John Calvin Commentary Matthew 7:16

"By their fruits ye shall know them. Do [men] gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" — Matthew 7:16 (ASV)

From their fruits you shall know them. If this mark of distinction had not been added, we might have questioned the authority of all teachers without exception. If there is a mortal danger to be dreaded in teachers, and if we see no way of avoiding it, we would be forced to suspect them all; and there would be no better or quicker method than to close our ears to them all.

We see that ungodly men, to screen themselves when rejecting every kind of doctrine, point to this danger, and that weak and ill-informed persons remain in a state of perplexity.

So that our reverence for the Gospel, and for its faithful ministers and teachers, may not be diminished, Christ instructs us to form our opinion of the false prophets from their fruits. It is with very poor grace that the Papists, to excite hatred against us, directly quote this exhortation of Christ, Beware of false prophets, and by their clamors lead ignorant people to avoid us, without knowing why.

But whoever desires to follow our Lord’s advice must judge wisely and with just discretion. For ourselves, we not only freely acknowledge that people ought to beware of false prophets, but we carefully and earnestly exhort simple people to beware of them. Only we warn them that, according to the rule which Christ has laid down, they should first make a strict examination, so that simple people may not reject the pure Word of God and suffer the punishment of their own rashness.

There is a wide difference between wise caution and perverse squeamishness.⁴⁷⁶ It is a heinous wickedness in the Papists to repeal the command of Christ by instilling an unfounded dread in unfortunate people,⁴⁷⁷ which deters them from inquiring. Let us regard this as a first principle: those who, trembling, reject or avoid a doctrine unknown to them are acting improperly and are very far from obeying the command of Christ.

It now remains to be seen what are the fruits which Christ points out. Those who limit them to a person's conduct are, in my opinion, mistaken. As pretended sanctity, and I know not what other masks implying greater austerity of life, are frequently displayed by some of the worst impostors, this would be a very uncertain test. Their hypocrisy, I do admit, is eventually discovered, for nothing is more difficult than to feign virtue. But Christ did not intend to submit his doctrine to such an unjust and easily misunderstood judgment as evaluating it by people's conduct. Under fruits, the manner of teaching is itself included, and indeed holds the chief place; for Christ proves that he was sent by God from this consideration, that

He seeketh not his own glory,
but the glory of the Father who sent him, (John 7:18).

Is it objected that few people are endowed with enough acuteness to distinguish good fruits from bad? I answer, as I have already said: Believers are never deprived of the Spirit of wisdom where his assistance is needed, provided they distrust themselves, renounce their own judgment, and surrender themselves completely to his direction.

Let us remember, however, that all doctrines must be brought to the Word of God as the standard, and that, in judging false prophets, the rule of faith holds the chief place.

We must also consider what God requires of his prophets and the ministers of his Word, for in this way their faithfulness can be easily determined. If, for example, we consider what Paul requires in bishops (1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:6–9), that description will be sufficient by itself to condemn the whole mass of Popery, for the Popish priests seem as if they purposely intended to present an opposite picture.

Therefore, there is no reason to wonder if they forbid people to form a judgment of false prophets. But this passage clearly shows that their titles should count for nothing, and that not much attention should be paid even to their calling, if those who receive the name of pastors and are called to the office of teachers do not faithfully answer their charge.

Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? By these proverbs, which were common and universally accepted at that time, Christ confirms his statement that no one can be deceived by false prophets unless he is willfully blind, for the fruits as plainly reveal upright servants of God and unfaithful workmen as the fruits point out the nature of the tree.

⁴⁷⁶ “Il y a grande difference entre une bonne facon de se donner garde d'estre trompe, et un deboutement temeraire sans savoir pourquoy.” — “There is a great difference between a proper method of guarding against being deceived, and a hasty rejection without knowing, why.”.” — “There is a great difference between a proper method of guarding against being deceived, and a hasty rejection without knowing, why.”

⁴⁷⁷ “Par une vaine crainte, qu'ils leur proposent;” — “by a vain dread which they hold out to them.”;” — “by a vain dread which they hold out to them.”