Intro
I believe God’s righteousness in you ought to produce fruit.
A brother that says he is right with God and He keeps going out to nightclubs to have fun is really questionable if he is really right with God. Paul said examine yourself to see if you are still in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5)
The flipside is problematic too, people that do good without being right with God are still not God’s righteousness. Because your good deeds or evil deeds cannot produce the righteousness of God.
What then is the right fruit in righteousness?
The mechanism of fruit (John 15:1-5):
1) Jesus Christ is the vine and God is the vine dresser.
2) You are the branch.
3) Fruit is a result of abiding in Him.
❖ The modelling of fruit is a consequence of abiding in Him and that you are not the fruit but a result of who you abide with.
❖ Who you abide with, will eventually influence your behaviour. The bible says badly that company corrupts good habits (1 Corinthians 15:33).
How does this relate to the fruit of righteousness?
1) It is His righteousness you have received in Christ Jesus (Romans 5:19).
2) Therefore, the outcome (fruit) of that righteousness flows from Him not from you without him or what you try to do by yourself.
3) Therefore when you continually abide in Him, your life will continue to produce the fruit of His righteousness - these are authentic fruit.
Fruit of righteousness can manifest itself in two primary ways
Your Christian Conduct
The manner in which a person behaves, especially in a particular place or situation.
In this sense, you are asking the question how do righteous people behave?
The blessing of God
In this sense, the blessing of God is as a result of God’s righteousness in you.
Your Christian Conduct - primarily the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
Notice it is singular for fruit which means they are all one that manifests itself in different ways.
You cannot begin to name and number it to people. For example, how many ‘fruits’ have you shown today?
you are dead to sin and alive in God to the newness of life (Romans 6:3-4)
Sin - immoral conduct should not have dominion over you as you are no longer under the bondage of it but under grace (Romans 6:13-14).
Grace is not a licence to sin but a helper to live soberly and righteously (Titus 2:11-12).
The blessing of God
You are God’s showpiece that truly it pays to be right with God!
Showpiece: something which attracts attention or admiration as an outstanding example of its type.
If you do a bible survey on righteousness you will find out they are blessed by God.
The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree (Psalm 92:12).
The seed of the righteous shall be blessed (Psalm 112:2)
The memory of the righteous is blessed (Proverbs 10:7).
The just shall shine like a bright light (Proverbs 4:18).
The righteous shall be bold like a lion (Proverbs 28:1).
Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings (Isaiah 3:10).
In conclusion
The fruit of righteousness manifests itself in our christian conduct and the blessing of God.
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