What does it mean to be a fruitful Christian?

Answer

The Bible often uses the metaphor of fruit to describe the produce of our lives. Fruit can be either good or bad (Matthew 7:18; Luke 6:43). Romans 7:5 says, “For when we were in the realm of the flesh . . . we bore fruit for death.” A fruitful Christian will produce better results: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life” «The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; And he that winneth souls is wise. », (Proverbs 11:30).

Fruit is the direct result of whatever controls our hearts «For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: », (Matthew 15:19). The fruit of a life not surrendered to Jesus includes “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,” and many more evil acts (Galatians 5:19-20). In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit of God is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

God the Father is the gardener « I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. », (John 15:1), and He desires us to be fruitful. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” «I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without meYe can do nothing.”, (John 15:5). As branches cling to the vine, we cling to Christ, drawing our very life from Him. The goal is “much fruit,” as Christ uses us to bring about blessed, celestial results in a broken, fallen world.

When we have committed ourselves to Christ and live to please Him, the natural result is behavioral choices that resemble His. He was clear that true followers of Christ will be identifiable by their fruit: “Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7:16-20).

There are numerous ways Christians can be fruitful. True fruitfulness begins in the heart with the fruit of the Spirit. That inner fruit influences outward actions; our words and activities will glorify the Lord, and God’s will is accomplished. God’s desire is to transform us into the image of Christ “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”, (Romans 8:29) and make us as fruitful as He was. In our allegiance to Him, we aspire to be characterized by good works (Ephesians 2:10;Titus 2:7;Colossians 1:10), humility (Ephesians 4:2;Titus 3:2), and forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32;Colossians 3:13). We aim to always be prepared to “give a defense for the hope that is within you” «but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: », (1 Peter 3:15). Our aspiration is to be the “good soil” Jesus referred to in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:3–9. The outcome of spiritual productivity is that God is glorified, we mature, and others come to know Christ—this is the ultimate productivity for a child of God (Matthew 5:16;Acts 20:26-27;Mark 16:15).