announcement: 0:01

Hello and welcome to the Waking Up to Grace podcast, where we celebrate and explore the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Tune in to the Waking Up to Grace podcast on every major platform. You can also listen to our episodes and read our full transcripts at wakinguptogracecom. And now here's Lenny.

Lenny: 0:22

You're walking down the road one day and approach an intersection where you must go left or right. Your destination can only be found on one of these paths, but you're not certain which way to go. In front of each path, there is a man in a booth. One is dead and the other is living. Which one will you ask for directions? The living one, right? Yes, definitely the guy that is alive. Who would ask directions from a dead man? The reason I am a Christian is because Christ Yeshua is alive. Welcome back to the podcast everyone.

Lenny: 0:58

In my last episode I mentioned that when you plant a blueberry bush, you can expect to get fruit the third year after planting. When I planted a blueberry bush recently, the first year, only a few berries were produced. This was expected, as the plant was establishing itself, but on the third year, when it should have bore fruit, there was nothing whatsoever. The shocking part is that the plant itself is still alive and well. I learned from this experience that a plant can be alive and not bear fruit. Something is wrong and the plant is not getting what it needs to mature properly and bear its fruit. The good news is that you can find what the problem is. The plant can be restored to health and can become fruitful and vibrant again. I hope this will be the case with my blueberry bush. We also talked about going to the store and picking out some good-looking fruit, just to get home and take a bite and partake of its bitter flavor. In order to know the fruit that is from the Spirit of God, we must test the fruit. You can't trust the appearance alone.

Lenny: 2:01

By definition, the word fruit can mean different things based on the context in which it's being used. Looking at definitions from Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament words, some of the meanings in various contexts can be of the fruit of trees, fields, the earth, that which is produced by the inherent energy of a living organism, of the human body. Some examples would be James 5.18, and then Luke 1.42, among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Fiennes also states that fruit is used metaphorically, and fruit can be used of works or deeds, fruit being the visible expression of power working inwardly and invisibly, the character of the fruit being evidence of the character of the power producing it. As the visible expressions of hidden lusts are the works of the flesh, so the invisible power of the Holy Spirit in those who are brought into living union with Christ produces the fruit of the Spirit. This is the type of fruit we'll be exploring in today's podcast.

Lenny: 3:18

Regarding fruit bearing, there are several questions that come to mind. The following questions will be what we set out to answer in today's podcast. How do I know if my pastor is bearing good fruit? How do we know when we are bearing good fruit? What exactly would be the fruit that we bear as Christians? What is the fruit of the flesh versus the fruit of the spirit? Can Christians bear bad fruit? What can I do to get more good fruit? I think the answers to these questions will be revealed as we go through the next several passages in our scripture that involve fruit.

Lenny: 3:55

Our passages today are from the NASB translation, unless notated. In John 15, verse 4, yeshua says In John 15, verse 4, yeshua says Abide in me and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing. If we can't bear fruit without abiding in the vine, then it would be important to understand how to abide in the vine, wouldn't it?

Lenny: 4:36

It is a very common and mainstream assumption made by teachers of scripture that abiding in Christ is something that we do in our actions and deeds. According to this view, we display our love for Christ by acting out his teachings in our lives, and that is what it means to abide. This doctrine sets its focus on disciplines and practices and involves a cycle of self-cleansing our sins to maintain fellowship, a certain amount of prayer, quiet time, bible reading, going to church, tithing, etc. One of the primary components that keeps this religious machine rolling is commandments. Matthew 22, verse 34,.

Lenny: 5:10

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him Teacher, what is the great commandment in the law? And he said to him you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great commandment in the law. And he said to him you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is, like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and prophets. So is this how we are to abide in Christ or is this how we abide in the law? The latter would be true. Following these rules is not how we abide in Christ. This teaching is holy because it comes from God's holy law but is not directed toward the Christian.

Lenny: 5:58

This statement made by Yeshua was summing up the law and the prophets in two commandments. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets. Yeshua here displays the whole law dependent on love. One, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And two, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love was something that the Pharisees were lacking. This is why he made the statement to them. To display their hypocrisy, they placed their love and dependency on their self-effort and not the Lord. They probably figured they had clean hands, but Yeshua made it clear that they did not have pure hearts.

Lenny: 6:42

Matthew 23, verse 24 you blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee. First clean the inside of the cup and of the dish so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Lenny: 7:29

Yeshua's ministry, being to the lost sheep of Israel, was to bring Israel to a true repentance. He would reveal to his sheep that Yahweh was looking for a pure heart, not just a clean cup and dish, striving for obedience to the law by self-offer. They had drifted from faith. They began to believe that it was their obedience to the law that made them right with God. The Pharisees especially did not see themselves as sinners. In this way, they mocked the holiness of our Lord.

Lenny: 7:58

So much of what Yeshua said regarding behavior during his ministry was directed at the hypocrisy of the teachers of law and Pharisees, from the multitude of parables to the Sermon on the Mount and the summing up of the Law and Prophets and two commandments that were founded on love. Yeshua taught of a purity of heart, going back to the Old Testament. Regarding this purity, we read Psalm 24. Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord and who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully. Now, if you were to abide in Christ based on your behavior and deeds, should we not hold ourselves to this holy standard? Yes, we absolutely have to, without question. This is why anyone who teaches these things is a legalist.

Lenny: 8:54

Anyone who claims to maintain this kind of purity in their lives is proclaiming the same things that a Pharisee would about themselves. If we need to maintain a clean cup and dish to share fellowship with Yahweh, then we've gone right back to the mindset of the hypocrites. So many who proclaim these legalistic teachings will bash grace teachers. They'll say we are giving out a license to sin, we're making light of sin, but in reality we're holding the holy standards of our Lord. We understand that he wants a pure heart. They mock his holiness by making it a practice of self-effort. They divide fellowship from salvation so they can proclaim salvation is by grace while putting a yoke on their followers in order to share fellowship with the Lord. This is a very enticing doctrine. It checks all the boxes when it comes to a works-based righteousness.

Lenny: 9:50

In fact, it seems that Peter fell into a trap like this as well. The story that Paul tells of in the second chapter of his letter to the Galatians is very alarming Galatians 2, verse 11. But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles, but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? When we really meditate on this story for a while, it seems there was something more going on than just sitting at the lunch table with the cool kids that came from James.

Lenny: 10:48

Based on Paul's words to Peter, it seems that he knew there was something deeper going on here. According to Acts 15, some men from Judea had been teaching that you had to be circumcised according to the custom of Moses to be saved. So in turn, the finished work of Christ was being compromised. Paul continues Galatians 2.19,. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside God's grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

Lenny: 11:35

It seems to me like Peter was falling into legalism. At the very least, he was promoting it by his actions. The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 would have come after this, and Peter would seem to be redeeming himself. He may even have been standing up to James when he made his speech. The James at that council, and who the Judaizers came from may have been leading the charge on this. If you heard my episodes about James, you know that I currently hold that James was probably written before the cross. This makes the most sense to me. But a close second view that holds a lot of interest is that at the time of James' letter, he was struggling with legalistic tendencies. It was an early letter, as we know, so the people coming from James may have been under his legalistic doctrine. It would then follow that Peter was in this James gang as well.

Lenny: 12:26

Scripture is very honest about the events that took place in the early church. We need to let scripture shape our paradigms. That means not being afraid to explore a topic that may seem dangerous to the mainstream. We know that Paul came bearing the gospel at full grace. He was discipled by the ascended Yeshua and taught directly by him. When he came to Jerusalem to meet those reputed to be pillars James, peter, john they gave Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. This would seem to be a pretty big deal, if you ask me. The most interesting thing to me about the interaction is that Paul states but from those who were of high reputation, what they were makes no difference to me. God shows no partiality, while those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. Galatians 2.6.

Lenny: 13:18

The circumcision group was already added at this time. They were fighting them off as soon as they came into town to meet James, peter and John. Now, what would make Paul say they contributed nothing to him? If you were engaging in a spiritual conversation with an apostle, would they have nothing to bring to the table at all? That seems a bit harsh, not to mention unexpected. I think Paul might have been just as surprised that, or maybe that was the reason he came into town. Maybe that was the revelation. Did Yahweh call Paul in to clean up the legalism going on in the church at Jerusalem?

Lenny: 13:55

If the pillars there were practicing legalism, they had probably grown dull in grace. Maybe that's why they had nothing to bring to the table. I mean, if James was written after the cross, I have to be honest, it's bad. He doesn't mention the finished work of Christ one time, not even once. If you go to James to teach the gospel, you don't understand grace. James does not teach us of grace in his letter. Paul seems to be the guy bringing the heat when it comes to grace. It'd be hard to argue that James would need to line up with Paul. The way I see it, not the other way around.

Lenny: 14:37

But getting back to the fruit, we had left off discussing the legalism of a works-based fellowship with our Lord. We looked at the two commandments that trump them all. According to Yeshua, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all. Now, in another context, our Lord said in John 6, jesus answered and said to them we may work the works of God. Jesus answered and said to them this is a work of God, that you believe in him, who he has sent. And in John 13, a new commandment I give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.

Lenny: 15:25

In these two passages we see a different set of commandments. These commandments say 1. Believe in him, who he has sent. 2. Love one another as I have loved you. These commands were the theme of John's first epistle.

Lenny: 15:42

Can you see the key difference between these two sets of commandments? The law said Does this sound like a lot of effort? I would say so. I think, if we're being honest, we fail at this on a regular basis. Fellowship here is always just out of reach, and how would you ever be certain that you're in? But grace says believe in him, who he has sent. Why does this sound easier? Because his yoke is easy and his burden is light. What does it mean to believe in Yeshua? We believe that he is Lord, right. What else is really important pertaining to this? That he has cleansed us from all sin, right, yes, that we are fully right and in perfect fellowship with Yahweh because of him. That's what it means to believe. We believe what he did for us. We believe it was finished, we abide in that, we hold to that, we walk in that.

Lenny: 16:48

In the famous 1 John 1 9 passage, we are always told that it means we have to ask God for more forgiveness when we sin. The funny thing is that the author of the letter said something completely different when he addressed what to do when we sin. 1 John 2-1. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin and if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ the righteous, and he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. He reminds them, after addressing false teachers and sin denial, that if they do sin, that Christ has made them right, he leads them back to the cross and thankfulness. Why doesn't he lead them back to 1 John 1.9? He just addressed confessing sin, because 1 John 1.9 is not for Christians. When we sin, we remember the cross. We have a love relationship with Abba Father. We don't need rules and regulations because we know that they only clean the cup and dish, not the heart.

Lenny: 17:56

Did you know that Paul made a clear statement in his letter to the Corinthians about how we know Christ? Yeshua, under grace, check this out. 2 Corinthians 5.15. And he died for all so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him, who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore, from now on, we recognize no one according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh. Yet now we know him in this way no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come.

Lenny: 18:33

This passage is so incredible. It's a lot like what he said to Peter in Galatians 2.20. We no longer recognize each other according to the flesh, which in this case refers to the self-effort of law-based faith. He literally says we have known Christ according to the flesh. What do you think he means by that? He means Christ the law teacher. He means Christ from the Sermon on the Mount. He means the Christ revealing the hypocrisy of the self-righteous Pharisees, the Christ that came to fulfill the requirements of the law. Paul is telling the Corinthians not to live by that Christ. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come. Paul concluded yes, we live by Christ crucified. We live by the resurrected Christ. We live by the ascended Christ. We live by the Christ that came back in AD 70 to fulfill all that is written and finish his work once and for all.

Lenny: 19:35

So, backing up to our fruit message, john 15, abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me, you can do nothing. Do you have a clear idea what abide means now? By definition, according to Webster, abide means to bear patiently, to endure without yielding, to accept without objection, to remain stable or fixed in a state, to continue in. So when we bear patiently in Christ, when we endure in Christ without yielding, when we accept Christ without objection, when we remain stable and fixed on Christ, when we continue in Christ, we bear much fruit. Apart from him, we can do nothing. He says we bear much fruit. Apart from him, we can do nothing, he says.

Lenny: 20:33

So why did I bring up the story of Peter and Paul in Galatians? It was to display what abiding looked like. Paul was abiding in Christ Yeshua in Galatians 2.20, and Peter had gone back to the flesh. He went back to a law-based mentality. That is why he added nothing to Paul's message. I believe Peter was in error and Paul invited him back into grace where he could bear the fruit of the Spirit again. Peter stopped holding to grace, peter stopped abiding in grace. Peter had fallen from grace and Paul brought him back into a place of bearing fruit.

Lenny: 21:13

By falling from grace, I mean it the way Paul meant it in Galatians falling into a law-based mentality, not losing your salvation to be clear. So the law says you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Grace says love one another as I have loved you. When you treat others how you would treat yourself, what tends to happen In my experience? Expectations begin here. If I treat someone with respect, then I deserve the same, not to mention the effort involved with loving someone. That much is great. We again must admit failure at a heart level. But grace teaches to love, as Christ loved us. Yeshua taught this to his disciples and said this is how others would know they were his disciples. We can only love how Christ loved if we are in Christ. This is more of a fruit of the Spirit. In that way it is what takes place in the heart when we abide in the love of Yeshua. We have a love relationship with Abba now and love is a result of that relationship. Abiding in love is nearly synonymous with abiding in Christ, in my opinion. In John's first epistle he says God is love and we love because God first loved us.

Lenny: 22:20

A legalist relies on rules to govern Rules. Clean that cup and dish. Grace uses love to govern. Love is the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5.22,. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Paul says why? Because this is grace. We are not governed by rules and disciplines. Forgiveness was a gift, not something we seek any longer. John 15, Yeshua here tells the disciples they are appointed to go and bear fruit and their fruit would remain.

Lenny: 23:14

This was their mission as apostles. They were sent by Christ to bear the fruit of the gospel, the fruit of truth, not like the false prophets, whom they would know by their fruits. They declared the message of the true Messiah and that message would last. Did it last? I think Christ being declared still 2,000 years later says it lasted. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to him who was raised from the dead, and or that we might bear fruit for death.

Lenny: 24:00

Those who followed a law-based system and did not have Christ would bear fruit for death Apart from Christ. In other words, all of our works are fruit for death, it doesn't matter how good they are. Remember, apart from Christ, you can do nothing. Life is in Christ. Fruit comes from Christ. We do not produce it, he does. We bear it by faith, not by works. When we try to attain our fellowship by self-offer, we bear bitter fruit when we teach a message of self-effort and rules and regulations. We bear bitter fruit when we follow legalism. We bear and eat bitter fruit. It looks beautiful to those who cannot discern, but it tastes like death to those who live by grace.

Lenny: 24:45

John 12, verse 24,. Yeshua says Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. This passage takes us back to Paul's writing to us that we have been crucified with Christ. We are dead to sin. Christ Yeshua killed our old self and gave us new life. We can now bear his fruit.

Lenny: 25:13

Philippians 1.9. And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent in order to be sincere and blameless, until the day of Christ. Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ. This is not fruit of our deeds, is it? Definitely not?

Lenny: 25:44

Ephesians 5, verse 8. For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. This looks a lot like 1 John, doesn't it? He spoke all about darkness and light, regarding belief and unbelief. Paul affirms John's teaching here and adds the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. This also affirms our last passage from Paul in Philippians, saying having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, we bear the fruit of the gospel, don't we? We bear the fruit of the truth that we believe. We bear the fruit of Christ's righteousness. We bear the fruit of his love. Colossians 1.10 says so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. How do we bear fruit in every good work? We bear Christ and his love. We live our lives thankful for his grace. When we love is because he loved us and we fulfill the command. Love one another as I have loved you.

Lenny: 27:01

2 Peter, 1, verse 5. Now, for this very reason, also applying all diligence in your faith supply. Moral excellence and in your moral excellence. Knowledge and in your knowledge. Self-control and in your self-control. Perseverance and in your perseverance. Godliness and in your godliness. Brotherly kindness and in your brotherly kindness. Love, for if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Lenny: 27:35

Peter's teaching here lines up perfectly with other scriptures, in that he describes the love that comes from the Spirit as well as where it comes from. It comes from the true knowledge of Yeshua, which would be what he did for us at the cross and resurrection, not the Sermon on the Mount, christ. He even solidifies this fact in the next verse, for he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. I think Peter may have been speaking from experience here, based on Galatians 2.20. Peter reminds us of what John also stated in his first epistle to do when we sin, remember the cross, thank God for his grace and get your focus back on the love of Abba Father. We should walk daily in his love, not a set of rules and disciplines, matthew 13.23. And the one bear fruit when we hear and understand. The more we understand the depths of the love of our Lord, the more we can bear the fruit of that love.

Lenny: 28:56

Our last passage is one that I believe we must look at carefully. This one could be used to condemn others who are in Christ, and even ourselves. It could lead us down a road of judging ourselves and our brothers and sisters severely and without love, if we let it. Let's read the passage and I'll show you what I mean Luke 6, verse 40. A pupil is not above his teacher, but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You, hypocrite. First take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

Lenny: 29:44

For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit, for each tree is known by its fruit, for men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth what is good, and the evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth what is evil, for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. Let's talk about this passage a bit. This is just like the passage that we read in our last episode, which was certainly about prophets. This time, yeshua is quoted by Luke using the same analogy, but in a different context. This time he uses it in the context of works and motives. Yeshua goes on to say again motives. Yeshua goes on to say again For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. And, even more troubling, our Lord goes on to say the good man, out of the treasure of his heart, brings forth what is good, and the evil man, out of the evil treasure, brings forth what is evil, for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. I've actually observed this passage being used by those under grace to condemn legalists, as well as being used by legalists to condemn grace teachers.

Lenny: 31:05

Christians using this passage against each other is folly. Yeshua was not speaking to Christians here. We have to realize this conversation took place before the cross and was yet another example of Yeshua showing the Pharisees that Yahweh was looking for a pure heart, not just a clean cup and dish. If we were to look at this statement in light of truth, we would find that there has only ever been one good tree to walk the earth. Yeshua is the tree of life that we must feed from in order to bear fruit. If we have Yeshua in our heart, which every born-again Christian does, then we become good branches that bear good fruit. In this context, we are pure. We cannot bear bad fruit any longer. We are alive in Christ. Now, however, just like with sin, we're still capable of causing others to stumble. We're still capable of falling away from grace, as the foolish Galatians had done. We're still capable of feeding others bad fruit, so to speak.

Lenny: 32:05

Paul used heavy words against Peter when he saw that he was in with the circumcision crowd. Paul said but when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned? Did Paul mean he was condemned before God because he stood condemned? Did Paul mean he was condemned before God? An apostle condemned? After Paul's own words, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Certainly Paul was not a double talker. He was referring to being condemned by the message of grace, spreading condemnation through legalism, being condemned before the body of true believers. He was out of fellowship with the message of grace, just like those in 1 John, john's first epistle In Christ as a body, as a true church, our fellowship is in the message of grace. It is in the finished work of Yeshua.

Lenny: 32:52

Those who stand in legalism have fallen away from grace and have condemned themselves from fellowship in the truth. How can we be of one mind with others if we have a double mind? How can we have any stability in truth if we believe we are in and out of fellowship based on our daily actions? When we place ourselves under positional forgiveness, not resting in total forgiveness, we wreck our fellowship with truth and cause others to stumble. In the eyes of our Lord.

Lenny: 33:20

We bear no fruit. When we mix law and grace, we become like that blueberry bush that was alive but bore no fruit. We need good soil to thrive. When we fertilize our soil with legalism, we do not feed our branches. We cannot bear fruit in this way. We condemn not only ourselves but others in doing so. Just like we can see sin in our brothers and sisters, we can also see bad fruit.

Lenny: 33:44

We do have to be careful how we say these things, though. Context is really important. But toward one another, we must test each other's fruit. If it doesn't come from Christ, if it doesn't come from faith, if it doesn't come from the heart of grace, then it's the fruit of the flesh. We begin to see when we hear Christ in a message or when the flesh comes to service. The flesh is a powerful force and we are all prone to walking in it. So let's keep our focus on grace, abide in the finished work of our Lord, walk by the Spirit, and we will not gratify those desires of the flesh. The power of the flesh was destroyed by Yeshua. When we hold to that, that powerful force of the flesh is not so powerful, is it?

Lenny: 34:32

In summary, let's look at the questions we set out to answer and see if the scripture revealed the truth to us. How do I know if my pastor is bearing good fruit? This was sort of a trick question. The word pastor is actually only used one time in scripture and is not an honorific title, and it has no list of qualifications. You must make quite a stretch to come up with what we see today in our church institutions. So how do we know when we're bearing good fruit?

Lenny: 34:56

We learned that we can only bear fruit when we abide in Christ. We must be abiding in his truth, his message of grace, his love, his forgiveness. In order to bear good fruit, we do not need to produce anything. We bear it when we rest in his love. So what exactly would be the fruit that we bear as Christians? It would be any of the attributes of love that result from our being loved and fully accepted by God. It is truth. It is Christ living in and through us. Have you ever loved someone so much that you wanted them to live their life through you? That's what Christ Yeshua does to us, isn't it? That's grace. So what is the fruit of the spirit versus the fruit of the flesh versus the fruit of the flesh? The fruit of the flesh, as we learned, is also called the fruit of death. All of our deeds lead to death, apart from Christ and anything that does not come from faith is sin. So self-offert, mixing law and grace, works-based disciplines and religious practices bear fruit of the flesh.

Lenny: 36:01

Can Christians bear bad fruit? I tend to think so, but this is a matter of perspective From the view of our Lord. We do not bear bad fruit. We are not bad plants. We are branches from the tree of life and we bear fruit in various measure, according to the seed and soil parable. We could bear very little or very much, it would seem, based on our understanding of truth, which is a measure of love. Yeshua gives us life. A prophet could not bear bad fruit. We know that A true prophet could not declare something ignorantly in regard to prophecy, they were the mouthpiece of God. But it seems we could bear bad fruit toward each other when we fall away from grace and into a works-based mentality to please the Lord. If we're not walking in line with the truth and are promoting error and legalism.

Lenny: 36:48

What else would you call it If we condemn others as well as ourselves? What fruit is that? Our Lord is pleased by the good fruit we produce in Him, but we should always be seeking truth if we find we are in error. We don't want others chowing down on our bad fruit that comes from ignorance to the truth. We ruin true fellowship when we do this.

Lenny: 37:10

So what can I do to get more good fruit? You have to talk to our Lord about that. I think you know the answer is found in the vine. Our Lord freely gives us grace and freely brings us to maturity. We must look to him in all things and not to ourselves. He will make this clear to us if we are not aware. That's what I have for today, guys. So keep on abiding in the love, forgiveness and truth that comes from the gospel of grace. Bear it patiently, enduring it without yielding, accept it without objection, remain stable in it and fixed on it, because even if you fail to do so, you are secure in the faithfulness of Christ Yeshua, who loved you from the beginning of time. See you on the next episode.

announcement: 37:56

Thank you for listening to the Waking Up to Grace podcast brought to you by the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you enjoyed today's episode, we would love to hear from you. You can send encouragement our way right from our episodes and transcripts page or reach Lenny privately from the contact form at wakinguptogracecom.