Jesus compares Christians to trees, and you are either a good tree or a bad tree. Matthew 7:17-20   Good trees will be saved, but bad trees will be thrown into the fire. How then, will you know what kind of tree you really are? The answer, Jesus said, was to see what kind of FRUIT the tree was producing, and the good fruit is this:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."   Galatians 5:22,23           

For those of you who are Christians, let me ask you a question: Are all these fruits in your life 100% of the time? Or have there been times in your life when you were hateful, bitter, worried, irritable, harsh, critical, unfaithful, cruel and out of control?

When you did the opposite of the fruits God requires, did you then become a BAD TREE? The answer for Sinning Christians is a loud, fervent NO! An apple tree can have some apples with worms, but it is still an apple tree. An apple tree can go through a drought and produce a whole crop of shriveled apples, but it is still an apple tree. An apple tree in winter will produce no apples at all, but it is still an apple tree.

So it is with Christians: you can have seasons of harshness in your life, and still be a Christian. Some of your Christian fruit can be infested with worms of lust, and yet you are still a Christian. You might even be in a period of drought, where you aren't drinking the Living Waters of God's Word, and all your Christian fruit is shriveled, but you are still a Christian. Obviously, if you continue to be a worthless apple tree, Jesus WILL cut you down and throw you into the fire.  Romans 11:17-21

Obviously, our goal is to be a good tree, producing good fruit, almost all the time. But when you are a good tree, producing a poor crop, you are still TOTALLY SAVED!

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