06.27.07

Evidence of Salvation - You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

Posted in Salvation at 9:27 am by TruthofmyKing

What is it that has possessed God’s Creation to believe they can be a Christian and live like the world, talk the world, walk like the world, or even dress like the world.  What does that say about Him whom you are claiming as your Father? 

If we see a 12 year old girl in the world dressed sensually we say something like “How could that girls parents’ let her out of the house like that?”  We would think of her father to be a “derilict father” and it would probably be true.  Even so, when one who professes Christ,  and they dertermine to walk and live like the world, the Father in heaven is accused of being derilict by your actions. 

I must remind you that not everyone who professes Christ will enter into heaven.   There will be a day when the lawless who profess Christ (even those who say in the present day “Lord, Lord”) will depart from Him!

Matt 7:22-23 

22 ”Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

NASB

A loose translation of the passage above would be “Depart from me, you who claim to be my disciples, but live as though I never gave you a law to abide.”

We are not talking about salvation, as salvation is not based on works, but obedience certainly is the evidence thereof:

“Now, mark this: by this shall you know whether you are a child of God, or not; by the respect that you have to your Father’s Word. If you have small respect for that Word, the evidences of a bastard are upon you.”

~Charles Spurgeon

The book of 1 John should be known as the book of assurance because John said he wrote the book so that we may know that we have eternal life (1 John 5:13) and yet one of his tests in the book of 1 John reads as such:

1 John 5:3

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

NASB

and again in this place:

1 John 2:2-6

3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 5 but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: 6 the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

NASB

It should be understood that we produce fruit according to our nature.  A true Christian although not perfect like Jesus, will produce good fruit and an unregenerate, although not evil as satan, will produce bad fruit.   One cannot continue producing fruit contrary to his nature.  This is seen in Scripture:

Matt 7:16-20

17 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits.

NASB

So what kind of fruit do you bear continually?   What is your overall nature? 

If you find yourself producing the wrong type; the type which will be cut down and thrown in the fire then you should fear and listen to this parable carefully:

There is an apple tree exceedingly good in the eyes of the Lord of a field and there is an orange tree exceedingly evil in the eyes of the Lord of that same field.   There will be a day when all trees producing oranges will be cut down and thrown in the fire.  So the servant working in the field realizes the demise of his masters tree in the Lord’s field.  What does he do?  He prunes the tree, throws down fertiler, meditates, prays, chants “Apples, Apples, Apples” all season long and when the end of the season comes the tree had only produced oranges, and more of them.  There is no amount of work that can change the state of the tree.  It is by nature an orange tree.  The servant of the field can only do one thing, that is go to his master and beg to have the tree cut down and have the owner plant an apple tree in its stead, so that the Lord of the field will be pleased. 

In the same way our evil nature, our old man, can not become new unless it is crucified with Christ and then God raises a new man with Christ.  Your nature can be changed but there is no work that can be done by you to make this happen.  You may only ask the Lord with sincere repentance and believe in Him who can save you.

For the Truth of My King

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