"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil. ... A good tree brings not forth corrupt fruit; neither does a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." (Luke 6:45,43)
From good only good can come. A good man does only good things. A good man can no more do bad things, than a good tree can bear bad fruit. "Every tree is known by his own fruit." (Luke 6:44)
No matter what the appearance of a tree may be, its fruit is the test of its character. If it looks good, and yet brings forth poor fruit, that shows that its pretenses are false. Even so if a man professes to be good, and is called good, and yet does bad things, that shows his profession to be a vain one.
But what is it to be good, and to do good deeds? The last part of this question answers the whole. To be a good man is to do good deeds, "He that does righteousness is righteous." (1 John 3:7)
Not that doing good deeds makes one good. Far from it. It is the being good that makes one do good deeds. The good deeds are the natural, inevitable result of the goodness that is within. But the good deeds are the measure of the man's goodness. To be good is to do good, for goodness is active.
Righteousness is right doing. Just as a man cannot do good unless he is good, so a man cannot be good without doing good. It is the fault of mere "professors" of religion, that the world has for the most part a false idea of what Christianity is. It is too often thought to be mere sentiment, the holding of certain correct ideas.
Passing by all false ideas, we come direct to the truth, which is that Christianity is a life,--the life. To be a Christian, is to live right. Christianity is the life of Christ in men and women. One's life is made up of what one does; of everything that one does. Every moment of a man's life, and every act, goes to make up his life. Every act of the true Christian is a Christian act. That means that every act of the true Christian is a Christlike act,--an act which is the product of Christ's life.
Christ is the standard of Christianity. He is "the Son of man." (Matthew 8:20)
He is "the Man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5)
Only as one is in Him, can one be "a perfect man." (Ephesians 4:13)
Christ is the representative Man. He is God's idea of what a man ought to be. In Him we find the reality of God's ideal as to man. That is to say, that every real man, every true man, every perfect man, must be a Christian. Just to the extent that a man is below the standard of Christ's life, is he below the standard of a perfect man; he is so much less than a man.
People often complain of the narrowness of their sphere. They long for great things. They feel that their field is too narrow to allow any real expansion to their lives. They despise the humdrum of the everyday round of duties.
Such should remember that the greater part of Christ's life on earth was lived in an obscure town of mean reputation, and that there He was but a common laborer. Only the last three years of His life was he before the public as a teacher and preacher.
At twelve years of age, a Jewish child was reckoned a member of the synagogue, to which only men belonged, and at that age, Jesus, who was subject to His parents, would naturally begin to take an active share in the work of the family.
At thirty He began His public ministry. Therefore we see that eighteen years of His life were spent as a carpenter. That is, His experience as a carpenter was just six times as long as His career as a public teacher.
But during all that time He was the Son of God. He was the Saviour, Christ the Lord, just as really while He was working at the carpenter's bench, as when He was teaching and healing diseases. He was doing the will of God just as really, and just as perfectly, when He was driving the saw and the plane, as when He was silencing the Pharisees, blessing little children, and making the lame to walk. "God was with Him," (Acts 10:38) when He was a carpenter in Nazareth, just the same as when He was going about and: "healing all that were oppressed of the devil;" (Acts 10:38) for He said to the Father, "You are my trust from my youth." (Psalm 71:5)
These are simple facts in the life of Christ that are too often overlooked, but which it is necessary to remember if we would live the real Christian life. Did you ever hear the question asked, "What kind of carpenter was Jesus of Nazareth?"
Do you say that it is impossible to answer it? that we have no statement about it? Not so; we know just as well as we know anything about Him, that He was a good carpenter. How do we know that? We know it from the fact that "God was with Him," and that He was a good man. God was in Him, and that was what made Him "the Man."
If He had not been a good carpenter, He would not have been a good man. If this seems irreverent to anyone, it is because he has not accustomed himself to think what it means to be a Christian. To be a Christian means to be a good man,--just such a man as Christ was; and a good man is one who does everything well that he has to do.
Remember the axiom that being good means doing good work, not a part of the time, but all the time. It does not mean doing some things well and other things poorly, but doing well everything that he professes to do. More than half the earthly life of Jesus was spent as a carpenter. It is evident therefore that if He had not done good work as a carpenter there would have been a large part of His life when He was not good, and this thought cannot be entertained for a moment.
As before stated, and as it must be evident to every person, it takes every act of a man's life to make up his life. There is not a single thing that one has to do as a carpenter, a farmer, a housekeeper, a dressmaker, or as a servant in any line whatever, that does not go to make, up the life. Now if one is a Christian, everyone of these acts, no matter how seemingly insignificant, must be a Christian act, that is, an act that comes from the life of Christ dwelling in the person; for the Christian has not two lives, but only one, and that is the life of Christ.
In this connection a few texts might be read with profit, as showing that the Gospel is concerned with every detail of one's life and work. "Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." (Ecclesiastes 9:10) "And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men; Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. ... Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." (Colossians 3:23-24,17)
From all this it is evident that for a professed Christian to do poor work, to slight his work, and not to put the full measure of his strength into everything that he does, is a disgrace to his profession. It is to dishonor Christ.
Since Christianity does not consist merely in singing hymns and making prayers, and in doing certain acts of benevolence, but in the whole of the daily life, it follows that the true Christian, being a good man, will be a good workman in whatever line he follows.
Of course all men are not equally adapted to the same thing; but the man who is led by the Spirit of the Lord will not make the mistake of choosing labor to which he is not adapted. Having been guided to the right thing, to the work that God has given him to do, he will be guided by the same Spirit to perfection; for in Christ there is perfection. "Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law does he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he does shall prosper." (Psalm 1:1-3)
There is no exception here. Everything that the godly man does shall prosper. There is nothing that concerns any human being that is too small for God to be interested in, and to direct. There is nothing in this world, of anything that needs to be done, that is so small and insignificant that it can be done right without the power of God. And whatever is done wholly in His strength, must be done in the best possible manner.
Every inspired prayer is a promise. "The Spirit ... makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God." (Romans 8:27)
Therefore when the Spirit prompts a prayer, we know that it is God's will that we should have the thing prayed for. Now in the prayer of Moses the man of God we read, "Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work, of our hands establish it." (Psalm 90:17)
So then if one is consciously and willingly a dweller in God, the work of his hands, no matter in what line, whether great or small according to man's estimate, will be established. Everything that he does will be done so well that it will stand throughout eternity. He will not be engaged in a business that he will be ashamed of in the Judgment, as the work that he does will be such that he will not be ashamed to have it exhibited there. Isn't that a glorious possibility?
Christianity is not a small matter. To be a good man means a great deal more than most people think. The true idea of Christianity, if accepted, would make a complete revolution in one's whole life. A few such Christians in every community would make a vast difference in that community, even though they were but day laborers.
Would that all professed Christians would rightly represent "the Man Christ Jesus!" Would that all might more perfectly comprehend the high calling of God in Christ Jesus! Then men would see that: "Godliness is profitable unto all things." (1 Timothy 4:8)
And the time would soon come when God's kingdom would come, and His will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.--Present Truth, October 27, 1898--Timeline: IV-15 (Sermon on the Mount)--Luke 6:43-45.