bearing good fruit

As believers, it can be challenging at times to discern fellow believers from non-believers, not from a place of judgment or spiritual superiority, but as a means of rightly navigating fellowship, guarding unity, and understanding how we are called to operate as believers.

A difficulty rooted in our incapability to divide the two beyond one's professed title of "Christian." We hear the name, we see the religious routine, and we assume alignment, yet the heart and the fruit often depict a different story.

It was in my recent study of "bearing good fruit" that the Holy Spirit shared a revelation with me that has completely shifted my understanding and the importance of bearing good fruit as believers.

fruit as evidence

For believers, bearing good fruit is not a choice but rather an indication of whether we truly are who we claim to be in Christ. It is the determinant of whether we are wheat or tares.

Good fruit. Karpon kalon. Karpos (καρπός), Strong's G2590, fruit, result, the outward product of what lives within; kalos (καλός), Strong's G2570, intrinsically beautiful, morally excellent, fitting its purpose. Good fruit is not fruit that looks good. It is fruit that is good by nature, rooted in a good source. (Greek)

James 2:24

²⁴ Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Your bearing good fruit (works) is the evidence of your Salvation (proclamation of your faith). It is how we know who we are and who others may claim to be.

Matthew 7:16

¹⁶ Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

what are good fruits?

In this understanding, we must introspectively evaluate ourselves with an open heart of repentance (Matthew 3:8), asking two essential questions:

What are good fruits?

How do I produce these fruits?

The first question is fairly simple to answer, as Scripture plainly reveals the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians.

Galatians 5:22-23

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

But the second question is most essential. Taking us beyond simple awareness into action. This is where many believers fall short, in the disguise of grace, under the belief that awareness and verbal proclamation are enough.

But awareness alone is not what sets us apart.

Even satan and the demons know who Christ is. They tremble at His name, fully aware of His authority and power. Yet they do not show His works. They do not bear His good fruit.

Awareness without transformation is evidence of not belonging to Him.most highlighted & shared

James 2:19

¹⁹ Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

So we must be intentional about bearing good fruit. Asking ourselves: How do I produce these fruits? What do these fruits look like practically in my daily life?

what shall we do?

Just as the people came to John the Baptist in the book of Luke, with true repentance in their hearts, and asked him:

"What shall we do then?"

So also must we come before our Father with the same humility and openness.

Luke 3:9-10

⁹ And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ¹⁰ And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

It is in our questioning, with a heart of repentance and a posture of willing submission, that God responds with clarity, simplicity, structure, and order. When we ask:

"What shall we do?"

He answers.

And it is in John the Baptist's response in Luke 3:11-14 that we receive our instruction.

Luke 3:11

¹¹ He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

In this first example, John shows us that good fruit is practical love expressed in action.

Luke 3:13

¹³ And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

Here, John teaches that good fruit is righteousness in your job and in your daily responsibilities.

Luke 3:14

¹⁴ And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

In this third and final example, he reveals that good fruit is moral integrity in your authority and relationships.

John gives us three practical examples that show us that bearing good fruit is evidence of true repentance seen in daily life, relationships, work, and conduct.

Bearing good fruit is Christ expressing Himself through you, as the True Vine. It is the outward evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the visible seal of God upon you (Revelation 7:3; 9:4; II Timothy 2:19), identifying you as His own. If your Salvation (Faith) is real, your life will show it.

This is the importance of your bearing good fruit.

evidence, not acquisition

Bearing good fruit is evidence of your Salvation. Not how you acquire your Salvation, but evidence of your Salvation. It is important you do not confuse the two.

Bearing good fruit is not merely doing good deeds.

No.

It is the outward evidence of the internal work of the Holy Spirit. It is evidence that justifies extending beyond the verbal proclamation of your Salvation, often professed emotionally, not intimately.

Bearing good fruit is the works that brings your faith to life. We see in:

James 2:17

¹⁷ even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Works. Erga. Erga from ergon (ἐργον), Strong's G2041, deed, action, a thing done. Not effort or self-driven striving. The visible output of what is working within you. Works are not how you earn favor with God. They are how the Spirit expresses Himself through you. (Greek)

Your works, the bearing of good fruit, are the evidence of your faith, your professed salvation. And with this new lens regarding our works and the fruit we bear, James 2 comes into clearer understanding, particularly James 2:14-16.

As we read:

James 2:14-16

¹⁴ What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

The proclamation of your salvation does not profit you if you do not bear good fruit, your works. It is through your bearing of good fruit as a believer that your faith in your salvation is made perfect, made complete.

James 2:22

²² Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

Made perfect. Teleioo. Teleioo (τελειόω), Strong's G5048, to bring to its intended end, to complete, to make whole. Faith is not made perfect by adding more emotion to it. It is made perfect when it produces what it was always intended to produce: action. Works are the completion of faith, not a supplement to it. (Greek)

Your works are your bearing of good fruit, revealing your faith and your obedience to His Word. And it is your obedience to the Word of God that convicts your heart, beginning a work within you, writing His law upon your heart. This internal conversion produces an external transformation, expressed through the acts of bearing good fruit.

abiding in the vine

With this revelation, it is important that we do not misinterpret the word works as effort or the burden of self-driven action. Your bearing of good fruit is not something you produce in your own strength.

It is something produced through you.

It flows beautifully from the Source, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit working in us and through our actions. This is how the process of good fruit-bearing takes place.

This truth is made clear in the Parable of The True Vine (entry 006) in John 15:1-10.

Abide. Meno. Meno (μένω), Strong's G3306, to remain, to stay, to dwell continuously. Jesus did not say visit me. He said abide. The picture is not occasional connection but permanent residence. The branch does not leave the vine to produce fruit elsewhere. It stays, and the fruit comes. (Greek)

It is in this parable that Jesus paints a clear picture for us of the process of bearing good fruit. He shows us that we are not meant to carry the burden or weight of "doing good deeds," which only leads to a barter relationship with God and into legalism. Instead, we are simply called to Abide in Him, and He takes care of the rest.

The issue and disconnect many of us face is that we often struggle in our attempt to bear good fruit independently of Him. Within the confines of our own willpower, discipline, and the desire to be a "good person."

But fruit-bearing (good deeds) done apart from God are simply subjective good deeds, actions that are self-willed, exhausting, and burdensome. Only abiding produces good fruit.

John 15:5-6

⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. ⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

can a non-believer bear good fruit?

To close out this lesson, I want to address the question:

Can a non-believer bear good fruit?

Something we may find ourselves wrestling with as believers, especially when we see non-believers doing things that on the surface look identical to the fruit we produce as followers of Christ.

The answer is:

No.

A non-believer is not capable of bearing good fruit. Even though their fruit may appear good, the defining factor is not the outward appearance; it is the source.

What determines whether a fruit is good or bad is whether it is produced dependent on God or independent of God. Good fruit can only come from abiding in Christ, a branch connected to the vine. Anything produced apart from Him, no matter how admirable it looks, cannot be considered good fruit in the eyes of God.

We learn from:

Luke 6:43-45

⁴³ For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. ⁴⁴ For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. ⁴⁵ 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.

The difference is not in the outward appearance of the fruit; it is in the source of their fruit-bearing. Their fruit is independent of Jesus, the True Vine, while ours is solely dependent upon Him, in our abiding in Him.

two mango trees

Let me paint a picture to bring this home:

Imagine two mango trees planted side by side. Both are magnificent in appearance. Both are full, healthy, and vibrant. And both produce the same large, round mangoes. But it is not until you bite into each one that the difference becomes clear: one is fresh and life-giving, while the other is rotten at its core, revealing the corrupted seed it came from.

The problem is that we tend to see only naturally, not spiritually. God sees a person's heart, their seed. Not just the fruit they present. This is why Jesus cursed the fig tree that looked beautiful on the outside; it lacked the fruit that proved life on the inside.

The same reason we find ourselves wrestling with the difference between good fruit and good deeds is the same reason the disciples were confused when Jesus cursed the fig tree. We, in our limited perspective, shaped by our lack of knowledge of the truth of the Word, cannot rightly divide through discernment what is true.

II Timothy 2:15

¹⁵ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

We often determine whether a fruit is good or bad based solely on outward good deeds performed by individuals who appear "magnificent," wealthy philanthropists, social media influencers, gurus, and "a good person."

But outward good does not equal godly good fruit. We must look to God, seeking His discernment regarding the quality of their fruit, so that we are not misled by what amounts to nothing more than "subjective good deeds" detached from the True Vine.

When someone bears fruit independent of Jesus, their fruit:

• Is limited and confined within the boundaries of their own willpower.
• Springs from hidden, subconscious motives rooted in self.
• Ultimately edifies self and draws attention back to self.
• Carries the weight and burden of trying to be a "good person" apart from God.

But the fruit we bear as believers is dependent upon Jesus, and therefore:

• It is not confined to our own willpower; its source is God Himself, and it has the ability to multiply beyond the single act we express.
• It carries no hidden agenda, for it is rooted in the Holy Spirit, aligning us with His will rather than our own.
• It edifies God, turning hearts back to Him and revealing who He is.
• It is freely given, carrying no burden, because it flows from the True Vine.

The foundational difference is simple: the seed of self. Fruit borne independently of God is by self and for self, while fruit borne dependently on God is by God and for God. We must learn to Abide in Him, leading to a life of bearing good fruit.