Accordance or Avoidance

…the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing – as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
(Colossians 1:5b-6 – ESV)

Referring back to the hope of heaven, Paul tells his hearers that they learned about this hope from the preaching of the Gospel (cf. Ephesians 1:13). The Gospel is about the truth that brings hope for believers, for this life and the next, for godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come (1 Timothy 4:8 – ESV). The indicative of hope brings the imperative of faith.

The Gospel does bear fruit, wherever it goes, it does grow. You can see it in other places, and you can see it in other people. Are you looking for it, planting it, fellowshipping in it? What is more important? The word “understood” here means that we become fully acquainted with something; we know it, we experience it, and we live it. The more you know, or experience the truth, the more it will bear fruit. You know it intellectually, and then live it experientially, and then it bears even more fruit. John 8:31 (NLT) – Jesus said to the people who believed in him, You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings.

We can have a faith that forgets (2 Peter 1:8-9) or a faith that regrets (Mark 4:16-17). Faith is not works but faith does works (Hebrews 4:2 – those that heard and have faith entered in to the rest – they did something with what they heard, proving their belief). If you believe something you will act on it, because you have faith in it. True faith bears fruit. Faith acts. Of course faith in faith bears the fruit of faithlessness or faith in self, not faith in Christ and our eternal hope, which bears what is explained and prayed for by Paul, love for the saints, faith in Christ, endurance, joy, strength, and the other things that accompany true faith. It is faith in God, not in ourselves that produces fruit.

Heard it and understood – it must be both to bear the most fruit. True faith bears fruit. In Romans 10:17-19, Paul speaks of faith coming by hearing the Word. However in verse 19 he says that some hear the truth but do not understand, or know it. Some hear but don’t understand, they don’t really experience the truth, and they don’t live it. Faith comes by hearing but then true faith acts. Faith without works is dead, and a dead faith cannot be a born again faith. Faith apart from works dies out (James 2:26) – we either act in accordance or we will eventually act in avoidance. We will actively pursue the faith, or soon enough we will actively lose the faith (Mark 4:24-25). What is your experience?