The View From Ninety-Two

Matthew 3:7b-10 NIV
"[7b] You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? [8] Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. [9] And do not say to yourselves, 'we have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. [10] The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

Strong words by John the Baptist. The point? Can a diseased tree produce good fruit? Can an apple tree produce oranges? Just as the type and condition of a tree is recognized by its fruit, so a man is recognized by what he does. A man isn't justified before God by what he does (only the pure blood of Christ Jesus was able to make that purchase). And since man is good at rationalizing behavior, John cut right to the chase, and then added a warning: a man's actions (fruit) reveal the state of his heart (condition of the tree) regardless of how you see yourself ... and a bad tree will be disposed of.