Fruit of Unrighteousness and Fruit of Repentance

The Fruit of Unrighteousness

The only kind of fruit we can produce in and of ourselves is the fruit of unrighteousness.  The teaching for this lesson is found here. 

What it Says	What it Means	How Can I Apply This
Proverbs 1:31
Proverbs 14:14
Isaiah 64:6, 59:12-15
Jeremiah 6:19

We are filled with the fruit of our own ways.  We cannot make any changes under our own power.  What we do in and of ourselves leads to death.  We are all unclean. 

Of all the sinners, backsliders have the most terror when they consider their own ways.  The pleasure and profit of sin don’t deserve to be called fruit.  It may seem pleasant at the moment, but its yield is bitter.

The fruit of unrighteousness is produced by rejecting God’s ways or God’s law.  We cannot atone for our own sins.  We become entangled in in snares when we follow false gods and our own evil ways are rewarded accordingly.  A false god is anything that comes before the One True God.

Hosea 9:10
Hosea 10:13

While these passages are directed toward the nation Israel, we can find application to our own lives.  The love of false gods and detestable things bear no good fruit, especially when we trust in our own ways. When Christians do not live in the Spirit but trust in themselves, they are, in effect, trusting in the Old Sin Nature (flesh) that indwells every believer (Gal. 5:19-21). What the Old Sin Nature produces is not acceptable to God.  If we sow sin, we reap injustice.

Matthew 3:10
Luke 3:9

Again, Jesus is talking to the religious leaders of the day who believed their traditions and mega-laws would guarantee them a place in God’s Kingdom, but they were trees that are not fit for fruit, but are only fit for fuel.  Branches that do not bear good fruit are cut down and burned. True believers are like wheat—substantial, useful, and valuable.  These leaders were like chaff—light, empty, and worthless. These leaders were not believers or even carnal Christians. They were unbelievers. These passages do not imply sanctification but are dealing with justification issues.

Matthew 7:19

False teachers are recognized by their fruit, which is contrary to the mind of Christ.  They spout opinions that are not from God and lead to sin. Again, here Jesus is addressing the religious leaders of the day, but we can see this with some religious leaders in our day.

  

John 15:2, 6

The greatest barrier to faith is not doubts in the mind, but in the desires of the heart.    Colin Smith, Senior Pastor, The Orchard Evangelical Free Church, Chicago, IL.

Any interruption of our faith causes holy desires to decline, corruption to revive, and strength to droop.

Romans 1

Fretting against God’s providence dishonors Him.  Mary Winslow. 

Every believer is counted righteous through Christ and because He bestowed this righteousness on us, we have the freedom to approach God’s throne boldly. To approach God, we must have righteousness.  We cannot produce that by ourselves.  There is no righteousness apart from Christ.

 

Fruit of Repentance/Forgiveness

The teaching portion of this lesson had to be broken into two parts.  Part one is here.  Part two is here. 

Matthew 3:8
What it Says	What it Means	How Can I Apply This
Acts 26:19-20
Romans 6:20-23
Colossians 3:12-17

 

One thing about repentance is that we cannot just be sorry for sins, yet still remain in them.  We have to view repentance (seeing ourselves and our sins as God views us) as the garment for our souls.  The forgiven ones never lack for things to thank God for.

1 John 1:6-9

We must be honest with ourselves about our sin and confess it, then fully rely on Christ to forgive our sin.  This is necessary to abiding in Christ.

Luke 13:6-9

I watched this example played out in real life with my dad.  We had two fig trees in our yard, and they were not producing well.  Daddy was going to dig them out and put something else in there because they were doing so poorly.  That fall, he read this particular passage and thought that since God was the Ultimate Gardener, He must know what He’s talking about.  So Daddy aerated the roots, mulched and fertilized the trees and the following year the trees produced a crop so big, we called every friend and relative to come and pick their fill of figs.  My aunt, uncle, and cousin came to pick the figs and Daddy relayed what he’d done.  My cousin said, “Uncle Howard, next time just read the verse, not the whole chapter!”

 

 

John 12:24
Luke 3:7-9
Romans 7:4

In being grafted into the Vine, we die to ourselves—put aside our own selfish desires for Christ’s leading. The fruit we bear is for God—our lives must be marked by dependence on God, and the fruit is the product of being united to the Vine.  Repentance indicates changing of mindset, and because of repentance, our actions change. We demonstrate our repentance by turning to God. 

2 Corinthians 7:10

The fruit of repentance represents changes that flow from a transformed heart.  Where the heart is changed, life and actions are changed.  The ability to bear fruit of repentance depends on intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ.

 

 The fruit of repentance is evidence of:

· A changed heart and mind

· A transformed life

· Ongoing communion with Christ

Repentance is an inward matter which has its seat in the heart and soul, but afterwards yields its fruit in a change of life.  John Calvin

To be forgiven is to receive love.  To forgive is to give the love you have received, which makes our love for God to grow.

Luke 7:36-50

The more we confess our sin and express our love for Christ, the clearer the evidence we have of the forgiveness of our sins.