I’ve been seeing many posts, of late, making a clear distinction between faithfulness and fruitfulness. I get the semantic difference but I also think that making those hard and fast lines do more harm than good. What you have essentially done is pit two things against each other. I get it, though. We not only live in a realm where influencers reign, but provocateurs also have a slice of that pie. Hot takes that are pithily packaged, perhaps even palindromically, get more play.
But is it true?
I surmise that people are so attached to faithfulness as opposed to fruitfulness because it absolves them from a results orientated obedience. It’s attractive because all I have to do is to show up and do the work. This is, however, a symptom of a deeper issue and misunderstanding of fruits in general. A theology that renders fruits as a barometer of one’s grit and determination is already working from a severe Gospel deficit.
Think about how fruit is described in Scripture. Fruits are a measure of authenticity (Matt. 7:20). They are how you glorify God and is a mark of a true disciple (John 15:8). It is the very reason for Paul’s letter to the Romans (Rom. 1:13). Fruits aren’t just a…
