The Dean’s Message – Fruitfulness Matters

A boxing coach was instructing his assistant on how to identify and recruit a winning boxer. The coach said, “Some boxers get knocked down and they don’t want to get up. Some boxers get knocked down once and get up quickly; but when they get knocked down the second time, they don’t get up. Then, there are some who, no matter how many times they get knocked down, get up each and every time.”

“So you want me to find and recruit that third type of guy who always gets back up again?” the assistant asked.

The coach said, “No! I want you to find the guy who is knocking down the other boxers each and every time!”

The coach was obviously looking for a productive boxer who would always emerge as the winner.

God may not find a boxing champ in all of us, but He is looking for a productive and fruitful Christian in each one of us.

Some believers excuse themselves from the need to be fruitful by weighing faithfulness above fruitfulness. But it is important for us to be both faithful and fruitful. ‘Bearing fruit’ is mentioned 106 times in the Old Testament and 70 times in the New Testament. The Bible exhorts us to bear fruit.

Fruitfulness is important because it is:

1) The MARK of our authenticity in Christ

“By their fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” Matthew 7:16-17

Jesus himself says that you will recognise them by their fruit. We, who are in Christ, must bear the fruit of Christ and His likeness.

There is a phrase which says – “No fruit? No root!” That’s true. But when we are rooted in Christ, there will be fruit. When we receive the salvation of God, we are a new creation. Salvation is not a reformation. It is a transformation and when there is transformation, there is fruit! Those who claim to be in Christ, yet remain unchanged, place a question mark on the authenticity of their faith.

As stated in Matthew 12:33, we are the tree and whether we bear good fruit or not will demonstrate the genuineness of our faith in Christ.

2) The MEASURE of our obedience to Christ

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

The more we abide in Christ and dwell in His sufficiency, the more fruitful we will become. How much we abide in Him will determine the measure of our fruitfulness.

The process of abiding in Christ is to obey Him. There are several reasons people obey Christ:
(i) Some obey because they have to. This is the obedience of fear.
(ii) Some obey because they need to for they want their prayers answered.   This is the obedience of selfishness (Matthew 19:27).
(iii) Some obey because they want to. This is the obedience of love.

We obey Christ because we love Him. The depth of our love will define the level of our obedience to Him. When we obey, we will bear much fruit.

3) The MOTIVATION behind God’s pruning

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:2

Like the gardener or vinedresser who prunes his vineyard, God will prune us. The pruning process for us as Christians may come in various forms of testing. God does not prune indiscriminately or carelessly. He prunes with the purpose that we might bear fruit (John 15:4), or that we might bear more fruit (John 15:5) and even much more fruit (John 15:8). The reason one goes through times of testing is for fruit-bearing.

The pruning process may be the conviction to remove a bad habit, an undesirable attitude or wrong goals we have adopted. It may come through the loss of some material comfort, a broken relationship, or some other test. Testing can be painful and traumatic, but it helps us learn and remember that God brings or allows testing for the purpose of making us more like Christ. Consequently, we become more productive and fruitful.

4) The MEANS of glorifying God

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:8

When we manifest Christ-likeness and demonstrate discipleship, we bring glory to God. When we show fruitfulness in our lives, we glorify God.

God expects fruitfulness and this is accomplished through abiding and pruning.

Your three months in Tung Ling Bible School will provide much opportunity to abide in His presence. Some of you may go through times of testing or a period of pruning. Take heart, the ultimate goal is that you will bear more fruit and eventually much more fruit. This process takes time. It does not happen overnight.

God desires that you bear fruit. Jesus summarises it by stating this in John 15:16 – “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”

On this occasion of the 30th Anniversary of Tung Ling Bible School, I want to thank the Board members, the staff and the many supporters for their faithfulness. Your faithfulness to the vision of Tung Ling has resulted in the lives of many students being transformed to bear good fruit. Fruitfulness matters!

Ju Ong
Dean