We will Know People by Their Fruit—R Fritz
People will choose whether to follow Jesus or not. Their actions will show Jesus and everybody else where their heart is. Luke 6:43,45-48 says, and this is Jesus speaking “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree brings forth good fruit. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord and do not the things which I say? Whoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.” Jesus is talking about how your heart is, who you are and what you will speak matching. Either you will obey Jesus or when issues pop up in our life, you can do them your way, if you obeyed Jesus and believed in Jesus Christ your foundation in him will not be shaken and we can get through the issues that come up in our life with the Word affecting how you will react.
We are not judging people. We are inspecting where somebody is, their words and actions. We are fruit inspectors. We have the opportunity to help somebody get through their issues. We will see their results or fruits of their actions. Proverbs 18:21 says “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” You will speak either words to bring life or to pick somebody up or help a situation. Your other option is to speak words to kill somebodies’ spirit or tear people down those are your options. Our words have consequences and we choose what they will be because of our actions. This is the fruit you will have to eat. Having the Holy Spirit brings life to our heart and changes it from a stony heart to a heart of flesh. This is a heart that is pliable and able to change to the Holy Spirit. When your heart is fleshly your words that you speak are caring and lift people up and our emotions are slow to react to even the worst somebody can speak against you.
Our fruit being good fruit or bad or rotten fruit depends on us to control our emotions and our feelings. This is something we cannot do by ourselves alone without the Holy Spirit. It requires us being righteous. Most people will say it is being right. Being right is man’s description of righteousness through their intellect. God’s righteousness is far more. You need to know Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit with surrendering your will to understand righteousness. That comes from God through the Holy Spirit. I find too many words that God uses that we try to understand and have changed in meaning from what God meant. Without the Holy Spirit teaching us and us getting understanding we will not understand God’s ways or attributes. Isaiah 64:6 says “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Our righteousness is worthless to God and sin has taken us away from God. This is where Jesus was sent to change our righteousness as well as giving a way for us to get the understanding through the Holy Spirit. We were not born with righteousness, we who choose Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit are the only ones to understand us having to be righteous in God’s eyes through the Holy Spirit.
We need to know and understand the “fruit of the Spirit.” This is what changes our life and comes from the Holy Spirit, it does not necessarily come to every Christian. Galatians 5:22-25 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering (patience for a long time), gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (self-control): against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” These attributes are in people who have the Holy Spirit with different amounts depending on how much of their life is surrendered to the Spirit. Each one of these are spiritual because the Holy Spirit is in control and they are given and applied by God through the Holy Spirit. When applied these spiritual fruits are evident especially when going through turmoil and attacks by Satin. They do not change your demeanor or expressions. It does not rattle you or change your direction. They just keep going down the path set for them. This is different compared to the world around them.
God’s Love is not a feeling, it is a choice. God sent his son to die for our sins, that is love. It is your character. Love puts other people before ourselves. Demonstrating our love is putting somebody and possible freedoms on hold making sure somebody else is taken care before themselves.
Our fruit is what people see us do. It is your reaction. It shows the condition of
your heart. It shows if you are growing in Jesus Christ. The “fruit of the Spirit” gives us the ability to overcome our feelings and emotions with the Spirit in control. No matter what happens to us, we let the Spirit show and not what we are going through. It is us going through our life and learning from our experiences. God Bless.
