Sunday, January 23, 2011

You Will Know Them By Their Fruits

Here is a brief follow-up to one of the thoughts in my last post about faith and fruit:

Many Christians think that Jesus taught that we can tell whether people are truly believers or not by looking at their "fruit." Actually, this is not what Jesus said. Jesus said that false prophets, not false believers, can be told by their fruits (Matthew 7:15-16). Also, in the context of Matthew 7, it is clear that fruits does not refer to good or bad deeds, because in verse 15 Jesus said that these false prophets would come in sheep's clothing. In order for that to be true, they must outwardly look like true prophets. This would primarily refer, not to their physical appearance, but to their actions.

Even using basic logic, it should be clear that a false prophet may live an outwardly moral life. The fruit by which false prophets may be identified is the fruit of their mouths, or what they teach. In fact, in the book of Luke, it is quite clear that this is what Jesus meant by referring to "fruits." In Luke 6:44 Jesus says that every tree is know by its fruit. Then in Luke 6:45 he interprets this figurative language by saying that what people say indicates what is in their hearts. So, a false prophet or false teacher can be identified, not by his outward morality or lack thereof, but by whether what he says lines up with God's word.

Jesus didn't talk about knowing true or false believers by their fruits at all, but even if we did want to apply what He said about false prophets to trying to ascertain whether someone is a believer, we would have to evaluate people's spiritual condition by what they say, not by whether or not we see good works in their lives. If a person can clearly state that he is going to spend eternity with God because he has believed in Jesus, there is no reason to question that, even if his life is lacking in some areas. On the other hand, if a person is unclear as to whether he will make it to heaven, or has his trust in anything besides Jesus to get him there, we may validly conclude him to be either unsaved or saved but subsequently confused, no matter how good of a life he lives.

More on faith and fruit in a while, in the meantime, any thoughts on this?

8 comments:

  1. Ken, another great article~!!!

    I think this subject is critically important because it pins down exactly how we can identify a true believer. I know that it's possible that someone could be lying about what he says, but if he's telling the truth, we can know if this person is eternally saved or not by his WORDS.

    If a person tells me that his faith is in Jesus Christ ALONE to eternally save him apart from any works, then I know this is a believer, and I rejoice.

    If a person lives like a Christian, but can't express that his faith is in Jesus Christ alone, but he must still keep on living right in order to get to heaven, I know this person MIGHT NOT be saved. It's possible he ONCE believed in Jesus Christ alone but later became confused and now no longer believes that. This person would still be saved, but I couldn't be sure based on his own testimony.

    Our churches are full of people who we THINK are saved, yet if you ask them how they know, their testimonies are very confusing and not reassuring at all. Many people think it's Jesus PLUS their own endurance in good works to the end.

    Glad you touched on this subject.

    Diane
    :-)

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  2. Hi Ken I agree completely, and I couldn't articulate my thoughts any better than Diane has:)

    alvin:)

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  3. I love your blog Ken. Another great article! Thanks for taking the time to write these things for us.

    Gary

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  4. Great stuff! I am going to remember the idea that fruits can't mean deeds because false teachers appear in sheep's clothing. Great insight!

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  5. Hi Ken, I know this is off subject a bit but may help someone:)

    Hi guys I just finished reading Zanes little booklet (Did Paul Preach Eternal Life?) again . . . . . . it is VERY GOOD~!!!!! I think one of the biggest eye-openers in it is this statement: It is true that the divine blessings of "forgiveness" and "justification' occur at the same time that we are "made alive" in Christ. But Paul never uses either term as a functional equivalent for the "saved"/"salvation" concept. (Page 27)

    Zane makes clear that at Paul and Jesus core meaning of save or salvation is to be made alive/ eternal life (John 3:16-17; Acts 13:46-48). So when you go to verses like 1 Cor 1:21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

    The word save is the key word in that verse, we know for Paul the core meaning of the word save is made alive/eternal life. Paul always preached eternal life for salvation, it was at the core of his message.

    I was making more out of the word "save" than Zane was~! Even though it is true that save as spoken by Jesus in Mark 16:16 carries more meaning, as does save used by Luke, Peter and Paul. Still at it's core always is eternal life. Notice Zanes quote up above "made alive" in Christ. Zane always cuts straight to the bottom line "eternal life" even though we know "in Christ" is a salvation that is MORE than just eternal life but is being saved by His life daily. Zane always had eternal life in his sights~!!!!!! I did at one time but then the bulls-eye started to GROW on me to include MORE of a salvation. Zane refocused me again to the root meaning of the word save/salvation to be made alive/eternal life. I needed re calibrated again . . . . . . my eye is back on the bulls-eye especially when I see the word save or salvation concerning the gospel message~!!!!!

    I also must admit I have repented of my view of Cornelius because in Acts 11:14 Peter uses the word (save/sozo) and I know now for him also always at the core of the meaning for that word is made alive/eternal life. So for him to use that word concerning Cornelius and his household meant that they were born again at that time:)

    alvin:)

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  6. Hi Alvin,

    You are a TRUE BEREAN~!!!! I want to be like that. I respect you so much for that. Thank you for being so open to whatever God's Word shows you.... even when it means changing your mind about something. That's why I always take your insights to heart and study them. You've earned my respect.

    Your free grace friend,
    Diane
    :-)

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  7. Thank you so much for your kind words Diane. As you know I became convinced that Cornelius was an OT saint because of the words used concerning him (devout,feared God,just man,works righteousness). But, I started to doubt my conclusion just because I knew that Zane had such a huge reservoir of understanding of Scripture, and that I could be missing something that he knew that had convinced him differently. So when reading that little book "Did Paul Preach Eternal Life" the light got turned on to what it was. Whether Jesus, Peter, Paul or Luke when speaking of eternal salvation or save in that sense at the core was always "made alive/eternal life." Those words were equivalent, people are made alive FIRST in God's eyes then they are forgiven or justified. God does not justify and forgive dead people. You see the clear parallels in Scripture starting with Jesus in John 3:16,17 (parish/condemn, everlasting life/saved), Paul 1 Tim 1:15,16 (save sinners/everlasting life), Acts 13:46-48 (everlasting life/salvation/eternal life), Eph 2:5 (made us alive/saved). These men knew that first a dead sinner needed life, so they were in perfect harmony with Jesus own teaching. At the heart of Paul's gospel message was eternal life, which was a gift that could be taken freely~!

    alvin:)

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  8. Very good points, Alvin. What you said makes me want to read that little booklet AGAIN~!!! Thanks.
    :-)

    Diane
    P.S. Thanks Ken for letting us use your blog to talk to others also.

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