The Bible uses vivid metaphors and in more than one place compares us to trees. John the Baptist, however, warned the Jewish leaders that if they were not a tree kept for its fruit, they would be cut down and destroyed. Let's see if we can apply anything personally in this lesson.

When John the Baptist saw the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he called them a brood of vipers - snakes - and asked, "Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" He told them to produce fruit or results in keeping with repentance. Nor were they to be content with thoughts of being children of Abraham, for God could raise up children from the rocks around them.

In fact, he warned, they were already in danger of being cut down like trees, with God's ax already at their root, and God has every intention to cut down and burn every tree that doesn't bear good fruit.

John is talking to the religious elite of his day, and saw right through their hypocrisy. He told them to show their repentance, and not just rest in being descendants of Abraham. God is able to make more descendants out of rocks, it's that easy for Him.

Now in some ways I suppose I'm part of the religious elite of my day, so this warning may also apply to me. It can be safely argued that this applies to everyone of us, no matter what our role in society. Do we ever practice any hypocrisy, and shrug it off? Then it applies; for we are not a tree kept for its fruit of repentance.

Let's ask ourselves honestly now; "Am I deceitful like a snake? Do I really show evidence of being repentant?"

How much danger are you and I in, that God's ax would cut us down at the root like a tree? Are we really bearing fruit by being repentant, or showing evidence of good works in Jesus' name?

It sure doesn't sound like eternal security here! Either we show proof of being a tree kept for it fruit, or we are to be cut down.