Fruit Trees, Wolves, and the Will of God: Part II

Good vs. Bad Fruit
If a false teacher is known by their bad fruit, then it makes sense that true disciples of Jesus would be known by our good fruit—but what is this good fruit? Obviously, the first place most of us would think to look is the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 which says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” However, we know that action for the sake of action is not enough to secure us a place as a co-heir with Christ. We know this because in Matthew 7:21-23, some of the people saying ‘Lord, Lord’ exercised great power in Jesus’s name. 
Many of them were seeking attention for their miraculous exhibits, thereby deceiving both themselves and others and rendering their religious works meaningless. Furthermore, we know that “mighty works” are not tangible proof of God’s will or his blessing because they can come from other sources such as human stratagem and demonic influence (Acts 19: 13-16; 2 Thess. 2: 9-12). This shows us that a seemingly “holy” lifestyle without the correct heart posture is utterly worthless to God. We can frame this idea around the prophet Samuel who rebukes King Saul for his disobedience during the war with the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15. When King Saul points out his “good” works, Samuel quickly refutes them by saying, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” 
This story demonstrates what is also true in Matthew 7—that an oral confession of Jesus as Lord does not always indicate a repentant heart. For another example, we can look at my job as a teacher. Sure, I can say that I am a teacher. I can even sit through education courses, take tests, and manufacture an expensive sheet of paper that claims I am a teacher. I can be hired at a school and show up everyday, handing out worksheets and greeting my students with warmth. However, I am nothing but a phony until I apply my training as an educator by actually teaching lessons and investing in my students. 
In the same way, any person can say they believe in Jesus. After all, it is a free country. You can go to church every time the doors are open. You can raise your hands when you experience emotional highs during worship and pray beautiful prayers. You can have an intellectual form of doctrine and the most impressive theological prowess in your community. You can serve on a ministry team, be plugged into a small group, and have John 3:16 memorized. You can even point to a time when you walked down an aisle, spoke with a church leader, and were dunked in a baptism pool. Regardless, none of these actions can actually save us. Obedience, while important, does not bring justification. 
Obedience is meant to provide the evidence of our salvation after we have been transformed by the work of Christ on the cross. In fact, the formula for the true Christian life is faith + obedience! However, do not miss the truth that we cannot do this of our own accord. Jesus provides a separate insight in John 15: 5 when he says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” Apart from Him, we can do NOTHING! This should not cause us to despair, but should fill us with a spectacular amount of hope because it proves that once we accept Christ and repent of our sins, we cannot lose our salvation! Rather, once a person has genuinely come to faith in Jesus, they will persevere in their faith because the Holy Spirit equips them to endure. What amazing news! 

Follow along for the third and final segment of this article series to discover more about this rich topic…