The Fruit of Repentance
Jeff Unsworth
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
Recently I watched a video of a sermon, labelled the most shocking sermon ever.
The speaker was highlighting the fact that there were thousands and thousands of people “making a decision for Christ” “accepting Christ as their Saviour” but without any repentance and continuing in their lives like they were before they made that decision.
Can one be truly born again and continue in their sin?
If a branch is grafted into a tree, it begins to get its nutrients from the root of that tree. If that happens then that branch will produce fruit.
If the branch does not produce fruit then that is a sign that the branch has not been properly grafted in and it is dead.
John 15:4 Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
5 I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.…
One cannot come to Christ, be born again and not produce fruit.
Fruit is the evidence of faith.
However one is not saved by works or even by faith plus works.
Eph 2:8 For by grace you are saved through Faith alone and not of works lest any man should boast.
Salvation is through faith alone and not by works.
Without works, faith is dead, BUT without faith, works are impossible.
James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
How do we show our faith, simple, by works.
There are works of the flesh and there are fruit of the Spirit.
Works proceed from the flesh and fruit proceeds from the Spirit.
The natural man, is fleshly, (unsaved, not born again), he produces works of the flesh.
The spiritual man is spiritual, (saved, born again), he produces fruit of the Spirit.
However, there is another man, the Bible calls him “The carnal man”. This man is a spiritual man that is living as though he is a natural man.
Even though we have been saved, born again, we are still in a sinful body and are subject to the sins of the flesh.
This is not to make excuses for our sins but it is a fact.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
The difference between sinners is the fact that some remain in their sin and other are sinners, saved by grace.
When we are born again, we have the ability, in Jesus Christ to overcome our sin.
The moment we are born again, we become a new creation in Christ.
Old things pass away, behold all things become new.
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
If we do not see evidence of this then we must question whether we have truly been born again.
New life always becomes apparent. If there is no signs of new life, then maybe it is because we are still dead in our sins.
The Bible says, Examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith.
2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
If you have heard a Gospel message and you have responded to the call to come and accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
It maybe that you said a prayer, to ask Jesus to come into your life.
This in itself is not wrong, we must respond to the preaching of the Gospel.
However, has there been a transformation in your life? Have you seen a difference in your outlook in life?
Do you recognise the signs of Christian new birth, a love for other Christians, a hatred of sin, a yearning to know more about God and His Word. A desire to meet and talk to others of like mind.
These are signs of life.
If you can profess to be saved and quite easily continue in your past life, continuing in your sinful ways, seeing no change in the way you speak, the things you watch, then pause for a moment and ask yourself, have you truly repented of your sin.
The Bible does not only say Believe the Gospel. It says “Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”.
No repentance, no forgiveness, no forgiveness, no salvation.
Some people refer to this kind of preaching as Lordship Salvation. That submitting to Christ as Lord goes hand-in-hand with trusting in Christ as Savior. Lordship salvation is the opposite of what is sometimes called easy-believism or the teaching that salvation comes through an acknowledgement of a certain set of facts.
All that I know, according to scripture, the Gospel says repent and believe.
You cannot have one without the other. You cannot believe and not repent, they go together and the result is salvation.
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!
There are many who say they believe in God and perhaps believe that Jesus died on a cross.
However, unless the death of Christ is appropriated in their lives through repentance and faith, they are not saved.
When the Holy Spirit moves on a person during the preaching of the Gospel, something happens.
That something is regeneration, a softening of the heart, a taking away of scales from ones eyes, opening the spiritual ears of the deaf. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness and judgement.
When that happens, one is put into a state of being able to respond to the Gospel. Put in a position where he can agree with God concerning his sin and convinced that Jesus is the one who died to take away that sin.
This is nothing of oneself, it is the move of God.
God is using the Gospel to draw one unto Himself. This is what happened on the day of Pentecost when Peter preached the first Gospel sermon.
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
“they were pricked in their heart”. The Holy Spirit highlighted their sin and it caused them to ask. “Men and brethren, what shall we do”?
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Paul on the road to Damascus, Jesus said to him, “Paul, why do you kick against the pricks”?
This is the regenerating power of the Holy Ghost.
This is God’s ordained way of bringing His chosen people to Himself.
Those whom He predestined, then He also called and those whom He called He justified.
There is one thing certain, all that the Father has predestined, will come to Him.
For Jesus said, John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
True repentance and faith in Christ will bear fruit and fruit that lasts.
