Ministry 101Sýnishorn

The way that you can tell whether a person is genuine or not is by the fruit they produce. This fruit is speaking of lifestyle. Jesus made the point that you don’t get bad fruit from a good tree, and you don’t get good fruit from a bad tree. Many people say one thing, but their actions speak so loudly that you can’t really hear what they are saying. If you are in doubt about whether a person is genuine or not, or whether you should receive counsel from them and follow their teaching, look at the fruit they are producing.

In evaluating ministers and ministries, more attention should be given to the fruit that is being produced. Failure to do this could lead someone to reject and even discredit a minister who simply makes a mistake or is wrong in one area. Every minister has shortcomings, just as every other member of the Body of Christ does. But that doesn’t necessarily mean his ministry is bad. Look at the fruit.

Fruit is the true test of ministers and ministries. If people are being saved and if lives are being changed, there is good fruit. Even though the minister may sometimes say something incorrect and make mistakes, the fruit is good.

Therefore, you can say that the tree is good. When a person says all of the right things and seems sincere, but you see the lives of people around them shattered and torn and in confusion and distress, then the fruit is bad. You can judge the effectiveness of people by the fruit that they are producing in their lives. In ministry you can judge the effectiveness of a minister by the fruit that his ministry is producing.

Today, make sure that the fruit that comes from your life is positive. Make sure that you are making a positive impact on people’s lives, that you are turning people to the Lord and not leaving them hurt and confused. People are looking at you to see what type of fruit you are bearing.