The Good, Bad and Ugly Fruit

CENTRAL IDEA: Just as we discern between good, bad, and ugly fruit in nature, we must also evaluate the fruits of our lives through the lens of faith. By cultivating good fruit, rejecting the bad, and addressing the ugly aspects of our character, we reflect God's glory in the world.

Cultivating Good Fruit

Cultivate Defined: To nurture and help grow

Biblical examples of good fruit (the Good Samaritan, Jesus’ miracles).

2 Peter 1:1–7 ESV

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

2 Peter 1:8 ESV

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rejecting Bad Fruit

The Consequences of Poor Choices

Matthew 7:17–20 NKJV

Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

Galatians 5:19–21 ESV

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ugly Fruit

1. Prioritize comfort of commitment

QUESTION #1: How can we be so easily distracted from our spiritual journey when surrounded by the many conveniences and comforts of this world?

This ugly fruit is produced when:

We skip Bible class b/c we’re tired and want to sleep in

We don’t share our faith with others b/c we fear rejection, ridicule, or we don’t want others to know we’re Christians

We neglect our Bible time b/c we are “too busy”

Romans 8:18 ESV

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

2. Selective obedience

James 2:10 ESV

For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

3. Lack of spiritual hunger and growth

This ugly fruit is produced when:

We become content with spiritual stagnation

We become lukewarm and lose our appetite for the things of God

We go through the motions of our faith without any desire or intentionality to deepen our relationship with Christ

Hebrews 5:12–14 ESV

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

When we lack spiritual hunger, we may find ourselves content we surface level Christianity.

We are satisfied with that same level of Biblical knowledge we’ve had for years without any desire to dive deeper into scripture

Prayer life may become routine and shallow, lacking the communication with God the reflects a vibrant faith.

QUESTION #2: How can we discern between the fruits of the Spirit and the fruits of the flesh in our daily decision-making?

4. Compromising with worldly values

This ugly fruit is produced when:

We allows the standards and attitudes of our culture to shape our beliefs and behaviors more than God word does

We adopt worldly attitudes toward money, success, relationships or entertainment without critically examining them through the lens of scripture

When we get easily caught-up in the latest worldly trends and loose sight with what truly aligns with God’s teaching

QUESTION #3 Why does true spiritual growth often happen in the areas where we are most challenged by scripture

When we embrace the more difficult teachings, we allow God to shape us more fully in the image of Christ