Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.
Matthew 7:19-20 (CSB)
Jesus has been warning about false teachers. He uses a picture. The tree is a person. The fruit is what that person says and does.
Matthew 7:19 is about God’s judgment. The fire is a picture of hell, where God punishes sin. Jesus spoke plainly about hell, and He called people to turn to God.
Jesus says the tree that is cut down didn’t produce good fruit. A person can think, “I’m not hurting anybody, so I’m fine.” But God looks for good fruit in a person’s life.
Jesus isn’t talking about a Christian who wishes there were more good fruit. He is talking about a person with no good fruit.
Good fruit starts with repentance. Repentance means turning away from sin and turning to God. It means we stop trusting ourselves and trust Jesus.
Jesus says the tree “is cut down.” He doesn’t tell us to cut it down. Our part is to recognize false teachers and stay away from their teaching. Judging belongs to God.
God is patient. He gives people time to turn to Him. But that time doesn’t last forever. So we shouldn’t put off turning to Him.
Good fruit can’t earn heaven. That is why we need a Savior, someone to save us from our sin. The Bible says of Jesus, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). The tree in 1 Peter 2:24 is the cross. Jesus took the judgment our sins deserve. Everyone who trusts Him is forgiven. Then He helps us live a new life that bears good fruit.