HoHum:
What would we think if we planted a fruit tree but it never bore any fruit? At best we would be disappointed. At worst we would probably be thinking, “Now where is that axe?!” Fruit trees are supposed to bear fruit, and those that don’t fail to fulfill their intended purpose!
A Christian Is... Fruity; no, a Christian Is... A Fruit Bearer
WBTU:
God desires for Christians to produce colorful, sweet, delicious fruit!
If a Christian fails to produce fruit the results are gloomy. “Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig-tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig-tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig round it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”” Luke 13:6-9, NIV. Puzzling little parable but this is clear, God wants us to produce fruit. God wants those of us who are Christians to be “fruit bearers.”
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. ” John 15:8, 16, NIV. What kind of fruit? Fruit that will last, fruit that has no expiration date, never spoil or rot
Thesis: What kind of fruit lasts?
For instances:
The fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:11)
“filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:11, NIV.
When we become Christians we are regarded as righteous in the sense that the righteousness of Christ is imputed (credited, counted) to us. When we accept Christ as our savior we are counted as righteous in God’s sight because of what Christ has done for us.
“As it is written: “There is no-one righteous, not even one;” Romans 3:10, NIV. “Therefore no-one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:20-24, NIV. We are saved by grace (through the redemption of Christ Jesus), through faith (more than just belief even though belief is mentioned here), at baptism (belief, repentance, confession, baptism- Romans 6)
As Christians God looks on us as righteous. Even so we are still commanded to seek after righteousness. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33, NIV.
W.A. Vine in his book Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words defines righteousness this way: “whatever conforms to the revealed will of God.” The simplest way of explaining what is meant by the word “righteousness” is that it is doing what is right; doing anything and everything in a way that is pleasing to God. I like what Mark Twain said: “Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”
II. The fruit of good works (Colossians 1:10; Titus 2:14; 3:8)
“Live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,” Colossians 1:10, NIV. “who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:14, NIV. “Those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” Titus 3:8, NIV.
Studies show how that those who are “religious” are more likely to be involved in their communities doing good works. Individuals who regularly attend religious services are more likely to volunteer for community causes than peers who seldom or never attend. Individuals who frequently attend religious services and consider religion to be important in their lives are more likely to give money to the poor. Those who engage in private prayer are more likely to be involved in service activities. Senior citizens who place a greater importance on religion tend to be more likely to volunteer in their communities. High school seniors who frequently attend religious services are more likely to volunteer every week in their communities than peers who attend less frequently. (From familyfacts.org)
Sad that some churches discourage their members from being involved in their communities. “Don’t Serve Outside Our Church” is their motto. To them, serving others is valid and righteous only if it is done inside the confines of their particular congregation. These churches frequently encourage Christians to volunteer and serve—in things that are specific to that congregation. But no where else. Granted there are some things in the community that a Christian should not support (things that are not good works, not righteous according to the Bible), but some hold to the belief that if we really want to be a Christian we must be isolated from the community. They use Scripture to support this idea even though Jesus and the apostles were often out in the community doing good works. Today’s youth really want to volunteer in their communities (is that such a bad thing?). Those churches that discourage community involvement are frustrating to the young. One reason millenials leaving church?
During the reign of Oliver Cromwell, there was a shortage of currency in the British Empire. Representatives carefully searched the nation in hopes of finding silver to meet the emergency. After one month, the committee returned with this report. “We have searched the Empire in vain seeking to find silver. To our dismay, we found none anywhere except in the cathedrals where the statues of the saints are made of choice silver.” To this, Oliver Cromwell answered, “Let’s melt down the saints and put them into circulation.”
How can people in the community see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16) if we discourage Christians from being involved in the community?
The fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22, 23, NIV.
Talked about how the righteousness of Christ is imputed (credited, counted) to us. When we come to Christ for salvation, we are forgiven of our sins. However, that is not all. Acts 2:38
The indwelling presence of the HS helps us to live a life that strives after righteousness, that is devoted to good works. Without the HS we would never be able to do these things because our sinful nature would dominate our lives. “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” Galatians 5:16, 17. Thanks be to God there is a conflict between the two. Without HS, we would be in slavery to the flesh. Even after coming to Christ we have free will. Need to work in partnership with the HS to change
The “fruit of the Spirit” are the qualities that God puts in your life when the Holy Spirit lives through us. This fruit is not produced by willpower. The Holy Spirit has to grow this fruit on the inside. We resolve, “I’m going to be more self controlled. I’m going to be more loving.” Like tying some oranges on a pecan tree and calling it an orange tree. Fruit can only come from the inside — his Spirit living through us.
These fruits are not fruits plural, they are the fruit of the Spirit. The HS will produce all of this fruit in our lives. Some have more of one displayed than another but the HS begins to work on us at the moment of conversion to produce all of them. Most of the time the HS works gradually. When God wants to make a mushroom, he takes six hours. When God wants to make an oak tree, he takes 60 years. The question is: Do we want our life to be a mushroom or an oak tree?
The fruit of souls (Colossians 1:6)
“All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.” Colossians 1:6
All of these earlier points really should lead into this one. This is the main harvest that the Lord desires. Once we know the joy of having our sins forgiven, and we have the assurance of eternal life, we will naturally want to share this with our friends, neighbors and other acquaintances. A missionary sat on the patio watching a black ant crawl up a table leg until it reached some spilled sugar. After it ate some of the sugar it crawled back down the table leg. Soon two black ants crawled up the table leg to the sugar. They ate and left. Soon a steady stream of black ants moved up and down the table leg to enjoy the sugar. The missionary thought to himself, “They must have some system by which they communicate, ‘I have found something good and I want to share it!’” Like those ants, we have found something good and we should want to share it.
