The Fruit of Discipleship
In almost every book of the New Testament, the Christian is warned to be on guard against wolves in sheep’s clothing, false teachers, and deception. These warnings are given through many varying examples, but they all instruct the believer to examine both the teaching and themselves to see if they are in the faith. Let’s begin by looking at Jesus’ teaching in full context. Look at Matthew 7:13-24
13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
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 fruits. 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.
21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:
25 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
27 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,
This passage is chock full of information. There are three main topics in these passages. Jesus begins by warning that the gate is narrow and only a few will find it. He then warns that many will present false teachings which will confuse the hearers. Jesus then makes it clear that good deeds are not synonymous with good fruit. He concludes by pointing out that those who hear His word are the ones who stand on a sure foundation. In an earlier study we examined the parable of the house on the rock, but we’ll briefly draw from this illustration again as it pertains to this study. The scriptures give us clear teachings as to how we identify the true disciple and wolf in sheep’s clothing.
The Bible gives such clear instructions on this topic that it is impossible to miss – unless we close our eyes. There are those who close their eyes to truth to hide from it. These people are condemned by Jesus. In Matthew 13, Jesus says people close their own eyes to the word, and this is the reason why truth is hidden from many – including those who claim His name. In this study, we will examine how the Christian identifies good fruit. This is something taught throughout the Bible. We’ll draw from several other books, we’ll launch this study from Matthey 7.
The Narrow Gate
Recently, two well known preachers were on the air discussing how God was widening the way of salvation. One took it to the extreme and even said Jesus was offering salvation, even to those who don’t know him.
Can mankind find his own way to heaven without knowing Christ? According to the scriptures, no. Jesus made it clear that one must strive to enter that narrow gate, and the broad inclusion of all other ways leads to destruction. The Bible says that there is no other name under heaven by which man must be saved, and there is not salvation in any other (Acts 4:12). Jesus Himself said, “I am the way, truth, and life. No man comes to the Father except by Me.” Jesus made the most religiously exclusive statement in history. His claim to being the door to heaven, and the only way to salvation puts the Bible in an exclusive position. Because of these claims, either the Bible is true and any other way is false, or the Bible is false and let every person pick their own way. Any way except through Christ – for if he is a false prophet, He cannot save.
This is the choice Christians are making whether they realize it or not. It is impossible to declare another way without calling Christ a liar. Once we say, “All ways lead to truth,” we can no longer side with the gospel – for we are declaring it to be untrue.
This is one way we can identify the fruit of a teacher. Anyone who calls Jesus a liar, cannot be a follower of Christ. To contradict what Jesus has said is to call him a liar, even if we don’t use the words. If Jesus says, “I am the way…and no one comes to the Father but by me,” and, “I am the door. Anyone who tries to come in another way is a thief and a robber,” but then a teacher says, “No, Jesus is not the only way,” he has contradicted Christ’s own words and declared these to be false statements.
Does God not have the right to determine what He will accept as justification for our sins? Any teacher who challenges God’s declaration of truth, righteousness, and salvation, is fighting against God, and not trustworthy of our attention.
Let’s stop for a moment and look at the term, ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’. Jesus is warning that lying ministers will disguise themselves as sheep. They will look like sheep. They will usually talk like sheep. They will even do good works. Good works is NOT the evidence of God. Even an atheist does good works. Every religion has a system of good works, so this cannot be the measure. Even Jesus testifies to this in the passage above. Many will come to him, show their good deeds, and Jesus calls them workers of lawlessness. Why? Because anything produced by the flesh is of the flesh, and remains under the corruption of sin.
Consider the flow of Matthew 7. Jesus first tells us that we can know the wolf by his fruit, and then He immediately tells about the wolves presenting their good works before him, which they have done in his name, but he rejects the works as acts of sin. Therefore, it is undeniable that calling Jesus ‘Lord’ is not the evidence of a disciple. Prophesying in His name is not evidence. Casting out demons is not evidence. Even doing wonders and miracles is not the evidence. In fact, during the last days, God will empower demonic forces to do miracles to deceive the world into following the antichrist (Revelation 16:13-14).
Before I go on, I want to address a passage that many people will likely call to mind related to my statement that calling Jesus ‘Lord’ is not the evidence of truth. 1 Corinthians 12:3 says that no one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is making a comparison between to ways of thinking. When someone calls Jesus accursed, we know they are not of God, but when they call him Lord, this is the evidence they are being Spirit led. It is not the words they say, but the testimony they are declaring. A person can rename an idol, and call it Jesus and refer to it as Lord, but this clearly is not the evidence of the Holy Spirit in their life. In our opening passage, Jesus warns that not everyone who calls him Lord will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; therefore, it is not the mere words, but as Jesus indicated, the testimony of their lives – which centers around keeping His word.
In 1 Corinthians 4:20, we are also told that the kingdom of God is not in our words, but the power of God. What we say only has merit when our heart is being led by the Spirit. Saying the words, “Jesus is Lord,” doesn’t make us right with God. It has to be the Jesus of the Bible, and He has to truly be Lord of our lives. Otherwise, we fall into the group of people Jesus said come to Him saying, “Lord, lord.” It means nothing, for they do not know Him, and He never knew them.
So works and words alone are not the evidence of fruit. In fact, a changed life is not even the evidence of truth. This causes great confusion, for people will say things like, “That church is changing lives; therefore, it must be of God.” Even though they teach people to disregard the scriptures, walk in their own ways, and their doctrines challenge God, these churches persuade people God is moving.
Let me explain. I searched through the self-help books in a bookstore. I found books that claimed: a dog changed their life, a teen magazine changed their life, positive thinking changed their life, and any number of other methods, religions, and even occultic practices. There is even a book by an atheist explaining how he was delivered from drugs and alcohol by changing his own way of thinking. Is this the evidence God is working? When someone escapes destructive behavior by turning to occultic practices, is God using this to reveal truth? Certainly not.
In John chapter 5, Jesus walked by the pool of Bethesda and found a crippled man laying on his bed. He had been there for years, desiring to be healed. Jesus came to him and said, “Take up your bed and walk.” The man was instantly healed and picked up his bed. The Pharisees saw him and condemned him for breaking the law by carrying a bed on the Sabbath. He defended himself, but didn’t know who the man was that healed him. Later Jesus spoke to the man in the temple, and he ran to the Pharisees to turn Jesus in. Here is a man whose life was forever changed in this world. Yet he turned against the Lord who healed him, and took part in the persecution of Jesus.
This is not the only example. Jesus said when someone possessed is delivered, but his heart remains empty, evil will return to him and leave his last state worse than the first. In Luke 11:24-26, Jesus described a man with a changed life. His heart was swept clean and even decorated with good things, but it remained empty. The Christian’s heart is not empty, for we have the Holy Spirit within us. A Christian becomes the temple of God when born into the Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). It is possible to clean up a life without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but this does not change someone’s spiritual condition and has no eternal benefit for that person. This type of changed life is not the evidence of God’s work. From the outside, we cannot tell if a life is changed by God, or by human effort – until the fruit begins to emerge.
Sometimes people hit rock bottom, and decide to change. Some can’t change, but others can. If someone hates their drug addiction enough, and they have the will power to leave it behind, any method will deliver them. Sometimes people only need a catalyst to open their eyes to the dangerous direction their life is going. If someone changes a behavior and leaves an ugly habit behind, but remains in their sins, have they really changed? Some people exchange the habit of drugs, alcohol, or gambling for the habit of religious activity. It might be the better of the habits, but if they are still lost in their sins, they are only putting makeup over the filth of sin.
Even a changed life in a church isn’t the evidence of good fruit, unless that life is changed from the heart by a new birth in the Spirit. And then there will be evidence of this change by a love for God, love for the word, and willingness to die to one’s selfish desires.
Evidence of Faith
Since we are on the topic, let’s start by examining Jesus’ illustration of the two men building their houses. One built their house on the sand, the other on the rock of God’s word. From all outward appearances, the one is indistinguishable from the other. The false faith and true faith both thrive and appear fruitful until tested by the storm. Both good churches and bad churches can and will have false converts. Even when the word is accurately taught, Jesus said sometimes the word will fall on hearts that are stony ground. They will receive it with joy and will even endure for a while. But when the word offends them, or they have to endure persecution, they wither like a plant scorched by the sun on stony ground. Jesus explains why they don’t endure – Mark 4:5-6
5 "Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.
6 "But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.
These are the easy converts. They receive the gospel, looking for benefits in their worldly aspirations, but when they are offended, their faith dries up like a weed on parched ground. Their foundation is not in Christ, but on their own dreams, desires, and life in this world. When God tries their faith, it is proven to be a man-made faith and not a birth in the Spirit. God will test your faith. Those not rooted in Christ will be angry, offended, and will fall away.
There was in an emerging church who’s praise team sang AC/DC’s song, Highway to Hell at an Easter service. At another service, they sang AC/DC’s Hells Belles. Afterward, he said something to the effect of, “Those who were offended, a hundred and ten people met Jesus today. If you have a problem with that, we’re praying you will meet Jesus.”
This method of gaining converts is exactly what Jesus is warning against. If you are not familiar with AC/DC, they were a popular hard-rock band in the 1980s that glorified sin. For example, in Highway to Hell, they say, “Hey Satan. Paying my dues. Playing in a rocking band. Hey momma, look at me. I’m on my way to the promised land – I’m on the highway to hell. Don’t stop me. And I’m going down, all the way down.” In Hells Belles, the song that led 110 people to Jesus, the praise team sang, “I won’t take no prisoners, won’t spare no lives. Nobody’s putting up a fight. I got my bell, I’m gonna take you to hell. I’m gonna get you, Satan…If you’re into evil, you’re a friend of mine.”
Exactly what are they praising? The songs speak for themselves. Can singing this to a congregation lead people to Jesus? It obviously did, but which Jesus did they follow? A Jesus who sings about sin and praises evil is not the Jesus of scripture. If someone can sing about being on the highway to hell and still receive Jesus, is it a true new birth in Christ? 2 Corinthians 6:14 answers this question:
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
We must also take to heart the passage of 1 John 2:15-19
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
Not only are we warned not to love the world or the things in the world, but after this statement, we are immediately warned that many antichrists have gone out into the world. When most people hear ‘antichrist’, they think of the Beast of Revelation. This Beast is where the world is going and in him the world will eventually trust, and will be condemned with him. The spirit of the antichrist has always been in the world, and as the last hour draws near, more antichrists will rise up and draw disciples away from the Bible, to themselves, and into the love of the world which they preach, but God condemns.
Also notice John’s statement, “They went out from us.” Many of these antichrists will arise from within the church. As they draw disciples after their worldly doctrines, if they don’t have the power to take over the church, they will go out and begin a new work. They claim to be of Christ, but their doctrines do not agree with scripture. Those who build upon these false doctrines are building upon sand, and not the rock of God’s word.
It is easy to get a hundred or more converts – if you are allowing people to stay on the highway that leads to destruction. They must exit the highway of destruction and seek the narrow gate – being crucified with Christ. Jesus said, “Unless you are born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.” Giving someone Jesus doesn’t save them. People must hear the gospel, recognize the consequences of their own destructive ways, and lay down their lives to receive the new life Christ is giving them.
People may indeed put bad habits behind them. Alcoholics who hate what they have become may indeed put their focus on the church and stop drinking. Lives can be changed by turning over a new leaf, but hearts cannot be changed without a new spirit. Just as the atheist quit drugs by changing his way of thinking, the New Age worshipper improves certain behaviors by claiming enlightenment, patients improve certain areas through therapy, false converts can also see improvements in areas of their lives by submitting to church accountability. Is becoming a better you equal to salvation in Christ? There are indeed changes in our lives when the Spirit of God transforms us, and there are changes in lives when people adopt various ideals.
The disciple of Christ and the house on the sand both may appear to be authentic. Anyone can stand on any faith when life goes as expected. It is the storms of life and times of testing that prove faith or a lack thereof. Anyone can be a follower of Jesus by the modern definition, but only the life built upon the word of God will stand through the times of testing.
One of the first areas of fruit is our response to offense. That offense might be hardship that blindsides our life, or it might be the offense of the word. When the masses followed Jesus, declaring his praises and saying, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come,” he put their faith to the test. The crowd adored him because they were satisfied with the food and encouragement they received. Jesus departed from them, and they crossed the lake to find him. He said, “You seek me because you ate and were filled.” He then taught them a hard doctrine that he knew would offend them. Indeed it did offend. From that time on, the masses turned back and followed him no more. Why? They were offended. Those who stayed were also offended, but Peter explained why they stayed, “Where shall we go, for only you have the words of eternal life.”
Do not be surprised if God offends you. Don’t be surprised when you study the word and find yourself thinking, “This is a hard saying, who can receive it?” It is supposed to be hard, and only those who recognize the eternal value of the word will stay true even when they are offended. God doesn’t promise to pamper us, but He does promise that his word will make us complete, perfect, equipped for every good work, and make us acceptable to God.
The life anchored deep in the rock of obedience to the word will stand strong when life would normally blow us away. In fact, we often grow deeper during those hard times. Our strength is not in ourselves, our religion, or our merits. Strength is in the Lord alone. This is why the Bible tells us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
When offenses turn someone’s heart against the Lord, their faith was not of God. Unfortunately, even a Christian can build on the sand by following false doctrine. Hardship and offense will still be devastating, but they can recover by recognizing they have been duped, and then seek out the truth of the word. Look at Daniel 11:33-35
33 "And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.
34 "Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue.
35 "And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.
This prophecy was given to Daniel concerning the end times when the Antichrist will arise. Verse 35 says that some of understanding will fall to refine them and purify them. They will fall because they are not standing on a firm foundation, but because they have the Spirit of God to guide them, they understand enough to return to the Lord and are purified during their tribulation. They still must anchor themselves in the truth, but unlike the false convert, they understand that they have been deceived and find strength and hope in the Lord.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Discipleship
Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eddiesnipes
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