Apples and Oranges

How do you discern a true Christian? Jesus said, “you will recognize them by their fruit.” (Matthew 7:16a) Just as we can identify the kind of fruit tree by its fruit, in the same way, we can tell the kind of Christian by examining their fruit. The fruit that Jesus is talking about here is the fruit of the Spirit that the apostle Paul mentioned in his letter to the Galatians. Often, we measure up other Christians by their giftedness (the gifts of the Spirit), by their service, ministry and attendance in the church, instead of their fruitfulness (the fruit of the Spirit visible in their lives).

Every moment in the life of a Christian is a battle between walking in the Spirit and walking in the flesh. If the flesh is winning, what is evident in your life are the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). If the Spirit is winning over the flesh, then the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) should be evident. Notice something important here: If you check the list of the works of the flesh, you would see that all of them are actions. They are something you do. On the other hand, the fruit of the Spirit is all about attitude. They are what you become. All nine characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit are not actions. The works of the flesh is work, but the fruit of the Spirit is a fruit, it’s not work. Anything that is work, comes from the flesh.

In John chapter 15, Jesus talks about a vineyard. God is like the Gardener who is in charge of the vineyard. His role is to bring out the best fruits from the trees. Any fruit that happens is up to Him, not up to us. Jesus is the Vine the trunk that goes deep down into the ground with its roots, draws the necessary nutrients from the soil and distributes them to the branches. We are the branches. The branches hold the fruit while hanging on to the tree. As God does the trimming, the pruning and the nurturing, and as Jesus the Vine receives the nutrients and distributes them, something wonderful happens. The fruit comes naturally.