The First Thing People See is Our Fruits

 

“Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. – Matthew 12:33 CSB

A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. – Luke 6:44 NLT

“As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’ but my hand shall not be against you.‘” 1 Samuel 24:13 NASB

Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right. –  Proverbs 20:11 NLT

Today we have another first time writer to feature here, whose name is not immediately identified on their page, but who has a number of good articles on a number of topics. I’m fairly confident his name is David Patton. The blog is called Becoming Christian and I encourage you to click the header which follows and take the time to read this at its original source.

The Missing Fruit of the Christian Church

“And you will know them by their fruits”

If we as Christians meditated on this quote by Jesus found in Matthew, would we have a different world view, would we see pastors and church elders differently, would we judge our local political leaders differently, would we see ourselves differently?  But here is the thing, knowing and being able to judge a person based on their fruits is one of those teachings of Jesus that has been ignored, and has not been given room to breathe and be developed. It is on the surface a simple truism, and in context Jesus is talking about false teachers. But the more someone is willing to meditate on this saying this the more power it has.

Growing up in an evangelical fundamentalist cultural there is a feeling that that “he who is without sin cast the first stone” so there is the idea that we can’t, or maybe just shouldn’t, talk about the fact that someone is not bringing forth good fruit. Yet when the average person looks out across the visible manifestation of the church, I’m not convinced that they see a difference in the behavior and mannerisms then of people outside of the church, because they do make judgment calls based upon the fruit they see. And I know that there are going to be many people who are going to church who say, “that is not our church” or “that is not a real church”. but that is the thing that so many Christians don’t realize and fail to understand, and that is most people outside of the church judge the church by its fruits, and they don’t like what they see.

My feeling is that the church in America in no ways wants to be judge or criticized on its lack of fruit. In fact, if criticism is leveled against it, Christians have a complex ecosystem which they use to minimize and deflect the fact that they are in no way baring the good fruits of Jesus. Time and time again the Mark Driscolls and Hillsongs are put forth as examples that we as followers of Jesus should look to, but time and time again when they are tested it is revealed they in no way embody the actions of Jesus, they do not produce good fruit, even though some will make the excuse that they do.

But to be true to the teachings of Jesus, and to rightly call ourselves Christian, it is imperative that we give and receive criticism when our actions do not bring forth or reflect the good fruits that Jesus Christ desires of those who follow him. This should not, in any way shape or form, be considered a controversial opinion.

The reality is that criticism is downplayed or deflected because it’s clear that the Christian church in America is not producing good fruit, and the world can see this. The deeper, and in fact sadder, truth is that it does not have a framework by which it can say a person is demonstrating actions that is in keeping with producing the good fruits of salvation. Unfortunately, the church has been corrupted by the thinking of the world and uses the frameworks of the world to measures itself.

How big is your church? How many regular attenders do you have? How much money do you bring in each week? How many missionaries does your church support? How famous is your pastor? Has your pastor written and published books? How many people in your church have written and published books? These standards of the world can go on and on, and to most people they are seen as, not necessarily bad, or evil, more neutral.  Yet it is a simple fact none of these standards are in keeping with baring the good fruit found in the Holy Scripture.

The questions then must be asked, and answered, what does good fruit look like in a person who is a follower of Jesus, and how do they get to producing good fruit? This of course this is not an easy answer, but it will start us down the path of looking at the teaching of Jesus and how they apply to the context and world that we live in today.

It is a given that for the vast majority of us we can simply go to our local supermarket and buy whatever fruit we want. But in truth fruit just doesn’t appear in our supermarket it needs time to grow and become fruit. Plant the seed, water the seed, maybe fertilize the growing sprout, and then only when it reaches maturity will the tree, it is hoped, produce fruit. Though for American Christianity this idea of taking time to either develop a person or to just take the time to judge if the person produces good fruit is not something that done.

Most churches in America have more of a country club mentality in which a person who joins is given the bylaws and constitution and simply expected to read and abide by them, if cannot, or don’t want to, they can leave.  Churches need to start taking the time to develop people taking the teachings of Jesus as the foundation for what right Christianity looks like. Is a person showing compassion, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, to the stranger, the poor, and the outcast? If not, do we have a something in place so a person can start developing these fruits?

If someone wants to become a leader have they consistently, over time, shown the fruits of Christ consistent with salvation? We live in a world that is rushed and sees time as nothing more than a commodity it is therefore important to be slowly taking time to not only develop fruit in a person but also to see if a person has fruit that is consistent with the teaching of Jesus.

 It is also true that in order to develop these fruits a person needs a community of people, yet what is seen as community in the modern world is nothing more than a gathering of like-minded people around a dogmatic political or religious identity. Unfortunately, this kind of “community” is not a community that brings forth good fruits in a person, it is only an echo chamber that brings forth the absolute worst in humanity.

The development of a community that brings forth the good fruit of Jesus Christ is a very messy community that does not conform to a certain theological or dogmatic construct that are in vogue or happen to be “just what we do”. What it is, is a group of people on a journey of faith trying to emulate the life and teachings of Jesus.

We see a lot of this messiness reflected in the pages of the New Testament the conflicts with who can be considered as a Christian do, they must conform to the traditions of the past or are we making a new path, who gets feed and in what order, Paul verses Peter, Paul and Silas, or basically Paul in general. But for the American church this messiness gets papered over with statement of faith, and doctrinal statement that prevents us from entering in too true community. We assume that because a congregation has a faith statement that everyone in that congregation believes everything within that statement. Now while we know this is not true of everybody who shows up on a Sunday it is shared assumption that most people have that has led to a homogeneity that does not allow for the truly messy nature of Christian community.

The sad reality is that the fruit that Jesus Christ wants to be present in those who follow him are not fruit that a modern Christian particular enjoys. It is fruit of a bygone era. Fruit for those who want to live out of step with the world, live in the past and not the present.

If Christians today truly wanted to emulate Jesus, they would not only pursue the fruits of Christ but also provide a way for others to walk that path as well. Yet it is all too clear that the fruits of Christ, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control are not present in the church today, and a simple blog post pointing out these problems, and providing a couple of ways forward is not enough. It’s going to take a collective effort by those who truly want to follow Jesus to build the Church based on Christ’s teachings.

 

The Pattern of Nations

^{Ezekiel 7:1 NIV} The word of the Lord came to me: ² “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:

“‘The end! The end has come
    upon the four corners of the land!
³ The end is now upon you,
    and I will unleash my anger against you.
I will judge you according to your conduct
    and repay you for all your detestable practices.
⁴ I will not look on you with pity;
    I will not spare you.
I will surely repay you for your conduct
    and for the detestable practices among you.

At one of my other blogs, Thinking Out Loud, posts tend to be more topical. Not surprisingly for the 4th of July today, we looked at the question, Is America in Bible Prophecy.  Several of the responses we found online dealt with two recurring themes: Judgment, and what was called “the pattern of nations.”  You can read that post here.  For C201 readers, I want to look at one of the lists of scriptures dealing with judgment:

Jewish scholars and many good Christian theologians tend to think of prophecy in terms of biblical “pattern.” For instance, nations fall into patterns of behavior which results in God’s judgment again and again. These are clearly outlined in Scripture.  This is from the blog Remnant Report. A link to the full article follows.

Patterns of Behaviors

In terms of pattern there is no question that almost all nations including America fit into biblical prophecy. For example, Deuteronomy 28 & 29 lists the blessings of following God’s law and the consequences of disobeying it. Hosea 4 and Ezekiel 7 are two books which also list patterns of disobedience and God’s judgment. We might include Isaiah chapter 5 to feature consequences of disobedience, too. This one mentions large, beautiful houses sitting empty due to God’s judgment.

Ouch, America! …Empty houses, indeed!

A Case of Pattern – American Upheavals

In Ezekiel chapter 7 we find a clear example of pattern by God punishing a nation for its wickedness and pride. Does this sound like America today?

– The economy is destroyed. Citizens are warned not to rejoice over “bargains” or sellers to grieve over losses, because all will fail (v. 12-13).

– Epidemics and diseases will kill and sicken many (v. 15).

– Citizens will be ashamed and mourn what has become of them (v. 18).

– The nation’s currency is destroyed and not even gold or silver will save them (v. 19).

– Citizens will become sick of its wealth and they will be robbed of all their valuables (v. 20-22).

– Foreigners will swoop in to claim all the riches (v. 20-22).

– Ruthless immigrants will occupy citizen’s homes and homes will be lost, mansions empty (v. 24-25). (see also Isaiah 5:9)

– There will be terrorism, disaster after disaster, and calamity after calamity (v. 25-26).

– People will seek out religious leaders & advice, but there is no word from God (v. 26b-27).

– It’s payback time. What the evil citizens & rulers have done to others will be done to them (v. 27).
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In fact, I think you could make a good case for America suffering this kind of judgment at God’s Hands today. The pattern fits, doesn’t it?

[…read the entire article here…]

Go deeper: Here is another article on the same subject; be sure to also follow the links at the Thinking Out Loud piece.

Every Day Should Be a National Day of Prayer

Today we feature the couple that should be the inspiration for devotional bloggers, the Webers at Daily Encouragement.  This is an excerpt, click to read the full post.

“Faithful in prayer”(Romans 12:12). “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone–for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness”(1 Timothy 2:1,2).

“If my people, who are called by my Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Today is the National Day Of Prayer here in the USA. All over the country groups will be gathering to pray and for many the focus will be spiritual revival and a return to God’s ways. Our country is in desperate need of divine intervention!

America is in deep trouble and is in need of genuine repentance. Although there is an active remnant of true believers, the vast majority of our population gives little or no attention to God. Our government and court systems increasingly pass laws and policies that will surely lead to persecution for the believers. Our arts and entertainment industry is a cesspool of immorality. Broken marriages and troubled households abound and in recent years a massive effort is being made to drastically redefine the God-ordained institution of holy marriage. Violence fills the land. Our educational system has been very successful at breaking down the moral constraints. Brooksyne and I see this brokenness first hand in our ministry to the workplace, but it’s evident to anyone who turns on the news or reads a newspaper. I believe one of the greatest evidences of this escalating trouble is spiritual blindness.

I have often pondered the daily verse and committed it to memory many years ago. It will surely be quoted in many prayer services today. It is initially expressed as a condition and promise to Solomon during a time of great personal and national consecration as the temple is being dedicated approximately 3,000 years ago. I believe there is an element to this promise that is unique to Israel as a nation, who as a national people were called by God’s Name.

The phrase “My people” in the daily verse in its initial application applied to these people and their specific land. Thus I feel there is interpretive error when we view our specific country (wherever we live) as God’s land in the same sense as that spoken of in the initial promise. True believers foundationally hold heavenly citizenship (far superior to our national citizenship).

Having said that, I believe there is still great application in the condition and promise today. There is surely a sense that “My people” today refers to the redeemed in Christ who live throughout the world. 

God requires these conditions of His people:

• Humble themselves
• Pray
• Seek My face
• Turn from their wicked ways

God promises these blessings for His people:

• Then will I hear from heaven
• And will forgive their sin
• And will heal their land

As God’s people we are indeed called to humble ourselves, to pray, to seek His face and to turn from our wicked ways. Wherever we may live let us who love God apply these conditions! The eternal, unchanging God is still speaking from heaven, forgiving sin, and extending His saving touch to all who look to Him. Regardless of what happens to America or the land where you live, His promise to the individual who earnestly seeks Him is always bright and good.

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Repetitive Worship

 ^{NASB: Matt 6:7}  “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for theirmany words.

Actually, the above verse isn’t mentioned in the article that follows, but I wanted to mix things up a bit and give you something more to think about.  This is from Thom Turner at the blog  Everyday Liturgy. If you wish your worship leader wouldn’t do another circuit of each chorus, you might find this somewhat challenging.  The original title was, Is Repetition Unholy?

“Is Repetition Unholy?”

I remember the first time I heard the bizarre statement that repetition took away from worship. It was, not surprisingly, in a Baptist church. I had, probably naively, asked why the church didn’t practice communion more often. The response was that repetition made spiritual practice meaningless and unimportant: “If you do something too much it no longer has any value, so we only practice communion every now and then to keep it fresh and exciting.”

That is an American response.

That is the response of a person who was raised on instant gratification.

That is the response of a person who expects new, exciting forms of entertainment.

That is the response of a person who values change over consistency.

That is the response of a person who values feeling more than commitment.

Most importantly, that is not a Christian response.

The Christian response is that our spirituality and worship are everyday, every hour, every minute happenings. We are admonished to take communion each time we gather, to pray without ceasing, to pray in a certain way, to sing songs, confess sins, listen to the reading of Scripture, meditate, teach, learn. These are all things we repeat. Unceasingly.

Repetition is not unholy. It is a deep, elongated experience that should make us into disciples.

Repetition in worship is just like when you tell a family member you love them.

Repetition in worship is just like when you take a drink of water.

Repetition in worship is just like when you eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Repetition in worship is just like when you go to sleep.

Repetition in worship is just like when you go to work.

Repetition in worship is just like when you turn on a light so that you can see clearly.

Yes, I can readily admit that we can stumble into laziness or unfocused action in repetition, but that is not the fault of the spiritual practice, just as much as it is love’s fault when a spouse just mumbles the words “I love you” without any thought or care. We need to learn to embrace repetition in worship, the normalcy and comfort of sameness in worship, just like we accept this normalcy and comfort of routine in the rest of our lives.

I repeat: we need to learn to embrace repetition in worship. And when we do, we will become aware of the slow and steady movement of the Spirit in every aspect of our life. When we do, we will become aware of how God is steadily working on our holiness: through repetition.

Thom Turner