Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’
Matthew 7:20-23
"for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8)
But works are proof that our faith is real. If we really have faith in God, we *will* produce good fruit. If we're not producing good fruit yet we claim to know Christ, we need to examine our lives and see what's wrong, repent, and return to Him.
One of the bad fruits is self-righteous judgementalism:
“Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5
This is different from discernment. "But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one." (1 Corinthians 2:15)
We humans, whether Christian or not, have a tendency towards judgementalism. We tend to think of ourselves as better than others morally, then condemn others.
God wants us to discern what is right in order to do it, not to be judgmental on others to make ourselves feel better than them and condemn them.
This is a struggle for me as well.
O Lord, help me to be discerning but not judgemental. Help me to show good fruit and be a channel of Your grace to others. In Jesus' name, amen.
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