil. And it started by twisting. It
started by putting a question mark on the word of God. Maybe
this part of the word is not exactly true. And that led, opens
the door to openly denying the Word of God, thou shalt not surely
die. And that's evil. Saying something
contrary to what God says, that's the evil words. When people say
things that are the opposite of the Word of God, they just
show they're the seed of the serpent. Saying, God loves everybody. When God says, He hates all workers
of iniquity. Saying, oh, God loves everybody.
When God says, I hate Esau, That's saying something that's evil,
saying God loves everybody. The flesh eats that up, but it's
evil because it's the opposite of what God says. Saying that
salvation is up to the free will decision of man. When God says
salvation is according to God, it's according to God's grace,
it's according to the father's election, the son's purchase,
the Holy Spirit giving of the new birth. That's what God says. Well, then saying that salvation
is up to your free will decision, That's evil because it's saying
the opposite of what God says. Saying that any part of salvation
whatsoever is up to your works is evil because God says salvation
is by grace through faith. And our Lord says people who
believe these things in the heart, they cannot hope to escape the
damnation of hell. They can't hope to because they
have no faith in the Savior. They have no love for the Savior.
They produce no good fruit because their heart is wicked and dead.
The only fruit that they can produce is wicked, dead, corrupt
fruit. And that wicked heart is seen
in their words, the things that they say, the things that they
preach, but it's also seen in their actions. People who do
not believe on Christ, they show it in their actions. They show
it by arguing against the word of God and they act against those
who do. They show by their actions, arguing
against the Word of God, doing the opposite of what the Word
of God says, because that's what they think is right. Instead
of submitting to what God's Word says, they show their wickedness. They show that they are the seed
of the serpent by their actions. Look at 1 John 3. I'll show you
this. Why would someone act the opposite
of the Word of God? Why would they do the opposite
of what the Word of God says? Because they're the seed of the
serpent. 1 John 3, verse 12. Not as Cain, who was of that
wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because
his own works were evil, and his brothers were righteous.
Now here's two ways Cain's actions show us he's of the seed of the
serpent. He's of that wicked one. He slew
his brother. Now why did he slay his brother?
Well, because he hated his brother. He was angry at his brother because
Cain's works were evil. Cain did not come to God to worship
God the way God said to come. He thought these fruits and these
vegetables that I've grown, these fruits and vegetables which are
pictures of his works, he thought God should accept those things.
I'm going to bring these because these are the best that I can
produce. When God said bring a lamb, bring the blood of the
lamb. Well, bring his works, bring the fruit of the ground
that he grew. That's evil. That's what God
says. It's evil. But his brothers, his actions
were righteous because he came the way God said to come. Worshiping
God with a blood sacrifice. Cain did not do that because
he's of that wicked one. He's the seed of the serpent.
And everybody today who does not worship God the way God says
that he is to be worshiped in his word, they do wickedly. because
they're of the seed of the serpent. They're of that wicked one the
same way Cain was. So there are those bad people.
They were made bad in Adam, and they show it by their fruits,
by their words and by their actions. But then there are good trees.
The Lord said there are good trees. There are good people.
Well, how were they made good? How were they made good? Well,
they didn't come in the world that way, did they? Scripture
says, Romans 3, verse 10, there's none righteous. No, not one. There's none good in themselves.
No, not one. Every imagination of the thoughts
of our heart is only evil continually. So we didn't come into the world
that way, good, did we? Then how were those people made
good? Well, it goes back to that word made. Christ made them good
by his obedience for them and by his sacrifice for them. Those
people who are good are not good because anything about themselves
They're good because the Lord Jesus Christ made them righteous. Made. The key word there is made. And good people are made good
by God in two ways. Number one, they're made good
by the work of God's grace for them. God the Father did a work
of grace for them when he imputed their sin to Christ. And he imputed
Christ's righteousness to them. That made them righteous. It
made them good. It gave them a good, righteous,
legal standing before God. That was a work of God's grace
for them. But secondly, God makes his people good. And it's got
to be both of these steps. First, there's got to be a work
of grace for them. But second, there's got to be
a work of God's grace in them. See, God, the Holy Spirit does
a work of grace in his people. These people who are made good
are made good when the Holy Spirit imparts Christ's righteousness
to them by causing them to be born again, born with a new heart. See that first heart, oh, that's
a heart of stone. It's dead. It's desperately wicked. Every imagination of the thoughts
of that heart is only evil continually. So God's got to give a new heart.
He's got to give a brand new heart. And that new heart is
righteous. That new man born of God cannot
sin. That new man who's born of God
can only believe on Christ. He can only love Christ. He can
do no other, because that's his nature. Look at the book of 2
Peter. 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 4. whereby are given unto us exceeding
great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers,
sharers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that's in the world through lust. That word partaker there is sharer. You're a sharer in this righteousness. You're a sharer in this divine
nature, this righteous nature, because Christ has been formed
in you. And that's the way God makes
his people good. First is by imputation, by imputing
their sin to Christ, imputing Christ's righteousness to them.
And secondly, by imparting Christ's righteousness to them in the
new birth, causing a new man to be born. And that new man
is new in every way. He's got a new heart, so he's
got new loves. Now he loves Christ. He's got
a new heart, so he believes something new. Now he believes in Christ
and rests in Him. That new man agrees with everything
the Word of God says. He's got a new heart, and he's
got new words, and he's got new actions. Look at the book of
Romans, chapter 10. This new man has a new heart,
so he has new things to say, because out of the abundance
of that new heart, that new man's gonna speak. Romans chapter 10, verse 8. But what saith it? What does the word of God say?
Well, the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy
heart. That is the word of faith which we preach, that if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
under righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. Now, the key here is not confessing
with your mouth. That's not the key. Well, if
you just confess with your mouth and say these words, you'll be
saved. No, that's not so. The key to this phrase is the
heart. That new man believes Christ
in the heart because God's given him a new heart. And then he
says so with his mouth. See, that's the confession. God
gives a new heart and that's got to leak out on you. There
will be a confession of faith when God gives a new heart of
faith. And everything the new man says
agrees with the gospel. He doesn't argue against it.
He submits to it. So when that new man speaks of
righteousness, well, he says the exact same thing David said.
David said, I'll speak of thy righteousness, even of thine
only. That's the only righteousness
there is. That's the only righteousness I have. It's the righteousness
of Christ. When that new man speaks, he
doesn't talk about his works. Oh, he talks about how he's been
saved by God's grace. When that new man speaks, he
speaks about what God's done for him, not what he's done for
God. Because out of the abundance of the heart, out of the abundance
of that new heart, the mouth is going to speak. Now God has
given us this treasure in earthen vessels. He's given us this treasure
of the gospel. He's given us this treasure of
the, of a new nature, a new heart, a new birth in us, in our bodies. So we speak of that treasure.
See, that new heart is seen by what we say, but it's also seen
by what we do. If there is a new heart, there'll
be confession. Confession of the mouth, but there'll also
be confession of the actions. There'll be confession of Christ
and believers' baptism. And there will be a confession
of Christ. There will be a confession of what God has done in us, a
demonstration of what God has done in us by our way of life. Let me show you that in the book
of Galatians chapter 5. Galatians chapter 5 verse 22. But the fruit of the spirit is
love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance. Against us there is no law. and
they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections
and lusts thereof. If we live in the Spirit, let
us also walk in the Spirit. The general tenor of our life
will be to walk in the Spirit, showing these fruits of the Spirit.
Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying
one another. Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such a one in the Spirit
of meekness. Now, meekness is one of these
fruits of the Spirit. Well, you show it in meekness.
When one of your brothers has a problem, you show meekness
considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. You show Christ
in you by bearing one another's burdens. So fulfill the law of
Christ. If a man thinks himself to be
something when he's nothing, he's deceiving himself. But let
every man prove his own work. Then shall he have rejoicing
in himself alone and not another. For every man shall bear his
own burden." You know, when a believer walks, here's how they show this
fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith. It's by being a kind and forgiving
person. By forgiving others, as God,
for Christ's sake, has forgiven us. By bearing one another's
burdens, by putting up with others' faults, just like God puts up
with us. for Christ's sake. That's walking in the Spirit.
It's showing that new birth. It's showing the work of God's
grace in us by the fruit of our life, our words and our actions.
And our actions are important. That's why James chapter 2 tells
us Abraham and Rahab were justified how? By their works. Now Christ
justified them. Christ is the one who made them
without sin. But the evidence that God had given them a new
heart, the justification of their faith, the evidence of that before
men is seen when they acted on faith. You know Abraham believed
God. How do you know that? He's willing
to sacrifice his son for it. You know Abraham or Rahab believed
God. How do you know Rahab believed
God? She hung that scarlet line in the window and she stayed
under that evidence, that scarlet line, under the evidence, the
picture, the type. of the blood of Christ until
the spies came in and got her out. She didn't try to make a
run for it. She didn't try to make it on her own. She didn't
try to escape on her own. She believed God, so she stayed
under that emblem of the blood until she was delivered. That's
how you know Rahab believed God. Their actions showed they trusted
God. That's how you see the fruit
of being the seed of woman. All right, now back in our text,
Matthew chapter 12, verse 36. That's how you show being made
righteous in Christ the seed of the woman. Now look at verse
36. The Savior says, by saying to
you that every idle word that men shall speak, they should
give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words
thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Now, before we go on, let me remind you. This passage is not
telling us that we can judge whether someone is saved or lost
by looking at their actions. We're not supposed to do that. That's not our business. That's
God's business. And none of ourselves can make
ourselves good. Only God can do that. But you
remember this about believers. Before you're too quick to judge
them, just remember this. Believers are still in a sinful
body of flesh. and everything we do is sinful. We can't see what's on someone's
heart even though we can see their actions. Their actions
are not always going to give an indication of purity of heart. David was a man after God's own
heart. Now we know that because God
said so. But you often could not see that in the way David,
he acted. He often acted like a scoundrel. He often acted like an unregenerate
man. So now just don't be judging
people too quickly Leave that to God. First Corinthians chapter
4, the apostle tells us this. First Corinthians 4 verse 5.
Therefore, judge nothing before the time until the Lord come. He will bow. He who both will
bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest
the counsels of the heart. And then shall every man have
praise of God. Just wait and leave that judgment
to Christ. He'll come and make it manifest. He'll come and make
manifest what was in the heart. He will come and judge. He'll
be the judge between the living and the dead, the good and the
bad. So what this is telling us is we're not to judge other
people and say, oh, you know, I can see what they're doing.
They don't know the Lord or this one by what they're doing. No,
this is showing us not how to judge one another, but to judge
ourselves. And if we judge ourselves, you know what we'll say? I desperately
need Christ to make me good, or I will stay evil. So this
is what the Lord is saying, that when Christ comes and judges
the world, he's gonna do it in righteousness. His verdict will
be right every time. When God condemns the wicked,
he's gonna be right to do it, and he'll have plenty of evidence
to back up and show his judgment, his verdict was right. They're
wicked works. Their works of hatred and unbelief,
their words of unbelief will be the evidence. His verdict
was right. And when God brings his people
into glory, he'll be right for doing that too. And he'll have
plenty of evidence for doing it. It's the righteousness of
Christ. Oh, they will have good works,
but they won't know about it. The Lord will say, you did this.
You came and visited me when I was sick. You clothed me when
I was naked. You fed me when I was hungry. And they said,
Lord, when did we do that? No, they'll have good works, but
their good works is not going to be the evidence that gets
them into glory. The evidence that shows Christ's verdict is
right to bring them into glory, the only evidence He'll need
is the scars in His hands, His feet, and in His side, and in
His head, in His scalp, where that crown of thorns was pierced
into His scalp. That's the evidence that will
show Christ is justified, His verdict is right in bringing
His people into glory. Now, still yet, take the Savior's
words to heart here. Be careful what you say. Be careful. Put a guard over your mouth.
Be careful what you say about God. Be mighty careful what you
say about the gospel. Be very careful about what you
say about others. Things you say about others could
cause them long-term damage, both to them and to you. Be mighty
careful those things that you say. Be careful and seek If you're
God's own, if you believe Christ, you seek to give a good testimony
of God's grace that is in you. And here's the way that you give
a good testimony of faith in Christ. It's not by getting people
to be impressed with how many good works you do, how many good
kind things you do. That's not the way to give a
good testimony of faith. The way you give a good testimony
of faith in Christ is not by your works at all, at all, in
any way. The way a believer gives a good
testimony of faith in Christ is by living, showing how completely
dependent we are upon God to accomplish all of our salvation
for us. That is a good testimony of faith,
living, showing I'm dependent on God, living thankful for His
mercy and for His grace. Well, I hope the Lord will bless
that to your hearts. Until next time, may the Lord