We are living in the last days when men call darkness light and light darkness. We live in a generation when grace is used as a license for sin, and the false doctrine of eternal security is preached around the world. The lines that separate good from evil have intentionally been blurred by the enemy, so that many have entered into compromise and are not longer on the narrow path that leads to life, but are on the wide road that leads to destruction.
Our Lord taught us to test the fruit of those who claim to be His, in order to determine if they are genuine disciples or not. His original words referred to false prophets, but the same is true of disciples in general. He said:
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Mat 7:15-21)
That being said, the apostle John's first epistle gives us several examples of fruit tests, which prove whether a person is either a genuine disciple or not.
Test That Reveals Bad Fruit
Let's begin with John’s fruit test showing the conditions proving someone is not a genuine believer:
Let's begin with John’s fruit test showing the conditions proving someone is not a genuine believer:
Walking in Darkness
"If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth." (1Jn 1:6)
Claiming to be without Sin
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1Jn 1:8)
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1Jn 1:10)
Disobedience to God
"The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1Jn 2:4)
Hating Your Brother
"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness." (1Jn 2:9)
"But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him." (1Jn 2:11)
"Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. " (1Jn 3:15)
"If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." (1Jn 4:20)
Not Loving Others
"Anyone who does not love remains in death." (1Jn 3:14b)
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1Jn 4:8)
Denying the Son
"No one who denies the Son has the Father;" (1Jn 2:23a)
Continuing to Sin
"No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." (1Jn 3:6)
Doing What is Sinful
"He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." (1Jn 3:8)
Not Doing What is Right
"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." (1Jn 3:10)
Loving the World or Anything in the World
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1Jn 2:15)
Speaking from a Worldly Viewpoint
"They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them." (1Jn 4:5)
Not Listening to Us, the Apostles, the Word, or the Truth
"We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood." (1Jn 4:6)
Not Continuing in the Teaching of Christ
"Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God..." (2Jn 1:9a)
Summary
The man who walks in darkness, who claims to have no sin, who hates his brother, who does not love, who doesn’t listen to the truth, the Word, the apostles, and others who are truly from God, but listens to the world, who loves the world or anything in the world, who does not continue in the teaching of Christ, who does not do what is right, who keeps on sinning, and does not do what the Lord commands, does not have God, is a liar, is not a child of God, is of the devil, is from the world, is self-deceived, has the spirit of falsehood, is blind, does not know where he is going, speaks from the viewpoint of the world, and remains in death. Such a person does not live out the truth, the truth is not in him, the Word is not in him, and eternal life is not in him. It doesn’t matter if he claims to love God, to know the Lord, and have fellowship with Him, because he does not know God (1 Jn 1:6,10; 2:4,9,11,15,23a; 3:6,8,10,14-15; 4:5-6,8,20; 2Jn 1:9a).
Test That Reveals Good Fruit
Now let's examine John’s fruit test showing the conditions proving someone is in fact a genuine believer:
Now let's examine John’s fruit test showing the conditions proving someone is in fact a genuine believer:
Walking in the Light
"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1Jn 1:7)
Confessing Our Sins
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1Jn 1:9)
Keeping His Commands
"We know that we have come to know him if we keep His commands." (1Jn 2:3)
Obeying His Word and Living as Jesus Did
"But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." (1Jn 2:5-6)
Continuing in the Teaching of Christ
"Whoever continues in the teaching [of Christ] has both the Father and the Son." (2Jn 1:9b)
Loving One Another
"Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble." (1Jn 2:10)
"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers." (1Jn 3:14a)
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." (1Jn 4:7)
"No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (1Jn 4:12)
Doing the Will of God
"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." (1Jn 2:17)
Doing What is Right
"If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him." (1Jn 2:29)
"Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous." (1Jn 3:7)
Acknowledging the Son
"Whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also." (1Jn 2:23b)
Cannot Go On Sinning
"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." (1Jn 3:9)
Listening to Us, the Apostles, the Word, or the Truth
"We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood." (1Jn 4:6)
Acknowledging That Jesus is the Son of God
"If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God." (1Jn 4:15)
Please note that this verse cannot be understood out of context with the rest of John's epistle, as explained throughout this entire article.
Believing That Jesus is the Christ
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well." (1Jn 5:1)
Summary
The man who walks in the light, as He is in the light, who confesses his sins, who keeps the Lord’s commands, who obeys His Word, who does not continue to sin, who lives as Jesus did, who continues in His teaching, who loves the Father, who loves Jesus, who loves his neighbor as himself, and who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, and who believes that He is the Christ, has God’s seed remaining in him, has fellowship with the Lord, has been born of God, knows God, is from God, lives in God, has passed from death to life, has the Spirit of Truth, listens to the apostles and those who are from God, is in Christ, is purified by His blood from all unrighteousness, and is righteous just as He is righteous. God’s love is made complete in him, and God lives in him (1 Jn 1:7,9; 2:3,5-6,10,17,23b,29; 3:7,9,14a; 4:6-7,12,15; 5:1).
The man who walks in the light, as He is in the light, who confesses his sins, who keeps the Lord’s commands, who obeys His Word, who does not continue to sin, who lives as Jesus did, who continues in His teaching, who loves the Father, who loves Jesus, who loves his neighbor as himself, and who acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, and who believes that He is the Christ, has God’s seed remaining in him, has fellowship with the Lord, has been born of God, knows God, is from God, lives in God, has passed from death to life, has the Spirit of Truth, listens to the apostles and those who are from God, is in Christ, is purified by His blood from all unrighteousness, and is righteous just as He is righteous. God’s love is made complete in him, and God lives in him (1 Jn 1:7,9; 2:3,5-6,10,17,23b,29; 3:7,9,14a; 4:6-7,12,15; 5:1).
Closing Words
Dear friends, John was very clear in his epistle, as He wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He drew the lines in a very definite way between those who are genuine disciples of Christ and those who are not. He did not leave any gray area in between, but made it very black-and-white, and showed that you are either a true follower of Christ or you are not. Therefore, do not be deceived by the watered-down message, which is not the true gospel, that says once you are saved, you are always saved (regardless of how you live), or by those who preach the hyper-grace message devoid of the need for obedience to God. May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
Attribution notice: All Scriptures are taken from the New International Version (NIV1984), copyright Zondervan, used by permission, all rights reserved.
Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy Black and White, Sins That Will Keep You From Heaven, Drifting Away, Is Obedience Optional?, The Apostasy Parables, Holy Living in a Perverted World, Aim for Perfection, Walking in the Perfect Will of God, The Straight and Narrow Path, Striving to Enter the Kingdom of God, Ask for the Ancient Paths, Living a Life Worthy of the Lord, Separation from the World, The Difference Between a Disciple and a Believer, and Doing What is Right. You can find more of my articles related to Seeking the Lord on the Home page of this blog. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org
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