Twin City church of Christ Blog
“Aug 5, 2024 - Fruit”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsFruit
Reading: Romans 6:20-23
Bible authors often use the metaphor of fruit to describe the feelings and outcomes our lifestyle produces. Paul does here to remind us of how desperate our slavery to sin was. “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death”(Rom 6:20-21). Think back to that time. What good did our lifestyle bring? What benefits did we receive from it? What did we do that we could be proud of? Our lives of sin, when viewed properly, only produce regret, embarrassment, anger, and disappointment. Even our good deeds are crowded out by our selfishness and stubbornness. This is poor fruit.
Now that we serve Jesus, all that has changed. “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life”(Rom 6:22). The fruit now is “sanctification”—increased separation from the world and our former life. We grow to be more like God as we anticipate the eternal life we will inherit. We see the good in our lifestyle—the patience, peace, and joy it produces. We can be proud (in the positive way) of the person we are becoming, knowing that it is the fruit of God’s work within us. We have hope for tomorrow and joy in any circumstance. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”(Rom 6:23). We are now on a path that leads to life. This is good fruit.
Today we would call fruit the “bottom line.” It is a way of evaluating our course of life by filtering out all the talk and appearances and zeroing in on what it produces. Because Christians have experienced sin, we know its destructive properties firsthand. Now we have also experienced the good things God has to offer. Why would we go back to sin? Why would we continue in it? We press on to higher things, bearing good fruit along the way.
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One Thing to Think About: What fruit have I seen in my life from serving God?
One Thing to Pray For: God’s sanctification and its ultimate goal, eternal life
