We must finish out Christ’s sermon by connecting the links of a chain. These last few sections are not random thoughts. They are carefully and intentionally connected to form a picture of a believer, and this picture looks like the practical application of the Beatitudes that Jesus began this entire sermon with.
To summarize this whole section, we should approach human relationship by following the pattern of God with us: Love people, graciously speak truth to dangerously unrepentant people, be patient and forgiving with struggling people.
There is a difference between fire insurance and fruit assurance. This section was so important because Jesus had placed himself in a juxtaposition with the religious leaders as the one who was truly defining what real faith is and looks like. (You have heard it said, but I say…) Mere religion is fruitless and rotten in its efforts to produce fruit for God. Matthew 7:15–20 says,
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."
What Does Fire Insurance Look Like?
1. Mere Mental Belief
James 2:18–19: "But someone will say,“You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!"
2. Mere Emotional Response
2 Peter 2:20–22: "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: 'The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire'.”
3. Mere Desire for Miraculous Blessings
Matthew 10:5–10: "These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, 'Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food."
John 6:66–71: "After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him."
4. Blind Submission to a Church or Spiritual Authority
Galatians 1:11–17: "For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus."
5. Merely Praying a Prayer and Raising Your Hand
Matthew 15:7–9: "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
What is real faith?
Joel Beeke says, "Saving faith is trusting in the Lord alone for salvation, by knowing experientially, ascending to His word submissively, and relying on Christ dependently as the only mediator of grace." (Beeke, 478-479) So we see there are three parts to saving faith:
Knowledge - What I know and believe to be true.
Assent - A feeling that I must respond.
Confident Trust - Looks like a life that revolves around what I now know and believe to be true.
Hebrews 11:1 says,
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
In this verse, we see faith associated with two words. First, "assurance" or "substance"(hypostasis-under or hypo + stand or histemi). This means your faith is not abstract, but concrete and living. It is not something you can just put on and then set aside. This leads to the next word: "conviction" or "evidence" (elegchos- proof enough for conviction in court).
A conviction is something you live by because it is something you are, hence it changes your life and no longer allows you to live in comfort as you did before, because you have seen something new that enlightens your reality.
John Murray, in his book Redemption Accomplished and Applied, explains Eternal Security or Perseverance of the Saints this way: “The crucial test of true faith is endurance to the end, abiding in Christ, and continuance in his word.This emphasis of Scripture should teach us two things. 1) It provides us with the meaning of falling away, of apostasy. 2) We must appreciate the lengths and the heights to which a temporary faith may carry those who have it.” (Murray, 161-162).
In Mark 4:3–20, we read Jesus' parable of the sower and the seed. Through this parable, Jesus wanted his hearers to understand true faith. It says:
“'Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold'.” And he said, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'”
Jesus also wanted his disciples to evaluate their own faith. This passage continues:
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, 'To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’And he said to them, 'Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?'"
From this passage, we discern four different "seed groups". Seed group 1 are the non-responders, or those who are not interested! Verses 14-15 say:
"'The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.'"
Seed group 2 exhibits knowledge without assent. They are those who merely say, "This sounds great…I’m glad to know about it!"Verses 16-17 say of them:
"'And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.'"
Seed group 3 exhibits knowledge and assent without confident trust. They say, "This feels great"…until it doesn’t. Jesus speaks of this group on verses 18-19:
"'And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.'"
Finally, seed group 4 showcases knowledge + assent + confident trust, and say, "This is great and compels me to persevere regardless of how I feel!" Verse 20 says about them:
"'But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.'”
What Does Fruit Assurance Look Like?
Let's close by reviewing the questions of fruit assurance in our lives:
1. Do I see evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in my life?
See Galatians 5 for a list of fruit of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit.
2. Is that fruit merely external or is it growing out of inner love for God?
To know this, you need to know what motivates you, inner peace from the Holy Spirit or outer praise from other people. Matthew 23 addresses this struggle.
3. Am I convicted to keep trying to grow and change when I produce improper fruit?
2 Corinthians 4 motivates us to remember the treasure is housed in broken flesh so that we can see God’s power in us.
References
Beeke, Joel. (2021). Reforemed Systematic Theology Volume 2: Spirit and Salvation. Wheaton, Ill. Crossway.
Murray, J. (2015). Redemption accomplished and applied. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
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