SPIRITUAL FRUIT- The Essential Product of Dedication and Effort
ILLUSTRATION
The young boy stood looking up at the naked ice-covered limbs of his favorite cherry tree. It was 4:30 in the morning and the full moon produced a silvery sheen in the ice, which almost seemed to originate within the branches themselves. The young man let out a deep sigh, which produced a cloud of ice crystals that slowly rose up as a gray mist amongst the limbs of the tree. As the young boy turned his eyes back to the snow covered path, his mind conjured up images of pies made from the bright red spheres of wonderful fruit this tree would produce in early summer.
The boy headed on to the barn, from which the gentle sound of cattle let him know that it was time for their morning feeding. The young boy would repeat this morning’s journey every day, seven days a week, 4 weeks a month until the winter snows would eventually gave way to spring rains. With the spring rains the boy became more and more fixated on his cherry tree. He was so delighted when the first pink and white blossoms began appear; but, at the same time, he was burdened by the fear of a late frost. Eventually, the blossoms were replaced with the beginnings of that most perfect of fruits: the cherry.
The young boy’s anxiety over a late frost was replaced by a deep sense of guardianship. He absolutely reveled in the thought of bathing his taste buds in the fruit produced by the cherry tree; but, so did every bird in the county. To protect his tree from the inevitable onslaught of birds, he leaned boards up against the tree and place morsels of food on the upper part of the board. He hoped, in this way, to entice the barn cats to eventually venture into the branches of the cherry tree. He also placed an old stuffed owl on top of a pole, which he secured next to the tree. Of course, he personally took on a daily vigil of protecting the tree. With every pale of milk he carried to the milk house, morning and night, the boy would stop and survey the tree for signs of birds. Should one be carless enough to perch in the tree, the boy would carefully set down the pail of milk, slowly reach for his bb-gun and turn the bird into cat food. He never paid any mind to the breed of bird; the fruit of the cherry tree must be protected at all costs.
Thanks to the faithfulness of the cats, the diligence of the owl, and the boy’s true aim, the cherry tree produced an abundance of fruit. As he had expected, the young boy’s grandmother turned the first harvesting of the tree into perfect cherry pies. She made them just the way the boy loved cherry pie: with extra thick pie crust on the top and on the bottom. Subsequent harvesting of the fruit, from the cherry tree, was canned and naturally an occasional pie was also made. Thus, the rewards of the Cherry tree were both immediate and enduring.
As a youngster, the cherries served to pleasure the boy’s pallet, but later in life he often considered how much effort and dedication is required to produce an abundance of good fruit.
THE COMMAND TO BEAR FRUIT
John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to see what he was doing. He said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” John went on to tell them: “Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” The Pharisees and Sadducees fully understood John was saying that their current life style produced bad fruit. They also understood that John was telling them the only way to get right with God was to repent and change their lifestyle. John’s main mission, however, was to tell the people about the coming Messiah; John prophesied that the Messiah would establish a kingdom where all followers would be expected to serve Jesus as Lord and Savior. John emphasized this teaching by telling the people: “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” John’s warning that we must bear fruit in keeping with our repentance certainly was not a warm and fuzzy prosperity sermon, which tickled the people’s ears and gave credence to their religious leaders. (Matthew 3:7-12)
John spoke the truth in boldness; Paul also boldly proclaimed the truth. When Paul was accused of heresy and was waiting to be sent to Rome, King Agrippa asked to have Paul presented before him. Before King Agrippa, Paul said: “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” (Acts 26:19-20) Paul let King Agrippa know that he answered to a calling higher than that of an earthly king and that he labored for God not earthly potentates.
Warm and fuzzy sermons are nice and they do have their place is the gospel message but they must always be secondary to the message that we must bear fruit in keeping with our repentance. Think about this for a moment; John preceded the coming of Jesus by preaching the message that we need to repent and produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Then when Jesus came to earth, Jesus taught that it is not so much our sins that send us to hell as it is our failure to repent. (Luke 13:1-5) Jesus even commanded His followers to lead people to repentance, to baptize them, and then to teach them to obey all that He had taught. (Matthew 28:16-20) After Jesus, Paul boldly preached the need for every believer to produce fruit in keeping with their repentance. It should be obvious that the need to produce fruit in keeping with our repentance is a key part of God’s plan for redemption. This theme starts before Jesus; it is a focal point in Jesus’ ministry; and the theme of repentance is preached by the apostles, after Jesus. We cannot escape the fact that our producing fruit in keeping with our repentance is a vital element in our developing a saving relationship with Jesus.
A SPIRITUAL TREE
An apple tree produces apples and a peach tree produces peaches; so, what does a Christian tree produce? To start with; the result of true repentance is our transformation into a minister of God’s message of reconciliation! Our old life style has died and passed away and it has been replaced by a new lifestyle. For by the grace of God, we who were lost have been reconciled to God through the blood of Christ and now God has entrusted to every one of us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20) Not only are we ministers and ambassadors for Christ, we now belong to Christ and our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us and was given to us by God. We do not belong to ourselves, for God bought us with a high price: the blood of His Son. So we must honor God with our body and our service (fruit). (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) It is clear, therefore, that a Christian is expected to produce fruit, which is a living and holy sacrifice to God. This we can achieve because we have let God transform us into a new person through His spirit and the renewing of our mind. (Romans 12:1-2)
Here then is the mystery revealed: our repentance has opened the door for our transformation into a minister of God’s message of reconciliation. For example, the drunkard is no longer a drunkard; the child molester is no longer a child molester; the thief is no longer a thief; the user is no longer is a user; and, the violent man is no longer filled with violence. The old lifestyle is gone and now we labor each day to serve Jesus by living a Christ-Like (Christian) life style (bear fruit). This is not to say that we no longer sin, for indeed we will wrestle with sin the rest of our life; but, if we have truly repented and been born again we are no longer dominated by a sinful lifestyle. The dominate attitude of our life-style has changed, from: ‘what is in it for me,’ to a servant attitude, which is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.
It is important for us to take the time to examine the repentance for which we have been instructed to bear fruit. A worldly grief only produces a worldly repentance, which may be sorry for its sinful lifestyle and it may even desire to change, but this worldly repentance only leads to eternal death. Godly grief, on the other hand, produces a repentance that leads to salvation. Godly grief will produce an indignation and fear toward our sinful lifestyle, and this will result in an earnestness and eagerness to change: to clear ourselves before God. (2 Corinthians 7:10-13) It is only godly grief that can produce true repentance and it is only true repentance that results in our being born again and it is only as a new creation (spiritual tree) that we are capable of bearing fruit in keeping with our repentance.
BEARING FRUIT IN KEEPING WITH OUR SALVATION
Did the Psalmist not say: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” (Psalm 1:1-3) In a biblical sense, we are all spiritual trees and every tree is known by the fruit it produces. A good tree will not bear bad fruit, nor will a bad tree bear good fruit; thus, each tree is known for what it is by the fruit it produces. (Luke 6:43-44) This is something we cannot take lightly. Let us bring one another to remembrance: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 7:17-19) We should listen to the Psalmist; the secret for producing fruit in keeping with our salvation is hidden in the first Psalm.
Most assuredly we are saved by grace through faith, but it is as James said: “faith without works is dead.” (James 2:14-26) You can pray for salvation, you can claim salvation, and you can put faith in the fact that you performed some religious ritual; but none of this is salvation. Jesus told Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” (John 3:1-15) Thus, our ‘this-proves-you-are-saved’ ritual is nothing but a filthy religious rag unless it has been anointed with our death in the blood of Jesus Christ. We can say seven thousand sinners’ prayers and be dunked under the water seven thousand times, but it will not save us. It is only when our old self has been crucified with Jesus and buried with Him through baptism that we are no longer enslaved to sin and eternal damnation. If we are born again, we have died to our old lifestyle and we are a new creation in Christ. (Romans 6:1-14). In a spiritual sense the fleshly tree, which was born through water, has died and, by the grace of God through faith, we have been born again as a spiritual tree. Therefore, the obedient Christian will work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, realizing it is God who works in them so that they can bear good fruit for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-18)
It is through repentance that we begin our relationship with Christ and it is our relationship with Christ that is our salvation; ergo godly repentance opens the door of salvation. It is through repentance we understand the grace of God and are made capable of being filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. By godly grief we experience godly repentance; and, only by this can we walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. A Christian who does not bear fruit in keeping with godly repentance cannot be strengthened with spiritual power; and thus, they will not be qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. It is only through a godly repentance and spiritual transformation into that which produces spiritual fruit that we can ever be delivered from the domain of darkness and be transferred to the kingdom of Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:3-14)
WHAT IS SPIRITUAL FRUIT
Godly sorrow produces godly repentance and godly repentance opens the door to salvation and a fruitful relationship with Jesus. A saving and fruitful relationship with Jesus demands that we be born again; the old dies and behold we are reborn in the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who have truly experienced spiritual rebirth will realize a desire to know the teachings of Jesus, and on His teaching they will meditate day and night. They will strive to plant themselves by the spiritual stream that flow from the word of God, and the nourishment of this stream will empower them to produce fruit in keeping with their repentance. Such a person may endure many hardships but their spiritual growth will neither wither away nor will it fail to produce fruit in keeping with godly repentance.
1. FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
If our repentance is the result of Godly grief, then we are in Christ and we live a lifestyle that produces the fruit of righteousness. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come and through faith we have been given a right standing with God. This is a gift of God, who through Christ has saved us and given us the ministry of living and sharing the gospel message. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20) Our new creation was a gift but now it is up to us to live in accordance with the righteousness of our new self.
As a new creation we have been given access to the spiritual power required to carry out our mission of righteousness, but it is up to us to avail ourselves of the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the empowering of the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit of righteousness, but knowing this is of little value unless we allow the spirit to regenerate our lives. If we do avail ourselves of the working of the Holy Spirit, then God, who began a good work in us, will bring it to completion. It is essential that we remain steadfast to our repentance, so that our love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that we may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:3-11)
2. FRUIT OF LIGHT
As ministers of God’s message of reconciliation we are to actively fight against the darkness of worldly desires and labor to walk in the light of God’s word. We must let no one deceive us with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. As a new creation we have left darkness, and now we must walk as children of light. Know this, the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true, and it always labors to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. In this way, as spiritual trees, we will bear the fruit of light in keeping with our repentance. (Ephesians 5:1-21)
3. FRUIT OF LIPS
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good speech, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil speech. On the Day of Judgment people will have to give account for every careless word they speak, for by our words we will be justified, and by our words we will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:33-37) Therefore we must all give careful attention to our words; do they bring honor and glory to God or are they self-centered and full of worthless chatter. Let us not waste our time with idle talk when, through Jesus Christ, we can continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (Hebrews 13:1-16)
4. FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
We are reborn as ambassadors for Christ and, through Jesus, we produce fruit in keeping with our repentance. As ambassadors we produce the fruit of righteousness, light and speech. As Christians we produce, through the Holy Spirit, the spiritual fruit of: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5:22-23)
WE MUST BEAR FRUIT
If we are truly a Christian, we are a spiritual tree planted by the living water of God’s word. As a spiritual tree, which is nourished by the word of God, we must produce fruit in keeping with our repentance. Jesus told of a man who had a fig tree that was not bearing any fruit. He gave the gardener one last chance to nurture the tree into producing fruit or it would have to be cut down. (Luke 13:6-9) Why, because the tree existed in the farmer’s field for one purpose: to bear fruit. In the same way, we exist in God’s field for one purpose: to bear fruit. Jesus put it this way: the world is like a vineyard. In this vineyard, the only grapevine God will allow to remain for eternity is Jesus and the only branches that have a chance of remaining for eternity are the ones growing from the Jesus-Vine. Jesus went on to explain how God works with the branches on the Jesus-Vine, by saying: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” (John 15:1-8)
It is absolutely clear that God, as the vinedresser, takes a very keen interest in our spiritual fruit (works). He will actively help us bear good fruit if we are in Jesus, but if we bear no fruit we are not truly a part of the vine and we have no place in the kingdom of God.
CONCLUSION
It is quite simple, if you are born again, God looks upon you as a spiritual tree and he expects that tree to bear fruit. God expects His spiritual trees to draws nourishment from the well spring of Jesus’ teachings. That is why we should urge one another to bear fruit in keeping with repentance, for only then will we not gratify the desires of the flesh. The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other. Now the works of the flesh produce bad fruit: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. People who make such things a part of their lifestyle will not inherit the kingdom of God. But, as a born again Christian, we will produce the good fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The bad tree draws its nourishment from the passions and desires of earthly flesh but the good tree draws its nourishment from the Spirit of God. (Galatians 5:16-26)
It is only through repentance that we have the opportunity to cut down the old tree and be reborn as a spiritual tree capable of producing fruit to the Glory of God. As a spiritual tree we are a new creation. The old tree has passed away; behold, the new spiritual tree has replaced it. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. Therefore, we bear spiritual fruit in keeping with our being an ambassador for Christ and performing our duties in taking the appeal of God to a lost and dying world. (2 Corinthians 5:11-21)
