• Home
  • About This Blog
  • Contact Me
  • Subscribe
  • Comment Policy

Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series
Home Bible Reflection No wax fruit

No wax fruit

Posted on April 12, 2021 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment


I have a pear tree, an apple tree, and a cherry tree in my yard. If they were not producing fruit, I could go out and buy a bunch of wax apples, cherries and pears and hang them on the trees. This would make the trees look productive to those passing by, but wouldn’t fool anyone who took the time to take a closer look.

In the same way, I have seen churches that manufacture a frenzy of activity that seems to indicate that there is spiritual growth taking place, but upon closer examination, I find only the appearance of fruitfulness.

Jesus said to the Church in Sardis,

“I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.”

Revelation 3:1, ESV

The problem lies in a faulty understanding of what it means to build the church. When Jesus builds the church, he uses the preaching of the gospel to transform individual hearers into children of God. The church’s responsibility ends with the proclamation of the gospel and the “equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12). Real growth can only take place when the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bring about new life in the hearers.

But it seems that in 2021, the “experts” seem reluctant to wait upon God to bring growth so they invent methods to bring people in and make it appear that spiritual growth is taking place. The problem is that the fruit we produce by human methods is wax fruit and not real fruit.

The experts say you need professional musicians, concert-style lighting, slick branding, and polished speakers who won’t offend the hearers, to draw people in and, hopefully, capture their attention. Keep it fun and keep it light.

But when a church spends more effort on its style and branding than it does on teaching its members what it means to live in the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5), then little, if anything, of substance, is taking place.

I suppose it would be prudent to remind us what else Jesus wrote to Sardis:

“Remember then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.”

Revelation 3:3, ESV

When the tree no longer produces real fruit, it may be time to cut down the tree.

When the church no longer produces spiritual fruit, it’s time to find a different church.

Because if they are not producing spiritual fruit, it is evidence that Jesus has already left the building. And, if Jesus isn’t there, there’s not much point in staying.


Filed Under: Bible Reflection Tagged With: fruit, growth

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Follow Attempts at Honesty

Honesty in your Inbox

Responding to the Dinesh D’Souza controversy – 4 things to keep in mind

Dinesh D’Souza has been in the news recently. He is accused of improprieties. How should the church evaluate and respond to these accusations?

On Bullies and Turning the Other Cheek

Whether it is by personality or by training, or some combination of both, I like to have rules to assist in making decisions. But one thing we learn from the gospels is that Jesus often didn’t play by the conventional rules and sometimes it is difficult to discern if a rule is from God (and inviolable) or from man (and can be ignored).

George MacDonald

The Winter of our Discontent – George MacDonald Quote

While reading George MacDonald’s Adela Cathcart, I ran across this quote and thought I’d share it: “It is not the high summer alone that is God’s. The winter also is His. And into His winter He came to visit us. And all man’s winters are His – the winter of our poverty, the winter of […]

Jonathan Edwards

Resolved – Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards

To prime the pump for New Year’s Resolutions, a list of Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions might be helpful.

A follow-up to some comments

In February of last year (2012), I published a post entitled “The temptation of anger in response to militant atheism.” That post received a number of comments from those who challenged some of my assertions. The commentors also asked some very good questions. In this post, I attempt to answer some of the challenges and questions.

Post Series

  • Westminster Shorter Catechism Series
  • Sermon on the Mount Series

Categories

Archives

Blogger Grid
Follow me on Blogarama

Copyright © 2022 · Focus Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in