Good Soil Good Fruit Mission
Leading and Purposes
The purposes of Good Soil Good Fruit Ministry is two-fold: First, to encourage every person who has not done so to repent, place their faith in Jesus Christ and commit to follow Him. This is called being “born again.” When this essential first step happens, they receive the promised Holy Spirit. Without the leading of the Holy Spirit, they cannot grow in Christlikeness and bear the good fruit for which they were created. The second is for persons who have received Jesus Christ to then be the good soil to under the direction of the Holy Spirit to use God’s means of grace and grow in maturity (Christlikeness) to bear good fruit (see Matthew 13:23). These three steps are below:
Repentance, faith, trust in and commitment to follow Jesus Christ
“Born Again”
Discipline to God’s means of grace
- Walking in step with the Holy Spirit
- Correctly studying and applying His Word (the Bible)
- Communicating with Him in prayer
- Overcoming sin as it is recognized
- Unconditional forgiveness for all
- Growing through suffering and affliction
- Growing through giving
- Being shepherded by other Christ-followers
Growth in Christlikeness
Bearing good fruit, including
- Sharing the good news of the gospel with others
- Making disciples who make disciples
- Doing good to others (i.e., the “one another” commandments
Good Fruit
Importance of the Local Church
In no way should the book Unrelenting Pursuit be taken to encourage Christ-followers to be independent of a local church for spiritual growth. First and foremost, spiritual maturation should be through a local church. The means of grace given for spiritual maturation should be emphasized in many protestant churches of today, as long as the local church holds to the essential truths of Scripture, salvation, and the mandate to the Great Commission to make disciples (see Matthew 28:18-20).
Not Self-help but Through the Holy Spirit
Spiritual maturation in a Christ-follower is not “self-help.” It is “Holy Spirit help!” The Holy Spirit is essential to partake of the means of grace God has given us to grow to Christlikeness. Therefore, without repentance and faith in Jesus Christ that saves, no one can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:38, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13). Without the Holy Spirit, there is no spiritual maturation or spiritual fruit in someone’s life (see Romans 15:16, Titus 3:5-7). All of the means of grace that lead to Christlikeness and good works are gifts from God. Spiritual growth occurs when a Christ-follower walks in step with the Holy Spirit and disciplines themself to God’s means of grace (see Galatians 5:25).