{"id":15163,"date":"2026-01-04T23:48:58","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T23:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=15163"},"modified":"2026-01-04T23:48:58","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T23:48:58","slug":"does-the-fruit-of-faith-generate-salvation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/?p=15163","title":{"rendered":"Does the fruit of faith generate salvation?"},"content":{"rendered":"


By Dan Delzell<\/span><\/span>, Christian Post Contributor Sunday, January 04, 2026<\/span>Ralwel\/iStock<\/span><\/p>\n

Strep throat is a bacterial infection that produces the following symptoms: swollen tonsils, fever and chills, difficulty swallowing, body aches, tender lymph nodes and fatigue.<\/p>\n

Health experts\u00a0tell\u00a0us,\u00a0“Penicillin\u00a0is generally the first-choice treatment for most cases of strep throat. It has been used effectively for decades and effectively eliminates the Group A Streptococcus bacteria.”<\/p>\n

The “fruit” of penicillin is that you start to feel better as the antibiotic stops bacterial growth.\u00a0But the fruit doesn’t\u00a0generate<\/em>\u00a0the remedy. The penicillin itself is what brings healing and relief.<\/p>\n

Likewise, the power that delivers salvation to every believer is not the fruit that flows from faith, but rather, the Gospel message itself.\u00a0The Apostle Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the\u00a0power<\/em>\u00a0of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).\u00a0The Greek word for\u00a0power\u00a0is\u00a0dunamis,\u00a0<\/em>from which we get the word\u00a0dynamite.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sadly, many professing Christians wrongly assume that morality is the source of their salvation. As Ryan Foley recently reported, “Most Self-Identified Christians Think Doing ‘Good Things’ is Enough to Get to Heaven.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

And while the false doctrine of\u00a0works righteousness<\/em>\u00a0is extremely popular, it leaves a person lost and condemned. The only life that contains the power for salvation is the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36).<\/p>\n

God’s dynamite for salvation is the Gospel message itself. If you are tempted to assume that your noble deeds provide at least some of the power for your salvation, then know this: The fruit is never, and I mean never, the cause or source of someone’s salvation.<\/p>\n

Eternal life in Heaven is a free gift that cannot be earned (see\u00a0Romans 6:23). The devil\u00a0wants people to assume that “free” doesn’t actually mean “free.” Demons\u00a0cleverly trick people into thinking they can earn salvation by their deeds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A prime example is\u00a0Mormon doctrine, which states, “It is by grace we are saved,\u00a0after\u00a0<\/em>all we can do” (2 Nephi 25:23). The founder of the Mormon religion,\u00a0Joseph Smith, was duped into believing that salvation is like a carrot on a stick and that Mormons who live a good enough life are allowed into Heaven.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But just how\u00a0good\u00a0is\u00a0good enough? False teachers never answer that question. They leave you guessing and striving in hopes of earning entrance into Heaven.<\/p>\n

Satan deceives people into relying upon their behavior, rather than the cross, because a works-righteous attitude prevents people from receiving the free gift of salvation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Case in point: Mike Wilder is a\u00a0former Mormon high priest who left that organization when he became a Christian. Mike says that in 30 years as a Mormon, he never heard one sermon about the blood and the cross.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Are you relying upon your morality to get into Heaven, or upon the cross where Jesus died for your sins and shed His blood for your salvation? C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) said, “Morality may keep you out of jail, but it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of Hell.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, does your belief about salvation reflect the perspective of “Mike the Mormon,” or “Mike the Christian”?<\/p>\n

The Bible declares: “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17) Why? Because genuine faith in Jesus Christ always produces good works. The fruit of faith is real because the Vine is real. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit” (John 15:5).<\/p>\n

Living apple trees produce apples, and everyone who is “alive with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5) bears fruit. The fruit isn’t the source of your salvation, but it reflects the One who saved you and lives in you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Salvation is received on the front end of a person’s relationship with Jesus. The moment you receive the free gift of eternal life through faith in Christ is the moment God’s power saves your soul. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).<\/p>\n

But what about Philippians 2:12? Paul instructed Christians: “Continue to\u00a0work out your salvation<\/em>\u00a0with fear and trembling.”\u00a0In other words,\u00a0have so much awe and respect for the Lord that you are afraid to do anything that would displease Him.<\/p>\n

But doesn’t this verse imply that our works contribute to our salvation? Absolutely not. After all,\u00a0Paul was writing “to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi” (Philippians 1:1). Saints are Christians, children of God, believers and followers of Christ. Thankfully,\u00a0the moment you enter the family of God through faith in Jesus, eternal life is yours!\u00a0<\/p>\n

You see, you cannot\u00a0work out your salvation<\/em>\u00a0unless you are alive spiritually (i.e., saved, justified, born again, redeemed and forgiven), just like you cannot\u00a0work out<\/em>\u00a0your body<\/em>\u00a0unless you are alive physically.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paul reminded the saints at Philippi about “the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:9). Paul thoroughly explains this righteousness in\u00a0Romans 3 & 4. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:22). Thankfully, God “justifies the man who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26)<\/p>\n

If you are relying upon your behavior to save your soul, start relying instead upon the cross where Jesus paid for your sins and purchased your salvation “which He bought with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). That is, if you want to be forgiven of your sins and gain entrance into Heaven one day.<\/p>\n

Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church\u00a0in Papillion, Nebraska.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dan Delzell, Christian Post Contributor Sunday, January 04, 2026Ralwel\/iStock Strep throat is a bacterial infection that produces the following symptoms: swollen tonsils, fever and chills, difficulty swallowing, body aches, tender lymph nodes and fatigue. Health experts\u00a0tell\u00a0us,\u00a0“Penicillin\u00a0is generally the first-choice treatment for most cases of strep throat. It has been used effectively for decades and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[348,1931,4583,1581],"class_list":{"0":"post-15163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-christian-living","8":"tag-faith","9":"tag-fruit","10":"tag-generate","11":"tag-salvation"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}