The Heart Revealed by Its Fruit

Order of Service

• Prelude
• Call to Worship — Isaiah 44:21-23
• Hymn — We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer, Creator (#247)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Heidelberg Catechism — Lord's Day 38 (Fourth Commandment)
• Hymn — Father, Long Before Creation (#242)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Sermon
• Hymn — Great Is Thy Faithfulness (#245)
• Benediction — 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

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Sermon Title: The Heart Revealed by Its Fruit

Scripture: Luke 6:43-45

I. A Fruit That Reveals

A. The basic principle: a tree is known by its fruit (Luke 6:44)

1. Good fruit comes from a good tree; bad fruit from a bad tree
2. What is displayed informs us about the nature of its source
3. Character is revealed not by first impressions or isolated acts, but by the pattern of a life over time (Daryl Bock)

B. What constitutes good fruit?

1. Obedience to God's law, summarized in the Ten Commandments
2. Forgiveness and mercy toward others (connecting to the preceding context about removing the log from one's own eye)
3. Repentance — a sign of life and growth, not perfection
4. The fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)

C. The standard of good fruit is God's measure of morality, not cultural norms or comparison to others

D. J.C. Ryle: when a person brings forth no fruit of the Spirit, it is evidence the Holy Spirit does not dwell in them — a call to self-examination

II. A Treasure That Produces

A. Every heart treasures something (Luke 6:45)

1. Thomas Chalmers: the heart cannot be left without an object — it must have something to lay hold of
2. We are made to love God above all else; sin does not stop our loving, but misdirects it toward wrong objects

B. What we treasure determines our conduct, our use of time and resources, and especially our speech

1. Verse 45: out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks
2. How we speak about God reveals what we truly treasure
3. There is no neutral ground — the heart is always being shaped toward God or away from him

C. How do we treasure God?

1. We must see him for what he is truly worth — beholding him as revealed in Scripture
2. Behold Christ: the exact imprint of God's nature, the Word made flesh, the Lamb slain for sinners, risen and enthroned
3. We love him because he first loved us — he has made us his treasure
4. Thomas Chalmers, The Expulsive Power of a New Affection: you cannot stop loving a wrong thing by willpower alone; only a greater, worthier affection can displace it

III. Application: Examine the Heart, Not Merely the Performance

A. This passage is not meant to cause Christians to doubt their salvation, but to prompt reflection on their loves

B. Begin not with outward moral performance (which can lead to false assurance) but with examining the heart

1. Do you love Jesus as Savior? Lean into that love.
2. Ask God to make you like a tree planted by streams of living water

C. Lean into every opportunity to cultivate fruit — obedience, forgiveness, repentance, the fruit of the Spirit — putting on display what you truly treasure