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    Fruits of the Prophet’s Life

    A second biblical test of a prophet is the witness of his life. Twice in His Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Matthew 7:20; see verse 16.HONL 16.4

    This test applies in two ways: (1) in the prophet’s own life, and (2) in the lives of those who follow him. Both are legitimate areas of investigation, and both are necessary.HONL 16.5

    There is, however, one pitfall into which the unwary “fruit inspector” may fall: He may look for sinless perfection, either in the life of the prophet or in the lives of those who follow him. The truth is that those who look for perfection in a prophet will not find it, for “all have sinned.” Romans 3:23. All of the prophets in Bible times were sinners—some of them, such as David, rather lurid ones. The only Prophet who never sinned was Jesus of Nazareth. All the others sinned repeatedly, including Ellen white—a fact that she often affirmed.HONL 16.6

    If this is true, how may the fruit of a prophet’s life be a test of his authenticity? Ellen white gives the key, in an oft-quoted statement in her classic book on the Christian life, Steps to Christ. “The character [which is the fruit of a person’s life] is revealed, not by occasional good deeds and occasional misdeeds, but by the tendency of the habitual words and acts.” 29Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, 57, 58 (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1956).HONL 17.1

    It is the trend of the life, the direction in which one is going, that we must measure by the fruit of a prophet’s life. All good people occasionally do bad things, and all bad people occasionally do good things. Every life has a trend—a very sobering thought, once you come to think about it. My life has a trend. So does yours. What is the nature of that trend? It is this trend of the life that the test of “fruits” seeks to measure.HONL 17.2

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