Sunday Evening Sermon
Teachers
Lesson Summary
Richard Sutton delivered a compelling lesson on spiritual fruit and righteous judgment, using the natural analogy of fruit-bearing trees to illustrate Christian maturity. He addressed the common misunderstanding of Matthew 7:1 ("judge not lest you be judged"), clarifying that Jesus actually calls believers to make righteous judgments by examining the fruit in people's lives. Using Galatians 5:19-23 as a primary text, Sutton contrasted the deeds of the flesh (immorality, sensuality, dissension) with the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), demonstrating that our spiritual fruit reveals our spiritual condition. Drawing from John 15:1-5, he emphasized that as branches connected to Christ the vine, believers naturally produce spiritual fruit through their connection to Him. Sutton highlighted three essential truths: first, fruit is determined by its source—a tree bears fruit according to its nature; second, fruit takes time to develop and mature; and third, genuine spiritual fruit cannot be artificially produced but flows naturally from a life connected to Christ through His Word and Spirit. The lesson stressed that fruit inspection is not judgment in the condemning sense, but rather a necessary discernment tool God gives believers to evaluate whether lives are reflecting spiritual maturity or fleshly desires.
Key Scriptures
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, carousing; of which I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.