The Dialog

"Only God can judge me." It's a popular tattoo. Nick Surface's take: that's true about your heart, and it's not true about your life.

Josh Craft puts it simply. Jesus didn't say to judge people's motives. He said to judge their fruit (Matthew 7:15-20).

This one starts with Christian movies and music: the animated David, Angel Studios, Forrest Frank and the CCM we grew up on. Then it turns into a bigger question. Why are Christians so quick to tell a story about someone else's heart?

Can you know someone's motives?
No. "I wouldn't charge that much for a concert" is a preference. "He charges that much because he's lost his way" is assigning motive. The heart is deceitful above all things, and it's the Lord who searches it (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

What did Jesus mean by "you will know them by their fruit"?
A false prophet teaches lies as if they're true, on purpose or out of ignorance. Jesus's test isn't what they say or why. It's the fruit, the sustained evidence of their teaching over a long period of time (Luke 6:43-45).

What counts as good fruit?
Not money, muscles or a screenshot of a bank balance. Our number one test: does this person have close relationships with the people who have been with them the longest?

Should you judge someone you don't know?
First ask: are you in relationship with this person? If the answer is no, just be quiet. Before you make a judgment, be around the person long enough to know if they actually have fruit.

Scriptures
Matthew 7:15-20 · Luke 6:43-45 · Jeremiah 17:9-10 · Galatians 5:22-23 · 1 Timothy 3:2-5 · John 12:4-6

People and ideas
T.D. Jakes · Theodore Roosevelt's man in the arena · the Harvard Study of Adult Development · Angel Studios · Forrest Frank

Chapters
0:00 Cold open and show intro
0:52 Is the movie David a 9 or a 6?
6:04 The subculture of Christian media
9:30 Why Christians feel qualified to judge
11:51 Constituents, comrades and confidants
15:43 The problem with assigning motive
19:45 Building a castle vs. fighting a dragon
24:10 You can't know a person's motives (Jeremiah 17)
26:49 What Jesus said to judge (Matthew 7)
28:21 Two kinds of false prophet
30:05 Judge the fruit, not the motive
32:47 What counts as good fruit?
39:14 The fruit of the Spirit and the Harvard study
42:01 The number one fruit: long relationships
47:07 Are you in relationship with this person?
50:23 Life is a decathlon

Previous: 1.12 / One degree off: when church tradition drifts from truth
Next: 1.14 / Who is my neighbor? What Jesus meant by the Good Samaritan

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Go to my website / https://jkc.is

What is The Dialog?

Ancient philosophers used the dialog to find answers to life’s greatest questions. The Dialog is a search for truth in modern life through the lens of ancient philosophy, history, and theology. This podcast will challenge your assumptions, change your thinking and show you how to master modern living.