Well, we've been having some
messages from Nehemiah. I want to move away from that
this week. And something that's been related
to the Bible class. In Romans 3, 31, the last verse
of the passage we looked at last week, we have this question,
do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid, yea,
we establish the law. Do we make the law void through
faith? God forbid, yea, we establish
the law. And my thinking is along the
lines of how do we establish the law? Earlier on, we read
Romans chapter 8 and the first 14 verses. Just look at that
with me now. In fact, it would be a good idea
to have your fingers in two places, one in John's Gospel chapter
15 and the other one in Romans chapter 8. So, two passages I'm
going to be referring to especially this morning. In Romans chapter
8, these well-known and well-loved verses, there is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Live their lives,
not after the flesh, the lusts of the flesh, the motivations
of the flesh. but after the Spirit. For the
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, walking in the
Spirit, has made me free from the law of sin and death, which
is that which is in the flesh. For what the law of God, the
law given by Moses, could not do, in other words make people
righteous, in that it was weak through the flesh. The law said
do this, but we couldn't because we were weak in the flesh. The
flesh wasn't strong enough. The flesh was fallen and sinful.
What the law couldn't do, God did. God sending his own son
in the likeness of sinful flesh. in all points, tempted as we
are, yet without sin, looking like an ordinary man. He hath
no comeliness that we should desire him, says Isaiah 53. He just looks like an ordinary
man. He even looked old for his years, for when he was thirty-something
they said, you're not yet fifty years old. God sending his son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in
the flesh. He dealt with sin in the flesh
of his son. For the reason, verse four, that
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, that
it might have its fulfillment in us, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the spirit. the righteousness of the law
fulfilled in Christ's people. How is the law established? Well,
if you know anything of the gospel, you know the law is established
in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. For he is the one who
came to bring satisfaction of justice, to fully meet the demands
of the law. In terms of the punishment that
was due for the sins of his people in shedding his precious blood,
the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the law. He said he hadn't come
to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He said nothing will pass
away till all things be fulfilled. The righteousness of the law
is fulfilled and the law is established in what the Lord Jesus Christ
has done in saving his people. But the result of that is that
those he has saved, the believers that he has saved, he brings
to faith by his spirit, to look to him, to believe in him, and
not just be passive, but to actually bear fruit. Bear what he calls
fruit. Now turn to John 15. John chapter
15, and the first eight verses. And let's read these. How is
the law established? By everything that Christ has
done for his people in the gospel. But the result of it, and what
comes about as a result of it, is believers bearing fruit. Therein,
the law is established. The righteousness of the law
fulfilled. His people walking in the spirit
and not in the flesh. John 15 verses 1 to 8, Jesus
says this. Remember these chapters of John
from 13 through to 18? are all on the night before he
was crucified. All this dialogue takes place
on the night before he was crucified. All of it. Philip says, show
us the father. He says, have I been with you
so long and you have not seen me? He who has seen me has seen
the father. All on that night before he was crucified. And
here in chapter 15 he says, I am the true vine and my father is
the husbandman, the gardener, the farmer, the vinekeeper. Every
branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. You do
this in your garden, you see the stuff that's dead and it's
not going to produce any more flowers or fruit, you cut it
out and take it away. And every branch that bears fruit,
he purges it, he prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you.
Fruit is not the means by which you become clean. He says he's
made you clean. You know when he was washing
the disciples' feet, and Peter said, wash me all over, and he
says, you're clean, I've washed you all over. This is daily defilement. Here, he says again, it's not
the production of fruit that makes you clean. You're clean
through the word that I've spoken to you. You're clean through
the gospel, his substitutionary work on the cross for us. No,
he's talking about the fruit that flows from that. And he
says in verse four, abide in me and I in you. Stay, rest in
me. As the branch of the vine cannot
bear grapes of itself. You can go and cut a lovely vine
branch off a heavy laden vine in the vineyards of France and
bring it home and put it in the garden. What happens? Withers
and dies. Why? It's not connected to the
rootstock. It can't bear fruit of itself. It can only bear fruit
if it abides in the vine, if it remains connected to the vine
rootstock. In the same way, no more can
you bear fruit, except you abide in me. I am the vine, he says,
you are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me, you
can do nothing. He's saying you can't do anything
of a fruit bearing nature outside of him, without that vital connection
to him. He says if a man abide not in
me, he is cast forth as a branch. and is withered, and men gather
them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If
ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what
ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit. So shall ye be, my disciples. That's the verse I want to consider
this morning. Herein is my Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit. So shall ye be, my disciples. How is the law established? In
believers bearing fruit. Christ insists upon fruit. It's not optional. These words
couldn't be clearer, could they? The words we've just read. Christ
insists upon fruit as the clear mark and evidence of true discipleship. And he says his father, his heavenly
father, is the farmer, the gardener, the what do they call them, the
viniculture, the one who's purging and pruning for the purpose that
fruit should come. Now what I want to get you to
think about is where does the fruit come from? What's it like?
How does it glorify God? And how does it show that we
really are his disciples? So shall ye be my disciples. Where does the fruit come from?
Well, I think you'll readily agree with me. It most definitely
doesn't come from us by nature, as we are by nature. It doesn't
come from this flesh. It doesn't come from the natural
fleshly heart. The fruit of which Jesus is speaking
doesn't come from the flesh. Now, be in no doubt, the natural
man can produce good works. The religious person can produce
good works, can produce that which looks like the fruit that
Jesus is talking about. Because religion and laws and
civil society can restrain sin. and can produce fruit of a sort. It looks like good fruit. It
often looks very good. It often looks like perfect fruit
from the outside. Respectable behavior, a respectable
exterior, whether it comes from a situation of high Calvinistic
doctrine, or common Arminian doctrine, or any other religion. And they all do this, they all
constrain their adherence behavior by rules and regulations. But
the fruit that's produced, even though it looks perfect, the
thing that really matters is what does it taste like? Cut
into it. See what it's like in the middle.
What flavor does it have? It's very much out of fashion
these days, though, as they say, things keep going round. No doubt
it will soon come back into fashion. But in the 50s and 60s, a sign
of affluence was that the house had a nice-looking bowl of fruit
on the sideboard in the parlor. Because fruit could have been
quite expensive, people would buy a bowl of wax fruit, and
it looked absolutely perfect. Lots of houses had them. You
might think, growing up today, that the concept of this is absolutely
ridiculous. I agree with you, it is absolutely
ridiculous. But lots of people, thinking that they were putting
on a nice, respectable show, would have this bowl of wax fruit
on the sideboard to show that they were really quite affluent. They could afford bananas and
pears and apples. Do you know, those fruit looked
absolutely perfect. If any of you have any fruit
trees at home, you'll know that there are very, very few of the
apples and the pears that grow on your trees that are as perfect
as that wax fruit used to look. It looked perfect from the outside,
but cut into it, take a bite if you dare. The flavour isn't
there. The truth is that the best flavoured
fruit is often in misshapen forms. Isn't that what they're saying
in this funny year of weather and harvests that actually the
flavours are still quite good but you might in the supermarkets
have to put up with something that looks a bit wrinkly and
knobbled as an apple or pear. It doesn't always look like perfectly
formed fruit. This religious good works fruit
is not gospel fruit. It's not the result of the gospel
in the heart. It's fruit that arises, a sort
of fruit that arises from the constraint of law and rules. It's a fruit that arises from
the fear of loss of reward or the fear of punishment. It's
not fruit that arises from the love of Christ, because you know
the scripture says this, what constrains the behavior of his
people to be conformed to the precepts of the gospel? It's
the love of Christ that constrains us. Not the law as a rule of
life, the love of Christ constrains his people. So where is gospel
fruit from? Look at verse four, chapter 15
of John, abide in me. and I in you. Look at verse five. Without me, you can do nothing. Abide in me. The sap of Christ
is what brings forth this fruit. Connection to Christ, the Spirit
of God within, the sap of Christ, without which we have no spiritual
life at all. We read earlier in Romans 8 and
verse 9, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none
of his. There is no such thing as a believer
who has yet to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. This is an error
taught by the charismatics, that you believe for salvation and
then later you have this second experience which is the filling
of the Spirit that gives you the gift of tongues and all of
this other stuff. It's nonsense, and it's not according to the
Scripture. It isn't like that. If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he's not a believer at all. All believers have the
Spirit of Christ. That's how they know they are
believers. That's how they believe the gospel. That's how they have
faith, by the Spirit of God dwelling within. What this is talking about is
a vital relationship with Christ, a vital union with Christ by
faith, with the indwelling spirit within producing the fruit. This
is where it comes from. True gospel fruit, unlike religious
works fruit, comes from the gospel within by the spirit of God.
And what does it look like, gospel fruit? This fruit that Jesus
is saying, herein is my father glorified, that ye bear much
fruit. so shall you be my disciples.
What does it look like? Well firstly, this fruit in the
heart. In Romans 10 and verse 10 we
read this, for with the heart, man believes unto righteousness. Justification by faith. And with
the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. With the heart,
you believe to righteousness. It's in the heart is this fruit,
the source of the fruit is in the heart. I'm not meaning just
the physical organ, but what the scripture calls the heart
is that which is at the core of you, that which is at the
very center of you. With the heart, man believes
unto righteousness. With the emotions, with the understanding
and the emotions, man believes the gospel unto righteousness.
It's accounted to him for righteousness. We read of Abraham, he believed
God. And with the mouth, Confession is made unto salvation. We read
in the scriptures of the fear of God being the beginning of
wisdom or the beginning of knowledge in different places. It states
this. Where does this true filial fear, let's call it, the fear
of a child, of a loving father, the respect, not the fear of
dread and punishment, but the fear which is a respectful fear. Where does it come from, this
filial fear? Jeremiah 32 and verse 40 says
this, God speaking by Jeremiah about his people, I will make
an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away
from them to do them good. God's intention to his people
is always to do us good. This is what God says to you
this morning. Child of God, he says, he's made an everlasting
covenant with you, that he will not turn away from you to do
you good, but he says, I will put my fear in their hearts,
that they shall not depart from me. God puts that fear of him
there, that we should not depart from him. God puts that fear
there, that we should remain united with him. and by his spirit
he works in his people's hearts. This is how fruit is produced.
Philippians chapter 2 verses 12 and 13 say this, wherefore,
Paul writing, wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed Note
how much the epistles talk about obedience. Obedience of gospel
precepts and principles. Not just of doctrinal facts,
but of commands. Jesus says in the previous chapter
of John, if you love me, keep my commandments. Don't say you
love me and don't keep my commandments. If you love me, keep my commandments.
And he says his commandments are not grievous, his burden
is not heavy, his burden is light. His yoke is easy. He works in
his people's hearts, as I was reading Philippians 2 verses
12 and 13, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence. Not just when he's there
looking at them, overseeing them, but when he's away from them.
He says, work out your own salvation. It isn't just something that's
passive. You know, you just assent to some doctrines about the truth
of God, and you say, yeah, I agree with those, those are right.
No, it's worked out. Work it out. Live it out. Walk
in the spirit as we read in Romans 8. Not in the flesh. Walk in
the spirit with fear and trembling. Why? Because it is God who works
in you. both to will and to do of his
good pleasure. God works in his people. This
is where the fruit comes from. Where does gospel fruit come
from? Hosea chapter 14 and verse 8. God says plainly, right before
the end of the prophecy of Hosea, he says, from me is thy fruit
found. Couldn't be more straightforward,
could it? God says from me is thy fruit found. based on this
vital union. Abide in me, said Jesus, and
I in you, just as the branch must abide in the root stock
so that it receives the sap which leads to the production of fruit.
So if you would produce gospel fruit rather than just works
fruit, if you would produce spiritual fruit, the gifts of the spirit,
the fruits of the spirit, if you would produce those, they
must come from within by that vital union with the spirit of
God. Paul, in the epistles, often
refers to this fruit in the heart as evidence of the people being
in Christ. He says in Colossians chapter
1, in the early verses, verses 4 and 5, he says, we give thanks
to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always
for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus. There's
a mark, a heart, a heart fruit in your heart. Faith in Jesus
Christ and the love which he have to all the saints. Love,
faith, love. And verse five, he says, for
the hope that is laid up for you in heaven, faith, hope, and
love. These are heart fruits in the
heart by the gospel of God's grace in Christ. These are the
spiritual gifts that he gives to his people for our walk in
this life. At the end of 1 Corinthians chapter
13, when he's going through all of those spiritual gifts of prophecy
and tongues and so on, and he says, they're all going to fade
away and peter out and stop, as they did. When the scripture
was completed, they all finished. And any manifestation of such
things today is just a delusion of Satan. It's just a lie of
Satan. But he says at the end of that
chapter, now remain faith, hope, and love for this life. In this
life, these are the gifts that his people have. These are the
spiritual gifts that he gives to his people as fruit of the
gospel in the heart Fruit of the gospel in the heart is faith
in Christ. It's hope of eternal glory. And
so Peter says, be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks
you a reason of the hope that is in you. Hope and love for
the brethren. Don't talk about being a disciple
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't talk about glorifying the
Father if there is no evidence of faith, hope, and love in the
heart. Heart fruit. And there are others
like it, like godly sorrow that leads to repentance and to salvation,
like humility, like self-denial. These are heart fruits. These
are fruits in the heart as a result of an apprehension of the gospel,
of God coming by his spirit and showing you the light of the
truth of the gospel of his grace, of prayer, that prayer from the
heart. God, in 1 Samuel, is it? I'm not quite sure, maybe two
Samuel. God put it in David's heart to pray. Put it in his
heart to pray. Spiritual fruit. That's where
it is. And in that heart of the believer
In that heart, however, faltering are those steps on the outside
in the walk of life in the spirit. If those are in the heart of
the believer, those fruits of faith, hope, and love, and humility,
and self-denial, and a heart of prayer to God, there's an
inward beauty there. The heart of the flesh is broken
and the heart of the flesh is renewed by the gospel, by gospel
soothing balm. It says in Psalm 45 and verse
13, the king's daughter is all glorious within. The king's daughter
is referring to God's people, his believing people. And the
scripture says, on the basis of what the gospel does, For
that sinner, saved by grace, the king's daughter is all glorious
within, because the gospel has broken that stubborn heart. There
must first be that fruit in the heart of faith, hope, and love. If you abide in me, and my words
in you, hearing is my father glorified, that ye bear much
fruit, so shall ye be my disciples. And then, Next there's fruit
in what we say, lip fruit. We read in Romans 10 and verse
10 that with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation. And one of the fruits
is that which comes from the mouth, praise in the mouth, when
we want to come together to praise God. When there's a spirit of
praise, I'm not talking about those who annoyingly go around
constantly saying, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, praise
the Lord, which is just empty external window dressing. I'm
talking about that which is truly coming from a heart which is
filled with the faith, hope, and love that's in the gospel
of Christ. But he puts a song of praise in the mouths of his
people. And confession is made before
men. Oh, what do you mean? In the
workplace or with my neighbors that I constantly have to be
on a soapbox preaching at them and condemning them for their
sins and telling them the gospel and if I don't do that then I'm
going to feel guilty. No, no, no, no. You confess before
men in attitude, in demeanor of life, in gentle words, in
an obvious allegiance to attendance at the worship of God, in your
philosophy of life, because the heart that is changed by the
gospel of God's grace has a philosophy of life which is completely contrary
to the philosophy of this world. And one that is also, when asked
in that situation about the hope that is in us, is ready to give
a reason to anyone who asks for that hope. Fruit of the lips,
which is in the way of encouragement of God's people. You know, constantly
we're encouraged, exhorted in the scripture to encourage one
another, to love one another and to encourage one another.
The encouragement of God's people. I read a little piece by Henry
Mahan some time ago and I couldn't find it but I think I've got
the gist of it. Before you say anything to your
brethren, before you say anything about your brethren, ask some
simple questions. Is it really necessary? Does
it have to be said? Does it do good in saying it? Is it going to build up and strengthen
and make strong? Kindly words is fruit that springs
from a gospel basis in the heart. Kindly words, edifying words,
words that build up rather than words that knock down. Gospel
encouragements in these days of so little gospel, of so little
truth anywhere around. Gospel encouragements, not constantly
preaching. at one another, not constantly
lecturing one another, but just a word in season, as Paul says.
Not just spoken words either, but written. This is why I encourage
you, if you have time, to write to those that we know listen
to our services in a situation where they're entirely alone,
without Christian fellowship. Oh, what a blessing it is to
receive an email, just a little encouragement to one another.
and prayers that come through the lips, spoken. Many prayers
in religion are said on the radio this morning, again the service
on radio four. Many, many prayers were merely
said, but true prayer comes from the heart, prompted by God's
spirit. As the book of Samuel says that
God put it in David's heart to pray. There's fruit in the heart,
true gospel fruit, faith, hope, and love. There's fruit on the
lips, as Romans 10, verse 10 says. Confession before men,
worship, encouragement of God's people, kindly words, prayer.
And then there's fruit in the life. What's your life like? What's my life like? I'm not
saying that we look at our lives and we find reasons to believe
that we've done pretty well this week. But the life must reflect
the gospel that is believed within it, the demeanor of life. Proverbs 23 verse 7 says this,
as a man thinks in his heart, so he is outwardly to everyone
around him. As a man thinks in his heart,
so he is in his demeanor outwardly. There's fruit of the gospel in
the life. When the gospel has stripped
the heart of selfishness, of pride, of worldly lusts, of vengeful
thoughts, of spite to others, the new man of God's spirit is
there within, showing generosity of spirit, showing integrity. The people of God are people
of integrity and honesty. This is what it is to bear fruit.
In all dealings, honesty and integrity, even if it's to your
own hurt, I must be honest about this. Why? God sees. God sees
into my heart. We must be honest in all things,
even to our own hurt. Faithfulness and reliability,
sticking to our word as far as we possibly can. In all things,
as Paul writes to Titus, seeking to adorn the doctrine of God
our Savior. In all things. Make it beautiful.
This doctrine that we believe that the flesh naturally hates,
adorn it. by fruit in the life. You know,
you can see some old apple trees that look pretty gnarled and
unattractive in the winter when they've lost their leaves. They
can be quite ugly. The bark on them and the form
of the branches can be twisted up and tangled. But the fruit
that they produce can be absolutely delicious. And that's the thing.
adorning the doctrine of our God and Savior in all things.
We're talking about a life of obedience to gospel precepts,
the epistles state the doctrine of the gospel. They teach us
clearly how should a man be just with God. They show us without
any shadow of a doubt justification by faith and not by works. They
show us how we're made right for the day of judgment. They
show us the basis of the hope that we have of eternal life.
They show us all of those things, but they also implore us that
because of that, because you know these things, because you
know them and believe them in your heart, then your life should
issue forth. With a heart that's full of faith,
hope and love. With lips that make confession
unto salvation. With a life that is honest in
its demeanour and in its integrity. So a life of obedience to gospel
precepts is what the epistles exhort. If you read Colossians
chapter 3, Paul there talks about putting off the old man of the
flesh with his works. You know the works of the flesh
are, and the list is there in Galatians chapter 5, the works
of the flesh are all of those negative things. All of those
things which bring the condemnation of God. All of those things which
are such a blatant denial of the law and justice of God. And
then he says, but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
self-control, all of these things. He says, put off the old man
with those old fleshy characteristics and put on the new man, which
is motivated and prompted by that heart of gospel fruit, of
faith, hope, and love. In Romans chapter 8, And verse
four, just turn over there. I told you to keep your finger
in Romans chapter eight. Romans chapter eight and verse
four. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. He says, we're free from the
law of sin and death. Free from it. Free from the law
of sin and death. And walking after the spirit,
not after the flesh. obedience to gospel precepts.
No condemnation in Christ Jesus to those who are in him, who
walk, how do you know them? They don't walk after the flesh,
they walk after the spirit. And the righteousness of the
law is fulfilled in those who walk not after the flesh, but
after the spirit, prompted by the spirit of God, led by the
spirit of God. So then, How does bearing fruit
glorify God? For Jesus says, herein is my
Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be my
disciples. How does it glorify God? Is it
not an odd thing to consider that we, his people, who are
sinners, who are what the scriptures again and again call vile worms,
The hymn writers in Gadsby's hymn so often refer in what looks
like old quaint language, but nevertheless it's absolutely
true. Worms in the sight of God, a
lowly sinful worm reflecting something of the character of
God in his life. God is glorified by that. How
do I know? Jesus said it. Herein is my Father
glorified, that you, sinners saved by grace, you worms saved
by grace, should bear much fruit, fruit that comes from the gospel,
a knowledge of the gospel, a belief of the gospel in the heart, and
so shall you be my disciples. God is glorified by saved sinners. That we should be to the praise
of the glory of His grace is what Ephesians 1, 6 says. Satan desired, put all of his force
and ingenuity into the ruination of the pinnacle of God's creation.
The pinnacle of God's creation is man. God created the worlds
and all the animals and everything in it and the universe, but the
pinnacle of God's creation was man, who he made, it says, in
his own image. And Satan, from the day Satan
tempted Eve and she fell when they were in the garden, Satan
was set upon the ruination of that pinnacle of God's creation.
that God's people bearing fruit, gospel fruit, in this life provide
a display that Satan has not triumphed in the ruination of
God's utmost creation. That the people that God has
saved by grace in Christ actually establish the spirit of God's
law by faith. If you turn to Galatians chapter
five, where we've got the list of the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians
chapter 5, where we read in verse 19 about the works of the flesh
and there's a long list running down through verses 20 and 21
and a sorry tale of sin in this life this provides. But in verse 22,
the contrast, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,
and he says, against such there is no law. Against it there is
no law. God is glorified when his people
bear that fruit. And finally, just in a couple
of minutes, how does this fruit evidence discipleship? Because
he says, herein is my father glorified that ye bear much fruit. So shall ye be my disciples. How does this fruit that we're
supposed to, we must bear, that Christ insists that we bear. If you're my disciples, if you
love me, keep my commandments. How does it evidence itself in
discipleship? How does it show that we are
his disciples? No, fruit does not make us disciples. But it is essential evidence
that we are his disciples. Verse 8, so shall you be my disciples. Herein is my father glorified
that you bear much fruit, so shall you be my disciples. A
disciple is a learner, a pupil. You could say that those of you
that are at school, you could say that you're disciples of
your teachers at school. And there are some that you find
more stimulating engaging teachers than others and you grow attracted
to some teachers because they're so good at teaching you and showing
you and you want to walk in their ways and follow their steps and
deal with the subject in the way they do. The disciple is
the learner and the pupil of the teacher. You listen. You
not only listen with the ears, but you hear inside what's being
said, and you act upon it. You put it into practice. You
copy the teacher's example, especially the ones who are precious to
you. Well, so it is with Christ. To you who believe, He is precious. but he's your teacher, and you
follow his example. You hear his words, you keep
his commandments, you know you fall all the time, but the aim
and the demeanor of your life is to keep the commandments of
Christ, to be faithful and true to him, to be obedient to him,
to not go against what his word says. Imitating him, acquiring
his characteristics by increasing familiarity with him. You know,
they say that the longer married couples are together, the longer
they grow, the more they grow like each other. They also say
it about pets and their owners, don't they? They say, you know,
somebody that's had a dog for a long time, you know, the dog
starts to look and behave like the people that it lives with.
I don't know. I'll leave that to you to do
a comparison if you've got a dog of your own. But you know, the
more you follow the example and seek to become familiar with
the teacher, the more you become like them. And so it is with
Christ. He's our teacher. We are his disciples. Copy his
example. Do what he likes. Avoid what
he hates. Foster meekness, humility, lowliness,
self-denying, not loving the world, generous spirited nature,
being helpful. You know, this is the transformation
that the gospel brings. We read in Luke's gospel about
the man who was possessed of evil spirits dwelling amongst
the tombs and how he was naked and wild and nobody could tame
him. And he came across Jesus. And
Jesus removed the evil spirits from him. And the next thing
we see, he's sitting at Jesus's feet, clothed, no longer naked,
in his right mind, listening to the master. He's a disciple
of the teacher. Clear evidence of a fundamental
change within. So our fruit proves that we are
his disciples learning in his school. And the excellence of
the teacher is reflected in the excellence of the pupils that
he teaches. And as the teacher is glorified
in the pupils doing good, so our God and Father is glorified
when his children bear much fruit. It's so easily found out. I'm
not talking about temporary falls. We all have temporary falls.
We all trip up. We all do those things that we're
ashamed of and that we just want to distance ourselves from. But
I'm talking about a consistent life demeanor. A consistent life
demeanor of disobedience to gospel principles is totally incompatible
at its very root with this claim to be the children of God. If
you love me, says Jesus, keep my commandments. We're not under
law, we're under grace. We are not under law, but we're
not antinomian either. We're not lawless. We don't say,
shall we sin, that grace may abound. Absolutely not. But by
faith and obedience, which is the production of fruit, we establish
the law, says the scripture. Love is the fulfillment of the
law.