Series: Fruit bearing
I want to continue where we left off on fruit bearing. We have been talking to ourselves about the need for us to bring forth fruit as believers in Christ Jesus. That’s because God has created us to do so. We see in scriptures that it brings Him glory when we bring forth fruit. And we also see that we have a relationship with Him that places us in a position where we can bring forth fruit. So, as believers we must make a business of bringing forth fruit.But then, we need to know what nature of fruit we are expected to bring forth.
Yes, the word of God shows us that God has chosen and appointed us to bring forth fruit. But if we do not know the nature of fruit He expects us to bring forth, we may find ourselves coming behind in doing so. Fortunately for us, He has not left us in the dark as to the nature of fruit He expects us to bring forth. Since He describes our relationship with Him as that of the vine and its branches, we know that the sort of fruit He expects us to bring forth has to do with our relationship with Him.
In other words, we have to bring forth the fruit of His character.Remember, we went through a number of scriptures showing us the nature of fruit God expects us to bring forth. It’s referred to in Galatians 5 as the fruit of the Spirit. In Ephesians 5, it’s referred to as the fruit of righteousness. And Peter also has a number of things to say to us about bringing forth fruit that is consistent with the character of God.A question was asked last week as to why believers don’t bring forth fruit at all or as they ought to. And I said we are going to consider that. Though I shared some things along that line in answering the question, but I did say that we will look at why it is so and deal with it as we progress in this study.
So, we are going to be doing that this morning.Now, as we consider this, we will see why believers, even though they are believers, may not bring forth fruit that is consistent with the character of God. As I have consistently said, and that is the consistent position of the scriptures as well, the fruit God wants us to bring forth has to do with godly character, exhibiting godly character. He wants us to bring forth: love, patience, endurance, gentleness, meekness, brotherly kindness, self-control, and faithfulness as fruit. And that is because all these things are consistent with the character of God. These are the things that we see in God. What will be seen in us or what should be seen in us, then, should not be different from what is seen in God.
Peter says that we have received His divine nature. That means we are partakers of his divine nature. So, we should not be struggling to exhibit godly character. We should not. If we find ourselves struggling to exhibit godly character, it must mean that something is wrong. It is either we do not have that relationship with Him that will make it possible for us to naturally exhibit godly character or something is affecting our ability to exhibit godly character. And we will not consider this, if it is not on our mind that we ought to be bringing forth fruit. It has to be on your mind that God expects you to bring forth fruit, that you are expected to bring forth fruit.
If it is not on your mind, it will not be a matter of concern to you. There are many believers that it is not a matter of concern to them that they are not exhibiting godly character. They don’t even have time to think about the fact that they are not exhibiting godly character. That’s a problem. That’s a very big problem.Peter says when you are like that, it’s either you have not been saved at all or have forgotten that you have been saved (2Peter 1:9).
If you have been saved indeed, if you have become a part of the vine indeed, then, you are supposed to be exhibiting godly character. And if you are not, you should be concerned. If you are finding it difficult to love or to walk in love, you should be concerned. If you find it hard to forgive people, you should be concerned. If it is difficult for you to demonstrate humility, gentleness or to be faithful, you should be concerned.And you will be concerned if you are a true child of God. Because you know that something is wrong with you.
It shows that your life is not going in the right direction, the direction that God expects it to go.If you are concerned about seeing your life go in the direction that God wants it to go, and your life is not going in that direction, you are going to be concerned. And you will want to do something about it. You may not know what to do about it, but you will want to do something about it.The Lord clearly shows us how to bring forth fruit. He has already told us what God expects of us. But He doesn’t stop at telling us what God expects of us; He also goes on to show us how to fulfill the demands of God on our lives. So, I have to be interested in knowing God’s demands on my life and also in fulfilling them. If I’m not interested, there is a problem.
In fact, my so-called being born again is debatable. Because when you become born again, one of the things that will show that you have indeed become born again is your eagerness for God.Now remember that Ezekiel tells us in a prophecy that God is going to remove from us the heart of stone and put in us instead the heart of flesh. That’s just figurative. And it is to show us that there is going to be a change on the inside. So, being born again results in a change on the inside. You are changed within. You are no longer what you used to be within. Now the change is not outward, to begin with.
The change is inward to begin with. And at some point, the change that has occurred inward will begin to find expression outwardly. But that change must happen. And if it has happened, then, your passions will change; your desires will change; what you are eager for will change. (Cf. Ezekiel 36:26)
All this is why I have often found it hard to believe that somebody is a Christian, if the person is not eager for God. From time to time, people in meetings will raise their hands to say that they want to become born again. Maybe because they have been touched by a message.
And then, the following day, they don’t want to show up in a church meeting. Or for the next two weeks or for the next one month, they don’t want to have anything to do with the bible. They don’t want to have anything to do with a believers’ meeting. I mean, how do you explain that? It is not consistent with what they claim to have happened to them. Something is wrong. I’m not talking about outwardly demonstrating godliness in all ways readily. That’s not what I’m talking about.
But at least, if there has been a change, if a change has occurred within, you become eager for God. You may not know how to go about living your life. You may not know how to go about setting your life right. A lot of things may be wrong with your life at that point of becoming born again. And you may not know how to fix those things. But within you, you know that God has changed you. And you are going to be eager for him, knowing that he is going to set right everything that is out of place in your life. But you say that you have become born again. And when they tell you about showing up in church meetings, you don’t want to show up in them.
They tell you about reading the bible, but you don’t want to read it. They talk to you about praying, but you don’t want to pray. And you want to continue living your life the way you have been living it.Now Paul says how is that agreeable? Or how does that agree with what you claim to have occurred to you? He says how do we continue in sin and say that grace should abound? How can we just continue to live as though nothing had happened to us? It’s impossible. If there has been a change indeed, then, it is going to reflect in our attitude towards God. (Cf. Romans 6:1)I said all that just to draw your attention to what Jesus has to say to us about how to bring forth fruit.
So, let’s go back to St. John’s Gospel, Chapter 15. From verse 1:“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:1-5NIV)