You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruit. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."
What is the fruit of the Spirit of God Who lives in us? The fruit is the character qualities of Christ that dominate our souls when we walk with Christ.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
The first fruit of the character of Christ is LOVE, this is what dominates all the other fruit to act properly toward others.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. / It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. / Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth."
John 15:4-5
"4 Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing."
Those who have the Spirit of Christ living in them DO remain in Him and He in them. The fruit is easily seen by fellow believers. It is also seen by unbelievers but they are offended by it because it shines a light on their own evil.
John 3:19-21 "…19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”
1 Corinthians 2:13-15 "…13 And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.…"
Those who are lost and rebellious are intimidated and angered at those who walk with Christ. They work to discredit those who hold to the standards and commands of Christ.
When we encounter "Christians" who fight against the Word of God, who violate more of Scripture than they obey and teach it to others in their own ways, are not born again, they are pretenders sent by the devil to cause division and distress in the relationships of believers.
Those who love their religion but despise God's people will work to ruin relationships that glorify God. These people isolate themselves from others who love God and attempt to isolate those who love God from others who love Him.
Let's remember born again believers do not practice religion with rituals and human wisdom mixed with a little of God's Word. Those who have been changed into a new creation by Christ have a relationship with Him that is beyond ritual observances and ceremonies, special dress and cultural expectations. Our faith in Christ is based entirely on His Word His Way, nothing added and nothing removed from the Bible.
Romans 16:16-18
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you greetings. 17 Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive.…
18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive."
Here is another example God gives us of those we should avoid. Those who do not walk according to God's Word but use God's Word in a twisted way to invalidate the principles of God and cause us to question our dedication to Christ.
It is possible to regress in our walk with Christ when we associate regularly with those who are predisposed to religion instead of relationships. Those who are invested in "religion" with God will also not develop a relationship with people either, their goal is outward appearances instead of inward heart devotion.
Our relationship with Christ will be reflected in our relationship with one another through openness, honesty, self-reflection and the Christlike love that emanates from our soul. In a relationship like this we have no fear of expressing ourselves, we know we will be accepted even in disagreements. Love overrides everything in a loving relationship.
One man told me once that to do the right things we must force ourselves and make a habit of those things. I corrected him and said that we need to stop forcing ourselves and ask God to change us so that we won't have to try real hard to be right, what is right will come as naturally as breathing because it is Christ who changed us and not ourselves.
Those who grew up in ritualistic religions focus on outward actions, but those who are born again focus on Christ working in them to change their hearts.
Ezekiel 36:26: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh"
Psalm 51:10: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me"
2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come"
God desires for all His children to become like Christ!!! Did Christ have to try to be good? No, He didn't have to try to do something that was His very nature.
Stop trying and begin trusting that Christ will change your heart if that's what you want. He will not change the heart of anyone who does not want to be changed by Him. Those who are trying are focused on how they look to others rather than desiring a clean heart.
God will not change the heart of those who think they can change themselves, they remain broken until they confess their sin of pride and submit to Christ.
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