If You Love Me, Have Fruit!

I John 2:3-6

I used to pastor a woman who could make every excuse in the world for why she did not have to change the way she lived to be a Christian. She professed to have accepted Christ as her Savior, and she could give a testimony. However, she was a bitter, angry, judgmental, crass individual. On the other hand, she was faithful in her church attendance. She brought her granddaughter to church and Sunday School. When we moved to our current church (an hour and forty-five minutes away), she even visited us a couple of times for Sunday night services. As difficult to deal with as she was, she loved us, and we loved her. She died a few years back. As I sit here writing about her, it saddens me to think that I will never hear her offkey singing again, or go to a buffet for a Sunday lunch again.

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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.

I John 2:3-6

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John said that keeping Jesus's commandments was the evidence of our knowing Him. If we keep and do His Word, that is the proof that He has changed our lives. He is sanctifying us through the Holy Spirit, just as He promised in John's gospel. Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, keep my commandments". Jesus attached obedience to our love for Him.

John also told us that if we do not keep His commandments, we are not His, and we are liars. That is because we have no evidence of our salvation. There is no fruit. The clearest sign that an apple tree is indeed an apple tree is if there are apples growing on it. The clearest sign that a person is a Christian is if they are doing the work of Christ.

Many people today claim to be Christians because of a church affiliation or a family religious tradition. Maybe it is because they do not want to check a different box on some form. This does not make that person a Christian. For a person to be a Christian, Christ must have paid the debt for their sins and the Holy Spirit must dwell within them. If that has not occurred, that individual is not a Christian. The clearest evidence of that is a life that is not lived in obedience to the commandments of Jesus. Let me clarify, it is not the obedience to the commandments of Jesus that makes us a Christian. They are the evidence that we are a Christian. If there is no fruit, there is no reason to believe that we have been made alive in Christ. As someone I used to know said, "I wish you would live your life so that the rest of us would know that you are a Christian".

John tells us that if we keep the commandments of Jesus, the love of God is perfected in us. Jesus said, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). The word translated perfect here has the idea of "completeness". In other words, there is nothing lacking. In terms of a puzzle being perfect, all the pieces are present and in their proper place. That is how we are supposed to be. God is working on us, but all the pieces are present, and they are actively being put in the correct space. If this is not happening, it is not the fault of God. We are either not His or we are not cooperating.

Father, thank You for loving us enough to receive us how You find us, but loving us too much to leave us like You found us. You call us to completeness. You call us to a life that bears fruit and is productive. May we submit to this kind of life because it is so much better than being a dead branch.