The Evangelism of Fruit

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in Him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Our Lord and Savior gave up His life in order that believers, the branches, could be connected to the Vine. We were given saving faith when the Holy Spirit grafted us to the Vine at our Baptism. Without being connected to the Vine, we cannot produce any fruit. What a comfort it is to know that the same life-giving “fluid” that connects the branch to the Vine is the same fluid that produces the grapes (the fruits of faith). A living branch that produces grapes is totally dependent on Christ. This is not a two-way, give and take relationship, but one that flows from Christ. The Vine does all the giving and the branches benefit.
Why then is the Vinedresser so interested in the fruit? What is the purpose of the fruit? Neither the Vine nor the branch “needs” the fruit. Jesus gives us the answer with His words, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
The good fruit Jesus is describing is a life of faith. One natural byproduct of having that saving faith is the desire to tell others. The book of John, chapter 4, tells the account of the woman at the well. When Jesus revealed to her that He was the Christ, the promised Messiah, her immediate reaction was to tell others: “Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” The result: “Many Samaritans from the town believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:29,39). Another example is the reaction of the shepherds: “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them” (Luke 2:16–18).
We have heard the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.” The fruits of faith that are produced by our being grafted to the Vine can be summed up in one word—Love. Jesus spoke about love in John 15: “Abide in love” (v. 9), “Keeping my commandments, abiding in love” (v. 10), “This is my commandment that you love one another” (v. 12), “These things I command you, that you love one another” (v. 17). Living our lives in Christian love can be the most powerful witness to anyone we meet. Know, understand and remember that a life of love lived in service to others and to the glory of God is a witness to the love of God that He has given us through Jesus.
The apostle Paul wrote about the many ways that the Holy Spirit can help us: “Therefore I made known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all” (1 Corinthians 12:3–6).
What tremendous comfort we have in knowing that as we bear fruit by faith, our Father in heaven is glorified. What greater comfort than to know that by being grafted to the true Vine, our fruits are produced solely by the One who connects us and gives us this saving faith!
As a branch upon a vine,
In my blessed Lord implant me;
Ever of my Head divine
To remain a member grant me.
O let Him, my Lord and Savior,
Be my Life and Love forever! (ELH  220:6)
Steven Jaeger is a member of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Mankato, Minnesota, and of the Board for Home Missions and Evangelism.