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In Matthew 12:33, Jesus said that a tree is known by the fruit it bears. By trees, He meant people, and the fruit was their actions and attitudes. This is a common theme in the Gospels. John the Baptist said it like this:

(Matthew 3:10 NKJV) And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Then Jesus said this:

(Matthew 7:17–19 NKJV) Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

It wasn't enough for a tree to exist; it should also produce good fruit. Jesus told a parable about a tree that didn't:

(Luke 13:6–9 NKJV) He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.' "

Paul covered this fruit in detail in his letter to the Galatians chapter 5:

(Galatians 5:16–17 NKJV) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

"To walk in the Spirit" first means that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. Second, it means that we are to be open and sensitive to His influence. Third, it means that we allow Him to change our attitudes and shape our lives as the Spirit leads us. He changes us from the inside out.

The disciples at Antioch were called Christians because their behavior, activities, and speech were "Christ-like."

We can tell if someone walks in the Spirit because they will begin to act a lot like Jesus. Jesus told us that the mission of the Holy Spirit would be to promote and speak of Him (John 14:16–17, 14:26, 15:26, 16:13–15), and He always points us to Jesus. When we walk in the Spirit, we listen to what the Holy Spirit says, and He guides us to become more like Jesus.

If we are led by the Spirit, then we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh. This does not mean that we will not want to. The desire is usually still lurking back there somewhere, waiting for a weak moment to pounce on you as soon as you give in to the temptation.

(Galatians 5:18 NKJV) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

This effectively "writes" the law of God on our hearts, inside of us. This is the great work of the New Covenant that was promised in the Old Testament in Jeremiah.

(Jeremiah 31:33 NKJV) But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

The Holy Spirit will lead us far beyond the requirements of the law. When He is involved in your decisions, you are not going to steal, commit adultery, or hate others because He will convict you instantly. You won't have to wait for judgment day, for He lives inside of you and will instantly tell you that it is a bad idea.

(Galatians 5:19–21 NKJV) Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul covers a list of bad fruit. The word flesh here does not refer to our physical body but to our old self-centered nature and its desires. We cannot actually see the flesh that Paul is talking about, for it is not our skin, but like the wind, we can see its effects. If someone has this type of fruit growing in their lives, then they are not being led by the Spirit. They will not enter the kingdom of God, which, according to Romans 14:17, is "Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Spirit." There will be no true peace or joy in their lives.

Heaven should not be the goal of the Christian; that is merely our retirement plan. Our career is becoming more and more like Jesus today. Our eternal life has already begun. You are who you are, and leaving this life and entering heaven is no more than changing clothes. Don't think that you will suddenly become someone else. If you have accepted Jesus, you are already "born again," and you have begun your new life. The Apostle John wrote:

(1 John 3:2–3 NKJV) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

We are to purify ourselves and become more like Jesus day by day, from the inside out. Jesus was a living example of the fruit of the Spirit, and as we become more like Him, this good fruit will begin to appear in our lives.

(Galatians 5:22–25 NKJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

When a great friend and mentor of mine passed away, we attended his funeral. He was 84 years old and had accepted Jesus when he was 12. He was an electronics technician who helped me get started in the computer business. I had known him for over 25 years when he passed. We both loved Jesus, technology, and music, and we became friends for life.

As I sat there and thought about him, it occurred to me that he had every single one of these fruits evident in his life. He was gentle, kind, loving, and completely faithful. He said what he meant, and he meant what he said. Over the years, he had taken on the very nature of Jesus.

My point is that the fruit of the Spirit is obtainable right now for each of us. If we allow the Holy Spirit to slowly change us over the years, we will gradually become more and more like Jesus. Oh yes, there is grace to cover our mistakes and forgiveness that will cover the darkest of sins, but bad fruit should not be normal for us.

The South Carolina motto is "While I breathe, I hope." In the same way, while we breathe, we can still change our course. No matter what has been in the past, we can trade our bad fruit in for good fruit, but the day will finally come when we will die, or Jesus will return for the harvest. On that day, we can talk all we want about the kind of tree we are, but it is the fruit that we have produced that will tell Him all that He needs to know. A tree is known by the fruit that it bears. He will separate the wheat from the tares, the sheep from the goats, the book of life will be closed, and there will be no more names added.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please forgive me for anything that I have done wrong in the past. Cleanse me from the inside out and give me the grace to become better. Jesus, please come into my life, lead me, guide me, and be my Lord and Savior today. In Your name, I pray. Amen.