Look chapter 6 and verse 43. For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit, neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil, for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. Amen. May the Lord bless to us this short reading from his word. Our Lord Jesus is speaking here about the transforming power of grace in the life of a believer. And grace makes men and women what we never could be without the converting power of God and the indwelling spirit of Christ. Grace makes people good. It doesn't make us perfect. We saw that in the actions of David and Bathsheba in a very egregious way just at the weekend. But it does make us good. Not holy in all that we do or say, but good. And we'll come back to this in a minute. Grace instigates an alteration in the life of a man and a woman, a conversion in our attitudes and our awareness of God. Grace implants a desire to honour our Lord Jesus. It bestows a sense of gratitude for what we've been given And it engenders empathy, compassion, love, if you like, for our brothers and sisters in the family of God, and even for those who are outside of Christ and still dead in their sin. And these facts alter the way that we think, the way that we act, and the way that we speak in this world. However, grace also makes us very aware of our own faults and our failings. And we lament our inability to serve the Lord as we should and to live up to the new desires that grace inspires in our hearts and souls. In this passage, the Lord is pointing out the difference that grace makes in a believer's life. Now elsewhere, I think it's in the context of where the Lord was speaking to the rich young ruler. Elsewhere, the Lord tells us, none is good save one, that is God. And we know from the epistles that all have sinned. All are fallen and corrupt of heart. And again, it is the Lord who says, out of the heart proceeds evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but they are in his heart. They come from the core of his being. They come from the essence of fallen creatures, the natural man. So that here, in depicting a good man and an evil man, the Lord is contrasting the different conditions of a man's heart. He's comparing one who is made good by God, a new creation, and one who is still subject to the old Adam nature. And the Lord is comparing them by looking at the output or looking at the product, the produce, the fruit of their lives in the way of their walk and their conversation. And he uses the picture of a tree and the fruit it bears to press home the application. And here's a point of principle that I want us to know, I want us to hear and remember this, because sometimes we find these things a little bit confusing. But here is a point of principle that the Bible establishes that we should do well to note and remember. Good works, whatever they may be, are truly good only when they emanate from a renewed heart. Because of the fall and the sin that resides in our nature, it is impossible for any man to please God or to perform a good work in himself. Anything that is good in a man must be put there by God and must derive from the goodness of God in man. All good in man must therefore be attributed to the grace of God and be attended with faith. Since where there is no faith, There is no pleasing God. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And what is not of faith is sin. The reality is that when God looks for good works in an individual, in a man, in a woman, he is seeking perfection. And there is no one on the face of this earth able to provide that perfection. Now this is not to say that unbelievers cannot perform works of kindness or demonstrate charity. Certainly they can. However, the best of works performed by the best of men in the best manner possible are necessarily flawed and imperfect. Why? Because they flow from a heart that is deceitful and wicked. No one is good in the sight of God regardless of how they appear to men. And nor can we say in reality that the works of believers are in themselves perfect, because indwelling sin, even where a renewed heart is present, means that the best of our works are spoiled with nature's stain. And in this sense, we understand Paul's words in Romans 3, verse 12, where he says, However, there are good works that please God and they're spoken of here by the Lord as the works of a good man that flow out of the treasure of his heart. The works of a good man that flow out of the treasure of his heart. Now this heart is a new heart. It's a heart of flesh. It's not a stony heart of nature. It's a heart in which Christ dwells. And indeed Christ is himself the treasure of a believer's heart. Acceptable good works, works that are acceptable to God, are works done in faith, works done in the service of the Lord and for the glory of God. They're works done because of who Christ is and what he has done for us. These good works include worship, they include prayer, they include fellowship, as well as our interactions with this world. And they are acceptable to God because they are cleansed and purified by the blood of the Lord Jesus. And because they are the product of the Lord's own workmanship in a believer's life. Because God has purified unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Peculiar people there means a precious people, a distinct people, a separated people, a people that he has purified unto himself who are zealous of good works. These are those that he has loved and chosen from eternity, who are predestinated to be conformed to the image of Christ. And we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And it's such that the Lord is here talking about when he speaks about this good tree. A good tree brings forth good fruit. A good tree is one of the Lord's regenerated people, one of those in whose heart the Lord resides and for whom the Lord is the treasure of that individual. So he's calling them here good trees. That's the analogy that the Lord is working with. A good tree brings forth good fruit because the Lord has ordained it to be so. And every tree is known by his own fruit. That which is made good by God is suitably fruitful towards God. The change, the transformation, the conversion that God has made in the hearts of His people means that there is a fruitfulness in that life which is glorifying to God. The man or the woman, the men or women who are acceptable to God will be known as belonging to Him by the fruit that they produce. Let me add a particular example here because I think this actually merits the example. Indeed, it may be this is exactly what the Lord was directing to because he's speaking, remember, to his disciples, he's speaking to his apostles, he's speaking to basically the first preachers in the new church. When the Lord speaks here, he is speaking about preaching the gospel. And I don't think that that is out of place to make this assumption. Because what the Lord says is that he is speaking concerning the abundance of the heart, out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaketh. We've been speaking about Jonah over the past few weeks. And what the Lord says here about speaking applies to ministers of the Gospel who are set apart and sent to declare the good news of Christ's Kingdom. The Lord says, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. A good man is a man made so by the Lord, by the cleansing of blood, by adoption of grace, and by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And these spiritual qualities supply the abundance in a preacher's heart. When he preaches, it's out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. A man of faith preaches faithfully. He speaks about what is in his heart. He speaks about what his heart treasures. A spiritually fruitful ministry can be harvested only as a consequence of spiritual quickening and divine teaching. That man has to be himself saved and he has to be taught by God, for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. A good man, a redeemed man, speaks of the love of God in forming a purpose to save a people for himself according to the covenant of grace. He speaks of election and predestination and justification and effectual calling. Why? Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh, because he has learned these things to be true and to be comforting to his own soul. He speaks of forgiveness because he has felt the blessedness of God's mercy in his own heart and conscience, and he desires others might feel it too. He speaks of sovereign grace because he knows as a weak and guilty sinner, that's what weak and guilty sinners need and want to hear. Out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaketh. He speaks of eternal glory because the Lord has given him a glimpse of the everlasting promises that lie ahead just over the horizon in heaven for those who love the Lord and those who are called according to his purpose. He speaks of Christ, who died and rose again, and now is ascended on high, ever living, ever interceding, watching over his little ones in this world. Out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaketh, because he himself has tasted that the Lord is good, and that which he treasures most, he wishes to share with others. It is God who first imparts the treasure of Christ to our hearts, and then prospers the good treasure in our hearts. For every tree is known by his fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. We cannot expect to harvest gracious blessings from a preacher who has never learned the gospel or known the truth, or felt the power of grace in his own soul. So may the Lord raise up preachers for his church today who are fitted to convey the treasure of grace, and out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. Amen. Amen. Amen.