Posted on 07/28/2015 6:31:02 AM PDT by metmom
“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:8).
If you are a Christian, your life will produce spiritual fruit.
If you want to enjoy assurance of salvation in all its richness, you need to faithfully pursue all the virtues we have been studying this past week. The reason is simple—they produce fruit in the Christian life, and nothing is a better indicator of true salvation than that. It was the criterion Christ used to distinguish between the true and false believer (Matt. 7:15-20).
The reasonable question that ought to arise next is, what is fruit? The New Testament says it encompasses many righteous activities. Paul says winning souls to Christ is fruit (Rom. 1:13). The apostle calls the house of Stephanas “the first fruits of Achaia” (1 Cor. 16:15). In Philippians 4:17 Paul refers to money given in the support of ministry as fruit. The writer of Hebrews says praise is the fruit of our lips (Heb. 13:15). The act of praying is also a spiritual fruit.
Behind every one of those righteous actions is the right attitude, because “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). If you act without a godly attitude, it is only legalism, not genuine spiritual fruit.
All the Spirit-endowed virtues, actions, and attitudes we have discussed, if they are in your life, will assure you that you’ll be “neither useless nor unfruitful.” “Useless” is also used in James 2:20 in relation to dead faith. If you incorporate into your life the virtues of 2 Peter 1:5-7, your faith will not be dead or ineffective.
“Unfruitful” is also used in Matthew 13:22 of the person with a weedy heart and of false, apostate teachers in Jude 12. When you don’t live a virtuous life, you are the same as an apostate or a worldly hanger-on in the church.
“In the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” refers to true believers, those who possess truth as opposed to error. Because you know Christ, you have the ability to live a virtuous life (see Eph. 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3). When you do, God will give you true assurance.
Suggestions for Prayer
Pray that God would strengthen any of the virtues that are weak in your life.
For Further Study
Read Matthew 7:13-23.
What is the first essential for fruitfulness (vv. 13-14)? What will happen to many who do good works (vv. 22-23)?
ping
A lot of those characteristics are born of suffering and deprivation which is at odds with our comfortable preferences. I don’t think there’s really any shortcuts, like the old monks who used to self scourge, I don’t think it’s controllable like “hey, let’s do something really stupid today and learn from the experience”.
Perhaps that is the key really, it’s giving up having to control everything and taking direction based on faith.
The giving up control is the absolute hardest thing to do.
But then it occurred to me....
Who better to be in control?
Me, who knows next to nothing about anything, and can’t even control my own self as I’d like much less what others do?
Or God, who is omnipotent, omniscience, omnipresent, who knows the beginning from the end, who created and sustains all things and who promised that all things work together for good for them who love Him?
It’s really a no brainer.
This is a must watch re: the FedGov attack on God and His people.
It’s not really that easy though because that determination lives in a gritty rubber meeting the road place, it’s not really an intellectual exercise. On some levels, sure, but I think it’s a bit like being guided by a compass when you don’t understand the underlying science, you just see this wobbly little needle which doesn’t seem to have any relevance to what you are doing.
Romans ch 10 v 9-10
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
ch 10 v 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
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