Is it real, is it relevant? By their fruits you will know them

My last few posts have been dealing with the question of truth. But actually a more frequent (and more modern) question than “Is it true?” is “Is it relevant?” It is a good question. So does it matter, does your (my) faith make any (positive) difference? The World accuses Christians and those of other religious faiths of being deluded. The point of course is that nothing good can come from delusion. And it is also true that there have been too many wars fought over religion, and that a great deal of religion is divisive and destructive. Many have been hurt by church.

But does this mean that all religion is destructive, and that no good whatsoever comes out of it? Yes many have been hurt by church, but does that mean there is no good in it at all? If that were the case why would anyone go? Do I stop using $20 bills because there have been forgeries? If we overreact to (admittedly real) wrongs, are we not in danger of throwing out the baby with the bath water? Do we distrust the Bible because some people twist its meaning (and to their own destruction – 2Peter 3:16)? The Bible itself talks about true (and hence by implication false) religion (James 1:27). It also tells us how to discern which is which, it is “by their fruits you will know them,”and “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:20, 18). Note by these verses, that the Bible knows that there is both good and bad fruit, that not everything that claims to be genuine is genuine. We are not always honest about what we do, who are and where we are coming from. When was the last time somebody said to you “You do realize that I am being manipulative don't you?” If we are trying to fool others, we are not likely to be up front about it – even if the one I am trying to fool is me! It would kind of defeat the purpose :-).

So if it is by their fruits that we know, then we need to ask what kind of fruit there is from their (and our) faith? What does good fruit look like? Let's ask some more questions. Here are a few: Is their (my) faith helping them (me) to become a better person? Does it hold up, under the trials of life? Will it sustain us, and bring us through the difficult times? Is it real, or have I believed lies, cunningly devised fables and/or illusions?” Good fruit will not come from delusion! “Does my faith give practical answers the questions of life and death in a way that enables me to face the present and the future with confidence?” "Does my faith help me with my identity crises and my woundedness?" "Is my faith leading me to become more and more whole? Is my faith real/helpful/relevant, does it make a positive difference in my life?" Jesus tells us that He came that we might have fullness of life. "Is my life more fulfilling because I am a Christian?

The question is important to both those inside and outside the faith. We were talking last day about the inner witness of the Spirit. But the fruit needs to be seen from the outside too. They will know we are Christians by our love (John 13:35). Even some of those who are antagonistic to the gospel tell me that my conversion has been good for me. It is God who is at work in me (Philippians 2:12), and the credit for improvements goes to Him. If the faith out of which we operate is no more than an intellectual conversion, an intellectual belief that Orthodox Christian teaching is true, then it is no conversion at all. If my life is not in the process of being conformed and transformed to His life (the life of Christ) then the answer to most of the above questions is “no.” If my words and my actions are at odds with each other, then such faith is not a Biblical faith. James puts it this way “Someone will say, “You have faith; I have actions.” Show me your faith without actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions.” To put it another way genuine faith is seen by what we do, and how it changes our lives. This is not how we get saved (Ephesians 2:8,9), but is is how it speaks to the World of it's genuineness (or not). Too much of Western Christianity has a disconnect between what is said and what is done. We need to come back to the Biblical question "Is there good fruit from all of this?"

But I do need to inject a word of caution. We should not be too quick to judge the fruit (either positive or negative). Jesus tells us that the wheat and the weeds (good and bad) are growing together (Matthew 13:24-30). One of the implications of the teaching here, is that it is not always immediately clear which is which. Part of this is bound up in the fact that the Church is intended to be a hospital for the sin sick. You would not criticize the local hospital because it admitted a lot of sick people. Likewise we should not expect the church to be full of people who are fully whole. Many come to Christ in the first place because of their messed up lives. I know I did. The day after I was saved I was still messed up, messed up but saved. And He is still at work in me! In one sense it is to the credit of the Church that we admit so many wounded, hurting and hence often difficult people (hurt people spread the hurt!). Of course we do need to be in the process of becoming whole. But I also know there have been periods of my Christian life where I appeared to be going backwards. This looking for fruit then needs to be long term looking. On the other side of the coin, from the parable of the sower, we see that some of what claims to be genuine and for a while looks genuine will be (in the long run) shown not to be.

I remember hearing “Two thirds of it is fake.” But if you think about it two thirds fake means one third genuine. I have learned it is better not to judge too quickly, or by the outside appearance. The Lord does not do this, the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). And in the end, it is what the Lord thinks of me that is important, not what man thinks. For sure we will not always be appreciated even for the good. But the Lord sees the good, and what He sees He will reward.