What Happens To Unfruitful Trees?

Tom:

This is our Understanding the Scriptures segment, we are in the gospel of Matthew. We’re in Matthew Chapter 3, and I will pick up with Verse 10: “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” What’s that, Dave, is that…somebody would say, Oh, you mean, they’re cast into hell, is that the analogy here?

Dave:

It could be. Tom, John the Baptist is not trying to teach people how to manage a tree farm or something like that. The Bible, Jesus Himself, often used, parables they’re called…there are illustrations that are given. And how can they illustrate heavenly things except with earthly examples? So, it’s not talking about trees, of course, it’s talking about human beings. And if the human being does not bring forth good fruit—in other words, he’s cut himself off from God, he’s cutting himself off of the source of life. A fruit doesn’t come from the apple tree, it comes from the roots. Somehow, it’s not in the branches, although the branches bear the fruit. So, people who…men, women, who cut themselves off from the source of life, and the source of fruit—well, what are you going to do with them? Ultimately they die. I don’t think it necessarily means that they’re going to be cut off instantly, because God is very patient, but certainly, one day they will be cut off. Now I don’t know that this—when Jesus is talking about the true vine, we’re the branches, and they prune. I used to live in Southern California, Riverside, California, where the Ontario airport is now. That land was just part of the largest vineyard in the world. I remember, every spring they’d cut these things back to nothing. There’s nothing but the, you know, the root and the original stalk. This can be part of what it means. But he’s not talking about, I don’t think he’s talking about a grape vine, they’re talking about a tree, probably a fruit tree. It’s good for nothing, if it won’t—look, if you have a peach tree and it won’t produce peaches, what are you going to do with it? You’re not going to just pretend you’re getting peaches from it, it’s going to have to be cut down, and you get another one in its place. So, I think that’s probably the are major meaning; Look out, and when John the Baptist is saying, The axe will be laid to the root of the tree, Look out! You remember, in Daniel, the watchers said, Cut it down. And Jesus says in His parable of the tree, Cut it down, why is it a burden to the ground anymore, get rid of this thing.

Tom:

Mmhmm. And of course Dave, John the Baptist was addressing the, you know, the Pharisees and the Saducees who came to him and they were, in their pride, thinking, Hey wait a minute, you know, we’re sons of Abraham, he’s our father. Yet he’s trying to get their attention that these are serious issues with regard to, as we’ve mentioned in the earlier program, where are they going to spend eternity?

Dave:

We didn’t create ourselves, life comes from God, and He has loaned this to us. You know, the Law of Biogenesis: life only comes from life. That’s the stickler, or one of many sticklers for the atheist. Where did life come from? You don’t even know what life is. Where did the first life come from? Of course, if there was a big bang, which I don’t believe in, but if there was it would have sterilized this entire, everything in this universe a trillion times over. That is what pasteurization is about. It would have pasteurized this universe a trillion times over. You’re not going to get any life out of there, but the atheist, he has no choice. Well, somehow, it happened. Now the Bible tells us in John 1, that Jesus is the Creator of everything, by Him all things made that were made, nothing that was made was made without Him. And interestingly enough it says, In Him was life. Jesus offered to give life. And if we’re going to have eternal life we will have to be—we’ll have to receive it from Him, we will have to be in touch with Him, and if we’re out there wandering on our own and we have turned our back on Christ, don’t blame God if you end up in hell, that’s the truth.

Tom:

Verse 11, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”

Dave:

This is a controversial verse we could get into. What is he talking about? He that cometh after me…well, John is the forerunner, so this is the one he’s preparing his way, and one who comes after me, he is greater, he is mightier than I—I’m not even worthy to bare his…untie his shoes, or whatever. Well he’s talking about the M—

Tom:

Yeah, Jesus, the Messiah.

Dave:

Talking about the Messiah, of course, and that certainly was true. So, John is not trying to draw attention to himself, his whole purpose…he’s a signpost to Jesus, and that’s all he wants to do. So he’s making that very clear, and then this is rather interesting, he says: He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Now what is this fire?

Tom:

Yeah, Dave, we have two fires, we have “cast into the fire” in Verse 10, and now we have “being baptized with fire” in Verse 11.

Dave:

I don’t know if we have time to get into this.

Tom:

Well, we’ll pick up, we’ll pick up with it next week.

Dave:

But is this a physical fire? Well, are people cast into physical fire? Well, the Catholics sure believe it, that’s their purgatory. The Muslims sure believe it, and they have more to say about hell, the Qur’an does, and the Qur’an even says, Allah says, when you’re skin—well, that’s pretty shallow…in the lake of fire everything is gone, you’re burned up totally, completely, more than your skin—but Allah says, I’ll give you another skin back again so I can torture you some more. I don’t think physical fire can really cleanse in purgatory. How is that going to cleanse someone? That’s not the way it works. This is a moral problem we’re dealing with, sin is a moral problem.

Tom:

Plus it doesn’t pay the penalty for sin, Dave, which we know is an infinite penalty.

Dave:

Of course. So, Paul tells us, 1Corinthians Chapter 3: Every man’s works will be tried by fire. Now, there again, I don’t think that’s a physical fire. What are we going to do, you’re going to bundle all your works, all the good and bad things you did, and throw them into a physical fire? I don’t see how a fire could distinguish motives, could evaluate works…a physical fire. It’s, I believe it’s a fire of God’s justice, his truth, his judgment, his eyes are as a flame of fire. So, no trees to hide behind, Adam and Eve, you are naked before God, and your conscience isn’t even going to weasel your way out of this because no more can you make excuses. I think this is what it’s talking about.

Tom:

Dave, so we go back to baptism, John is baptizing with water unto repentance. Obviously, these people were put under the water, there is symbolism here. Baptism with fire, I think we have symbolism here. This is an expression of how God is going to…what?

Dave:

Test everyone’s works.

Tom:

Yeah.

Dave:

And this is mentioned in every gospel, and I’m going to let people think about this for a week. Every time, it says, As I baptize in water. Isn’t that what it says?

Tom:

Mmhmm. I indeed baptize you with water.

Dave:

But He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Now, let me suggest—oh some people are not going to like this—1Corinthians Chapter 12, It is the Holy Spirit who will baptize you into the church. By one spirit have we all been baptized into one body. There the Holy Spirit is the baptizer and you are being baptized into the body. But here, water, he baptizes you in water, and that is like the Holy Spirit. So now, Jesus is the baptizer, and you are being immersed in the Holy Spirit. Every time it’s said exactly like that. You go to Acts Chapter 1, when Jesus says, John indeed baptized with water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Not many days hence when Peter comes back and reports at Jerusalem, he says, We remembered that Jesus had said, Just as John baptized in water, you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. Now that doesn’t sound to me like it’s baptized into the church at that point. Jesus is the one who baptizes you in the Holy Spirit. Well, we’ll let people think about that.