You Shall Know Them by Their Fruits: Part 1

I think it is axiomatic that the authenticity of a saint lies not in what they know but in Whom they know. Amen. “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1 John 2:3-6 NKJV).

Now take Peter and John, for example, who were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin because they testified. “And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” (Acts 4:7-14 NKJV).

Peter and John testified boldly of the Lord and were known by their fruit, which glorified God the Father. “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:8 NKJV). They were devout men like Paul, who said, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NKJV). Amen.

Now, on the other hand, take the pharisees, who knew the law quite well. They studied the Scripture and committed to memory the Lord’s commands; prayer was theirs. Yet they wrested His word into what it was not, laying burdens upon men’s souls that the Lord never intended. As the scripture says in Matthew 23:1-4, “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” (NKJV).

As such, they produced no fruit, and theirs became damnation. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15 NKJV). And again, He says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27-28 NKJV).

So then let us all be mindful of our souls. For no one will ever know the Lord by pursuing intellectualism, which often makes one dull to the things of the Spirit. No need! And let us be mindful always of our conduct. For no ostentatious display of religion – which often strays into self-will by injecting man’s wisdom and sensationalism into that which is sacrosanct – will propel you into God’s grace. Instead, let us “[s]ee then that [w]e walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, [r]edeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16 KJV). “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NKJV). Therefore saints, let us glory only in the LORD and strive to “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10 NKJV). Amen.