Bear Fruit

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. Romans 7:4

When we came to Christ we were freed from the bondage of sins and were no longer slaves of Satan (Romans 6). Now that we have been set free our lives should reflect the One who set us free. Since we have been freed by Christ, who was raised from the dead, we must be about the business of bearing fruit. We must act like we belong to Christ and not the world.

If the goal of the Christian life is to be like Christ  then we must strive to produce fruit that matches His life. What does the fruit of a believer look like?  Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in nine terms in Galatians 5:22-23 they  are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and  self-control. Other fruits of a believer are evangelism and seeing others come to Christ, praising and     worshiping God, and obeying His commands.  We also bear fruit when we give money. Paul designated the collection of money for the poorer saints in      Jerusalem as fruit (Romans 15:28). Also, when he thanked the Philippians for their financial support   of his ministry, he said that their act of giving brought fruit to their account. So, be a fruit inspector of your life and see that you are producing the fruit      of a believer.

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark