Luke 3:8, "Therefore produce fruit*~ that proves your repentance, and don't begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!"
A persecuted Christian in China once told me that he never wanted persecution to cease in China, because it was the only way to determine who the genuine Christians were. True believers always change from the inside out betraying their true identity.
John the Baptist was insistent that those who had “changed their minds” about their own sinfulness and wanted forgiveness from God should make sure they understood that an inward change always results in an outward change as well.
One of the main ways to “prove your repentance” is to demonstrate that God lives within you by the evidence of the “fruit of the Spirit,” that is, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” which will be evident in every relationship (Gal 5:22-23).
Paul goes on in Galatians to describe specifically how this works out in practical ways. If “we are Christ’s,” then we “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (5:24), therefore, he tells “us not [to] become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (5:25). We do not compete with each other to see who is the most spiritual or most qualified, but we should always demonstrate His love by how we care for others just as He does.
James wrote that faith without deeds is dead or empty (James 2:14-26), whereas genuine repentance and faith always produces a progressive change that becomes increasingly evident, because the life of God has been planted within the believer. As we grow in our understanding of God’s action and attitudes we want to be like Him. What formerly seemed okay or fun is now often seen as sinful behavior. The awareness that Christ had to shed His blood in order to forgive our sins, now takes the excitement out of sinful practices. The believer does not have to try to change, it just happens because our inner nature has changed.
The Jews tended to wrongly presume they automatically had God’s blessings because they were descendents of Abraham, no matter how they behaved. We Gentile believers might also presume that God has forgiven us because we were baptized, go to church, or have Christian parents, while continuing to live a carnal, self-centered, egotistical lifestyle. We must beware of a shallow, nominal or fake Christianity. We can only be related to Christ through a personal and individual faith in His promises. No one can have faith for another, or piggyback on someone else’s faith.
God is not impressed with a superficial, mechanical or ritual religion that does not change the person's heart. Rather, God seeks people who have a heart-felt commitment to Christ, and are genuinely desirous to be like Him (especially by demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit). Do you sense the conviction of the Spirit when you sin? Do you have an inward desire to change? Fruit is the result of the life source of the vine flowing into the branches. If we are bonded to the Vine of Christ, His fruit will be inevitable in our lives.
Psalms 1:3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
For a year's daily devotional of these Bible studies, order a copy of the book Truths to Live By at Branches Publications for your copy.
A persecuted Christian in China once told me that he never wanted persecution to cease in China, because it was the only way to determine who the genuine Christians were. True believers always change from the inside out betraying their true identity.
John the Baptist was insistent that those who had “changed their minds” about their own sinfulness and wanted forgiveness from God should make sure they understood that an inward change always results in an outward change as well.
One of the main ways to “prove your repentance” is to demonstrate that God lives within you by the evidence of the “fruit of the Spirit,” that is, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” which will be evident in every relationship (Gal 5:22-23).
Paul goes on in Galatians to describe specifically how this works out in practical ways. If “we are Christ’s,” then we “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (5:24), therefore, he tells “us not [to] become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another” (5:25). We do not compete with each other to see who is the most spiritual or most qualified, but we should always demonstrate His love by how we care for others just as He does.
James wrote that faith without deeds is dead or empty (James 2:14-26), whereas genuine repentance and faith always produces a progressive change that becomes increasingly evident, because the life of God has been planted within the believer. As we grow in our understanding of God’s action and attitudes we want to be like Him. What formerly seemed okay or fun is now often seen as sinful behavior. The awareness that Christ had to shed His blood in order to forgive our sins, now takes the excitement out of sinful practices. The believer does not have to try to change, it just happens because our inner nature has changed.
The Jews tended to wrongly presume they automatically had God’s blessings because they were descendents of Abraham, no matter how they behaved. We Gentile believers might also presume that God has forgiven us because we were baptized, go to church, or have Christian parents, while continuing to live a carnal, self-centered, egotistical lifestyle. We must beware of a shallow, nominal or fake Christianity. We can only be related to Christ through a personal and individual faith in His promises. No one can have faith for another, or piggyback on someone else’s faith.
God is not impressed with a superficial, mechanical or ritual religion that does not change the person's heart. Rather, God seeks people who have a heart-felt commitment to Christ, and are genuinely desirous to be like Him (especially by demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit). Do you sense the conviction of the Spirit when you sin? Do you have an inward desire to change? Fruit is the result of the life source of the vine flowing into the branches. If we are bonded to the Vine of Christ, His fruit will be inevitable in our lives.
Psalms 1:3 He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
For a year's daily devotional of these Bible studies, order a copy of the book Truths to Live By at Branches Publications for your copy.
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