“False Teachers are Evil” (Luke 6:43-45)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/8/2026 9:15 AM

My Worship Time                                                                       Focus:  “False Teachers are Evil”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 6:43-45

            Message of the verses:  “⁴³ For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree that bears good fruit. ⁴⁴ For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. ⁴⁵ The good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”

            Now beneath the self-righteous façade of false teachers there lies a deadly evil.  Jesus used another self-evident illustration, this one from the realm of agriculture, to make this point.  The fruit that a tree produces is an unfailing indicator of that tree’s health.  Thus there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.  Good trees do not produce bad, inedible fruit, nor to bad trees produce good, edible fruit.  Let us take the image one step further, the Lord added the equally self-evident fact that each tree is known by its own fruit.  Now plants produce fruit according to what is there nature, therefore men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.

            It is in this parable, the bad trees are the false teachers, as Matthew’s parallel account makes clear.  Let us look at the warning the Lord gives in Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Next in verse 16 Jesus used the same illustration recorded in Luke’s gospel:  “You will know them by their fruits.  Grapes are not gather from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?” thus connecting it to the false teachers of verse 15.  Similarly, in Matthew 12:33 Jesus said to the Pharisees, “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.”  And then in the next verse He applied that statement to them:  “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good?  For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (v. 34).

            MacArthur then goes on to write “The application of the parable is clear.  The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil.  Just as trees produce fruit in keeping with their nature, so also do people.  The hearts of the righteous, having been transformed by the regenerating work of salvation (Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:25-27; John 3:5; Titus 3:5), hold good treasure; the hearts of unregenerate hold evil treasure.”

(Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:25-27; John 3:5; Titus 3:5)

“33  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

“25 ¶  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness’s, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

“5  Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

“5  he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,”

“Just as what the fruit trees bear reveals their nature, so also what people say reveals the nature of their heart, since the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart (cf. Prov. 10:32; Matt. 15:18).  How people speak most clearly reveals what is in their heart.”

(cf. Prov. 10:32; Matt. 15:18)

32  The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.”

“18  But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.”

            “Those who follow false spiritual teachers will manifest the same corruption that they do.  Only those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ can produce the fruit of repentance (Luke 3:8) that marks a transformed life (2 Cor. 5:17).”

(Luke 3:8)

“8  Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”

(2 Cor. 5:17)

“17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Spiritual Meaning for my Life Today:  It is my desire to produce good fruit, and this can only be done through the work of the Holy Spirit in my life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Keep my life clean from sinful things so that the Spirit of God can use me to do what He desires me to do.

8/8/2026 9:43 AM