JESUS TEACHES ABOUT BEARING SPIRITUAL FRUIT
Greetings in the name of Jesus:
There has never been a time in our spiritual life when bearing Spiritual fruit was not top on the list of what God has intended for our lives apart from the development of a relationship with God. Being fruitful in Christ can mean many different things, but as we strive to be fruitful it is important for us to keep an eye upon the kind of fruit that we bear and that we do not get fooled into thinking that we will always bare useful and good Spiritual fruit by simply casting any kind of seed out to grow.
As we grow in Christ He will also teach us how to be good workers in the vineyard as we learn how to use His tools and tend those things that we plant. First we don't always plant or throw out the same seed. We need to learn what people need in their lives to grow in Christ. It is very important how we go about tilling and watering seed or new growth in those who we minister to because the enemy will try to come in to poison the things that are said and done from time to time.
I think it is very interesting that Jesus focused upon false prophets in Matthew 7:15-20. Jesus said that there would be those who would come to us in sheep's garments but who were actually ravenous wolves. He told us we will know them by the kind of fruit they bear. He was referring to the intentional spread of false doctrine and teachings that did not reflect the true Good News of the gospel, but which sowed seeds of miss-direction and division among the church. There is no doubt we are seeing a lot of that kind of thing today with all of the denominational differences we have within our church bodies today.
It is also very important that we do not spread false doctrine in the body of Christ by not knowing if that concept or teaching is from Christ before we adopt it. I believe that many of those who would otherwise be healthy in Christ and who wish to bear good fruit are at times picking up on these false doctrines because they do not check for themselves to see if the teaching is from Christ or from men.
That can be a very unfortunate thing. Jesus asked some very pertinent questions about the kind of fruit that we need to bear when He said " Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes?" We must be careful what the actual word is that we spread within the church. Jesus said that a good tree will not bear bad fruit, and a bad tree will not bear good fruit. These trees can be planted right beside one another; they can be growing in the same soil and be at odds with one another in what they say and how they react to the truth,but the fruit they bear will always be good if it based within the teachings of Christ. At the same time there will be those who are constantly sowing discord among the brethren and because of that division the fruit they bear is bad. Christ tells us to not get ourselves caught up in that trap. It becomes our responsibility to bear good fruit in Christ, and not something that is tainted with doctrine from men. This can be a very serious matter down the road for us and can be very confusing when the pieces of the plan of salvation are not fitting together for us the way they should so do not be fooled...may you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
There has never been a time in our spiritual life when bearing Spiritual fruit was not top on the list of what God has intended for our lives apart from the development of a relationship with God. Being fruitful in Christ can mean many different things, but as we strive to be fruitful it is important for us to keep an eye upon the kind of fruit that we bear and that we do not get fooled into thinking that we will always bare useful and good Spiritual fruit by simply casting any kind of seed out to grow.As we grow in Christ He will also teach us how to be good workers in the vineyard as we learn how to use His tools and tend those things that we plant. First we don't always plant or throw out the same seed. We need to learn what people need in their lives to grow in Christ. It is very important how we go about tilling and watering seed or new growth in those who we minister to because the enemy will try to come in to poison the things that are said and done from time to time.
I think it is very interesting that Jesus focused upon false prophets in Matthew 7:15-20. Jesus said that there would be those who would come to us in sheep's garments but who were actually ravenous wolves. He told us we will know them by the kind of fruit they bear. He was referring to the intentional spread of false doctrine and teachings that did not reflect the true Good News of the gospel, but which sowed seeds of miss-direction and division among the church. There is no doubt we are seeing a lot of that kind of thing today with all of the denominational differences we have within our church bodies today.
It is also very important that we do not spread false doctrine in the body of Christ by not knowing if that concept or teaching is from Christ before we adopt it. I believe that many of those who would otherwise be healthy in Christ and who wish to bear good fruit are at times picking up on these false doctrines because they do not check for themselves to see if the teaching is from Christ or from men.
That can be a very unfortunate thing. Jesus asked some very pertinent questions about the kind of fruit that we need to bear when He said " Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes?" We must be careful what the actual word is that we spread within the church. Jesus said that a good tree will not bear bad fruit, and a bad tree will not bear good fruit. These trees can be planted right beside one another; they can be growing in the same soil and be at odds with one another in what they say and how they react to the truth,but the fruit they bear will always be good if it based within the teachings of Christ. At the same time there will be those who are constantly sowing discord among the brethren and because of that division the fruit they bear is bad. Christ tells us to not get ourselves caught up in that trap. It becomes our responsibility to bear good fruit in Christ, and not something that is tainted with doctrine from men. This can be a very serious matter down the road for us and can be very confusing when the pieces of the plan of salvation are not fitting together for us the way they should so do not be fooled...may you richly bless God through your life in Him.
THE UNWORTHY SERVANT
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