The Evidence of Fruit

Jeremiah 28-30; 1 John 3 

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”

1 John 3:9, 10

According to John’s Gospel, the evidence of our salvation is not whether we prayed a prayer of repentance and declared faith in Christ; rather, it is the evidence of a new life of God, or seed of the Spirit within us, disciplining and transforming us into the image of Christ. Conversely, the early Church contained a mixture of both followers of Christ and false Christians who were still controlled by the devil, yet, were part of the local church. John pointed to the fruit of God’s seed within the lives of Christ-followers as evidenced in their living faith, loving relationships, humility, and truthfulness. It is fruit which reveals the root, not just verbal professions of faith.

What does the fruit of our lives say about our beliefs to those around us? 

“Lord Jesus, live through me that others would love and follow you, for your glory.”