Joel M Bradshaw

8Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.–Matthew 3

John the Baptist was speaking and people were coming to him. Even famous and highly respected ‘holy’ people like the Pharisees and the Sadducees. John was quick to call them on their responses. If you are truly repenting, then your life will show it.

Think of repentance like one of those Christmas gift tags that you most likely stick on the outside of the wrapping paper.

Repentance is a turning FROM yourself and turning TO Jesus. It’s intentional self-denial. It’s being ‘crucified with Christ and no longer living, but Christ lives in you instead’ from Galatians 2:20. It’s daily putting off the old self and putting on the new self in Christ.

Repentance is a necessary thing, but it produces fruit. Take stock of your branches. Paul gave two fruit lists in Galatians 5:16-26. The first list is the fruit to turn FROM. The second list is the fruit that reveals whom you have turned TO.

In my season of greatest hypocrisy, I refused to repent. I would habitually sin and then sheepishly confess that sin regularly to God. But that confession didn’t lead to repentance. There was no changing of my mind or activity. I was a functional hypocrite. There was no fruit of repentance in my life. I am grateful for God saving me even from that. My focus is on intentionality in the way I biblically live today. I don’t want to go back to that former me.

You will know if you have repentant fruit if love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and especially self-control is on your branches. If you continue to be more like you and less like Jesus, you should talk to your pastor or counselor. Now is the time for intentionality. Repentance produces fruit!–JMB