Matthew 7:18-20 “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
Good Fruit
Christ is the fruit of the Spirit. He produces the fruit and the Holy Spirit administers it as we surrender to Him. Christ is 100% love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He cannot produce sin, pride or evil because His character is love, Joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Fruit is the spiritual mark of a Christ follower; Christ produces it and we are commanded to bear it, molding us into His image. God is a spirit, therefore, our Spiritual image is what is most important to Him (which will eventually mold our physical image). He wants us to surrender to righteous thoughts, which will generate righteous actions.
Evil Fruit
But too many Christians get caught up in the physical image. They want to “look” righteous (wearing head to toe coverings, bare faced, no jewelry, 24/7 church meetings, Jesus fish, big crosses, etc.). They work hard on the “look” of righteousness, but the reflection of His image is nowhere to be found. They put on a show for the public – then take all that off to sin.
2Timothy 3:5 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away”
Those are not even the characteristics of Christ, and as long as I’ve been walking with Christ, He has never commanded me to do some of those things. If I’m not completely clothed in public, I do feel naked – but I don’t make a point of looking like I’m from another time period.
[Note: Years ago, He convicted about perming my hair and wearing braid extensions. He wanted me to love my heritage and my natural appearance (black with kinky hair – just as Jesus was when He walked the earth). There are also times God will tell us to adjust our outward appearance to match His standards for us. But to adopt a look because another group says so….? His goal is not for us to look and act weird for attention, but to draw others through the Holy Spirit (which is not by our might, but by His power)]
Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Satan is the inventor of “fake” righteousness. He has a copycat for every fruit of the Spirit God created. Instead of the fruit of kindness that Christ produces, Satan has the lesser version of evil fruit called “nice”. Nice is baking brownies for people who don’t eat brownies; giving them things they didn’t ask for (or need), then talk about them behind their backs. Kind, on the other hand, is giving someone something they need (by the direction of the Holy Spirit), without expecting repayment in anyway or from any person.
Satan’s fake fruit is called morals (substandard works of the flesh). It is that plastic fruit that sits in the center of a table. From a distance, you think it is real, so your mouth starts to water as you imagine biting into it. But as you get closer, you discern the deception of the plastic.
Matthew 7:16-17 “You shall know them by their fruit…Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”
Morals are made up by society and encourage people to act right (vs. be right) for appearance’s sake. Morals can be different for each person and change back and forth over time as the line of morality moves with culture. It was once culturally immoral to live with a mate out of marriage, now culture pretty much expects it. Decades ago, we were brought up to tell the truth, keep our promises, forgive others, and be a man or woman of integrity. Today, you don’t have to be a man or woman – let alone have integrity. Morals tell us to ‘act’ right on the outside regardless of what is going on inside.
In opposition, God commands us to bear fruit on the inside so we will also be good on the outside. Only God is good, but if we are bearing His good fruit, we develop His good characteristics. God’s goal for us is to “be” like Him (in/out of season, in public and private) despite our culture. The fruit never goes out of style and never changes – it is timeless – and it is the same for everyone.
It is easy to look different or bear His symbol on the outside, but can you “be” different by daily surrendering to Him on the inside (forgiving serious offenses, sitting still or being quiet when He says so, tithing your money, fasting, praying, reading the Bible, keeping His Sabbath and the rest of His commandments)? Dress up is an insult when you are not obedient to what He commands. Satan loves it when we get off track with our eyes playing dress up.
Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Fruit is Power
Christians throw around the word “power” as if it is separate from God or something they produce on their own; they forget that real power comes from God, who gives it to whom and for what He wants. His power gives us authority over ourselves, our enemies, and it gives us the ability to become the sons of God speaking His words into existence.
God gives you power in your own life to withstand the wiles of the devil, for immunity against Satan’s poison and healing of infirmities. If you have no power over yourself, you are more likely to abuse others and become abused. The power from the Holy Spirit is that same power that raised Jesus from the dead. It is the same power that gives life and is the same today as yesterday.
John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
God once told me, “The anointing is for others, but power is for you.” I translated that to mean, “Gifts are for others, fruit is for you”. Gifts strengthen the church and fruit strengthens us. If we are not bearing good fruit, then we are bearing evil fruit. Others can hear our fruit in our conversations. People who lack unforgiveness will have anger as the base of their character and you’ll hear it in their tone; people who lack peace can’t be calm or sit still. When you bear the fruit of the spirit, the base of your personality that people hear is love – with all the fruit working together: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
when pastors value God’s gifts over God’s fruit, their lives crumble ~Terri
Christians and churches today have no power because no one is surrendering to Christ for a changed heart. When churches see pastors acting one way in the church and another in the streets, they follow suit. Nowadays, Christians think it’s cute to be a chameleon – part church and part street. But Jesus never glorified sin. Either you’re all in or all out.
…and just because someone is a great gospel singer doesn’t mean they are wholly following Christ.
A few nights ago, I was looking for something to watch on TV and happened to run across Kirk Franklin’s Christmas movie. I like some of his music, so I decided to watch the movie thinking I would hear his music. I watched the first 5 minutes and turned the TV off. It was so unbiblical. The star of the movie (a young, single female) was being sent by her parents to pastor a church (without her consent) because they felt that being a “singing preacher” was a generational gift in their family. The girl reluctantly took the position at the church. When she arrived, the first person she saw coming out of the church was a young man about her age. She lustfully locked eyes with him and became completely mesmerized. I had had enough at that point.
First and foremost, only God can call you to lead His flock, and only He will send you when you’re ready to go; otherwise, you are in disobedience. Additionally, He will not send you as a single person (in lust) confusing His sheep. These are the same people who live like Satan and lay hands on the church…transferring their sicknesses to the congregation.
Matthew 9:37 “Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;”
The world finds praise more attractive than fruit. Many people in the bible surrendered to praise rather than fruit: Satan chose praise over fruit; Judas walked with Jesus just as the rest of the disciples, but he didn’t bear fruit. If he had, he wouldn’t have been so attracted to money.
you know what’s in someone by what’s always coming out ~Terri
The fruit of the Spirit stabilizes and balances us. You can have a lot of gifts and anointing, with people praising and following you; but at the same time, have no power in your own life to keep you from sin. There are many pastors who bring millions of people into the church, but they die in shame living spiritually out of order. They are gifted but their lives are falling apart because they have not developed fruit…no faith, longsuffering, meekness, peace, temperance, love, etc. God wants us to bear fruit, so He doesn’t have to worry about us destroying ourselves and His kingdom when He sends us places.
The fruit of the Spirit creates boundaries in the life of a believer who follows Christ. Fruit makes you do good even when you want to do evil; as you surrender to Christ, you are transformed into His image. Someone who says they are a Christian but constantly lies, cheats, steals, fornicates and everything else the commandments say not to do, is not a Christ follower. They may or may not be born-again, but one thing for sure, they are not producing fruit. I know someone who’s been saying for years they are following Christ (and hang out in Christian circles) but they also hang out in Satan’s circles.
I often think of the people I have encountered who live like Satan, but think they will ride to heaven on the fact that God used them (but the ironic part is…they never even realize they were used until after the fact). So they boast in pride as if it is something they did. But God will use anyone and anything He wants. He will speak through an ass, use a rock, a song, and a false prophet – but only the ones who overcome will reign with Him. We are all responsible for bearing fruit to bring us into righteousness and out of evil (racism, fornication, a lying, stealing, etc.) It doesn’t matter who you are when you come to Christ, because He will completely change every one of us when we surrender.
John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
Regardless of what you say, your good (or evil) fruit will eventually speak-up and have the last word. Your theatrics can’t last forever. Who you are in private will eventually show in public. People generally judge you on who you say you are during interviews, when looking for a mate, when looking at your lifestyle; but God judges who you really are.
how we go through is more important than what we go through ~Terri
We must abide in Christ and choose right responses to His testing to bear fruit. He will lead us into places where we are commanded to make fruit bearing decisions. When the pressure is on, our decision to be good or evil (when evil would be so much easier) determines whether we bear good fruit or evil fruit. If we are in a situation that seems to be going awry, there is always a way out to be “good”. God reserves that for us. He promises that He, “will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able”. At any point we see evil before us, God also shows us a good option. We are then at a crossroad to either choose good or evil. Most people choose evil, refusing to bear fruit. If you allow anger or embarrassment to send you into pride and selfishness, then you have chosen not to bear fruit.
Joshua 24:15 “…choose you this day whom ye will serve…”
Everything that God commands us to bear in the Spirit is impossible without him – you will only bear flesh. We need him in order to be obedient. If you’re attempting to be like Him (without him), you won’t succeed. We are not supposed to make our own fruit; He makes it, and we are to bear it. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, the branch can’t make anything – it can only bear.
We will never be Him, or be perfect, or identical to Him on this earth because we are not Jesus and never will be. But when we surrender daily to His grace, we can be molded into His image. He has already walked it out for us to follow.
Matthew 7:22-23 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
