In part I we talked about bearing fruit unto death. We established that sin produces fruit that kills, separates, brings punishment and for those who will not turn their lives and wills over to the care of the Lord Jesus; eternal damnation. Before we journey into the fruit unto God I want to add to the fruit unto death a passage of scripture that the Holy Spirit spoke to me. Revelation 20:11-15
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. AND WHOSOEVER WAS NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE.
This passage of scripture validates what we discussed in part I: bearing fruit unto death. This passage of scripture references the judgement of the wicked; the judgement of those of them who did not receive the gift of salvation: who chose not to receive and follow the Lord Jesus. Notice in the passage that the saints are not mentioned. The book of life is present for the ones who are being judged to show them that their names are not written in the Lambs book of life. The works that are judged in this passage of scripture are the fruit unto death: the works and deeds done that separated the individuals from God.
I must share another important passage of scripture: Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, 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.
I Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Once again all of these acts of sin that will keep us eternally separated from God are the products or fruit of sin. Sin bears or produces fruit of death. The word of God is filled with information on the many other fruit of death that will keep us separated and destined for an eternity of unpleasantness. Please read your bibles and allow the Lord to minister by his Spirit and Word. Selah
Bearing Fruit unto God.
We had very much to say on the fruit of death followers and likewise so too do we have much to say on bearing fruit unto God. Again we will be keeping in mind Romans 6:23..For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Chapter 5 of Romans talks about the believer’s justification through faith in the Lord Jesus. In the chapter Paul says we have peace with God through the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. In other words; God is not mad with me anymore. He and I have been reconciled or united again through the blood of Christ. Jesus made a great exchange, one of which I truly didn’t deserve. He took my sin and gave me His righteousness. He took my spiritual poverty and gave to me his richness. For this I bow my knee and surrender my life to the Lord Jesus.
The death of Christ and His resurrection annihilated sin’s dominion over us. As sinners we had no other choice but to do what sin; our master instructed, no choice but to go where sin; our master directed. We were the slaves of sin. In chapter 6 of Romans Apostle Paul says to the believer that sin will not have dominion over us because we are not under the law but under grace (verse 14). He says that we were once the servants of sin but since we have believed the doctrine of Christ that was delivered to us we were made free from sin and are become the servants of righteousness. He exhorts, admonishes and commands us to walk in that righteousness. Paul says the same way we yielded ourselves, our bodies and minds to uncleanness and to iniquity even so now…yield our members, bodies, minds and spirits to righteousness unto holiness. (verses 17-19)
For when you were the servants of sin you were free from righteousness Paul says and he asks, “What fruit did you have in the things that you are now ashamed of?” The end of those things is death. But now being free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end; everlasting life.
My question to you followers is: “What can a dead man do?” When a person dies he or she is no longer alive to former things. A dead man can’t drink, smoke, lie, steal or kill. He or she can’t hate, envy, or even be jealous. The dead man can not operate or function in anything. Paul says to us to see ourselves dead to sin. Anything that we are dead to can’t have any effect on us. If in fact the former things of our lives effect us then we have not died to it. In verses 11 & 12 of Romans chapter 6 Paul says that because Christ died he died to sin once and because He lives he lives unto God, LIKEWISE consider yourselves to be dead indeed to sin but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Do not let sin therefore reign or rule in your mortal body that you should obey it in the lusts or desires thereof. Neither yield yourselves as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin but yield yourselves unto God.
Jesus did not resurrect us, renew us, change us to operate in the oldness of life. II Corinthians 5: 17 says”Therefore if any man be in Christ he [or she] is a new creature, a new creation, has been regenerated; old things have passed away and behold all things have become new”…..live like it! Sinning for the believer now is done by choice and not by force. If and when a believer sins he or she does so because they want too not because he or she has too. The believer resurrects sin in their lives by choice.
FRUIT UNTO GOD
Fruit unto God is the life style that reflects inner change and produces an outward show of God or reflects the righteousness of God. This life style not only produces the character of God, it also draws others to you where when once drawn, you can share the gospel of Jesus Christ, winning others to the Lord. Bearing fruit unto God as you can see is not only producing the character of God but also winning others to the Lord.
John 15:1-5 Jesus says: “I am the true vine and my Father is the husbandman or the gardener. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it , that it may bring forth more fruit. Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you except you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abide in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit for WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING”
This is a very powerful passage of scripture among the so many in the bible. Bearing fruit is contingent upon our stay in the Lord Jesus as he has spoken in this passage. If there is no vine, there is no branch. If there is no vine nor branch there is no fruit. The life of the fruit of a tree is not in the branch, the life is in the vine. Therefore, the life in the vine sustains both the branch and the fruit. The branch itself simply houses the fruit. With this truth we can rightfully say that the branch can’t lay claim to the fruit to say it supplies the life of the fruit because the truth is the branch doesn’t. Jesus says he is the vine that gives life to us, the branches and that he is also the one who produces the fruit that we are to bear or house. He says apart from him we the branches cannot produce fruit unto God. Without him we in ourselves, on our own can do absolutely nothing in producing the fruit that pleases God in our lives nor can we in our own produce fruit for the kingdom of God. From our discourse on the fruit unto death we can rightfully see that apart from God, apart from the Lord Jesus, apart from the Holy Spirit and his wonderful working power, the only thing that we can produce on our own and in our strengths is fruit unto death.
Oh dear followers we need the Lord!!!!! The branches, of which we are, must stay connected to the Lord Jesus in order to be productive in both our walk and in soul winning for the Kingdom of God. Jesus says in this passage of scripture that every branch that beareth fruit is purged or pruned. The word prune carries the meaning of : to rid or clear of anything superfluous or undesirable. Now look at this verse carefully. Every branch that bears fruit is purged. Let’s say the verse in this manner: every branch that begins to house fruit is purged, pruned so that it can house more fruit. Bugs and worms on the branches can weaken the branch so it can’t hold the fruit. Weeds and other vines can wrap themselves around the branches choking the branch and weakening the branch causing it to get sick, dry up and even die. Therefore the branch must be pruned in order to stay healthy so it can bear the fruit.
One amazingly awesome thing about Jesus our vine is; he never gets sick, weeds never choke him, worms never eat away at him, floods don’t drown him out or cause him to rot, wither or die. Our vine is always alive and well and is forever supplying life to the branches and the fruit that we bear as long as we are connected to him.
For us being the branches; the pruning process isn’t always delightful. The pruning process sometimes can be most painful. We talked about the fruit of death which all of us bore at one point and time in our lives. Apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 6:11a; “And such were some of you.” Though we have received Christ and are washed, sanctified and justified in the his name and by the Spirit of our God, some of the effects of the fruit of death and results of the fruit of death are with us and these are the things that the Holy Spirit prunes in order for us to bear more fruit. Notice that until we began to journey through the perfect law of liberty which I speak to be the word of God, we didn’t know the destroying depths of the fruit of death in which we once walked in. Now in our commitment and continual walk in and with Christ we are shown the results of those bad fruit and must be pruned to remove the effects. Pruning is not a one time work. Pruning is a continual work. As long as the branch is connected to the vine the work of pruning will continue. We are perfect in God, being perfected by the Spirit of God and His word and in the end of all earthly things; Perfect through Jesus Christ our Lord. Selah
Part III continued……..