Fruit-Bearing - The Purpose of Being Christians
Many socially minded aid organisations started with a Christian agenda. Yet then the social aims took over and the concerns of the Bible about eternal salvation slipped into the background or were lost. Cadbury’s, Oxfam, Christian Aid, Dr. Barnardo’s homes, and YMCA are just a few. The Christian Aid website has a section on what they believe and it says “Christian Aid has a vision – an end to poverty”. It seems as if meeting social needs is what Christian organisations and even churches can become. The same can happen in the practice of medicine. High standards of care become the focus, not the Lord Jesus himself.
When Jesus chose his disciples also he did so with a purpose. The same has been true ever since.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” John 15:16
It is by producing much fruit that we demonstrate that we are followers of Jesus and so give glory to God.
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 5:8
But what is this fruit? It is clearly something that shows we are followers of Jesus.
John the Baptist
When John the Baptist started preaching he emphasised the need for God’s people to bear good fruit. He warned the religious Pharisees about the danger of hypocrisy.
“Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ . . . every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”” Matthew 3:8-10
The only clue given in this passage from the adjacent verses as to what John meant by ‘fruit’ is the open admission by the people of their need for forgiveness.
“Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River.” Matthew 3:6
Jesus
Jesus also warned about the danger of false teachers and said that ‘their fruit’ will identify them.
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them. . . Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus by their fruit you will recognise them.” Matthew 7:15-20
Jesus continues by saying it is not just the words people use that constitutes fruit.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord,’ . . .Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers!’” Matthew 7:21-23
The fruit is surely the life that stems from a personal relationship with Jesus.
Paul
When Paul wrote to the young Colossian church he told them what his regular prayer for them was ,
“ . . asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may 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 1:9-10
For Paul, a Christian’s life begins with an understanding and acceptance of God’s truth about Christ, which then results in a Christ-centred life. This life is the fruit God expects of all true Christians. The fruit must begin in our thoughts and so effect our actions and words. When writing to the church at Galatia , Paul emphasises that the fruit of the Spirit should not be thought of in terms of gifts but in terms of relationships with others. It is through warm relationships that the gospel spreads.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.” Galatians 5:22-23
The necessity of producing fruit in our lives keeps being repeated by Paul.
“ . . that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that you might bear fruit to God.” Romans 7:4
Paul goes on to suggest that this fruit is genuine ‘service of God’
“ . . . so that we might serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” Romans 7:6
This fruit is the result of having a relationship with Jesus. All Jesus’ followers are given the undeserved status of being righteous before God. When Paul wrote to the church at Philippi he described his prayer for them,
“. . . that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
As in his letter to the Colossian church, knowledge about God and his revelation is the fundamental need. This knowledge of God’s gift of salvation, given to all who are committed to Christ, is to produce a new holy life which Paul describes as ‘the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ’.
The fruit of being in Christ, the fruit of the Spirit, is the actions and speech that stem from this new relationship with God. Real fruit gives the glory and honour to Jesus Christ. Today many consider that kind and beneficial actions performed by Christians are automatically fruit. They may be, but only if they are undertaken as representatives of Jesus. The danger is that others may see our good works and give glory to us. They are outwardly similar actions but have different motives. One glorifies Christ , the other man. A major part of this fruit is sharing the gospel with others.
Evangelism in the New Testament
When Paul was in Troas, on his second missionary journey, he had a vision of a man in Macedonia who begged him,
“Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Acts 16:9
Today many would respond to such a request by having a collection and gift day in response to whatever social or economic need is found. Paul did not think in this way.
“After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” Acts 16:10
This was the understanding of Jesus and his apostles. Spiritual needs trumped social needs, though both are important. The whole book of Acts is about the urgent spiritual need people have and the priority the church has to proclaim the gospel of Jesus to the world and expect a response.
At the beginning of his ministry Jesus substantiated his Messianic claims by healing many people. The effect was dramatic, “the whole town gathered at the door”.
“Very early the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you.” Mark 1:35-37
Such popularity may be the ambition of some modern healing evangelists and their protégés but it was not what Jesus wanted his ministry to centre on. He wanted nothing less than the salvation of as many people as possible. Submission to God’s Messiah, his chosen King, is much more important. It gives permanent benefits, not temporary healings.
“Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so that I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Mark 1:38
At the end of his ministry on earth Jesus commissioned his disciples with the words,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:18-20.
James wrote his letter to encourage Christians who were facing ‘trials of many kinds’. At the end he reminds his readers about the priority of taking the message of salvation to individuals.
“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20
This passage is particularly interesting as it reminds us that sin is, at root, wandering from the truth God has given us in Christ. We know this both through the message of the Bible, but also through the spiritual instincts that God has put in us all.
Evangelism in the Old Testament
When Abraham was first chosen by God to be the Father of His special people, the Lord said to him,
“I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; . . . and all people on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2,3
A little later the Lord changed his name from Abram, which means ‘exalted father’ to Abraham which means father of many. The reason the Lord gave for this was,
“ . . . I will make you a father of many nations.” Genesis 17:5
This promise was repeated a third time, presumably to make sure Abraham and his descendants understood, but on this occasion the means of this promise being fulfilled is clarified. One day Abraham had three visitors, one of whom was the Lord himself. The Lord said to Abraham and the other two,
“Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” Genesis 18:18-19
God’s chosen people must ‘keep the way of the Lord’ and he will then glorify his name through them.
Abraham clearly understood something of this. When the Lord told him that he was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their serious sin, Abraham pleads that if there are some righteous people in the city, fifty, then forty five, even forty, or thirty, or twenty or finally only ten won’t God stay his hand for the sake of the righteous? His nephew Lot was living in that city of pagan people but there were not even ten righteous! Lot was clearly not very effective at bringing people back to God.
When Abraham was told that Sarah would have a son, he circumcised all the men in his household, whether his own offspring or slaves he had bought from foreigners. He understood that outsiders were to be included in the Lord’s family but that they must live on God’s terms and circumcision was to be a sign of this.
In the New Testament Paul explained that this promise to Abraham referred to all people who would be saved by faith. It was Abraham’s belief, his relationship with God that resulted in his salvation. Paul told Christians,
“As it is written, ‘I have made you a father of many nations’. He is our Father in the sight of God . . .” Romans 4:17
How can people have such a saving faith if they are not told about the Lord who saves those who trust him and who later sent Jesus to be the means of that salvation?
The book of Proverbs explained what the ‘fruit of righteousness’ is well before Jesus and his apostles appeared.
“The fruit of righteousness is a tree of life and he who wins souls is wise. ” Proverbs 11:30
Psalm 145 is a glorious psalm of praise to the living God. Today many Christians think of praise as singing. David, who wrote this psalm, sees praise as a much wider lifestyle which includes sharing the gospel with others.
“Your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.” ` Psalm 145:10-12
David reminds us that God’s people are those who have a personal relationship with God – religion alone does not save us.
“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfils the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.” Psalm 145:18-20
Later in the psalm he repeats this idea. Praising the Lord must include our speech about him to others,
“My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.” Psalm 145:21
On the day I was thinking about this question of the fruit of righteousness, I was walking along the sea front in Ramsgate and came across a group of nuns belonging to the Sisters of Charity, the order founded by Mother Theresa. We got into conversation and I asked if they could explain the gospel to me briefly. One nun immediately replied that she could do this in five words,
“You did it to me,” she said, quoting from Matthew 25
She seemed to think that her good works were the gospel. I questioned whether this was the gospel as it sounded more like the works Christians are called to do once they have been saved. A fellow nun then interrupted and explained that the gospel was Jesus himself who died on the cross to save us from our sins. How important it is that we are clear about this when talking with others. Our good works and social actions may help with physical, psychological and social problems but unless combined with the message about the salvation to be found in Jesus Christ these actions cannot be called ‘the fruit of righteousness’. Jesus came to bring eternal salvation which is only found through faith in him.
BVP
Sept 2012
