More Evidences of the Sheep... Their Fruit

The article below was written by James L. Morrisson. I wanted to share it with you today because it seems I made someone a bit upset yesterday by my posting on Wolves in Sheep's Clothing.

"II. THE IMPORTANCE OF FRUIT

"By their fruit you will recognize them." (Matthew 7:20)

A. DEFINITION

Karpos, Strong's #2590, means fruit, literally or figuratively. Vine defines it, in the figurative sense, as "the visible expression of power working inwardly and invisibly, the character of the 'fruit' being evidence of the character of the power producing it." (W.E.Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Jr. "An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words", Thomas Nelson, 1984, p. 463). As Paul points out in Romans 7:4-6, when we were "controlled by the sinful nature" we "bore fruit for death"; when we "serve in the new way of the Spirit" we "bear fruit to God". Different heart conditions lead to different kinds of fruit. God's desire is that we bear "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22), the "fruit of righteousness" (Philippians 1:11), a "harvest of righteousness and peace" (Hebrews 12:11), the "fruit of the light" (Ephesians 5:9; see also Romans 6:21-22, speaking of the "benefits" we "reap".)

Fruit can be shown by a person's actions, or character attributes, or both. It is shown by such things as the way we conduct ourselves, whether we have a godly influence on others, and whether we properly represent God to others. The New testament uses "fruit" in two main senses: (a) the harvest of souls that we bring to the Lord, and (b) the evidence of a godly character. In this paper I shall focus on the second sense.

Since fruit is the "visible expression of power working inwardly and invisibly", our emphasis should be on allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to work within us. If we do that, the fruit of the Spirit will appear. If we "live by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:60) we will show the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit can be counterfeited; the condition of our heart cannot. There are those who may seem to display many of the characteristics listed in Galatians 5:22-23, but if they are not living by the Holy Spirit they do not have the fruit of the Spirit.

I experienced this in my family. We had a strong "family code" which included peace, patience, self-control and some other aspects of the fruit of the Spirit. It was in many ways a good code of behavior. It was not based on the Holy Spirit, and neither I nor my other family members had the Holy Spirit living in us. It was not the fruit of the Spirit.

B. BY THEIR FRUIT YOU WILL RECOGNIZE THEM

Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). (Love is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit). A major problem in the body of Christ today is that outsiders do not see the fruit. They look at professing Christians and say, "I can't see that they are acting any differently from the rest of us. If their faith doesn't produce a change in the way they live, what good is it? " Someone has asked, "If you were accused of being a Christian, what evidence could be presented to show that the accusation is true?"
In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning with verse 7, Paul is writing about the time when Moses came down from Mount Sinai and "the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory." In verse 18 he compares that with what should be happening with us, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with everincreasing glory." Isn't this saying that Spirit-led Christians should look different? That there should be something about them that sets them apart from non-Christians? Indeed, Paul emphasized that the present glory is greater than that in Moses' time. Hence the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit should be striking and obvious.

One of the meanings of "glory" is appearance, reputation, the recognition belonging to a person. (See Spiros Zhodiates (ed), "Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible", King James Version, A.M.G Publishers, Chattanooga, TN, 1991, p. 1708, #1391.) We are supposed to show who God is by what we are. We lost this ability with the Fall of man (Romans 3:23), but now because of the Cross it has been restored to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Thus it is that we can "be" witnesses (Acts 1:8), we can be living epistles (2 Corinthians 3:3). When we fail to do this we misrepresent God, and cause his name to be blasphemed among non-believers (see Romans 2:24).

Fruit is also important as the means by which we tell the true from the false. Jesus said, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them" (Matthew 7:15-20). The fruit is how we tell true prophets from false prophets. The same principle applies to every kind of ministry.

In Matthew 24:4, speaking of the end times, Jesus began by saying, "Watch out that no one deceives you." In verse 24 he warned us that in the end times "false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect - if that were possible." As we approach the end times we need to be especially alert to deception. The spiritual gifts can be counterfeited. There are psychics and New Agers today who receive words of knowledge, prophesy, heal, do miracles, and the like, but if they do not receive their gifts from the Holy Spirit, do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ and do not show the fruit of the Spirit they are "workers of iniquity" (Matthew 7:23 KJV; compare Deuteronomy 13:1-5)."

You can read more on this teaching on Mr. Morrisson's website. To continue in the same vein of thoughts as Mr. Morrisson's, how many pews are filled with those who can't wait to get outside the church to gossip about someone or wish that something bad would happen to their neighbor? Or those who "borrow" things from others, or take a little too much time on their breaks at work? Or maybe use God's name in worship while inside the sanctuary and they curse His name as soon as they are out of ear shot of the minister? I'm not judging, but what I am asking is that we examine all of our actions so that we see what those who don't know our Lord as Savior, King, Father, and giver of all that is good sees.... do they see Jesus in us? or do they see someone who is no different than the non-believer? We are to be lights that shine bright in the darkness... we are to be different... others are suppose to want to be like we are... not look as someone and say "I don't need Jesus in my life because their actions (fruit) are the same as mine". God has called us to be a part of this world (for HIS glory) not be of this world. Those are totally 2 different things. Either you are for Him or you're not. That's not my idea or standard, it's God's. There is coming a judgement for us all. By our fruits we will be made known.