Fruit meet for repentance
Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Repentance is an essential starting point of the Christian journey. We begin our walk with God by admitting that we need Jesus’ sacrifice and expressing our sorrow for the sin in our life.
If we’ve had a genuine moment of repentance, we should necessarily see the fruits of repentance in our lives
Many of us could easily claim to be very religious, but if we are not bearing the fruits of repentance, we are very distant from God just like the Pharisees and Sadducees
There Are two Fruits Of Repentance This Passage Points Us Toward:
1. Verse 9 says, “And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.”
The Pharisees and Sadducees were quick to point out their Jewish family history as a proof of their closeness to God. They were very proud of the fact that Abraham was their ancestor.
Today we see similar displays as you ask people if they’re a Christian and they respond "ho I was born into a Christian Home or my father is a priest or pastor"
Our parents or our family cannot believe for us; we each must choose to believe for ourselves. This leads us to the first fruit of repentance, which is humility.
When we rely on our family history like the Pharisees and Sadducees, we may claim a relationship with God, without the need to personally come to a moment of repentance.
The person, who believes their work for the church, or their Sunday morning attendance, or their large financial contribution is what is maintaining their link to God, will be led to a pride in their works.
When we begin at the point of repentance - bowing and admitting that we cannot earn our way into heaven, acknowledging our sin and questionable motives, speaking out for our need for Jesus’ blood, asking for God to forgive us - there is a humility that comes into our hearts that cannot come in any other way.
2. The second fruit of repentance is found in the first part of Verse 10, which says, “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.”
Often in our lives we feel that the sins we commit are individually small enough for us to excuse them. Or Our sins are not major.
But this verse points us to a second fruit of repentance: urgency.
We recognize that though we might be able to argue that our individual sins are small, the accumulated weight of even small sins puts us in a very dangerous situation.
With repentance comes the awareness of the seriousness of our sins and the desire that flows from that makes us want to get this horrible problem taken care of right now.
We must come to the point of repentance and a realization of the seriousness of our sin. We experience the joy and relief of God’s forgiveness as we come to Him. We recognize that the cost of our forgiveness was Jesus’ death on the cross.
Understanding that our sin cost Jesus’ His life, we walk the journey of faith with the constant desire to become more like Him, and to rid ourselves of the remaining sin in our lives.
In conclusion, fruits of repentance must yield out of our life and it must become an evidence of our relationship with God through Christ Jesus Christ name.
God bless you.
Prayer key:
1. Lord, thank you for the blessing of your word today in Jesus Christ name.
2. Lord, let the fruit of repentance show forth out of my life in Jesus Christ name.
3. Lord, grant me the grace to walk in Humility and faithfulness in Jesus Christ name
4. Thank you Lord for answered prayers in Jesus Christ name. Amen.