April.16.04 - Light for the Day -  "The Fruit of the Faith" -- John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." ---------------- By saying that believers live in Him and He lives in them, Jesus is making is clear that Christianity is not something we put on externally. We don’t put is on like clothes.  We don’t adopt it as new lifestyle that focuses on our own efforts, as do those who practice a holy lifestyle they have invented themselves. Rather, Christian faith is a new birth brought about by God’s Word and Spirit.  A Christian must be a person from the depths of his heart.  Once the heart is born anew in Christ, these fruits will follow:  confession of the gospel, love, obedience, purity, and so on. … The works we make up require us to strive harder, but they never do as well as natural growth. In contrast, natural growth  stands, moves, lives, and does what it should naturally.  Christ says, “All other human teaching cannot succeed because it instructs people to make up works. But if you live in Me, as natural branches live on the vine, you will certainly produce good fruit.” -- Martin Luther -------------- -- Mark 1:22 "The people were amazed at His teaching, because He taught them as One who had authority, not as the teachers of the law." -- John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is BORN AGAIN, he cannot see the kingdom of God." -- 1 Peter 1:23 For you have been BORN AGAIN, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God." -- 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a New Creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become New." -- Galatians 5:22-25 "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control.  Against such things there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." -- Romans 8:5-10 "5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God.  It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness." -- 2 Timothy 4:3-5 "3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." -- Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."