Is this works or fruit? Or both?

Is this works or fruit? Or both?

If you read very much of what I write in this blog, you will probably guess that I am a King James man KJV or NKJV. But I am not opposed to some of the newer versions of the Bible either and one in particular that I sometimes like is the New Living Translation or the NLT. However the KJV is still the benchmark for me.
This entry today asks,”is this works or fruit? Or both?” I want to give you an example from the same verses that I used last entry. (At least some of the verses.) And I’m quoting from the NLT. James 1:19-26
James 1:19-26 (New Living Translation)
Listening and Doing
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger[a] does not produce the righteousness[b] God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
Then there is another portion here in James’ epistle James 3:11-18 (New Living Translation)
11 Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? 12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.[a]
True Wisdom Comes from God
13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
17 but the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness .
Over in the letter that Paul writes to the church in Galatia we see the works of the flesh contrasted by the fruit of the Spirit, again reading from the NLTGalatians 5:13-26 (New Living Translation)
13 For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. 14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[a] 15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
Living by the Spirit’s Power
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
18 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.


Paul describes what is meant by the works of the flesh, that being our sinful nature and also lists what the fruit of the Spirit consists of. Keep in mind that this is not the sum total of these fruits, there are more than just these nine but they all fall into these categories, at least that is my belief. I believe James is really talking about fruit when he refers to works…our good works or deeds are accomplished because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us producing a harvest in us. Just look at verse 22 of Galatians 5 again, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives” It is the work of the Spirit within that helps us to do these works that James refers to. So, James says……”faith without works is dead?” You betcha…it takes the Spirit of Almighty God within cultivating and working us into a spiritual kind of garden that produces good works or good fruit. If you believe this why not send me a comment on the comment form or even an e-mail saying whether you like what I write or tell me if you don’t like it if that is the case. My e-mail is atlmiss@nbnet.nb.ca

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