The Principle of the Fruit

Scripture Read: Rom 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Application: Is sanctification a natural fruit or and fruit that is produced by both the Holy Spirit and me? What do I mean by this? When we first come to know Christ there are many separations that take place naturally: Most of us stop certain habits that all of society has problems with. The “BIG” social sins. They seem to fall off so easily. We also begin to do things that we did not do before – like read His Word, pray, get involved in discipleship and fellowship etc. These are what I call the natural fruit of sanctification. Our salvation is new and being “born again” is exactly what it sounds like. Everything is new and we sense a new beginning. From that point we see growth happen so fast – then we are pushed back into the real world and the same life we had before we knew Christ. Everyone notices the outside changes that have taken place – but now we start digging for that inner life that the Holy Spirit leads us to desire. Here is where the question arises - at what point does sanctification require more effort from us than the first natural fruit that came right after conversion? This is where we need to understand the fruit principle. If we are not careful we will think sanctification is totally up to us. Yet at the same time we must face that now unless we exert real effort we do not see the sanctification we desire. Here is the principle – just like a actual farmer – he plants the seed – the earth does all the work in make the seed sprout – but the farmer can make the fruit come easier – by how he works the soil. The fruit of sanctification is always the work of the Spirit, but our participation through yielding and meditation is what allows that fruit to mature sooner and deeper.   Father we want our natural desire to move toward You and become separated to You. Help us continue to stay close to You