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Religion Forum Index » Christian Methodist Forum » The Withered Fig Tree...
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| Carl... |
 Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 1:37 pm |
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In the following sermon, Charles Spurgeon's message centers around the
withered fig tree and the message Jesus told regarding it.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
The Withered Fig Tree
by Charles Spurgeon
"And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged
there. Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And
when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon,
but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward
for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples
saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered
away!"-Matthew 21:17-20.
This is a miracle and a parable. We have books upon the miracles, we have an
equal number of volumes upon the parables: into which of these volumes shall
we place this story? I would answer, put it in both. It is a singular
miracle, and it is a striking parable. It is an acted parable, in which our
Lord gives us an object-lesson. He gets truth before men's eyes, in this
instance, that the lesson may make a deeper impression upon the mind and
heart. I would lay great stress upon the remark that this is a parable; for,
if you do not look upon it in that light, you may misunderstand it. We are
not of those who come to the Word of God with the cool impertinence of the
critic, thinking ourselves wiser than the Book, and therefore able to judge
it. We believe that the Holy Spirit is greater than man's spirit, and that
our Lord and Master was a better judge of what is right and good than any of
us can be. Our place is at his feet: we are not cavillers, but followers.
Whatever Jesus does and says, we regard with deepest reverence; our chief
desire is to learn as much as we can from it. We see great mysteries in his
simplest actions, and profound teaching about his plainest words. When he
speaks or acts, we are like Moses at the bush, and feel that we stand on
holy ground.
Flippant persons have spoken of the story before us in a very foolish
manner. They have represented it as though our Lord, being hungered, thought
only of his necessity, and, expecting to be refreshed by a few green figs
went up to the tree in error. Finding no fruit upon the tree, it being a
season when he had no right to expect that there would be any, he was vexed,
and uttered a malediction against a tree, as though it had been a
responsible agent. This view of the case results from the folly of the
observer: it is not the truth. Our Lord desired to teach his disciples
concerning the doom of Jerusalem. The reception given him in Jerusalem was
full of promise, but it would come to nothing. Their loud hosannas would
change to, "Crucify Him!"
When Jerusalem was to be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar a former time, the
prophets had not only spoken, but they had used instructive signs. If you
turn to the Book of Ezekiel, you will there see the record of many signs and
symbols which set forth the coming woe. These tokens excited curiosity,
secured consideration, and brought home the prophetic warnings to the homes
and hearts of the common people. Again, the judgments of God were at the
gates of the guilty city. Words-the words of Jesus-had been wasted; and even
tears-tears of the Saviour-had been spilt in vain; it was time that the sign
should be given-the sign of condemnation. Ezekiel had said, "All the trees
of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree, and
have dried up the green tree"; and herein was suggested the very image which
was employed by our Lord. He saw a fig tree, by a freak of nature, covered
with leaves at a time when, in the ordinary course of things, it should not
have been so. Our Lord saw that this was a fine object lesson for him, and
therefore he took his disciples to see if there were figs as well as leaves.
When he found none, he bade the fig tree remain for ever fruitless, and
immediately it began to wither. Our Lord would have used the fig tree to
excellent purpose had he ordered it to be used a fuel to warm cold hands,
but he did better when he used it to warm cold hearts. No wrong was done to
any man; it was a tree on the waste, and utterly worthless. No pain was
inflicted; no anger was felt. In the object-lesson, the Lord simply said to
the fig tree, "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever"; and it
withered away. In this our Lord taught a great lesson to all ages at a small
expense. The withering of a tree has been the quickening of many a soul; and
if it had not been so, it was no loss to any that a tree should wither when
it had proved itself barren. A great teacher may do far more than destroy a
tree, if he can thereby give demonstrations of truth, and scatter seeds of
virtue. It is the veriest idleness of criticism to find fault with our Lord
Jesus for a piece of fine poetic instruction, for which, had it been spoken
by any other teacher, the most lavish praise would have been awarded by
these very critics.
The blighted fig tree was a singularly apt simile of the Jewish state. The
nation had promised great things to God. When all the other nations were
like trees without leaves, making no profession of allegiance to the true
God, the Jewish nation was covered with the leafage of abundant religious
profession. Scribes, pharisees, priests and elders of the people were all
sticklers for the letter of the law, and boaster of being worshippers of the
one God, and strict observers of all his laws. Their constant cry was, "The
temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are
these." "We have Abraham to our Father" was frequently on their lips. They
were a fig tree in full leaf. But there was no fruit upon them; for the
people were neither holy, nor just, nor true, nor faithful towards God, nor
loving to their neighbor. The Jewish church was a mass of glittering
profession, unsupported by spiritual life. Our Lord had looked into the
temple, and had found the house of prayer to be a den of thieves. He
condemned the Jewish church to remain a lifeless, fruitless thing; and it
was so. The synagogue remained open; but its teaching became a dead form.
Israel had no influence upon the age. The Jewish race became, for centuries,
a withered tree: it had nothing but profession when Christ came, and that
profession proved powerless to save even the holy city. Christ did not
destroy the religious organization of the Jews: he left them as they were;
but they withered away from the root, till the Roman came, and with the axes
of his legions cleared away the fruitless trunk.
What a lesson is this to nations! Nations may make a profession, a loud
profession, of religion, and yet may fail to exhibit that righteousness
which exalteth a nation. Nations may be adorned with all the leafage of
civilization, and art, and progress, and religion; but if there be no inner
life of godliness, and no fruit unto righteousness, they will stand for a
while, and then wither away.
What a lesson this is to churches! There have been churches which have stood
prominent in numbers and in influence; but faith, and love, and holiness
have not been maintained, and the Holy Ghost has left them to the vain show
of a fruitless profession; and there stand those churches, with the trunk of
organization, and widely-extended branches, but they are dead, and every
year they become more and more decayed. Brethren, such churches we have even
among Nonconformists at this hour. May it never be so with this church! We
may have numbers of people coming to hear the Word, and a considerable body
of men and women professing to be converted; but unless vital godliness is
in their midst, what are congregations and churches? We might have a valued
ministry, but what would this be without the Spirit of God? We might have
large subscriptions, and many outward efforts; but what of these without the
spirit of prayer, the spirit of faith, the spirit of grace and consecration?
I dread lest we should ever come to be like a tree, precocious with a
superlative profession, but yet worthless in the sight of the Lord, because
the secret life of piety, and vital union to Christ, are gone. Better that
the axe clear away every vestige of the tree than that it stand out against
the sky an open lie, a mockery, a delusion.
This is the lesson of the text; but I do not want you to consider it only in
the gross, in its relation to nations and churches; but my heart's desire is
that we may learn the lesson in detail, and take it home each one to his own
heart. May the Lord himself speak to each one of us this morning personally!
In preparing the sermon, I have had great searchings of heart, and I pray
that the hearing of it may produce the same results. May we tremble, lest,
having a profession of godliness, we should wear it conspicuously, and yet
should lack the fruitbearing which alone can warrant such a profession. The
name of saintship, if it be not justified by sanctity, is an offence to
honest men, and much more to a holy God. A pronounced and forward avowal of
Christianity without a Christian life at the back of it is a lie, abhorrent
to God and man, an offence against truth, a dishonour to religion, and the
forerunner of a withering curse.
May the Holy Spirit help me to preach very solemnly and powerfully at this
time!
Our first observation is this-There are in the world cases of forward, but
fruitless, profession; our second observation will be this-These will be
inspected by King Jesus; and our third remark will be-The result of that
inspection will be very terrible. Help us, O Holy Spirit!
I. First, then, THERE ARE IN THE WORLD CASES OF FORWARD, BUT FRUITLESS,
PROFESSION.
The cases to which we refer are not so very rare. They far excel their
fellow-men. Their promise is very loud, and their exterior very impressive.
They look like fruitful trees; you expect many baskets of the best figs from
them. They impress us by their talk, they overpower us by their manners. We
envy them, and lash ourselves. This last might not harm us; but to envy
hypocrites can never be otherwise than injurious in the long run; for, when
their hypocrisy is discovered, we are apt to despise religion as well as the
pretenders to it. Do you not know persons who are in appearance everything
and in reality nothing? O dark thought! may we not ourselves be such
persons? See the man, he is strong in faith, even to presumption; he is
joyous in hope, even to levity; he is loving in spirit, even to utter
indifference about truth! How very glib he is in talk! How deep he is in
theological speculation! Yet he has never entered the kingdom by the new
birth. He has never been taught of God. The gospel has come to him in word
only. He is a stranger to the work of the Holy Ghost. Are there not such
persons? Are there not persons who are defenders of orthodoxy and yet are
heterodox in their own conduct? Do we not know men and women whose lives
deny what their lips profess? We are sure it is so. All vineyards have had
in them fig trees covered with leaves, which have been conspicuous from the
foliage of their profession, and yet have brought forth no fruit unto the
Lord.
Such persons seem to defy the seasons. It was not the time of figs, yet was
this fig tree covered with those leaves which usually betokened ripe figs. I
suppose you all know what I have often seen for myself-the fig tree puts
forth its fruit before its leaves. Early in the year you see green knobs put
forth at the end and points of the branches, and these, as they swell, turn
out to be green figs. The leaves come forward afterwards, and by the time
the tree is fully covered with leaves, the figs are ready for eating. When a
fig tree is in full leaf, you expect to find figs upon it; and if you do
not, it will bear no figs for that season. This tree put forth leaves
abundantly before its season, and therein excelled all other fig trees. Yes,
but it was a freak of nature, and not a healthy result of true growth. Such
freaks of nature occur in forests and in vineyards; and their like may be
met with in the moral and spiritual world. Certain men and women seem far in
advance of those round about them, and astonish us by their special virtues.
They are better than the best; more excellent than the most excellent-at
least in appearance. They are so zealous that they are not chilled by the
surrounding world: their great souls create a summer for themselves. The
backwardness of saints, and the wickedness of sinners, do not hinder them;
they are too vigorous to be affected by their surroundings. They are very
superior persons, covered with virtues, as this fig tree with leaves.
Observe, that they overleap the ordinary rule of growth. As I have told you,
the rule is, first the fig, and afterwards the fig leaves; but we have seen
persons who make a profession before they have produced the slightest fruit
to justify it. I like to see our young friends, when they believe in Christ,
proving their faith by holiness at home, by godliness abroad, and then
coming forward and confessing their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That
looks to be the sober and normal way of proceeding, for a man first to be,
and then to profess to be; first to be lighted, and then to shine; first to
repent and believe, and then to confess his repentance and his faith in the
Scriptural way, by baptism into Christ. But these people think it
unnecessary to attend to the trifle of heart-work-they dare to omit the most
vital part of the matter. They attend a revival meeting, and they declare
themselves saved, though they have not been renewed in heart, and possess
neither repentance nor faith. They come forward to avow a mere emotion. They
have nothing better than a resolve; but they flourish it as if it were the
deed itself. Quick as thought, the convert sets up to be a teacher. Without
test or trial of his brand-new virtues, he holds himself forth as an example
to others. Now, I do not object to the rapidity of the conversion; on the
contrary, I admire it, if it be true; but I cannot judge till I see the
fruit and evidence in the life. If the change of conduct is distinct and
true, I care not how quickly the work is done; but we must see the change.
There is a heat which leads to fermentation, and a fermentation which breeds
sourness and corruption. O dear friends, never think you may skip the fruit
and come at once to the leaf. Be not like a builder who should say, "It is
all nonsense to spend labor and material on works underground. Foundations
are never seen; I can run up a house in no time; four walls and a roof will
not take long." Yes; but how long will such a house last? Is it worthwhile
building a house without foundations? If you omit the foundation, why not
omit the house altogether? Is there not a tendency, especially in these
days, when men are either skeptical or fanatical, to cultivate a mushroom
godliness, which comes up in a night and perishes in a night? Will it not be
ruinous if conviction of sin is slighted, repentance slurred, faith
imitated, the new birth counterfeited, and godliness feigned? Beloved, this
will never do. We must have figs before leaves, acts before declarations,
faith before baptism, union to Christ before union with the church. You
cannot leap over the processes of nature, neither may you omit the processes
of grace, lest haply your foliage without fruit become a curse without cure.
These people usually catch the eye of others. According to Mark, our Lord
saw this tree "afar off." The other trees were not in leaf, and
consequently, when he began to go up the hill toward Jerusalem, he saw this
one tree quite a long way before he reached it. A fig tree dressed in its
vesture of lovely green would be a striking object, and would be observable
at a distance. It stood, also, near the track from Bethany to the city gate.
It stood where every wayfarer would observe it, and probably speak with
wonder of its singular leafage for the season. Persons whose religion is
false are frequently prominent, because they have not grace enough to be
modest and retiring. They seek the highest room, aspire to office, and push
themselves into leadership. They do not walk in secret with God, they have
little concern about private godliness, and so they are all the more eager
to be seen of men. this is both their weakness and their peril. Though least
of all able to bear the wear and tear of publicity, they are covetous for
it, and are, therefore, all the more watched. This is the evil of the whole
matter; for it makes their spiritual failure to be known by so many, and
their sin brings all the greater dishonor upon the name of the Lord, whom
they profess to serve. Better far to be fruitless in a corner of a wood than
on the public way which leads to the temple.
Such people not only catch the eye, but they often attract the company of
good men. Who blames us for drawing near to a tree which is in leaf long
before its fellows? Is it not right to cultivate the acquaintance of the
eminently good? Our Saviour and his disciples went up to the leafy fig tree:
not merely did it win their eye, but it drew them to itself. Have we not
been fascinated by the charming conduct of one who seemed to be a brother in
the Lord, more devout than usual, fearing God above many? Like Jehu, he has
said, "Come, see my zeal for the Lord;" and we have been glad enough to ride
in the chariot with him: he seemed so godly, so generous, so humble, so
useful, that we looked up to him, and wished that we were more worthy to be
associated with him. Young converts and seekers are naturally apt to do
this; and hence it is a sad calamity when their confidence turns out to have
been misplaced.
Whenever we see any standing out prominently, and making a bold profession,
what should be our thoughts about them? I answer, do not judge them; do not
fall into habitual mistrust. Your Lord did not stand at a distance and say,
"That tree is worthless." No, he went up to it, with his disciples, and
carefully inspected it. These prominent persons may be wonders of divine
grace: let us hope and pray that they may be. Let the Lord and his love be
magnified in them! God has his fig trees that bear figs in winter; God has
his saints who are filled with good works when the love of others has waxed
cold. The Lord raises some up to be as standards for the truth, rallying
points in the battle. The Lord can make young men mature, and new converts
useful. It has been said, by way of proverbial expression, that "some men
are born with beards." The Lord can give great grace, so as to make
spiritual growth rapid and yet solid. He does this so often that we have no
right to doubt but what the prominent brother before us is one of these
growths of grace. Unless we are forced to see with bitter regret that there
are no marks of grace, no evidences of faith, let us hope for the best, and
be glad at the sight of God's grace. If we are inclined to be suspicious,
let us turn the point of that sword towards our own bosoms. Self-suspicion
will be healthy; suspicion of others may be cruel. We are not judges; and
even if we are, we had better keep to our own court, and sit on our own
judgment-seat, dispensing the law within the little kingdom of our own
selves.
Where those who are prominent turn out to be all they profess to be, they
are a great blessing. It would have been well if that morning there had been
figs upon that fig tree. It would have been a great refreshment to the
Saviour if he had been fed by the green fruit. When the Lord makes the first
in position to be first in holiness, it is a blessing to the church, to the
family, and to the neighborhood; indeed, it may prove to ba a blessing to
the whole world. We ought, therefore, to pray the Lord to water with his own
hand those trees which he has planted; or, in other words, to uphold by his
grace those men of his right hand whom he has made strong for himself.
But when we take the text and lay it home to our own hearts, we need not be
so gentle with it as in the cases of others. We have, many of us, for long
years been like this fig-tree, as to prominence and profession. And in this
matter, so far, there is nothing of which to be ashamed. Yet it is evidently
to ourselves that the parable speaks; for we have stood in open avowal and
distinct service by the wayside, and we have been seen "afar off." Certain
of us have made a very bold profession, and we are not ashamed to repeat
that profession before men and angels. Hence the enquiry: Are we truthful in
it? What if we should turn out to be contending for a faith in which we have
no share? What if in us there should be none of the life of love, and
consequently our profession should be "as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal"? What if there should be talk, and no work; doctrine, and no
practice? What if we are without holiness? Then we shall never see the Lord.
Whatever terrible aspect this parable-miracle may have, it bears upon many
of us. I, the preacher, feel how much it bears upon me. In that spirit have
I thought it over, anxiously trusting that every deacon and every elder of
this church, and every member and every worker among you, may have great
searchings of heart. May every minister of Christ who may have dropped in
here this morning, say to himself, "Yes, I have been like that fig tree in
prominence and in profession; God grant that I be not like it in being
devoid of fruit!"
II. It is time that we remembered the solemn truth of our second head: THESE
WILL BE INSPECTED BY KING JESUS.
He will draw nigh to them, and when he comes up to them he will look for
fruit. The first Adam came to the fig tree for leaves, but the Second Adam
looks for figs. He searches our character through and through, to see
whether there is any real faith, any true love, any living hope, any joy
which is the fruit of the Spirit, any patience, any self-denial, any fervour
in prayer, any walking with God, any indwelling of the Holy Spirit; and if
he does not see these things, he is not satisfied with chapel-going,
church-going, prayer meetings, communions, sermons, Bible readings; for all
these may be no more than leafage. If our Lord does not see the fruit of the
Spirit upon us, he is not satisfied with us, and his inspection will lead to
severe measures. Notice that what Jesus looks for is not your words, not
your resolves, not your avowals, but your sincerity, your inward faith, your
being indeed wrought upon by the Spirit of God to bring forth fruits meet
for his kingdom.
Our Lord has a right to expect fruit when he looks for it. When he went up
to that fig tree he had a right to expect fruit; because the fruit,
according to nature, comes before the leaf. If, then, the leaf has come,
there should be fruit. True, it was not the time of figs; but then, if it
was not the time of figs, it certainly was not the season for leaves, for
the figs are first. This tree, by putting forth leaves, which are the signs
and tokens of ripe figs, virtually advertised itself as bearing fruit. So,
however bad the times may be, some of us profess that we will not follow the
times, but will follow the one immutable truth. As Christians, we confess
that we are redeemed from among men, and have been delivered from this
perverse generation. Christ may not expect fruit of men who acknowledge the
world and its changing ages as their supreme guide; but he may well look for
it from the believer in his own Word. He looks for fruit from the preacher,
from the Sunday-school teacher, from the church- officer, from the sister
who conducts a Bible class, from that brother who has a band of young men
around him, to whom he is a guide in the gospel. He does expect it of all
who submit to his gospel rule. As Christ had a right to expect fruit of a
leaf- bearing fig tree, so he has a right to expect great things from those
who avow themselves his trustful followers. Ah me! how this fact should move
the preacher with trembling! Should it not affect full many of you in the
same manner?
Fruit is what the Lord earnestly desires. The Saviour, when he came under
the fig tree, did not desire leaves; for we read that he hungered, and human
hunger cannot be removed by leaves of a fig tree. He desired to eat a fig or
two; and he longs to have fruit from us also. He hungers for our holiness:
he longs that his joy may be in us, that our joy may be full. He comes up to
each of you who are members of his church, and especially to each of you who
are leaders of his people, and he looks to see in you the things in which
his soul is well pleased. He would see in us love to himself, love to our
fellow-men, strong faith in revelation, earnest contention for the once
delivered faith, importunate pleading in prayer, and careful living in every
part of our course. He expects from us actions such as are according to the
law of God and the mind of the Spirit of God; and if he does not see these,
he does not receive his due. What did he die for but to make his people
holy? What did he give himself for but that he might sanctify unto himself a
people zealous of good works? What is the reward of the bloody sweat and the
five wounds and the death agony, but that by all these we should be bought
with a price? We rob him of his reward if we do not glorify him, and
therefore the Spirit of God is grieved at our conduct if we do not show
forth his praises by our godly and zealous lives.
And mark here, that when Christ comes to a soul he surveys it with keen
discernment. He is not mocked. It is not possible to deceive him. I have
thought that to be a fig which turned out to be only a leaf was a mistake;
but our Lord makes no such mistake. Neither will he overlook the little
figs, just breaking forth. He knows the fruit of the Spirit in whatever
stage it may be. He never mistakes fluent expression for hearty possession,
nor real grace for mere emotion. Beloved, you are in good hands as to the
trial of your condition when the Lord Jesus comes to deal with you. Your
fellow-men are quick in their judgments, and they may be either censorious,
or partial; but the King gives forth a righteous sentence. He knows just
where we are, and what we are; and he judges not after the appearance, but
according to truth. Oh, that our prayer might this morning rise to heaven:
"Jesus, Master, come and cast thy searching eyes upon me, and judge whether
I am living unto thee or not! Give me to see myself as thou seest me, that I
may have my errors corrected, and my graces nourished. Lord, make me to be
indeed what I profess to be; and if I am not so already, convince me of my
false state, and begin a true work in my soul. If I am thine, and am right
in thy sight, grant ma a kind, assuring word to sink my fears again, and I
will gladly rejoice in thee as the God of my salvation."
III. I come, thirdly, by the help of the Spirit of God, to consider the
truth, that THE RESULT OF THE COMING OF CHRIST TO THE FORWARD, BUT
FRUITLESS, PROFESSOR WILL BE VERY TERRIBLE.
The searcher finds nothing but leaves where fruit might have been expected.
Nothing but leaves means nothing but lies. Is that a harsh expression? If I
profess faith, and have no faith, is not that a lie? If I profess
repentance, and have not repented, is not that a lie? If I unite with the
people of the living God, and yet have no fear of God in my heart, is not
that a lie? If I come to the communion-table, and partake of the bread and
wine, and yet never discern the Lord's body, is not that a lie? If I profess
to defend the doctrines of grace, and yet am not assured of the truth of
them, is not that a lie? If I have never felt my depravity; if I have never
been effectually called, never known my election of God, never rested in the
redeeming blood, and have never been renewed by the Spirit, is not my
defense of the doctrines of grace a lie? If there is nothing but leaves,
there is nothing but lies, and the Saviour sees that it is so. All the
verdure of green leaf to him without fruit is but so much deceit. Profession
without grace is the funeral pageantry of a dead soul. Religion without
holiness is the light which comes from rotten wood-the phosphorescence of
decay: I speak dread words, but how can I speak less dreadfully than I do?
If you and I have but a name to live, and are dead, what a state we are in!
Ours is something worse than corruption: it is the corruption of corruption.
To profess religion and live in sin, is to sprinkle rose-water upon a
dunghill, and leave it a dunghill still. To give a spirit an angel's name
when it bears the devil's character, is almost to sin against the Holy
Ghost. If we remain unconverted, of what use can it be to have our name
written among the godly?
Our Lord discovered that there was no fruit, and that was a dreadful thing;
but, next, he condemned the tree. Was it not right that he should condemn
it? Did he curse it? It was already a curse. It was calculated to tantalize
the hungry, and take them out of their way to deceive them. God will not
have the poor and needy made a jest of. An empty profession is a practical
curse; and should it not receive the censure of the Lord of truth? The tree
was of no use where it was: it ministered to no man's refreshment. So, the
barren professor occupies a position in which he ought to be a blessing,
but, in truth, an evil influence streams forth from him. If he has not the
grace of God in him, he is utterly useless, and in all probability he is a
curse: he is an Achan in the camp, grieving the Lord, and causing him to
refuse success to his people.
Our Lord did, however, use the fig tree for a good purpose when he caused it
to wither away; for it became, henceforth, a beacon and a warning to all
others who put forth vain pretenses. So, when the ungodly man, who has
exhibited a flourishing profession, is allowed to fade away in his ways,
some moral effect is produced upon others: they are compelled to see the
peril of an unsound profession; and if they are wise, they will no longer be
guilty of it. Would God it might be so in every case whenever a notable
religionist withers away!
After that, when the Saviour had condemned it, he pronounced sentence upon
it; and what was the sentence? It was simply, "As you were." It was nothing
more than a confirmation of its state. This tree has borne no fruit, it
shall never bear fruit. If a man chooses to be without the grace of God, and
yet to make a profession of having it, it is only just that the great Judge
should say, "Continue without grace." When the great Judge at last shall
speak to those who depart from God, he will simply say to them, "Depart!"
Throughout life they always were departing, and after death their character
is stamped with perpetuity. If you choose to be graceless, to be graceless
shall be your doom. "He that is filthy, let him be filthy still." May the
Lord Jesus never have to sentence any of you in this way; but may he turn
us, that we may be turned, and work in us eternal life to his praise and
glory!
Then there came a change over the tree. It began at once to wither. I do not
know whether the disciples saw a quiver run through it at once; but on the
next morning when they passed that way, according to Mark, it had dried up
from the roots. Not only did the leaves hang down, like streamers when there
is no wind; not only did the bark seem to have lost every token of vitality;
but the whole fabric was blighted fatally. Have you ever seen a fig tree
with its strange, weird branches? It is a very extraordinary sight when bare
of leaves. In this case I see its skeleton arms! It is twice dead, dead from
the very roots. Thus have I seen the fair professor undergo a blight. He has
looked like a thing that has felt the breath of a furnace, and has had its
moisture dried up. The man is no longer himself: his glory and his beauty
are hopelessly gone. No axe was lifted; no fire was kindled; a word did it,
and the tree withered from the root. So, without thunderbolt or pestilence,
the once brave professor is stricken as with the judgment of Cain. It is an
awful fate. Better far to have the vine-dresser come to you with the axe in
his hand, and strike you with the head of it, and say to you, "Tree, thou
must bear fruit, or be hewn down." Such a warning would be terrible, but it
would be infinitely better than to be left in one's place untouched, quietly
to wither to destruction.
Now I have delivered my heavy burden, laying it far more upon myself than
upon any one of you; for I stand more prominent than you; I have made a
louder profession than most of you; and if I have not his grace in me, then
I shall stand before the multitude that have seen me in my greenness, and
shall wither away to the very roots, a terrible example of what God doth
with those who bear no fruit to his glory.
But now I desire to conclude with tenderer words. Let no man say, "This is
very hard." Brother, it is not hard, is it, that if we profess a thing we
should be expected to be true to it? Besides, I pray you not to think that
anything my Lord can do is hard. He is all gentleness and tenderness. The
only thing he ever did destroy was this fig tree. He destroyed no men, as
Elias did when he brought fire from heaven upon them; nor as Elisha did when
the bears came out of the wood. It is only a barren tree that he causes to
wither away. He is all love and tenderness: he does not want to wither you,
nor will he, if you be but true. The very least he may expect is that you be
true to what you profess. Are you rebellious because he asks you not to play
the hypocrite? If you begin to kick against his admonition, it will look as
if you were yourself untrue at heart. Instead of that, come and bow humbly
at his feet, and say, "Lord, if anything in this solemn truth bears upon me,
I beseech thee so to apply it to my conscience that I may feel its power,
and flee to thee for salvation." Many men are converted in this way-these
hard but honest things drive them from false refuges, and bring them to be
true to Christ and to their own souls.
"But," saith one, "I know what I will do; I will never make any profession;
I will bear no leaves." My friend, that also is a sullen, rebellious spirit.
Instead of talking so, you should say, Lord, I do not ask thee to take away
my leaves, but let me have fruit. The fruit is not likely to ripen well
without leaves; leaves are essential to the health of the tree, and the
health of the tree is essential to the ripening of the fruit. Open
confession of faith is good, and must not be refused. Lord, I would not drop
a leaf.
"I'm not ashamed to own my Lord,
Or to defend his cause;
Maintain the honour of his word,
The glory of his cross."
Lord, I do not want to be set away in a corner; I am satisfied to stand
where men may see my good works, and glorify my Father who is in heaven. I
do not ask to be observed; but I am not ashamed to be observed; only, Lord,
make me fit for observation. If a commander said to a soldier, "Stand firm,
but mind you have your cartridges ready, so that you may not lift an empty
gun;" suppose that soldier answered, "I cannot be so particular. I would
rather run to the rear." Would that be a fit reply? Coward! because your
captain warns you that you must not be a sham, you would therefore, run off
altogether! Surely, you are of an evil sort. You are not truly one of the
Lord's, if you cannot bear his rebuke. Let not these solemn truths drive us
away, but let them draw us on to say, "Lord, I pray thee, help me to make my
calling and election sure. I beseech thee, help me to bring forth the
expected fruit. Thy grace can do it."
I would suggest to everyone here to cry to the Lord to make us conscious of
our natural barrenness. Gracious ones, may the Lord make us mourn our
comparative barrenness, even if we do bear some fruit. To feel quite
satisfied with yourself is perilous: to feel that you are holy, and indeed
that you are perfect, is to be on the brink of the pit of pride. If you hold
your head so high, I am afraid you will strike it against the top of the
doorway. If you walk on stilts, I fear you will fall. It is a safer thing to
feel, "Lord, I do serve thee, and I am no deceiver. I do love thee; thou
hast wrought the works of the Spirit in me. But alas! I am not what I want
to be, I am not what I ought to be. I aspire to holiness: help me to attain
it. Lord, I would lie in the very dust before thee to think that after being
digged about and dunged, as I have been, I should bear such little fruit. I
feel myself less than nothing. My cry is, 'God be merciful to me.' If I had
done all, I should still have been an unprofitable servant; but having done
so little, Lord, where shall I hide my guilty head?"
Lastly, when you have made this confession, and the good Lord has heard you,
there is one emblem in Scripture I should like you to copy. Suppose this
morning you feel so dry and dead and barren, that you cannot serve God as
you would, nor even pray for more grace, as you wish to do. Then you are
something like these twelve rods. They are very dead and dry, for they have
been held in the hands of twelve chiefs, who have used them as their
official staves. These twelve rods are to be laid before the Lord. This one
is Aaron's rod; but it is quite as dead and dry as any of the rest. The
whole twelve are laid in the place where the Lord dwelleth. We see them next
morning. Eleven are dry rods still; but see this rod of Aaron! What has
happened? It was dry as death. See, it has budded! This is wonderful! But
look, it has blossomed! There are almond flowers upon it. You know they are
rosy pink and white. This is marvelous! But look again, it has brought forth
almonds! Here, you have them! See these green fruits, which look like
peaches. Take off the flesh, and here is an almond whose shell you may break
and find the kernel. The heavenly power has come upon the dry stick, and it
has budded and blossomed, and even brought forth almonds. Fruit-bearing is
the proof of life and favour. Lord, take these poor sticks this morning, and
make them bud. Lord, here we are, in a bundle, perform that ancient miracle
in a thousand of us. Make us bud and blossom, and bear fruit! Come with
divine power, and turn this congregation from a fagot into a grove. Oh, that
our blessed Lord may get a fig from some dry stick this morning! at least,
such a fig as this, "God be merciful to me a sinner;" there is sweetness in
that fig as this, "Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief." Here is another,
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him"-that is a whole basketful of
the first ripe figs, and the Lord rejoices in their sweetness. Come Holy
Spirit, produce fruit in us this day, through faith in Jesus Christ our
Lord! Amen, and Amen. |
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