Bearing fruit or to bear fruit means doing good works by applying the word of God in your life. Its benefits are as follows:
Your prayers are answered only if you bear fruit
Every Christian hopes that God will answer his prayers and put a smile on his face. God, indeed, answers prayers and grants what we require of Him according to His will. However, in Jesus’ teachings, for one’s prayer to be answered, a few conditions have to be met. One, you are supposed to pray in Jesus’ name. Jesus said – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you (John 16:23).”
Two, you are to bear fruit. Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you (John 15:16).”
You heard Jesus very well. So one benefit of bearing fruit is that you meet the requirement for your prayer to be answered. God answers the prayer of any fruit-bearing Christian at the appointed time.
You show yourself to be a Christian only if you bear fruit
You would easily perceive that a man wearing a turban is an Indian or a Muslim. This is because it has been their way from of old. Often than not, outward appearance can easily predict a person’s morality, ethnicity, religion, etc. Jesus Christ taught His followers something similar. Sometimes, we should let our deeds speak for us, instead of our mouths. When a Christian bears fruit – good fruit, he shows himself to be a true Christian and disciple of Jesus. Jesus said to His disciples while teaching them about bearing fruit:
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8 NIV).
Your neighbors and the people of your community would easily know and believe that you are a Christian and a true follower of Jesus when you are bearing fruit such as love, chastity, peace, etc.
You shall not be cut off nor be removed only if you bear fruit
Just as God is in the business of saving people, He is also in the business of cutting people off. In John 15:1-3, Jesus identifies Himself as the true vine, and the Father as the farmer, and we, His followers, are the branches. The branches have the responsibility of bearing fruit. Jesus stated categorically that the branch that does not bear fruit will be removed from the vine.
1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit (John 15:1-2).
Taketh away in the context of John 15:1-2 refers to apostasy. The Christian who does not bear fruit ruins his relationship with God and becomes separated from Christ. However, Christians who continue bearing fruit shall always remain in Christ or shall always be part of the body of Christ for life.
You become part of the elects only if you bear fruit
The elects are the Christians who will be chosen finally to spend eternity with God. Let’s assume 1000 people profess to be Christians in this world. Eventually, all these professing Christians will stand before God in judgment. A few of these 1000 Christians shall be chosen for eternal life, whereas the rest shall be condemned. Now it should matter a lot to every professing Christian to find out why only a few shall be chosen. Which criteria will be used to choose them? Jesus Christ has already given answers to this question.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23
Those professing Christians who will be rejected and will not be part of the elect are those who practiced iniquity. However, those who do God’s will shall be saved. You do God’s will by learning the teachings of the Bible and putting them into practice – and that is bearing fruit. Bearing fruit is the only campaign by which Christians are elected or chosen to inherit eternal life.
You do yourself a favor if you bear fruit
One day, a Christian friend of mine confessed to me about something he did and how it had a very bad impact on him. He said he fornicated with one lady friend of his and contracted gonorrhea from her. According to him, he went through terrible discomfort and pain when the disease began to show its symptoms. On account of the pain, he spent lots of money on medication to get himself cured.
The Bible says, “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body (1 Corinthians 6:18).”
If this friend of mine had listened and obeyed the Scriptures and did not commit this sin, do you think such a bad thing would have happened to him? Certainly not. He would not have contracted an STD, would not have suffered days on end, and would not have expended his millions on medication; he would have saved himself a lot of trouble.
That is the point. Bearing fruit, which is living by God’s word to do good works, would save a Christian from many very unpleasant troubles that come upon those who are not bearing fruit and are living in disobedience. In fact, in Genesis 15:26, God promises His children that if only we would bear fruit, i.e. live by his word to produce good deeds, He would also not bring upon us the diseases He brings upon the ungodly people.
Conclusion
Fruit-bearing comes with benefits or blessings and it is far better than not bearing fruit. The fact that Jesus spent a great deal of His time teaching about bearing fruit makes bearing fruits a very important practice in Christianity.
Food for thought
- Are you bearing fruit as a Christian?
- Have you started reaping the benefits of fruit-bearing?
- Which of these benefits encourages you most to continue bearing fruit?
- Is bearing fruit worthwhile? Why?
- Would you teach others to bear fruit? Why?