Matthew 7:15-16 (NET) You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
When Gbenga accepted Christ, there were many things in his life that were not right. But as he grew in the knowledge of the Lord, he knew that many things that were in his life had to leave. He just knew he had to change his friends because they were all ungodly people.
The Corinthian Christians were babes in the faith (lambs and not yet sheep-see John 21:15-16). Many of them were still living like unbelievers (see 1 Cor 3:1-3). But they did not know any better. That was one reason the book of 1Corinthians was written to them.
When they read it, they repented in sorrow because it made them realize that many of them were not walking in a way fitting for those who would inherit the kingdom of God (see 1 Cor 6:9-10). So great was their repentance, brokenness, and sorrow that Paul had to encourage them in his second letter to them (see 2 Cor 2: 4-11).
The way they responded to the word of God when they were corrected showed that they were born again. They bore fruits of repentance.
Jesus tells us that we will recognize people by their FRUITS (see Matt 7:16). For believers, these fruits include the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), the fruits of repentance (including when the word of God challenges you in an area or erring (see Matt3:8, Luke 3:8), the fruit of your lips (Heb 13:15), etc.
Go into today remembering that If a person is brazenly committing sin and refusing to repent even when confronted with the word of God, it is not that he is spiritual a baby in the faith(lamb) , it is most likely that he is not in the faith (goat), or he has had a shipwreck of the faith (1 Tim 1:19).
-Abraham Damilola ArigiYearly Bible Reading: Mark 13-14 (Available in Today’s Audio)
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