Faith, Fruit, and self-perpetuation
Forgive me if I take any quotes out of context. I don't believe I am, but you never know.
"...Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit." Matt. 21:43
"Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance."-Matt. 25:28-28 (Parable of the Talents)
"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit......The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart." Luke 6:43 and 45
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15:1-2
"...the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16 [partial]
And let's not forget what was said in some comments in a previous post how before, Peter's nets broke, but after the resurrection Peter's net did not break when he caught the fish.
Maybe it's obvious and I'm not bringing up anything new or in need to focus on, but it seems like Jesus is saying that faith begets fruit (whether this fruit is good works, joy and peace, more love for others--or all of these) which creates more faith and a deeper relationship with God (I feel like the verse in James may point to this, which is why I included it). However it seems that the alternative to not having faith, besides the obvious, is that sooner or later the branches get burned (as shown in the rest of the passage in John).
What do you think about this idea that faith and its fruit are a cycle that we should look at closely? If I am understanding these passages correctly, I think that these are important to remember: we don't want to focus on other things than our faith and our fruit and get tied up completely in arguments about dogma or doctrine or theology, or whatever. I cannot find the verses to support, but while the Apostle Paul does say the true Gospel is important to uphold, that we should try to not get tied up.
I think that the best way to help the sick and dying branches without being 'tied up' by such discussion may be to focus on Jesus and produce as much fruit as possible in the way our Lord describes to us, by doing the most simple of things: believing in Christ and allowing our fruit to grow naturally. That way we can show the true Gospel without engaging in explicit arguments, but by our actions in all manners of fruit.
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Matt. 7:15-20
"...Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit." Matt. 21:43
"Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance."-Matt. 25:28-28 (Parable of the Talents)
"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit......The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart." Luke 6:43 and 45
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." John 15:1-2
"...the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16 [partial]
And let's not forget what was said in some comments in a previous post how before, Peter's nets broke, but after the resurrection Peter's net did not break when he caught the fish.
Maybe it's obvious and I'm not bringing up anything new or in need to focus on, but it seems like Jesus is saying that faith begets fruit (whether this fruit is good works, joy and peace, more love for others--or all of these) which creates more faith and a deeper relationship with God (I feel like the verse in James may point to this, which is why I included it). However it seems that the alternative to not having faith, besides the obvious, is that sooner or later the branches get burned (as shown in the rest of the passage in John).
What do you think about this idea that faith and its fruit are a cycle that we should look at closely? If I am understanding these passages correctly, I think that these are important to remember: we don't want to focus on other things than our faith and our fruit and get tied up completely in arguments about dogma or doctrine or theology, or whatever. I cannot find the verses to support, but while the Apostle Paul does say the true Gospel is important to uphold, that we should try to not get tied up.
I think that the best way to help the sick and dying branches without being 'tied up' by such discussion may be to focus on Jesus and produce as much fruit as possible in the way our Lord describes to us, by doing the most simple of things: believing in Christ and allowing our fruit to grow naturally. That way we can show the true Gospel without engaging in explicit arguments, but by our actions in all manners of fruit.
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Matt. 7:15-20