It is a joyous moment when the unbeliever accepts Christ. However, the sad part is that many of those who profess Christianity do not bear fruit or have stopped bearing fruit at some point and their lives are not any different from those of their unbelieving neighbors. Across the centuries, the number of unfruitful Christians has grown so vast that if Christ comes again in His glory, only a few will be saved, hence the saying that many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14).
In times past, Jesus dealt with the subject of bearing fruit in Matthew 7:16-23, Luke 13:6-9 and John 15:1-2 and John the Baptist did a similar thing in Matthew 3:10. In their teachings, they outlined the consequences or dangers of not bearing fruit, which are:
1. Not bearing fruit makes one fail the purpose of his calling
If you see Jesus face to face and ask Him why He called you to Himself to become a Christian and child of God, one of the things He will tell you as the reason and purpose of your calling is found in John 15:16; Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last …… (NIV)” Now you have learned the purpose for which you were called, that is, to bear fruit. Therefore, if a Christian stops bearing fruit or fails to bear fruit, he has failed the purpose of his calling.
2. Not bearing fruit leads to unanswered prayers
Christians all over the world pray to God. No matter how long it takes, God answers the prayers of Christians, but some prayers are not answered because, though He is a prayer-answering God, He answers prayers on condition. One of the conditions is that we should pray in Jesus’ name (John 14:13-14) and the other is that we should bear fruit.
In a sermon, Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you (John 15:16 ESV)”. We see that bearing fruit is required for a Christian’s prayer to be answered and if a Christian stops or fails to bear fruit, he forfeits answers to his prayers.
3. Not bearing fruit brings dishonor to God
What we do with our lives as Christians induces the unbelievers to either have a negative or positive perception of God. We understand from Jesus’ sermons that God’s name is glorified when we bear fruit as Christians – ‘By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit (John 15:8 ESV)’. What if a Christian ceases or fails to bear fruit? How does that affect God? Paul once told the Jews that because of them the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles (Romans 2:24 ESV).
In the same way, the unbeliever loses respect for God and he becomes hard to convert when he realizes that these Christians who claim to know God are just as sinful as himself or worse. How would God’s name be honored when Christians are embezzling in the company, the organization, or the state? How is God honored when Christians are living in promiscuity? This gives unbelievers occasion to pass unwholesome comments about our faith and our God.
4. Not bearing fruit excludes one from the body of Christ
Worse yet, if a Christian stops bearing fruit, he shall no longer be part of Christ. Jesus uses a proverbial way to tell us what shall happen to any Christian who ceases to bear fruit. He said, “1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch [Christian] in me that bears no fruit, while every branch [Christian] that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful (John 15:1-2).”
The vine tree is Jesus Himself, and Christians are the branches of the vine tree. It means every Christian is connected to Christ and is part of the body of Christ. As the unfruitful branch is removed from the vine, it becomes obvious that the unfruitful Christian is disconnected from Christ and is no longer reckoned as a child of God. Onward, God ensures their removal from the church quickly or gradually – sometimes through church discipline, death, or their own apostasy.
John the Baptist said a similar thing in Matthew 3:10. He said the axe is laid to the root of the trees and every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. John the Baptist’s teachings, coupled with Jesus’, confirm that God will not tolerate the unfruitful believer to linger in His kingdom forever; He will surely remove them from His kingdom when they exhaust their grace period.
5. Not bearing fruit leads to loss of eternal life
Lastly, the unfruitful Christian shall be damned. According to Jesus, on the day of Judgment, the unfruitful Christian will stand before Him and make references to his large donations to the church, his times in the church choir, the miracles he worked, the prophecies he uttered, and so on, as evidence that he was a true follower of Christ and worthy of eternal life.
However, Jesus shall deny him eternal life, denouncing him as a sinful person. Though the deeds mentioned above are good, in the sight of God, they do not count if your life is tainted with lying, fornicating, adultery, stealing, and all kinds of immorality.
In Matthew 3:10, John the Baptist concluded on the end of the unfruitful believer by saying that when the unfruitful tree is cut down, it is thrown into the fire. While it is a popular biblical belief that unbelievers shall be condemned to hell, the teachings of Jesus and John the Baptist confirm that all who profess to be Christians and followers of Christ, yet do not bear fruit, shall share in the end of the unbelievers.
Conclusion
There is nothing better at stake for a Christian who stops bearing fruit. Now is there any hope left for unfruitful Christians? Yes. So far as you can breathe, you can do something about your unfruitfulness. Repent, rededicate your life to Christ, and make His word your rule of life and conduct. God expects all Christians to bear fruit and to prove how much He wants us to bear fruit and remain in Christ, He has given us His Holy Spirit and His word – these are the two most important factors to bear fruit. All that is left is our willingness to bear fruit. Christians should rise to their duty and walk in the Spirit and in the obedience of the word to bear fruit.