Things New and Old: Faith - fruitful and barren

Things New and Old

Ancient truths revealed in the Scriptures are often forgotten, disbelieved or distorted, and therefore lost in the passage of time. Such ancient truths when rediscovered and relearned are 'new' additions to the treasury of ancient truths.

Christ showed many new things to the disciples, things prophesied by the prophets of old but hijacked and perverted by the elders and their traditions, but which Christ reclaimed and returned to His people.

Many things taught by the Apostles of Christ have been perverted or substituted over the centuries. Such fundamental doctrines like salvation by grace and justification have been hijacked and perverted and repudiated by sincere Christians. These doctrines need to be reclaimed and restored to God's people.

There are things both new and old here. "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things" 2Ti 2:7.

Friday, February 6, 2026

Faith - fruitful and barren

No one quibbles about the barrenness of a dead plant!
Only the insane do that, expecting fruit from dead plants.

https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/pfbid02g72GFmH84hwJSKNdPbbv5GcarVbXbqVDP44sDuAyr5HZSdyRX4X6NzXE7ymA1kXhl

Faith, true and false
Faith, fruitful and barren

[10/4/2020, 2:08 PM]

Lylee
Sir, I have a thought.
True faith can’t be dead or totally fruitless, as that would indicate that the person’s faith is actually not true; it goes under the other category as illustrated. True faith can have little/few fruits, like the minimum Christian or even hidden fruits. This category of Christians can still bear fruit when nurtured, can’t they?

On the other hand, false faith can appear to be lively but bear false fruit. This sub-category B1 is as bad as the other sub-category B2. B1 will continue to bear false rotten fruits, and B2 will continue to be barren no matter how they are nurtured. This is true hopelessness.

sing
Sister, I'm glad that you have given some thought to the subject; the diagram (you have drawn) shows you have thought through the matter.

The context of the subject is the faith of God's children. They have faith, a spiritual grace worked in them by the Spirit of God.

Introducing the adjectives "true" and "false" only complicates and confuses the matter. It may be asked, what is false faith; who has false faith; and is spiritual fruit to be expected from them?

The issue is with the fruitfulness of faith among God's children. Others are not under consideration. Seen in this context, the issue becomes much simpler.

Barrenness among God's children is real. Our Lord Jesus and His Apostles taught and warned of this evil.

Lylee
Thanks. My question was whether God’s children can be spiritually “dead”. Spiritually barren, yes.

S️ing
God's children are those elect whom God has sovereignly and freely quickened from spiritual deadness unto spiritual life, and that effect of that act of divine grace and mercy is immutable and eternal. So God's children can't be spiritually dead, i.e. without spiritual life. But, as warned by Christ and His disciples, they can be barren.

p/s fruitfulness/barrenness are in the context of the living. No one quibbles about the barrenness of a dead plant!