Fruit

…performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. Acts 26:20

 There are those who distort the Gospel of Jesus Christ and claim that in order to become a Christian you must do certain things before you can be saved or for you to maintain your salvation you must obey certain rules. We call this legalism. This legalism can take different forms.  The first is where a person attempts to keep the Law in order to attain salvation.  The second is where a person keeps the law in order to maintain his salvation.  The third is when a Christian judges other Christians for not keeping certain codes of conduct he thinks need to be observed. Legalism in all its forms is condemned by scripture.

The truth is we have to do nothing other than repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Galatians 2:16 stated,  yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. It’s not our works that save us or keep us saved.

However, the Bible does not teach, as some believe today, that we should not encourage one another to do good works. When Paul was sharing his testimony with King Agrippa, he told him he preached that in order to be saved they needed to repent from their sins and believe in Jesus. But he also said they needed to perform deeds in keeping with their repentance. Jesus said, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). If you are a Christian, your life will be full of “fruit”.

Fruit is the direct result of whatever controls our hearts (Matthew 15:19). The fruit of a life not surrendered to Jesus includes “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft,  hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,” and many more evil acts (Galatians 5:19–20). In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit of God is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,       gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23).

What say you? Is your life reflective of, performing deeds in    keeping with their repentance?