Matthew 3:10, commentary and pictures

John spoke this warning in the wilderness of Judea at the Jordan as his call to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand, aimed especially at the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his baptism. The axe already at the root means judgment is imminent and strikes at the source rather than merely trimming branches, the tree is a person valued only by the fruit produced, and every fruitless tree is cut down and burned in destruction and exclusion from Christ's kingdom. No trust in descent from Abraham, religious standing, profession of faith, or outward baptism can save anyone whose life bears no good fruit. What is demanded is fruit meet for repentance, a transformed life shaped by Christ in humility, obedience, faith and love, seen in practical goodness, mercy, justice, honesty and unselfish service such as sharing food and clothing and dealing fairly. That same pointed warning is to be proclaimed with even greater urgency before Christ's second coming, and it requires striking sin at its root in the heart rather than merely removing outward signs.

John's Setting and Hearers

The warning was given by John the Baptist in the wilderness of Judea at the Jordan as part of his call to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand. It was addressed especially to the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his baptism, many coming confessing sins and seeking a place in the kingdom he announced as near. His preaching was startling and stern yet full of hope, moving all classes of the nation and cutting hearers to the heart with a sense of sin. In that setting the axe already laid to the root declared judgment imminent, and every tree without good fruit cut down and burned declared that fruitless profession faced destruction.

Those addressed as a generation of vipers were meant to be understood as malignant and antagonistic men bitterly opposed to the expressed will of God. The Pharisees were strict in outward forms yet filled with haughty hypocritical self-righteousness, while the Sadducees denied the resurrection and angels and were largely licentious. Their conduct was abhorred of God and in many respects worse than the heathen, marked by pride, arrogance, jealousy, selfishness, cruelty, unbelief and hypocrisy. They trusted that descent from Abraham secured divine favor, yet God was not dependent on them to fulfill His purposes but was able to raise up from stones worthier children to carry forward His work in purity and righteousness.

John fearlessly denounced the sins, errors and crimes of all the people in order to startle and arouse them to tremble for their great wickedness. He pointed out the particular sins of rich and poor, honorable and lowly, even kings and rulers, flattering none and receiving no flattery. He stood alone to rebuke the pride and formalism of the Jewish nation. Without repentance of sins and thorough conversion, no one although claiming to be righteous could enjoy the favor of God or have part in the kingdom of the Messiah whose coming he announced.

He laid the axe to the root by reproving sin fearless of consequences to prepare the way for the Lamb of God, as when he told Herod that marrying his brother's wife while her husband was still living was not lawful. The Sadducees in particular came to his baptism without repentance. True repentance for them required receiving Christ first, followed by a second baptism.

Axe, Tree, and Fire

The axe already laid at the root means judgment is imminent, near, ready, and sudden. It does not merely trim the branches but reaches to the root and source. The tree is a person, and every life is valued only by the fruit it produces. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit, or that bears fruit unworthy of its name, is hewn down and cast into the fire. No exalted name can save such a tree from being cut down.

Being cut down and burned means destruction by fire. Those who remain without fruit as chaff will be consumed with unquenchable fire. It is exclusion from Christ's kingdom. Those corrupt in heart cannot remain in His presence. God is not dependent on fruitless people to fulfill His purposes. He is able to raise up from stones worthier children of Abraham to carry forward His work in purity and righteousness.

The same warning is connected with the teaching that branches must abide in the vine and bear fruit, underscoring that fruitlessness brings judgment. God's judgment reaches the root. Religious forms and observances cannot save those who do not receive the Lamb of God as Saviour by faith.

No Trust Without Fruit

No trust in descent from Abraham, ancestry, natural advantages, religious standing, an exalted name, or claim to Abraham's family can save anyone whose life produces no good fruit. Judgment is near and already laid at the root, and every life is valued only by the fruit it produces, so that though a tree bears an exalted name, if it bears no fruit or fruit unworthy of the name the name cannot save it from being cut down and cast into the fire. Belonging to Abraham's line or bearing an honored religious name cannot spare a person whose life shows no repentance, humility, purity, and obedience to God's commandments, for the fruit required is a life changed by repentance and made ready for fellowship with Christ.

A profession of faith or claim to be a child of God, to keep God's commandments, or to be His people is not enough, for people whose lives are not in harmony with God's law are not His people, regardless of profession. God judges people by the fruit of character and life, not by name, profession, or claimed standing, and unless daily life shows justice, benevolence, mercy, and love for God, profession is worthless and without true repentance there is no part in Christ's kingdom. Baptism has no value as an empty outward act, for those baptized must live a new life in unity with Christ, and the possession of the Holy Spirit, retained through obedience, identifies them as God's children. The good fruit demanded is a life shaped by Christ, marked by humility and obedience to His word, and a life without such fruit is judged and rejected.

Without good fruit all profession is only chaff devoted to the fire of destruction. Signing a covenant without conversion is not good fruit, and a profession that is later abandoned shows the need for genuine conversion, in contrast to preaching that attracts people to the preacher rather than to Jesus. God requires fruit meet for repentance and without such fruit profession of faith is of no value, for God is not dependent on men who are unconverted in heart and life and will never favor any man who practices iniquity. Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit will be cut down and destroyed, and the fruit borne testifies to the character of the tree, exposing those who flatter the minister while neglecting works of righteousness as converted to the minister and not to God.

Claiming descent from Abraham does not make people heirs of God's promises when their lives oppose God's will. The leaders denounced lacked faith, humility, charity, mercy and love for God, and their outward show of piety could not give them the moral character of Abraham's children, so their hypocrisy and iniquity brought God's curse rather than the blessings they presumed were theirs. Words and actions are the fruit that reveal a person's character, and God does not excuse sin in an enlightened people because He once loved them or gave them promises, for His promises and blessings depend on obedience. The Pharisees and Sadducees failed this test because they did not show repentance, sanctification, or righteousness, and relying on descent from Abraham could not spare them from being cut down and destroyed. Their failure to heed John also meant rejecting the testimony that pointed to Christ, to whom the sacrificial offerings pointed and who was the foundation of their religious system, which genuine conversion would have led them to receive as the Messiah.

Fruit of Genuine Repentance

The call is for fruits meet for repentance, meaning genuine repentance, conversion and transformed character will produce good works, and only repentance lived out can stand when the axe already laid at the root cuts down and burns every tree without good fruit. The Pharisees and Sadducees failed this test because they showed no repentance, sanctification or righteousness, and their failure to heed the warning was also rejection of the testimony pointing to Christ to whom the sacrificial offerings pointed. Good fruit is a life shaped by Christ in humility, purity, and obedience to His word and commandments, doing the works of Abraham in faith, love and obedience. Profession of faith or claim to be a child of God is not enough, for a life without such fruit is judged and rejected, and baptism has no value as an empty outward act, since those baptized must live a new life in unity with Christ and it is possession of the Holy Spirit retained through obedience that identifies God's children. Descent from Abraham and other natural advantages cannot take the place of a life of repentance, humility, purity and obedience, which belongs to preparing for Christ by recognizing sin and humbling oneself before God.

Words and actions are the fruit that reveal character and are the test of the tree, so profession must be accompanied by good works. For an enlightened people God does not excuse sin or preserve claims to His promises when they are disobedient, because His promises and blessings depend on obedience, and evil works testify against those enlightened even though He once loved them and gave them promises. The Jews were suffering the threatened curse because they had departed from God yet still claimed the blessings promised to the faithful, and the warning was that unless they bore fruit they would be cut down and cast into the fire. The fruit required for entrance into Christ's kingdom is practical goodness flowing from genuine repentance and faith: love, mercy, benevolence, honesty, fidelity and unselfish service, with justice, benevolence, mercy and the love of God seen in daily life as the mark of a commandment-keeping people. A tree is valued only by what it produces, and belonging to Abraham's line or bearing an honored religious name cannot save one whose life yields no good fruit or fruit unworthy of the name, for without true repentance such profession is only chaff devoted to the fire of destruction and gives no part in Christ's kingdom.

Examples of good fruit are sharing food and clothing with the needy, dealing fairly, refusing violence and false accusation, being content with wages, protecting the defenseless, correcting injustice, and using wealth to serve others, while a life unchanged by these duties — selfish, extravagant, and without principle — bears no good fruit and professing faith without a changed life of diligent, loving service does not meet the requirement. Every person faces a life-and-death decision to accept the infinite sacrifice of Christ and believe in God's only begotten Son for everlasting life or to reject Him and refuse to come for life, while many remain blinded to the predictions of Christ's coming and those remaining without fruit as chaff will be consumed with unquenchable fire. The same warning stands today because the prophecies of the second coming are being fulfilled and the message is still repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, with trust in having Abraham for father saving no one since God is able to raise up children to Abraham from stones. Since no one knows how long life or probation will last and judgment may come suddenly with the axe ready at the root, the verse calls for immediate change and earnest effort to turn from sin and backslidings rather than remain sinful and fruitless unto being cut down.

Preaching the Warning Today

John laid the axe at the root by fearlessly reproving sin without fear of consequences and warning that every fruitless tree would be cut down, and that direct confrontation with sin itself prepared the way for Christ's ministry as the Lamb of God. His call to turn from sin rather than cling to it meant judgment on fruitlessness was already at hand.

His message was loud and unsmooth, with no whispering voice, telling the truth of the situation so plainly that it drew the people out to hear him. It was pointed even though it cost him his life, and its purpose was that the people should not be deceived. It was startling and stern yet full of hope, moving all classes of the nation and making a decided impression that cut Pharisees and Sadducees and rulers to the heart with a sense of sin. In this way direct preaching of truth awakened those who were spiritually asleep and dead in sin.

God's word itself is the axe laid at the root, whose plain truth cuts away sin and idols. Its work must not be replaced by harsh attacks on individuals; ministers must speak those truths plainly and let them do the cutting. When spoken with the Spirit's influence and power, with tenderness, patience, and concern for souls, that truth can remove cherished sins and make work among God's people effective. If it does not remove the idols, denunciation of the person is of no avail.

Faithful preachers must therefore speak plainly in rebuking sin and wrong rather than offer smooth words, for repentance must produce fitting fruit and judgment reaches the source. Plain, fitting truth joined with kindness can reach the root of a person's condition, cutting at underlying self-will, independence, willfulness, jealousy, refusal to be led, and unwillingness to submit judgment to the church. Such faithful dealing keeps people from false expectations, jealousy, and temptation, while undue attention and flattery only feed jealousy and do injury.

Before Christ's second coming that testimony must be even more pointed than John's. It is to be proclaimed by living men in the loud cry echoed and reechoed through cities and towns and villages to prepare the way of the Lord. Joined to the call to repent because the kingdom of heaven is at hand and to bring forth fitting fruit instead of trusting in descent from Abraham, it warns that God judges fruitlessness and every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and destroyed by fire. It belongs to just such a straight message to be borne again now into the ranks, warning that the judgments of God are in the world and there is no time to accumulate goods.

The same direct and faithful work as John's is to be done just prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven to prepare a people to stand in the great day of the Lord with the message Prepare to meet thy God. Doing it requires the same spiritual experience of beholding God until self is lost sight of, even to the point of rebuking kings at peril of life. It calls people to the life they must live in this world to prepare for the future life which measures with the life of God, serving God with full purpose of a renewed heart sanctified and made holy by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Warnings are to be given and minds guarded against men who divert them from the true issues for this time, so souls are not drawn aside by side issues that Satan brings in through various minds as all-important, nor led to exchange evidences of the truth for fallacies and scientific presentations of satanic origin.

William Miller and those raised up with him in the spirit and power of Elijah fulfilled this like John the forerunner of Jesus, feeling compelled to press for fruits fit for repentance and to expose the need for repentance. Like John the Baptist the forerunner of Christ, preachers of Christ's soon coming repeat this searching testimony laying the axe at the root, warning sinners both worldlings and church members to flee from the wrath to come and urging all to bring forth fruit meet for repentance. That warning aroused the churches and exposed their real character, in marked contrast to assurances of peace and safety from popular pulpits. The simple direct testimony of Scripture set home by the power of the Holy Spirit brought conviction that roused professors of religion from false security, exposed backsliding, worldliness, unbelief, pride and selfishness, and moved sinners to repentance and humiliation. Many saw their backsliding and repented with bitter tears and deep humiliation before God, with a turning of affections from earthly things toward heaven, and joined in proclaiming that the hour of judgment had come.

That same pointed warning, becoming more and more pointed even at cost of life so the people would not be deceived, is directed at men connected with God's institutions who have rejected light and chosen their own perverse way. They hate reproof and refuse to follow the light God gave to direct their feet in the right way. Unless they are converted they will become Satan's decoys to lead souls away from the truth by undermining confidence and planting seeds of doubt and questioning.

Striking at the Root

The axe laid to the root means sin must be met at its source and not treated lightly, covered over, excused, or trimmed away, and reform must strike at the root of evil rather than merely remove its outward signs. The axe has not yet been laid to the root when wicked passions and serious sin are tolerated and fostered, when those who indulge in them are kept in fellowship, and when their sins are not exposed in their true seriousness as more than small faults to be overcome. God remains unchanging and does not regard sin with greater allowance now than when Israel sinned in ancient times.

Removing only outward signs is like picking off leaves, while addressing the heart is like striking the root, for Bible truth attacks the underlying causes that separate people from God such as love of money, worldly desires, self-love and vainglory. Movements that only pick off the leaves produce little lasting change, for the same hindrances grow back and people soon lose interest and return to their former indulgences. Bible truth lays the axe at the root by exposing deep-seated errors and wrongs, and a person must discern and confess these sins, forsake them, and be thoroughly converted. Proclaiming truth without its sanctifying effect on the heart does not accomplish that deeper work, and evils growing in the church must be rooted out through wise, far-seeing, judicious labor before they gain mastery.

Accepting truth in love changes the heart so that people die to the world and become meek and lowly like Jesus, and then dress, speech and conduct come into harmony with God's word. True conversion requires heart work with the nature renewed in God's image, after the divine image, until grace has completed its work in the soul. Ministers must teach plain practical duties including giving tithes and offerings and supporting missionary work, for neglecting this practical education leaves the missionary spirit weak and the church without means to advance its work. Covetousness is idolatry, and those who withhold what belongs to God face the curse described in Malachi.

Pride and conformity to the world must be rooted out and cut out of the church, not merely trimmed away or restrained on the surface, for these things separate God from His people. Outward display of needless finery reveals pride in the heart, and unless that corruption is cleansed a person cannot see God. When truth reaches the heart, worldly pride and fashions are laid aside as believers seek to be distinct from the world and to glorify God, while those who persist in imitating worldly fashions show they belong to the world rather than to Christ and God ceases to acknowledge them as His children, leaving them to face judgment.

The axe laid at the root calls for a direct attack on covetousness and selfishness and on hearts clinging to earthly wealth and setting hearts on earthly treasure, warning that unless they bear good fruit they face judgment. Covetousness is exposed when people use concern for the poor or religious scruples as a cover for selfishness and to excuse withholding their means, and the warning calls for conduct to change and for generous action with what God has given. The axe must strike at the root of envy, jealousy, evil surmising and bitterness harbored by those who wrongfully accuse and divide, not merely trim outward conduct. Every root of bitterness, resentment and separation from one who has hurt us is to be removed by forgiveness and confession instead of hard speech and faultfinding, for Christ is wounded when His saints are wounded.

Leaving fibers of the root in the heart allows Satan to stir them to active growth again, and false concessions in which the wronged person takes the offenders' guilt upon himself only gratify the carnal heart and leave the root untouched. Principles that God hates bring the axe to the root and the unfruitful tree is cut down, and absence of Christlike love toward God's children and all people leaves those handling sacred work liable to that sharp judgment and cutting down. Genuine repentance must reach the root of sin as the Ephesians renounced the very practice that had held them in Satan's power and destroyed what had led them into sin, for correcting other wrongs while keeping a cherished sin leaves a person vulnerable to losing the faith.

In child-rearing, indulging faults and calming outbursts without correcting the underlying temper does not remove the evil but leads to ruin and can contribute to the eternal loss of souls. The axe at the root exposes and judges what is spiritually barren where appetite and taste have become idols and a god. When health-destroying indulgences are confronted and sin and idols exposed, clinging to them reveals unbelief and refusal to be convinced and changed, and those who persist face God's judgment.

Drinking alcohol as a luxury violates the physical laws God established and is therefore a sin against Him, not merely unwise because of harmful effects or influence on others, and the same principle applies to tobacco use, so reform must begin at the root. The axe laid at the root means a thorough revolution against tobacco as the root of the intemperance tree, requiring a worldwide revolution in attitude toward tobacco before the tree is cut down at the root. Tobacco is a slow insidious poison harder to cleanse from the system than liquor, and its devotees have no power to stay the progress of intemperance, while tea and coffee and alcoholic drinks are different degrees of artificial stimulants that foster appetite for stronger stimulants like tobacco and liquor. Unless a person is free from bondage to appetite, truth is of none effect upon the heart and cannot sanctify soul, body and spirit, and he cannot be a true obedient servant of Christ.

Evil passions and sinful conduct are not small faults and must be overcome rather than excused or covered, for God does not regard sin with greater allowance now than in ancient Israel. The axe has not been laid at the root and has not yet been laid to the root when a church tolerates and fosters wickedness instead of dealing with it, when serious sin is tolerated and those who indulge in it are kept in fellowship, and when sin is treated lightly rather than dealt with at its source and exposed in its true seriousness.