Hi Jay,
Yes, there are many places where fruit of various sorts are mentioned in Scripture. I was responding to your reference of those who will be known by other men by their fruits. Again, the passages that speaks of this refers to false teachers.
So my question is, if you are to judge me by my fruit, does this mean that you see evil fruit in me, and consider me a false teacher?
Or do you have a different Scripture in mind, in which we're actually told to be these "fruit inspectors" I hear so much about?
I'm thinking that aside from the direct instruction of when to do so - reject false teaching from those who have evil fruit - that we're not to try to judge others. Jesus is the One to do that.
Much love!
Mark
Mark, I think I have joined the dots with respect to who you are.
Did not Christ do signs and wonders so that people would know who He was and where He came from? Did not these signs and wonders form the visible fruit of His ministry, i.e. Isa 61:1-2a. Is not the resurrected Christ the first fruit of His ministry?
Are the Saints not called "a royal priesthood" in the Letters?
If we are to be a royal priesthood, then we are also teachers about the things of Heaven. If we are teacher then we will produce fruit so that the people around us will know us by the type of fruit that we produce.
The question that you seem to be raising is, "Is the producing of good fruit in our lives a work based requirement for Salvation?"
Will the fruit that I produce during my lifetime be enough to get me into Heaven? I do not know the answer to that question. What I do know is that the fruit of my life is recorded within the books that will be opened at the time of my judgement and that this record will be used to gauge my righteousness. What is recorded about me will be different to what is recorded about someone else as our given roles within the kingdom are very different. Some are eyes, or a mouth, or an arm or a leg or an ear, each with a specific purpose to bring in the Kingdom of God through what we do as a result of believing in Him and being empowered by Him to do so.
Sometimes I responded to quickly to what someone else has written and if I had taken the time to reflect for a while about that a post, then I may not necessarily responded in the same manner as what I do.
If as you say we are to "be fruit inspector" with respect to our teachers to determine whether they are true or false teachers, then yes we are instructed to do so, but only so far as to determine whether or not we should remain under their teaching. With that being said, we were also instructed to leave them alone as well and not to call fire down from heaven to consume them.
Now with respect to each of us, and the words we post, we will be known by the fruit of those words and judged accordingly and people will chose to ignore us or they will follow our postings.
Now do I see you as a false teacher? The answer to that question must be qualified. Is some of what we teach on point? Yes it can be. Is some of what we teach not on point? Yes it can be.
Jesus told the people, to do as the teachers told them to do but not to do as they themselves do.
Jesus also taught that it is not what goes into a person's mouth that corrupts them but it is what comes out of their mouths that does so. It is a fine line for us all to tread.
It is our own words that condemn us faster than the people, who listen to/read what we write on this forum, will condemn us..
Shalom
