Good Fruit or Bad Fruit?

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good; or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad.  For a tree is recognized by its fruit (Matthew 12:33).

For there is no good (healthy) tree that bears decayed (worthless, stale) fruit, nor on the other hand does a decaying (worthless, sickly) tree bear good fruit.  For each tree is known and identified by its own fruit… (Luke 6:43-44)

You will fully recognize them by their fruits.  Do people pick grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles?  Even so, every healthy (sound) tree bears good fruit [worthy of admiration], but the sickly (decaying, worthless) tree bears bad (worthless) fruit.  A good (healthy) tree cannot bear bad (worthless) fruit, nor can a bad (diseased) tree bear excellent fruit (worthy of admiration).  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire.  Therefore, you will fully know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7:16-20)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life] (Proverbs 18:21).

A man’s [moral] self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied [whether good or evil] (Proverbs 18:20).

From the fruit of his words a man shall be satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hands shall come back to him [as a harvest] (Proverbs 12:14).

Whoever tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit; so he who patiently and faithfully guards and heeds his Master shall be honored (Proverbs 27:18).

[It is] the hard-working farmer [who labors to produce] who must be the first partaker of the fruits [one of the first to receive a share of the crops] (2 Timothy 2:6).

But you have planted wickedness.  You have reaped evil.  You have eaten the fruit of deception because you have depended on your own strength… (Hosea 10:13)

Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord… they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes (Proverbs 1:29, 31).

You have planted them and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit.  You are always on their lips, but far from their hearts (Jeremiah 12:2).

Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing evil upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts (their schemes and devices) because they have not listened and obeyed My words, and as for My law, they have rejected it (Jeremiah 6:19).

The Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit (Matthew 21:43).

I, the Lord, search the mind; I try the heart, even to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings (Jeremiah 17:10).

And I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says the Lord… (Jeremiah 21:14)

Great [are You] in counsel and mighty in deeds, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to reward or repay each one according to the fruits of his doings (Jeremiah 32:19).

Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart]…  Already the ax is lying at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:8, 10).

Bear fruits that are deserving and consistent with [your] repentance…  Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees, so that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire (Luke 3:8-9).

A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard.  And he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.  So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this tree and haven’t found any.  Cut it down!  Why should it use up the soil?”  “Sir,” the man replied, “Leave it for one more year and I will dig around it and fertilize it.  If it bears fruit next year, fine.  If not, then cut it down.” (Luke 13:6-9)

The wicked desire the booty of evil men, but the root of the [uncompromisingly] righteous yields [richer fruitage] (Proverbs 12:12).

Discipline… yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it [a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness – in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God] (Hebrews 12:11).