Bearing True Fruit
Bear fruits worthy of repentance.
Luke 3:8
Your essential character—your inner motives, convictions, loyalties, and ambitions—will eventually show through in what you say and do. Good works do not save you, but every believer is saved for good works. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10; see also Gal 5:22-23; Col 1:10).
For the believer, true fruit–bearing occurs with the help of Christ. The apostle Paul speaks of our “being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:11). On the other hand, unbelievers (including those who falsely profess Christ) will eventually demonstrate the bad fruit that their unregenerate lives inevitably produce.
If you are bearing fruit, you will be growing in all the areas Peter lists: faith, virtue, knowledge, self–control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (see 2 Pet 1:5-9).
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 253). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Lessons Learned: We can only do as much as we are empowered to by the Holy Spirit. We can do nothing unless we are in Christ and Christ is in us. When we sin, we are not in Christ, so we cannot please or glorify him with our actions. We must repent and be reconciled with God, be in fellowship with Him, in order to bear good fruit.
Applications: Sin separates us from God and prevents us from pleasing Him, so we must examine ourselves, confess our sins, repent of them, and be reconciled with God. We can only fulfill our true purpose of glorifying God when we are in sweet fellowship with Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Allow the Holy Spirit to empower you towards sanctification, towards Christ-likeness. Put off the old dirty rags of sin, and put on the new clean clothes of righteousness (Eph 4:22-24).
Prayer Subjects: Pray for a heart sensitive to sin. Pray that I would abhor sin and seek to avoid it and to obey my Lord. Pray for true confession and repentance whenever I do sin, and seek reconciliation with those I sin against, especially God. Pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for sanctification and to produce in me good works "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his purpose" (Phil 2:13).
Listen to this entry
Luke 3:8
Your essential character—your inner motives, convictions, loyalties, and ambitions—will eventually show through in what you say and do. Good works do not save you, but every believer is saved for good works. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10; see also Gal 5:22-23; Col 1:10).
For the believer, true fruit–bearing occurs with the help of Christ. The apostle Paul speaks of our “being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:11). On the other hand, unbelievers (including those who falsely profess Christ) will eventually demonstrate the bad fruit that their unregenerate lives inevitably produce.
If you are bearing fruit, you will be growing in all the areas Peter lists: faith, virtue, knowledge, self–control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (see 2 Pet 1:5-9).
MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : A daily touch of God's grace (Page 253). Nashville, Tenn.: J. Countryman.
Lessons Learned: We can only do as much as we are empowered to by the Holy Spirit. We can do nothing unless we are in Christ and Christ is in us. When we sin, we are not in Christ, so we cannot please or glorify him with our actions. We must repent and be reconciled with God, be in fellowship with Him, in order to bear good fruit.
Applications: Sin separates us from God and prevents us from pleasing Him, so we must examine ourselves, confess our sins, repent of them, and be reconciled with God. We can only fulfill our true purpose of glorifying God when we are in sweet fellowship with Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Allow the Holy Spirit to empower you towards sanctification, towards Christ-likeness. Put off the old dirty rags of sin, and put on the new clean clothes of righteousness (Eph 4:22-24).
Prayer Subjects: Pray for a heart sensitive to sin. Pray that I would abhor sin and seek to avoid it and to obey my Lord. Pray for true confession and repentance whenever I do sin, and seek reconciliation with those I sin against, especially God. Pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit for sanctification and to produce in me good works "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his purpose" (Phil 2:13).
Listen to this entry
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home