Bearing the Fruit: Introduction

 Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  16 You will recognize them by their fruits.  Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistle? 17 So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear good fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

You are probably wondering what good fruit that Jesus is talking about here.  Is He talking about evangelizing?  The answer to that is yes, sort of.  Keep in mind that the "diseased trees" try to spread their beliefs as well.  In this passage Jesus is specifically referring to the way in which we live our lives.  What good does it do if you profess belief in Jesus but do not live your life the way that He wants you to?  Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'   We produce good fruit by doing God's will, not just professing belief in Him. 

While Matthew 7 does teach us how to tell the false teacher from the good, it should also cause you to examine yourself in order for you to make sure that you are in line with God's Will.  In the book of Galatians, Paul gives the people a list of things that should not be done followed by a list of characteristics that should be shown by anyone who truly accepts Jesus as their Lord.

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.  I warn you as I warned you before, that those things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

While the list of things that you shouldn't do is important, the list of things you should do is far more important.  By verses twenty-two and twenty-three we know that the fruit produced in us by the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  These are the things that as Christians, we should examine in order to test that we are following Christ as we should.  These fruits are a gift from God through the Holy Spirit that we received through our salvation.  Therefore, anyone who has truly repented of his or her sins and trusted his or her life to Jesus will exhibit these characteristics.

There is something I would like to clear up at this point.  Just because you do not perfectly exhibit the fruits of the Spirit does not mean you are not saved.  While we have been justified through Christ Jesus our Lord we have yet to be completely sanctified.  Indeed our sanctification will not be completed until we die or Jesus returns.  We are sinful creatures; therefore we cannot perfectly exhibit Christ's characteristics but we are called to pursue them with all that we have and that is what makes the difference. 1 Timothy 6:11 But as for you O man of God, flee these things.  Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness,  gentleness.  In the next verse Paul urges Timothy to, "Fight the good  fight of the faith."  As Christians it is important to realize that nothing in this world is a bigger obstacle to us than our own sinful natures.  Romans 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  The fruits of the Spirit are not natural for us.  That is why it is so hard for us to exhibit them, and why it is so important for us to exhibit them.  These are the things that set us apart from the rest of the world.

For the next little while each post I make is going to be over one of the fruits of the Spirit so that you might gain a better understanding of  them that you might be able to accurately test yourself to make sure that you are exhibiting them.  If you find that you are seriously lacking in these fruits then I would suggest you take a step back and completely reexamine your faith.  Have you repented of your sins? Do you really believe that Jesus was crucified in payment for your sins? Do you believe that Christ was raised from the dead after three days in a victory over death? Have you confessed that Jesus is your Lord?  If you have truly done these things then you should be able to look at your life and see the influence that Christ has had on you.  Have you completely devoted your life to Him?  By examining the fruits of the Spirit I hope that we can better understand the types of lives we are called to lead as Christians.  Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.