What other scriptures warn against being unfruitful or spiritually barren? The Vine Fit Only for the Fire (Ezekiel 15:6) “Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have designated as fuel for the fire, so will I treat the people of Jerusalem.” Old-Testament Echoes of Fruitless Vineyards • Isaiah 5:2, 4 – “He dug it up, cleared its stones, and planted it with the choicest vines… Then He expected it to yield good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones… When I expected it to yield good grapes, why did it yield worthless ones?” • Isaiah 5:6 – “I will make it a wasteland… briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” • Jeremiah 2:21 – “I planted you as a choice vine from the purest stock. How then have you turned into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine to Me?” • Hosea 10:1 – “Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for itself. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built…” Psalm-Wisdom on Fruitfulness • Psalm 1:3 – “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does.” (Implicit warning: the wicked are “like chaff,” v. 4.) Jesus and the Fruitless Tree • Matthew 3:10 – “The ax lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” • Matthew 7:19 – “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” • Luke 13:6-9 – Parable of the barren fig tree: three fruitless years, one last chance, or it is cut down. • Mark 11:13-14, 20-21 – The leafy fig tree with no figs is cursed and withers from the roots. • John 15:2, 6 – “He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit… If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” Paul: From Dead Works to Living Fruit • Romans 7:4-5 – “that we might bear fruit to God… [before, we were] bearing fruit for death.” • Galatians 5:19-23 – contrast “works of the flesh” with “the fruit of the Spirit.” • Ephesians 5:8-11 – “Walk as children of light—for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth… Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” • Colossians 1:10 – “bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.” • Titus 3:14 – “that they will not be unfruitful.” Peter, Jude, Hebrews: Final Warnings • 2 Peter 1:8-9 – “If you possess these qualities and continue to grow in them, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” • Hebrews 6:7-8 – “Land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and near to being cursed; its end is to be burned.” • Jude 12 – “fruitless trees in autumn—twice dead after being uprooted.” Revelation’s Lukewarm Church • Revelation 3:15-16 – “I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot… because you are lukewarm… I am about to spit you out of My mouth!” Putting It All Together – Across Scripture, unfruitfulness is never neutral; it invites pruning, cursing, or fire. – Fruitlessness flows from self-reliance, idolatry, or hiding in mere outward “leafiness.” – Fruitfulness springs from abiding in Christ, walking by the Spirit, practicing righteousness, and serving others. – The consistent call: examine the vineyard of the heart, remain in the True Vine, and let the Spirit bear lasting, visible fruit. |
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