So judging a tree by its fruit doesn't work and a bad tree can bring forth good fruit,if this is true shouldn't the bible be much shorter than it is...why 66 books to say that all you have to do is believe ?
That verse is talking about true teachers and false teachers. Teachers sent by God and teachers sent by the world. Teaches sent by God will produce doctrinal teachings and the worldly teacher will produce bad fruit and cannot produce true doctrinal teaching.
Matthew 7:15-23, – “
Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16) “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17) “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears
bad fruit. 18) “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19) “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20) “So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22) “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23) “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
The false teaching of lordship salvation will try to get one to believe..... “You will know them by their fruits” means one’s eternal status can be determined by his behavior.
A good tree [true believer] cannot produce bad fruit [wickedness] nor can a bad tree [unbeliever] produce good fruit [good works]. Every tree [professing Christian] that does not bear good fruit [good works] will be thrown into the fire [go to hell]. 21) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Those who profess to be Christians but do not do the will of the Father producing good works will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The Grace position(truth).....: This is about unbelieving false prophets who look, talk, and act like believers but aren’t.
You will know them by their fruits . . . these are unbelievers and their fruits are what they say, their false doctrines, not their outward appearance or behavior. A good tree [true prophet] cannot produce bad fruit [give false doctrine], nor can a bad tree [false prophet] produce good fruit [give true doctrine]. “Not
everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven [there are those who claim to believe in Christ but are lying] but he who does the will of My Father [the will of the Father is to believe in Christ, John 6:40] who is in heaven.
What is Good? We are taught to feed the Poor. So we feed the poor. Is it Good? If the man feeding the poor keeps His mouth shut and just feeds the poor, every man around him will call it Good. But God looks at the heart and the man wanted recognition for feeding the poor. To God it was evil.
