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To Bring Forth Fruit

The goal of preaching and teaching is fruit.

Giants of the Reformation (6)

“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor cana bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”  Matthew 7.18-20

Institutes of the Christian Religion
John Calvin (1509-1564)
“We have laid down as distinguishing marks of the church the preaching of the Word and the observance of the sacraments. These can never exist without bringing forth fruit and prospering by God’s blessing. I do not say that wherever the Word is preached there will be immediate fruit; but wherever it is received and has a fixed abode, it shows its effectiveness.”

The true marks of the Church, as Calvin noted – following Jesus – are to be found in the fruitful lives of its members. Mere preaching and merely offering the sacraments from time to time may be a mark of a faithful ministry, but they are not marks of a healthy, growing church. Only where the Word is received and has a fixed abode have the deep roots of Word and Spirit taken hold, so that they bring forth the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit, which is the Kingdom of God. We must preach and shepherd for fruit. Jesus and the apostles insisted on it, and we must do no less. We must always strive to cultivate fruit in the lives of those we serve, not merely to hurl the Word at them, with no regard for the outcomes of such an effort. We labor in vain, Paul would say, if our labors do not bring forth fruit in those we serve.

How do you determine the fruitfulness of the people in your church? What regular measures do you employ to this end?

T. M. Moore

Healthy, Growing Churches
Our assessment tool, Twelve Questions that Could Change Your Church, can help you discover the degree of unity and maturity that characterize your local church. Use it with your church leaders to discern the health of your church, then use it to plan the next phase of your growth as the Body of Christ. You can download Twelve Questions for free by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
All quotations from John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, John T. McNeill, ed., Ford Lewis Battles, tr. (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960), Vol. 2, Book IV, pp. 1012ff.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore

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