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Topic: Bearing Fruit
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Betty Louise
Advanced Member
Member # 7175
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posted
You are so right. When we become focused on the works we do for Christ,rather then Christ, Himself, we are looking at the wrong thing.
betty
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Posts: 5051 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: May 2008
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TB125
Advanced Member
Member # 2450
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posted
Carol,
Very good.
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Bob
Posts: 449 | From: Rockford Illinois | Registered: Nov 2003
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
You Will Bear Fruit
John 15:1-8
How is it that two people can read the exact same passage of Scripture and come away with two very different and even opposing ideas of what it means? One reads it as though it were law - God’s command, telling us what we must do. The other reads the very same text and hears the gospel - God’s promise of what He is doing. Luther was right when he said that the one who can properly discern between law and gospel deserves to be called a doctor of theology. Take our gospel reading for this morning for example. How have you heard what has been read? Is it law or gospel? Is this a command or a promise?
Actually, both are present. There’s a command and there’s a promise here. The problem is, we usually get them confused and end up calling the command the promise and the promise the command. It makes all the difference in the world, both in the way we hear these words from our Lord and in the effect these words have on our life of faith.
What stands out in this text is the repetition that Jesus uses to make His point with His disciples. Six times in these eight verses, He speaks to them about ‘bearing fruit.’ He even throws in a couple of adjectives like, ‘bear much fruit,’ and ‘bear more fruit’ to emphasize the fact that He’s not talking about something that is to happen just occasionally or rarely.
Then, five times in these eight verses, Jesus speaks to His disciples saying ‘abiding in Me.’ And interestingly, its never just ‘abide in Me.’ It’s always reciprocal. ‘Abide in me and I in you.’
“Bear fruit.” “Abide in me.” One is a command and one is a promise. Knowing which is which is critical to hearing and applying our Lord’s words to our life rightly. Getting it wrong means that we will hear our Lord saying just the opposite as His words really means and what He truly intends for us to take from His words.
The command is not to ‘bear fruit.’ That’s the promise. The command is to “abide in Me.” Unfortunately, we instinctively hear this the wrong way.
As soon as we hear Jesus say, “bear fruit,” we immediately begin to think about what we must do. We like it when Jesus tells us what we must do. It gives us a chance to make a contribution and do our part. We hear His word and we immediately think, what must I do to ‘bear fruit?’ And what kind of ‘fruit’ must I bear? And how much fruit do I need to produce. If we take His words seriously, we begin to identify certain places in our life where we need to clean up our act and break some bad habits. We identify a couple of things we should do that are ‘good,’ ‘positive,’ ‘constructive.’ And we swear to God that we’ll get right on it and start producing more fruit.
The way we hear what Jesus has said, if we obey His command to ‘bear fruit’ and ‘more fruit’ and ‘much fruit,’ then we’ll receive the promise and “abide in Him and He will abide in us.”
But then, one of two things happens. We either become proud of the progress that we’ve made and feel that God must certainly be pleased with me for producing such good fruit, and by my fruit we can be sure that He is abiding in me and I in Him.
Or we become depressed and despair because, in all honesty, we just can’t be sure that we’re living up to the standards that He expects of us. I mean really, how can you ever be sure that you’ve done enough, when Jesus says, “bear MORE fruit,” and “bear MUCH fruit.” How much is ‘MORE’ anyway? And how much more do you have to do before you’re sure you’ve done ‘MUCH?’
I’ll tell you who likes to take these words of Jesus a though they were command, preachers and authors of books on how to be a better Christian. Preachers love to preach this text as a command because they think that they need to prod and push their people to get them to bear more fruit. And the poor parishioners wear themselves out striving to live up their pastor’s unending series of new challenges and higher goals.
And if that weren’t bad enough, if the congregation really starts to produce some more fruit and much fruit, he writes a book called, “How to produce more fruit in your life.” And innocent people in good congregations buy it, read it, believe it, and think that they need to join in the rat race if they want to abide in Jesus and Jesus in them. (Sorry, but as you can tell, I was at a pastors conference this week.)
In either case, whether we get puffed up from succeeding or burned out from failing, we end up in the exact same place, which is apart from Christ. We either conclude that we can actually produce fruit ourselves with a little spiritual boost from God or it just can’t be done and we give up.
That’s what happens when you focus on the fruit. The fruit becomes your idol and robs you of your life and your faith.
One last point here and I’ll get off this soapbox. Keep in mind that Jesus is speaking these words to His disciples as they walk from the Upper Room after the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane where He will be betrayed and arrested and led to the cross to be crucified. Can we really believe that in these final moments with His disciples that Jesus is prodding them on to produce and make it happen with the promise that then He will abide with them and they with Him?
No, these words are meant to be pure comfort and encouragement for these men and for you and me. These are words of promise, not command. “You will produce fruit. You will see me handed over, crucified and die on the cross. But, do not worry. Do not despair. You will produce MORE fruit than you produced while I was with you. You will produce MUCH fruit.”
“Abide in Me.” There’s the command. When you abide in Christ and He in you, you will bear much fruit. And it will be good fruit, the kind of fruit that God is pleased with. “As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” Bearing fruit is not the command. It’s the promise. And you apply His promise to your life by taking a deep breath, relaxing, stop running, stop counting. Christ has done it all by His death and resurrection. You are the fruit of His atoning sacrifice and victory over the sin, death and the devil. Abiding in Him and He in you, you will bear much fruit not because of anything you do, but because of everything that He has done.
It sounds too simple and too easy I know, but that’s what Jesus is saying. Just as apples trees produce apples and grape vines produce grapes, Christ produces Christians. And abiding in you, He produces His fruit through you.
So, apart from Christ, try as hard as you may, you cannot produce good fruit . Why? Jesus answers like this, “Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? The diseased tree bears bad fruit.” (Matt.7:16-17). By nature, from birth, we are the branches of a thorn bush and a diseased tree. And you don’t get good fruit from bad trees.
But when Christ comes to you something radical happens. He cuts you off from the thorn bush and the diseased tree and unites you to Himself, the true vine. At the beginning of our Inquirers Class this past Thursday evening, Dawna and Tommy Lambert were baptized into Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit working through the water and the word, two things happened to them. They were cut off from the diseased tree that produces no good fruit and thrown into the fire to be burned. And they were united, grafted in to the true vine that is Jesus Christ and now His life giving Spirit is at work producing good fruit through their life. Or do you not know that as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have been cut off from the diseased tree you were united to and united to the true vine, and Christ now abides in you and you in Him?
Now, what Jesus is commanding us is, “stay put!” “Remain connected to me.” “Abide in me.” “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing.” And as Luther says in his “Bondage of the Will,” Jesus does not mean, “a little something.”
Abiding in Christ and Christ in you, you will bear much fruit. God the Father will see to it. “My father is the vinedresser.” The vinedresser is the caretaker. He takes care of the vine and its branches. You’re not left on your own to grow and be fruitful. The Father takes care of you. He’ll prune you if your pride needs to be cut back. He’s always ready to nourish you with His Word and the sacraments that will fertilize your faith. Connected to the vine, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and courses through our veins producing His gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Maybe it doesn’t seem to you as though you are producing much fruit. Maybe you look at your life and you just can’t see it. So once again let me remind you, that when we focus on the fruit, you’ve got your eyes fixed on the wrong object. Fix your eyes on Jesus to whom you are united and in whom you abide and who abides in you. Listen to what He says and not on what you see. His Word does what it says. “Whoever abides in Me and I in Him, he it is who bears much fruit.”
Rest assured, that God is at work in you producing fruit that He likes. And most of the time, you’re not going to see it . You’re not going to realize what fruit that word of encouragement you spoke to someone along the way produced. Mother’s, you’re not always going to see the fruit of the love you bestow on your children. But it’s there and God sees it and by this, Jesus says, “My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit.” Only rarely are you going to see the fruit of the prayers that you pray for someone who needs to be lifted up to the Lord, or that visit you paid to the person who was lonely or that word you spoke on behalf of someone who couldn’t defend themselves. But you are bearing fruit and God sees it and “My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit.”
“Abide in me.” That’s the command. “You will bear much fruit.” That’s the promise. God does not do His work on us from the outside in, by pressuring us to produce a change in our life. He works on us from the inside out, changing us by His mighty power on the inside and fruit begins to appear on the outside . Changed as we are on the inside, we begin to ask God for what He wants to give us and He gives us what we ask for.
This is what Easter is all about. It’s not just the promise of eternal life when we die but the assurance of the risen and living Christ abiding in us now. Yes, when we die, we will most certainly be raised to new life. But even now, you have been raised to that new life in Christ. You are the fruit of His resurrection.
http://lcrwtvl.org/2009/05/sermon-easter-5-you-will-bear-fruit-john-151-8/
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
 Bearing Fruit
"By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:8).
John the Baptist also emphasized the necessity of fruitfulness: "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Luke 3:8). He warned unrighteous Jews who trusted in their linage for salvation: "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Luke 3:9). When the people asked: "What shall we do then?" he told them to share their abundance with the needy : "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise" (Luke 3:10,11).
Jesus gave a similar warning: "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away" (John 15:2). He also taught the importance of bearing fruit in the parables of the unfruitful fig tree and of the sower.
"A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down'" (Luke 13:6-9).
When explaining the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:18-23), Jesus said: "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful" (Matthew 13:22).
Bearing fruit includes all a Christian does to the glory of God.
He who has the wisdom of God is full of good fruits: "But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace" (James 3:17,18).
Paul prayed that the Philippians might be "filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:11). Notice that these fruits are by Christ and to the glory of God. The branches can only bear fruit when they remain in the Vine . As Jesus tells His followers: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:4,5).
Paul prayed that the Colossians might "have a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him , being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10). Through every good work a disciple bears fruit to the glory of God.
Paul told Titus: "And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs , that they may not be unfruitful" (Titus 3:14). A disciple bears fruit by doing good deeds and helping those in need.
In Romans 15:26-28 Paul refers to the gifts he is taking to the poor saints in Jerusalem as fruit from the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.
Disciples also bear fruit when they support an evangelist . Paul says of the help he received from Philippi: "For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account" (Philippians 4:16,17).
We bear fruit by giving thanks to God : "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (Hebrews 13:15).
When we walk by the Spirit the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in our lives: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:16,22,23).
All will bear fruit, but not all gather fruit.
An incorrect definition of bearing fruit is given in connection with certain coercive and hierarchical forms of evangelism.
One writer states that disciples bear fruit by reproducing after their own kind (making more disciples). This definition for bearing fruit is not found in the New Testament.
In John 15:5,8,16 Jesus says that a disciple must bear fruit, but He does not say what this means. From other passages we learn that bearing fruit includes all a Christian does to the glory of God.
In John 4:36 we read: "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together." Gathering fruit refers to bringing people to Christ .
Notice the difference between bearing fruit and gathering fruit. All disciples are to bear fruit (do good works to the glory of God) but not all disciples gather fruit because "One sows and another reaps" (John 4:37) but all rejoice together.
As a group we are to preach the gospel to every person in the world (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:15,16). The church, however, is a body with many members. Not every member has the same function (Romans 12:3-8). One brother may teach (verse 7), whereas another gives aid or does acts of mercy (verse 8). One member of the body is not to despise another because his function is different (1 Corinthians 12:12-26).
In certain coercive forms of evangelism it is taught that every single Christian must personally convert someone else. This is contrary to the Word of God. Each one must bear fruit by exercising his own function in the body of Christ. In so doing he contributes to the preaching of the gospel in the whole world. But not every Christian must personally teach and convert others.
Sometimes coercive evangelism is part of a hierarchical system in which each new 'disciple' becomes a disciple of the one who converted him. But Jesus said, "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5). Each new branch (disciple) is joined directly to the Vine (Christ), not to some other branch (disciple). We sow the seed of the gospel and it produces disciples of Christ, not disciples of our own. Jesus forbade teacher/disciple relationships among His followers: "But you, do not be called 'Rabbi'; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ" (Matthew 23:8-10). Jesus is not referring to teachers in general. The church has been given teachers for edification (Ephesians 4:11). He is forbidding individual rabbi/disciple relationships. A rabbi is a teacher who has disciples. In an attempt to dodge the obvious conflict between their actions and this command, some use the word 'discipler' or 'mentor' to describe their 'rabbis'. We must all be disciples of Christ. We may not have disciples ourselves or become disciples of others.
Certainly we need reapers in the kingdom of God. But the reapers may not despise the sowers since they are building on the work of others: "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true; 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors" (John 4:36-38).
In the most extreme forms of coercive evangelism, someone who does not personally convert others is not even considered to be a Christian. This involves two errors.
The first error is the claim that one must formally teach others to be a true disciple. Not all Christians are teachers, however (Romans 12:6-8). Paul asks "Are all teachers?" (1 Corinthians 12:29) and James even warns: "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment" (James 3:1).
The second error is to equate evangelism with conversion. It is implied that evangelism is only achieved when someone obeys the gospel, whereas an evangelist fulfills his responsibility when the message is proclaimed, whether it is accepted or not. God gives the increase; we only plant and water. Paul explained to the Corinthians: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor" (1 Corinthians 3:6-8). Our reward is based on our own service, not on the response of others . There is joy in reaping, but no virtue. The fruits of evangelism are borne by God, not by man. We only sow, water and "gather fruit for eternal life" (John 4:36).
All we do to the glory of God helps to spread the gospel.
Each disciple should certainly do what he can (according to the abilities and opportunities God gives him) to spread the gospel of Christ. We need disciples who sow, water and gather fruit for eternal life. We need disciples who give financially so others can go into all the world (Romans 10:14,15). We need disciples who visit the sick and serve in many other ways that bring glory to God and make the light of the gospel shine brightly as a city on a hill and a lamp on a stand (Matthew 5:14-16).
The gospel must be preached in the whole world (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15,16). This includes countries where people are responsive and countries where people are indifferent, or even hostile to the gospel. In most cases our hearers (who in great numbers are willing to embrace error) reject the truth. This does not indicate that we are unfruitful. Our fruitfulness, as individuals and as congregations, is not measured by the number of people who respond. We are fruitful if we do good deeds to the glory of God according to our own ability and our own function in the body of Christ.
In summary:
A follower of Christ will bear fruit. This includes all he does to the glory of God. All will bear fruit, but not all gather fruit. When we do good deeds we bear fruit to the glory of God and help to spread the gospel.
Roy Davison
http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/fruit.html
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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