I am using the book A Gardener Looks At The Fruits Of The Spirit by W. Phillip Keller to help me in this study.
Soil
Anyone who has tried to garden will know that there are certain things that effect your plants. The amount of sunshine and water are a given, but the type of soil you have can also determine the health and fruitfulness of your plants.
When speaking in a spiritual sense, the type of soil you are determines the heartiness of the fruit you spiritually bear. Christ mentions these soils in Mark 4:3-9- Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The Wayside
The first type of soil, or ground, is the way side. The way side is the road. It's hard and tough, and very few plants can even germinate, nevertheless grow roots! It is a wasted seed. There is no hope of it becoming fruitful. The only thing it can be used for is bird food! The end result of this man's life is an unprofitable waste.
Mark 4:15- And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. This man heard the gospel, but never got saved. He is so distracted that the devil easily makes him forget what he heard and he ends up missing his chance for salvation.
If we look at this spiritually (pretending this was a saved man), we see that he allowed the influence of others to determine his values. His friends and associates made him hard. Their impact was one that led into the world, instead of closer to Christ's will. Christ tries to till and plant, but all he finds is hard, unmoving soil. They are used by the devil to make us unprofitable wastes.
Other things that he allows to influence him is worldly music, books, etc. The things we read, or listen to, will be the things that we endeavor to become like. These things can manipulate our emotions, opinions, and even our character. When Christ comes to show us that we need to bear fruit, our hardened answer is that of indifference, or worse yet, full of worldly ambitions.
Jeremiah 45:5a- And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: Matthew 6:33- But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. To keep from being unprofitable wastes in our Christian walk, we must seek God's will, not our own.
Stony Ground
The second type of soil is stony ground. Mark 4:16-17- And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. Scripturally, these are people who get saved. As Christians, though, they never grow. They endure in the Christian life for a time, yet when troubles arise they quit. Unfortunately, many of these types of Christians quit when they are offended by other Christians.
Stony ground is not something new in the world. Long before Christ came to die for us, the Israelites were already showing the fruit of a stony soil- Ezekiel 36:26- A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. This is a sad story, but it is also one of hope- stony ground has hope of being fruitful!
Who is the one that determines if this type of Christian is fruitful? Christ? No, he works just as hard on this type of Christian as He does on all the others! It is our own willingness to be worked on that will determine the outcome. This Christian has the choice to be productive or not.
What makes a stony Christian?
One type would be that which looks like fertile soil on top, but underneath is as hard as cement. A good picture of this is the Pharisee. He knew God's Words, but he didn't practice them. When Christ showed up, His insight into these people was Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead [men's] bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. (Matthew 3:27-28).
The one who you thought had so much potential, turned out to be a pathetic disappointment! Why? Unbelief. Perhaps they don't trust that God is able. Maybe they can't let go of their lives long enough for God to work in them. Or, like the Pharisees, they think they're already good enough and they fight God's moving in their lives.
Another type is the shallow soil that's hiding the hardness. Shallow Christians who want the social life of Christianity without the trust, faith, and labor. Matthew 11:6- And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. The Christian life is not all roses. It's not what we want when we want it. And it's not a liberty to sin without consequence.
This Christian is only in it for the fun and fellowship they could get out of the church. There was never really any desire to grow in Christ. They come to church when they feel like it, but the moment they get offended it's over- they're through!
And place in our life where we prefer to go against God's will and do our own would be considered "stony soil". These areas have hard rocks all through the land which stubbornly refuse to yield to God's will. The Holy Spirit has to work very hard in these situations, and it isn't pleasant for the Gardener or the garden! Hebrews 12:11- Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Digging out the rocks isn't fun, but the end result is fruitfulness.
Thorny Ground
Weeds and thorns make it very difficult for plants to grow. They can suck up vital nutrients, and even entangle and choke out the other plants. They aren't only a problem for the garden, but for the gardener. Many a hand has been scratched and pricked by these nasty problems. Mark 4:18-19- And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
This Christian wants more of the world than he does of Christ. He gets side tracked with the cares of the world- spouse, job, bills, etc. The lusts and desires of everyday life distract him and choke out any hope of spiritual accomplishment.
When talking of false prophet, Christ says in Matthew 7:16- Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? The fruits people bear spiritually tell a lot about the person themselves. Why were the Pharisees in such a bad way? They cared more about how people viewed them than how the Lord saw them. They wanted their spouse, their boss, the leaders to view them as spiritual giants; to do this, they avoided humbling themselves to John the Baptist's and Jesus Christ's preaching.
The question here isn't "Are they bearing fruit?" Because something is growing! The question is "What type of fruit are they bearing?" Is it the blessed fruit of the spirit? Or is it the thorns of fleshly desire and the thistles of worldly lust?
What takes up the most time in your life? What do your thoughts focus on? The thing that you live to accomplish, the person that you desire to please, these are the things that are growing in your garden. Luke 12:21, 34- So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 16:13- No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. A Christian can't grow spiritual fruit if he's serving a worldly master!
Good Ground
The last type of soil is good ground. This is very different from the previous three mentioned. This ground is productive. Mark 4:20- And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
The best soil will bring forth fruit. But, even the best soil has to be broken first. Even if we are saved at a young age, there are still things that the Lord has to remove from our lives before he can plant. Sometimes, he has to break up the ground or tear out the top layer of grass and weeds. It takes time and effort, and a willing spirit to become ready for planting. Luke 8:15- But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. The heart has to be honest and willing, and most of all, patient.
So, how do we bear fruit? We hear and we do. It's not enough to sit in a good, Bible believing church once in a while and hear truth. You have to put that truth into practice in your life, you have to spread that truth to the lost souls around you, and then you will start to see the fruit.
How much fruit? That depends on the soil. The first three soils didn't produce good fruit because they were conformed to the ideologies of the world. Romans 12:2- And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. This verse shows us that the fruit is good (thirty fold), acceptable (sixty fold), and perfect (one hundred fold). Eventually, the good soil will be covered by fruitful plants- one no longer sees the soil, but the fruit.
Lets say the thirty fold Christian is the one who attends church regularly, tithes, obeys the Scriptures, and raises his family in church. His fruit, his family and his contribution to the church, is a small circle of thirty fold.
The sixty fold Christian is the one who steps outside of that small circle. He has a ministry to reach others for the Lord. It may be at a nursing home, or a prison, or even passing out tracts on the streets. He not only brings his family to the Lord, but he finds others to bring to Christ. His fruit is sixty fold, his family and church and the souls he picks up along the way.
The hundred fold Christian is very rare. It's one who submits his will and his life to Christ. This Christian would gladly sacrifice everything to see souls saved. Many times, you don't see the full extent of their ministries. But you do see the fruit of Christ's attributes in their lives. You see His mercy, compassion, selflessness. You won't see all of the fruit, but you'll see enough to know!
The Rewards
II Corinthians 5:10- For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. The fruits will be judged. Christ wants us to bring forth fruit, but He's also going to look at the type of fruit. I Corinthians 3:11-13- For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
So, what are these things?
Gold and Silver
Proverbs 22:1- A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. The gold is our testimony. We earn gold by learning and doing what the Scriptures say. Psalms 19:7-10- The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Psalm 12:6-7- The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. I put these two together because they seem so similar. Both have to do with the Word of God. But, whereas Gold has to do with how you respond to the Word of God; silver has to do with how you respond to the trials of daily life as you live out the Word of God. Zechariah 13:9- And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
I believe it is possible for a Christian to earn these two together. In fact, you really can't earn one without the other. If you learn and do God's Words, then you will use them to endure the trials and come forth purer.
Precious Stones
Exodus 28:21- And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes. Precious stones are people. I Peter 2:5- Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
It is possible that these precious stones are set into crowns. Zechariah 9:16- And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. There are five crowns mentioned in the Bible that a Christian can obtain, but they can also lose- Revelation 3:11- Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. They are the crown of rejoicing (I Thessalonians 2:19), the crown of righteousness (II Timothy 4:8), the crown of life (James 1:12), the crown of glory (I Peter 5:4), and an incorruptible crown (I Corinthians 9:25).
In contrast to the first three, which are purified by fire and endure when placed in fire, the next three are burned up when they go in the fire. These are works done in the flesh.
Wood
II Kings 19:18- And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. The work of our hands, anything done for self and not for Christ, that is wood. Notice, these works are religious. There are many things done in the name of religion that have nothing to do with God's will.
Hay
Hay is everything worldly that you've acquired. Isaiah 15:6-7- For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing. Therefore the abundance they have gotten, and that which they have laid up, shall they carry away to the brook of the willows. These are things that you wanted, your own fleshly desires.
Stubble
Stubble is the things that are done blatantly against God's will. Malachi 4:1- For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. It's the things done out of wicked pride, knowing you were going against God's will and doing it anyway!
You have the choice, not only as to what type of ground you want to be, but also how much fruit and what type of fruit you want to bring forth. Deuteronomy 30:19-20a- I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days:
