There is an interesting mention of fruit in Romans 1. Verse 13 says, “I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.” What is Paul talking about here? The context indicates that he desired to proclaim the gospel both to the Greek and the barbarian, both the wise and the foolish. This is in obedience to the Great Commission of Matthew 28, which calls us to go out and make disciples. We are to proclaim the excellencies of Christ to all. A remarkable fruit that we can bear is to be the vessel God uses in bringing sinners to salvation through the proclamation of the gospel.
We often hear the analogy of “bearing fruit,” but have you ever wondered what this actually looks like in the life of a believer and where the term comes from?
We find this term in two key passages of Scripture. The first passage is Matthew 7:17-19, which says “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” From this passage, we learn there are two kinds of fruit. The first is fruit that is born of the Spirit, which is good fruit. The second type is fruit that is born of the flesh, which is bad fruit. We also learn that those who do not bear fruit are thrown into the fire, which is important to note.
The second passage is from John 15:5-6, where Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” Here again, we see this idea that those who abide with Christ will bear fruit. We also see, once again, this idea that those who do not bear fruit are cast into the fire. It’s clear there is an intensity to these passages we don’t want to miss. Those who do not bear fruit will have no part in heaven with Christ but will spend eternity in hell apart from Christ. It’s exceedingly important we get a handle on this concept of bearing fruit.
Let’s break this concept down into three parts, our internal, external, and eternal fruit. Internal fruit is probably the most commonly referred to of the three types of fruit.