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By their fruits you will know them.

᛭ INI ᛭

Christ has fruit. There’s the fruits of His ministry: healing many, feeding thousands. There’s the fruits of His preaching: preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins. There’s the fruits of His Passion: “forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation” (SC VI), “purchased and won” (SC II) by the fruits of His cross—His body (low hanging fruit) given into death FOR YOU and His blood, the fruit of Christ, the Vine, shed for the forgiveness of your sins.

Since you are baptized into Christ and have faith in Christ, as it goes with Christ, so it goes with you and me. This is true whether you’re a Christian preacher or a Christian hearer. (A true Christian is someone who has faith in Christ.) Apart from being baptized into Christ and trusting in Him, there will be no good fruit, no good works, absolutely nothing that’s pleasing in God’s sight—only rotten fruit from diseased trees. “For without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Heb 11)

But with faith, that is, trusting in Christ and baptized into Him (Mk 16; Gal 3), you are connected to Christ the Vine (Jn 15). Eating and drinking His flesh and blood grafts you into Him all the more. (Jn 6) Thus rooted in Christ, united with Him, you bear fruit (Eph 3). That’s what Christian preachers do, that’s what Christian hearers do—each according to their vocations. For

CHRISTIANS BEAR CHRIST’S FRUIT IN THEIR VARIOUS VOCATIONS.

(I. Christian preachers produce fruits.)

Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets.” Prophets were preachers. The LORD sent all the Old Testament prophets, and they preached His Word to His people, Israel. He also sent the Twelve Apostles “unto all the creation” (Mk 16) “to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins.” (Lk 24) He still sends pastors to preach that same message. So, when Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets,” it means, “Beware of false preachers.”

Preachers produce fruit—preaching! Jesus says this about their preaching: “A good tree bears good fruit; a diseased tree bears evil fruit.” “By their fruits you will know them.” This means HIS preaching will shows whether HE’s a good preacher or not.” This isn’t about ability, if HE’s good at public speaking, keeping people’s attention, telling good jokes or stories, or whatever other measurements people so often use to evaluate preachers. “Good fruit” is preaching that agrees with God’s Word, and, as far as we Lutherans are concerned, it’s preaching that lines up with the Lutheran Confessions, which includes the text of the Small Catechism. We understand these things to have been correctly normed by God’s Word and summarize His Word, so we, as short hand, use them, too.

God’s Word is very clear about preachers who’s preaching doesn’t line up with God’s Word or denies the Gospel, that Jesus is your Savior. The Spirit says through Paul: “If we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Gal 1) The Spirit also says to young Pastor Timothy: “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and [your hearers].” (1 Tim 4) You also heard today through Jeremiah: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you…They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of the LORD…I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.” (Jer 23)

(Transition)

CHRISTIANS BEAR CHRIST’S FRUIT IN THEIR VARIOUS VOCATIONS.

This is true of Christian preachers. They bear the Christ’s true preaching and Gospel in their preaching and teaching, but it’s not just Christian preachers, but all Christians in their various vocations. Today Christ talks about preachers and their fruit in Matthew 7, but in Luke 6, Jesus says something similar about all Christians. Christian preachers produce fruits, but Christian hearers also produce fruits.

(II. Christian hearers produce fruits.)

This is exactly what you heard in Romans 8 today. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Rom 8) We must repent, live in repentance and new life that the Spirit of God leads us into. We must not be conformed to the selfish and self-serving ways of the world, which is a life of death and misery, but rather the new life of the Spirit of faith in Christ and self-sacrifice and service for our neighbor.

This is, then, what “led by the Spirit” look like, what “live by the Spirit” and “put to death the deeds of the body” looks like. It looks like living according to the Word of God, living a life of holiness and righteousness. But what is righteousness? “In the Scriptures, righteousness consists not only in obeying the Second Table of the Ten Commandments ‹which are about good works in serving our fellowman›, but also the First Table, which teaches about fearing God, faith, and loving God. [It] includes … a sure and certain knowledge of God, fear of God, confidence in God, and the desire and ability to give God these things.” (AP I.16–17)

The “Table of Duties” in the Small Catechism lays out in many ways what it means to “serve our fellow man.” It’s the chore chart to keep our flesh in check. It includes “What Hearers Owe Their Pastors,” directions for “Civil Government” and “Citizens,” for “Husbands” and “Wives,” for “Parents” and “Children,” for “Workers” and “Employers,” for “Youth,” “Widows,” and “Everyone”! The Small Catechism itself, not to mention the hundreds of extra material our Synod puts with it, is a life-long resource to be used in our households!

(Transition)

CHRISTIANS BEAR CHRIST’S FRUIT IN THEIR VARIOUS VOCATIONS.

This is true whether you’re a “preacher or a hearer,” (SC TD) whether you’re a “father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker.” (SC V) But where exactly does this fruit come from? Well, there’s a clue in that keep calling it “Christ’s fruit…”

(III. Christians produce not their own fruits but the Holy Spirit’s, who comes from Christ and works via the Word.)

Well, you’re not producing your own fruit. You can’t produce fruit on your own. That’s what Christ says in John 15, “I’m the Vine; You’re the branches. Apart from Me you can do nothing.” Apart from faith in Jesus this is impossible. You must be united with Christ, grafted into Christ, and remain and dwell in Christ, and Christ remain and dwell within you. Without any of that happening, well, you’ll produce, well, rotten fruit! Malice, envy, strife, selfishness, death.

Same thing if you’re without the Spirit. For “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Gal 5) Only if you’re led by the Spirit will you produce these things. And even if an unbeliever has gentleness, for example, he is incapable of recognizing where that fruit comes from. Since he doesn’t have faith is gentleness is counted as unrighteousness. “For without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Heb 11)

True Christians recognize that theyproduce not their own fruits but the Holy Spirit’s, and He comes from Christ and works via the Word. “If you want to get warm, you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet, you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the [One who] has them.” (C.S. Lewis) So then, “you cannot expect to grow in grace if you do not read the Scriptures” (Charles Spurgeon), or ignore preaching, or receiving absolution, or taking communion. The more the Word abounds in your life, the more the Sacraments about in your life, the more the Spirit and His fruit, the more Christ and His fruit will abound in your life.

(Conclusion.)

Christ has fruit. There’s the fruits of His ministry: healing many, feeding thousands. There’s the fruits of His preaching: preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins. There’s the fruits of His Passion: “forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation” (SC VI), “purchased and won” (SC II) by the fruits of His cross—His body (low hanging fruit) given into death FOR YOU and His blood, the fruit of Christ, the Vine, shed for the forgiveness of your sins.

Since you are baptized into Christ and have faith in Christ, as it goes with Christ, so it goes with you and me. This is true whether you’re a Christian preacher or a Christian hearer. (A true Christian is someone who has faith in Christ.) Apart from being baptized into Christ and trusting in Him, there will be no good fruit, no good works, absolutely nothing that’s pleasing in God’s sight—only rotten fruit from diseased trees. “For without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Heb 11)

But with faith, that is, trusting in Christ and baptized into Him (Mk 16; Gal 3), you are connected to Christ the Vine (Jn 15). Eating and drinking His flesh and blood grafts you into Him all the more. (Jn 6) Thus rooted in Christ, united with Him, you bear fruit (Eph 3). That’s what Christian preachers do, that’s what Christian hearers do—each according to their vocations. For

CHRISTIANS BEAR CHRIST’S FRUIT IN THEIR VARIOUS VOCATIONS.

᛭ INI ᛭