Fruit trees are beautiful. They look very dreary until Spring comes and they burst with leaves and flowers. That’s only the start. As the year progresses, fruit begins to form, and each tree will bring forth delicious, nourishing fruit. Before we come to faith in Jesus, life can be pretty dreary. Each day is just like the previous day, with no true joy. You might have had good things in your life but no true joy. The reason for this is your life was as dreary as a fruit tree in winter. You were following the ways of the world, where there is nothing to look forward to except a dreary lifestyle.
Jesus Christ and the promise of Heaven is joyful, and like a fruit tree in Spring, life becomes beautiful. Life has a purpose when Christ is on the throne of your life.
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
The Apostle Paul knew what he was talking about. He was a very smart man and a member of the Sanhedrin. His father was a Pharisee, and so was he. The Pharisees were a Jewish religious sect that knew the Law of God but not the grace and love of God. When Jewish people began to follow the teachings of Christ, Paul’s hatred burned. He was feared among the Christians because of his anger. Then, he met Jesus and his life was changed forever.
Paul had been on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians who had fled there to escape persecution, but God intervened. In a miraculous turn of events, Paul met the risen Saviour, and he was given a new outlook on life. It took many years, but eventually, he was called to missionary work. Unlike many modern-day “missionaries,” Paul spread the Gospel and established congregations. He taught God’s truth. His life suddenly had a deeper meaning and a purpose; his anger and hatred were gone.
Not everybody has such a dramatic call to faith as Paul, but everyone has a calling that is important to use for God. Paul urges us to follow God and walk in the love of God.
In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul addresses spiritual warfare and how to be ready for battle. You cannot be ready to battle the enemy if you are walking hand in hand with his evil.
“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks” (Ephesians 5:3-4).
Sadly, many churches don’t disciple new Christians in their new-found faith, and preachers don’t want to upset the pew-sitters by addressing sin. That should not stop you from opening your Bible and letting the Holy Spirit guide you in living a Christian life.
“For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them” (Ephesians 5:5-7).
This is very important for every Christian to understand. Don’t let yourself be deceived by anyone. There are leaders in the mega-church movement, as well as in small country congregations, that don’t preach Biblically sound truths but try to say that God knows hearts, so it’s not up to us to judge. That’s not what Scripture says.
Sin is clearly listed in Scripture. There is a fine line between being legalistic and living in the light of God. Jesus was harshly judged by the religious leaders for healing a man on the Sabbath. He pointed out that they knew the letter of the Law but not the heart.
“If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:23-24).
Even though circumcision would be “working on the Sabbath,” it was required by law, so deemed as permissible on the Sabbath. Jesus healed a man and was criticized for His compassion. The Pharisees deemed this as works. Judging by appearance is never right, but using Scripture to judge righteously is important. Sin is not acceptable within congregations, so yes, it must be judged with a righteous judgment.
To live a fruitful life in Christ, the fruit we bear is our faithful service to Jesus and, hopefully, soul-winning. If we say we accepted Christ but remain unchanged by our faith, then we will never make a difference to the Kingdom and will remain as dreary as a fruit tree in winter.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
If you say you are a Christian, do you know what that means? We all are subject to our sin nature, passed down through the ages by Adam’s sin. We are separated from God. Jesus entered His creation to give us the only way to be reconciled to God. To be forgiven of our sins, we must turn to Jesus and repent. We cannot say, “I was baptized as a baby, so I’m saved.” You have to make the decision and choose to follow Christ.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9).
Do you know any baby that can do that? A baby can’t, but you can. Confessing to a priest will do you no good. You must confess to Jesus and ask Him to forgive your sin. Then it’s time to start living a new life in Christ. Put off the old way of living. If you are in any sexual relationship other than a one man/one woman marriage, end that relationship immediately. If you are associating with drug users, gang members, or anyone who embraces sin, end those ties immediately.
I don’t know many pastors who disciple new Christians, and that’s sad. You have a Bible; study it. There are many, many good Bible teachers to be found. There are also many poor teachers to be avoided, such as anybody who teaches New Age beliefs or that it’s ok to hold onto your sin as long as you know Christ. If you truly know Christ, you will repent of sin and turn away from it. Read Scripture and memorize it. Then live to honor God.
How do we have a fruit-bearing faith? First, stop living a worldly life. Repent of your sin and pray for God’s help in overcoming the sin you’ve embraced. Ask a Christian friend to help you. All of us have sinned, so every Christian should be understanding about what you’re going through.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).
Thank God for His grace. There are quite a few “lists” in Scripture that describe living in a worldly way.
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).
If there are words you aren’t familiar with, look them up or look in a good modern translation. For instance, the word “witchcraft” comes from the Greek “pharmakeia,” which is drugs. These are things that the world accepts as normal but are considered sins by God. When you repent of your sin, you will find new joy in life, and you will begin to show fruit of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Notice that the worldly things are plural, “works of the flesh,” but the “fruit of the Spirit” is singular. All of the fruit of the Spirit is available to you at once, but you can’t have fruit-bearing faith if you are holding tightly to the works of the flesh.
Isn’t it time for you to begin to bear fruit? Rather than being like a dying fruit tree that is stuck in the cold, dreary winter, start living a fruit-bearing life through faith in Jesus Christ.
God bless you all,
Nathele Graham
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All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.
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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).