Q5. Fruit

[Pastor Ralph]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as “souls saved”? What is the danger in this definition?

[JanMary]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus?

 

The fruits' nature is His character produced in us....Gal 5:22,23: But the fruit of the Holy Spirit (The work which His presence within us accomplishes) is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control.

 

The chapter goes on to speak specifically about the fruit of love...His love for us, and His love through us, just He loves His Father and His Father loves Jesus.

When asked what is the greatest commandment Jesus said, "To love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul and mind, and your neighbor as yourself". And in v.12; This is My commandment: that you love one another just as I have loved you." This is the fruit of righteousness, by which all men will know you are My disciples.

 

Is it accurate to define fruit as “souls saved”?

 

No, it isn't.

 

What is the danger in this definition?

 

We don't "save" anyone. Salvation belongs to the Lord. We may share Christ, or teach the Bible, or influence others through our witness, but "souls saved" is the Lord's domain. The danger is in taking responsibility for what only the Holy Spirit can accomplish. With that mindset we might have a "notches on our gun" mentality, pridefulness or arrogance if someone comes to Christ through our influence or a sense of failure if not. Jesus was careful to say in V 16: You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and I have appointed you (planted you) that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing and that your fruit may be lasting and remain"  Salvation is His work, but we may participate by sharing as the Holy Spirit leads and empowers us.

[SoiKosum]

(John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as “souls saved”? What is the danger in this definition? 

 

If we abide in Christ and in obedience to His teachings, they we can ask anything in prayer and He'll

give it to us. Why? Because we'll be praying according to His will and leading! We'll be requesting

things that will expand His kingdom, not just selfish requests. As He gives us answers to our prayers, that is where the fruit-bearing will take place. 

 

Fruit applies to a new way of life, one's actions, to a way of living.

 

Fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth." (Ephesians 5:8b9)

 

Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:2223a)

 

Abiding in Christ produces the fruit of righteous character especially of love and influence of this character that brings glory to God.

 

It is very narrow and shallow to define fruit as souls saved. As per the above definitions, fruit must also refer to our character and way of living.

 

 

 

[blezed]

(John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as “souls saved”? What is the danger in this definition?          

• Staying connected to Jesus, we will bear much fruits.  We are showing ourselves to be his disciples and whatever we ask of him will be given.  The fruit we bear defines our character, one of righteousness.  Our righteous character helps us to win people over to Christ.  Yes, we can define fruit as "souls saved" as well as our righteous character.

[hanks]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) 

The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. 

What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? 

Is it accurate to define fruit as "souls saved"? 

What is the danger in this definition?

A true branch, united with the vine, will always bear fruit which is Christ-likeness. By abiding in Christ we will certainly produce His love, joy, and peace in our hearts. As we get to know Him through His Word, the closer we will get to the Lord, the more we will understand His will, the more we will learn to think His thoughts, the more we will become like Him, and the more fruit of the Spirit we will display (Gal 5:22-23).  It is because of our love for Him that we keep His commandments, and as we obey Him we experience His love in a deeper way. Our witness hopefully will work in the hearts of unbelievers so that they too might believe in the words and works of Jesus. This is in sharp contrast to the works of the flesh which are amongst others; sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies (Gal 5:19-21). What a contrast! I would think one can define “souls saved” as fruit, since in is in our Lord’s plan that all be saved. However, we must be careful not think it is because of our own doing – we must humbly accept that it is solely the work of the Holy Spirit. We are not to take credit for it – it is to the glory of our Lord. 

 

[Jen]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as "souls saved"? What is the danger in this definition?

 

When we abide in God though the Word it will show in our lives.  When the Holy Spirit is allowed to have His will in our lives (remember we are in some ways the master of our fate) the fruit of His being in us will be the fruit that will save souls, not of us and our works but the work of the Holy Spirit.  Isn't God gracious to work through us, to give us that privilege to have Him living in us and doing His work.  Lord , keep your strong hand on me that I might not stray.

 

God Bless!

Jen

Numbers 6:24-26

[Clarence]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as “souls saved”? What is the danger in this definition?

 

The nature of the fruit that comes from a person who abides in Christ, is that the fruit is lasting (1 Corinthians 3:10-15) and of value. The fruit is the product of their life. So a big part of the fruit of a believer in Christ may be their positive influence on other people, which may lead to them also putting their faith in Christ.

There is a danger in Judging the quality of a person's faith in Christ by the number of people they lead to Christ.

The danger is that some people are better at evangelism than others. In addition, a person may decide to trust in Christ after years of hearing and observing other believers and creation surrounding them, therefore no one person can claim the credit for leading them to Christ (John 4:37). Anyway no person can claim the credit because..."it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).

[RebeccaMallinson]

The fruit that comes of being connected to Jesus is our own obedience to his call.  This can come in many forms depending on the gifts that God has given us.  It may be ‘souls saved’, acts of charity or anything else that we are called to do for the love of God.  Paramount however is our own close relationship with God.  The danger of a narrow definition of fruit in any particular way is that it cuts off and could cause us to neglect God’s gifts to us, which we are supposed to use in ways pleasing to God.

[lighthouse2014]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as “souls saved”? What is the danger in this definition?

The nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus is; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

If we are teachers, evangelist, missionary's, pastors or true followers of Christ doing his work and souls are saved from these gifts, we are truly abiding in the vine of the Lord.

The dangers in this definition of souls saved is that we begin to believe it is our personal work that brings souls to Christ. But, it is not of ourselves that people come to Christ, it is the Holy Spirit working in their lives that saves them. Once saved it would be our responsibility to ensure they are directed to a church were they can continue to grow spiritually.          

[quilter]

1. Helping others to receive Christ. having faith and being obedient.

2.If we are truly connected to the vine and lead others to Christ then we are fruit of the vine.

3.The danger is if we think we saved the souls we can never all we can do is tell others and pray the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they turn their life over to Jesus Christ. 

[PeteD]

Lesson 26 Question 5

The nature of a person's fruit when connected to Jesus is that of a character change. The new character is righteous  and good - it is well described in Galatians 5: 22 - 23 as the fruits of the spirit. When a person comes to Christ they become connected and we see  this change.

It can be called "being born again" or  - reduced to "a soul is saved". While it it is true that a soul is saved, it is so much more. Simply calling this "a soul is saved" does not adequately convey the whole thing.

[Stanley Tavaziva]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as "souls saved"? What is the danger in this definition?

 

Many people try to be good, honest people who do what is right. But Jesus says that the only way to live a truly good life is to stay close to him, like a branch attached to the vine. Apart from Christ our efforts are unfruitful. Are you receiving the nourishment and life offered by Christ, the vine?

Yes fruit is as soul saved and it is worth more than gold in the world. If not, you will be missing a special gift he has for you.

 

We were created for a life-mission of “abundance” for God, but you can’t accomplish the work of His kingdom on your own.  Though more is always possible, you will have to do something different from what you are currently doing — you will have to cooperate more with God and respond in obedience and trust

[haar]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as "souls saved"? What is the danger in this definition?

 

 

The nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus is living a Christ - like life doing the kind of good works done by Christ. it also means being light and salt of the world.

 

 

I think bringing souls to Christ or evangelism is also part of being fruitful because it is part of the work of Christ.

 

 

[pickledilly]

The fruit produced by a connection to Jesus will have the spiritual nature of Jesus.  It will be fruit that only the Spirit can produce in us.  The light, wisdom, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, etc. will be according to the character of Jesus.  This fruit of character will cause an observable transformation in every person united with Him.

 

In thinking about how this fruit in believers could be defined as “souls saved”, I read the 3 Scripture references in our lesson where Paul is said to have spoken of fruit as “people won to Christ on his mission”.  But I honestly don’t understand any of those verses to say that people are fruit that we can claim any credit for OR that is a required evidence of our own fruitfulness.  In Romans 1:13 Paul expressed his longing to come to the believers in Rome “in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.”  However, Paul didn’t imply he was producing the harvest; he was working as a reaper.  There’s an important difference in believing yourself to be someone who “saves souls” and recognizing that you are simply someone called to cast the seed of truth and be prepared to harvest those whom God saves.  Romans 15:28 is in the context of collecting an offering prepared by Gentile believers to be delivered as aid to Jewish believers in Jerusalem, with no connection I can discern to the salvation of people.  In Philippians 1:22, Paul simply spoke of a desire for “fruitful labor”, in no way specifying that as saving souls.  I may be missing something, but those verses seem clear to me.

 

The danger in defining fruit as “souls saved” lies in deflecting the glory of God’s work of salvation to ourselves as some kind of badge of fruitfulness.  It can become a numbers game to define our "success".  Yes, we want to see souls saved through our efforts to obey God and serve His kingdom.  But salvation is not our fruit, it’s His fruit often produced in others through us.  The fruit the Father seeks to produce in us is the holy character, mind, and heart of Christ that leads us to personal faith and obedience that He will use to influence and impact other people.

 

I think PeteD made a comment so important that I’m quoting it here: "It can be called "being born again" or  - reduced to "a soul is saved". While it it is true that a soul is saved, it is so much more. Simply calling this "a soul is saved" does not adequately convey the whole thing."

 

Terminology does matter (think product of conception vs preborn human baby).  "Born again" clearly defines a process of transformation that could only be done by/through the Spirit of God.  "Soul saved" sounds like a box to check on a to-do list of human effort.  That kind of focus would obscure the authentic process of the Spirit's production of the fruit of Christ's character in those who are connected to the True Vine.  The spiritual fruit of character will produce the spiritually fruitful works.

[royk]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as "souls saved"? What is the danger in this definition?

Jesus said ... "love others as I have loved you.... Then they will know you are from/with me..." this is not simply the saving of souls but at the very least indirectly related to it. When we have the fruit of the spirit and are loving the way Jesus would have us do it, it can bring "all" and yourself closer to God, more able to do His will. It all works together, helping other Christians grow, helping yourself grow.

 

In reality none of this can happen unless we let go and let God do everything. Everything else can potentially inhibit what God intends to do. Yet since he is omnipotent, even trying to do it yourself will not stop the will of God. Being that empty vessel  is what we are called to do, to be used humbly in what ever way is His will. Knowing that and trusting that "this and only this" is the real fruit of our lives, only what God has intended to do through us when we have finally let go enough to be useful to God's eternity.

 

So studying the word to know Him better, to trust Him more, it is all part of maturing so that one can "simply" remain in Him. Thank you God for this journey to learn how to let go and let God, and how to improve a remaining in you oh Jesus and to digest the truth, there is nothing better than that!

 

[Joe_Applegarth]

What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus?  Paul provides us with the nature of the fruit in Galatians when he wrote, “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Vv. 5:22-23)  Good fruit is our personal commitment ‘abide in Christ Jesus’, to obey His commands with faith and courage and to model ourselves in every way and in all things in His holy image. When we arrive at that point in our lives, the Holy Spirit will provide the spiritual understanding that will enable us to live up to God’s lofty expectations and live a godly life.  God expects us all pray constantly, use our God-given talents in His service, to love one another, to be of righteous character and to do it all in abundance.

 

Is it accurate to define fruit as "souls saved"? What is the danger in this definition?  Satan is working tirelessly to keep people from the Lord but it’s not our responsibility to get them saved, only God can do that!  The truth is, we don’t even have the power to save ourselves only He can do that, saving souls is His domain and... it’s He who does the soul saving.  That said, if we are truly disciples of Christ Jesus, we are expected to “witness” to the nonbeliever by sharing our knowledge and understanding of God through His holy word.  He expects us to “introduce” lost sinners and nonbelievers to Christ for their salvation, not to try to save them ourselves.  The Bible tells us time and again that, if you are a true believer, the way you live your life will validate your faith to others.  God expects us all to set a positive example in the way we live our lives so that the sinners and nonbelievers of the world will want to emulate us, accept Jesus and live his/her life in His service.  The danger in defining fruit as “souls saved” is that we clearly fail to recognize that  the repentance of others is beyond the scope of mere mortals and when we go down that road we have a tendency to glorify ourselves rather than God and that will lead to dire consequences. Matthew 5:16 says that God is glorified when we are a bold “witness” for Him: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Which is in heaven.”

[Old Jerry]

The fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus is that we will be able to bring more people to Jesus. At least we will be able to put it on their minds and maybe they will start to believe in Him. It could be accurate to define fruit as “souls saved” but that isn’t the only thing. It is the way that we live our lives. The danger in this definition is that it isn’t all that it means.

[Godswriter]

Q5. (John 15:7-8) The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape. What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus? Is it accurate to define fruit as “souls saved”? What is the danger in this definition?

The nature of the fruit is soul saved or people asking questions about your faith. It could be accurate however that is not the only thing involved. It is the way we live and the fruit of the spirit. The danger is that there is more to it. 

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

What is crucial is that the fruit of the Holy Spirit needs to be evident in the life of a Christain ((Galatians 5:22-23).   Christain character that is imbued with these fruits is a strong indication of the Holy Spirit.   Being in Christ will wrought transformation of the human character.   This is extremely important---continual sanctification--inworking of the Holy Spirit in areas of our lives that we aren't aware fully of.

Yes I believe fully that souls need to get saved.    It is imperative for a godly church to preach the Cross and expect people to receive Christ....how important!   Even Tozer lamented the fact that new believers weren't taking seriously the utmost importance of sanctification.  Tallies of convert numbers and crusades have their rightfully places; however, what a tragedy if sanctification amongst believers is neglected.  Bucer, 16th century Lutheran theologian,  was grieved when he saw that Lutheran followers were not living Christain lives of holiness.   Lutheran movement at times fostered a false presumption amongst some congregants who thought one could be saved yet not live a sanctified life style.

[Irmela]

Q5. (John 15:7-8)

The fruit from branches connected to a vine is the grape.

What is the nature of the fruit that comes from being connected to Jesus?

Is it accurate to define fruit as "souls saved"?

What is the danger in this definition?

His character or attributes will then manifest in my life.  Souls will become interested in coming to or learning of or searching for Jesus, when they see Christ living in us or Him manifesting Himself in our lives. It is all Christ's doing ,  not mine.