In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.
Matthew 7:17 (CSB)
Jesus is using a picture. The tree is a person. The fruit is what that person says and does.
An apple tree grows apples because it is an apple tree. People are like that apple tree. What we do shows what is in our hearts.
It is easy to think, “If I do enough good things, I’ll become a good person.” Jesus says the tree comes first. The fruit shows what kind of tree it is. The fruit doesn’t change the tree.
The Bible says all of us are sinners. That means we have all disobeyed God. We start out as bad trees. We can’t fix our own hearts by trying harder.
But God changes hearts. Everyone who trusts Jesus has been given a new heart by God. Then good fruit starts to grow. We don’t do good things to make God love us. We do good things because He already loved us and made us new.
Christians still sin, and we still need God’s help every day. So when we see a sin in our lives, trying harder isn’t enough. We should ask God to keep changing us on the inside. And we should thank God for anything good in our lives.
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me” (John 15:5). A branch only grows fruit while it is joined to the vine. We grow good fruit by trusting Jesus and doing what He says. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. Everyone who trusts Him will live with God forever.