Fruit of Discipleship

Psalm 2; John 15:1-8; Acts 8:26-40; 1 John 4:7-21

Rev. Chris Harbin, Central Baptist Church—Lowesville, VA

10 May 2009

Salvation cannot exist without discipleship. There is no discipleship without fruit. A desire for salvation without commitment to Christ Jesus misses the whole point of faith, redemption, and salvation. Being saved does not begin with issues of eternity. It begins with the issues of living life according to the pattern of God's will in the here and now. After all, salvation is not so much rescue from hell, as it is being introduced to the presence of God, there to dwell forever. It is rescue from our selves and a new participation in the life of Christ Jesus.

I'm not much of a fan of Mormon theology. It has been said, however, that behind every lie is a kernel of truth necessary to make it believable. A distortion of truth must start with something akin to truth. Mormon theology would posit that we are designed to become gods and populate new worlds after our deaths. Should we live to please the god of this planet, we will be given planets of our own to serve as gods. The Bible does indicate that we are children of God. While it speaks of Christ Jesus as God's only son, it also indicates that we are likewise to become God's children. The problem, however, is in understanding what that means. Indeed, the god of Mormonism is too small a being for my allegiance. The God of the Bible does not reign over this world alone, but is Creator and owner of all. If we are not to grow up to become gods, then, what does it mean to be God's children?

We have a saying in Brazil, "Filho de peixe, peixinho é." "The offspring of a fish is a little fish." We use that saying along the lines of the American expressions, "She's just like her mama" and "An apple won't fall very far from the tree." We recognize traits of appearance, character, and actions by which children resemble their parents. They remind us of previous generations, not only in their physical characteristics, but also in the expressions of character as well. Being God's children hinges on this very same aspect of familial relationships. We will not become the gods of new planets to be populated and ruled. We are not children of God in regard to position, power, or form. We are God's children in that we are called to grow into the character of Christ Jesus, becoming the representatives of God on earth—very much the concept of being created in the image of God.

The foremost aspect of being like God is allowing God's love to flow through us. John's letter goes on and on about this, stating and restating what seems so obvious—to us. We have the benefit of having looked at John's words over, and over again. Maybe John repeated the theme so much, precisely because it was not so obvious in their lives. The church was having difficulty getting into to the practice of God's love. Loving as did Christ Jesus had not become a habit. Their expression of the character of Christ Jesus was not as it should have been in their lives, any more than it is in ours. John understood that what was important needed to be repeated. He understood that it was one thing to speak of God's love. It was quite another to adopt God's love as our own way of life. He also understood this as the very purpose of the atonement.

One of my professors explained the atonement this way: "at-one-ment". It was an older English term meaning to bring together as one. Translators tired of using the same word over and over in a passage chose this term to express the concept of reconciliation—being brought together as one. While others use the terms propitiation or expiation, the point here in John's epistle seems to revolve around this sense of joining in unity. The underlying Greek points back to the mercy seat of Yahweh on the Ark of the Covenant, where reconciliation was effected.

Christ has done for us what is necessary that we might become one with God. As Paul states in Romans, Jesus is the offering for our reconciliation, Jesus is also the priest making the sacrifice, as well as being the one interceding and receiving the offering for our reconciliation with God. The purpose of expiation or atonement is to bring us to God. God offers the sacrifice, God is the sacrifice, God receives the sacrifice—all in order that we might be joined in reconciliation with the Almighty. It is in our proximity to and relationship with God that God's presence is known in the world. God has given us his Spirit, his breath, in order that his presence might flow through us in love. The Spirit is expressed in love—God's love for us, our love for God, and our love for one another.

Jesus put the question another way. He spoke of being the grapevine joining all the parts together. At issue was our participation in the vine with its nourishment and its enabling power that helps us produce the grapes for which the vine was designed. Love is that character of those grapes. It does not flow from us, but from our connection to Christ Jesus in whom we live and from whom we receive nourishment.

Herein lies the essence of salvation. In Christ Jesus we have the resources to love others as we have been loved by God. In Christ we are enabled to look beyond ourselves and extend grace, love, mercy, and redemption to the entire world. Being in Christ enables us to bear fruit—the fruit of God's presence and character. It is in bearing fruit that we fulfill the purpose of being joined to Christ Jesus. It is in bearing fruit that we become disciples.

Discipleship is an apprenticeship. In becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, we are apprenticed to the master craftsman of God's love. We are then set tasks which allow us to embark on a journey of learning. It is not a pursuit of knowledge for the sake of intellectual concerns. It is the molding of our lives such that we are enabled with the skills to perform the work of the craftsman. We must go through the routines of the trade over, and over, and over, and over again, with ever increasing skill. Discipleship is not the textbook learning of data. It is the reshaping of our lives through a process which transforms us from onlookers to master craftsmen. We can never become apprentices without actually doing the work of the craftsman—without producing the end products of the craft, both in goods and in taking on new apprentices who will be likewise productive.

This fruit is the point of discipleship. It is the end product expected of all who participate in the life of the vine. It is the reason to belong to Christ and receive the gift of God's offer of reconciliation. Apart from bearing the fruit of God's love, there is no reason to come to Christ Jesus. If it is not to transform our lives and actions, there is no reason to draw near to God.

We are invited to Christ. We are summoned to lives of productive discipleship. We are called to follow as disciples and apprentices. Yet that call is to carry us beyond who we are, that we might become in character and action as God is. It is a call to transformation from the inside out—a call to become the children of God, representing God before the world.

This transformation is the purpose of God's call. God's love is poured out for us that we might relish God's love, but also that we might live in and according to that same love. Behold the quality of God's love given to us, that we might become the children of God! As God's children, we are to live even as Christ Jesus who gave even his own life that others might live. This is discipleship's fruit.

—©2009 Christopher B. Harbin

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