The Ways of the Heart
Chapter 10: The Fruit of Our Works

by Frank Allnutt

Figure 10-1: The fleshly walk of the Half-Hearted Christian.

This believer walks according to the flesh and in the ways of old spiritual masters—Satan, sin, the world order, and as one under law—rather than in the ways of God, God’s love, God’s Kingdom, and God’s grace.

The Half-Hearted Christian walks in the ways of Satan, sin, the world order, and
as one under law (Figure 10-1). His flesh condition of soulical dysfunctionality can breed either self-depreciating or self-aggrandizing false concepts, and results in behavior that is blatantly sinful or has the appearance of being “good works.” But in God’s view, this believer’s achievements are “fruit for death” or “works that separate.” Such fruit is unacceptable to God because it is fleshly and not of the Spirit.

Fruit for death in the inner man functionally divides the heart, soul from spirit, and strains at least, or severs at worst, fellowship (not relationship) between the believer and the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the fruit produced in and through the inner-self and outer-self dynamics of two types of Half-Hearted Christians: the Broken-Hearted Christian and the Fat-Hearted Christian. Please keep in mind that, while God detests and rejects the sinfulness and fruit for death of Half-Hearted Christians, He loves them unconditionally, and no less than He loves Whole-Hearted Christians. But when their divided hearts interrupt fellowship with Him, and cause them to walk according to the flesh, His Spirit is quenched and grieved.

The Fruit of the Broken-Hearted Christian
All Half-Hearted Christians produce fruit for death, with some variation of fruit among the various types of half-heartedness. We can see some of these distinctions through comparison. Perhaps the most apparent contrasts are between the Broken-Hearted Christian and the Fat-Hearted Christian.

Whether the Half-Hearted Christian’s behavior and life-style are obviously sinful or appear to be religious, moral, and righteous, his heart is not right with God; he walks according to the flesh, is out of fellowship with God, and all of his apparent good works or manifest works are “fruit for death” (Romans 7:5), which is unacceptable to God (Figure 10-2).

Figure 10-2: The ways of the Broken-Hearted Christian produce “fruit for death.”

Isaiah writes in graphic language that “All our righteous acts [manifest works, independent of God] are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 NIV)—that is, as lifeless and worthless as the discharge on a menstrual cloth.

All of us have experienced a broken heart—disappointment, sorrow, loss, etc. That does not necessarily make us Broken-Hearted Christians. A Broken-Hearted Christian is one who consistently responds out of a divided heart to negative circumstances in life, in fleshly, Satan-like, sinful, worldly, legalistic or lawless ways.

The Broken-Hearted Christian has experienced trauma, rejection, failure, pain, suffering, sadness, and loss. Nothing he does, as hard as he tries, seems to help. And it seems to him that God does not hear his prayers or does not care about his plight.

Some of the possible effects of the Broken-Hearted Christian’s way of living are indicated in Figure 10-3:

Figure 10-3: The self-depreciating, fleshly soulical functioning of the Broken-Hearted Christian.

The sin-motivated and fleshly condition of his broken heart contaminate his soul with fleshly, Satanic, sinful, worldly, legalistic or lawless thoughts, feelings, desires and plans. His behavior may be outright sinful or fleshly attempts to live righteously. But righteousness rooted in the flesh is counterfeit righteousness. This believer’s fruit or accomplishments are not love-gifts for God, but sin-debt (defilement or consequences of actual sin) that further divide his heart and strain his fellowship with the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

This believer has been subjected to many lies, deceptions, and fantasies. His memories—and the lies and fantasies associated with them—are like a cancer in his soul that attacks his mind, emotion, and will, and thwarts their proper functioning. He has distorted concepts of God, self, others, the world in which he lives, and meaning and purpose in life. He may seek to know: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “What does the future hold for me?” “Where is God in the middle of my messed-up life and this rotten world?” Emotionally, he may experience self-depreciating feelings of guilt, anxiety, fear, shame, rejection, humiliation, and depression. He quite often sees himself as a failure, worthless, incompetent, and insignificant. In his will, he may harbor desires and intentions that are lustful and perverse. He may blame God for treating him unfairly. And all of this leaves him feeling frustrated, confused, rejected, hopeless, helpless, unloved, and used.

The Broken-Hearted Christian has little trust in God. He chooses to depend on the flesh and the world in getting his needs and desires met. And when such dependency proves to be mostly unsuccessful, he resorts to methods of escapism or coping in order to protect self.

Escape methods might include denial of reality, rejection of the truth of God’s Word, extreme depression out of pain, suffering, loss, self-pity, cover-up, and any number of addictions.

To cope is to attempt to ride out the storm of negative circumstances through one’s own limited strength and resources. Coping or defense mechanisms compile a list without end. The coper may be co-dependent and overly submissive to control, manipulation, intimidation, and exploitation by others. He may resort to employing some of those methods himself, along with lying, cheating, stealing, seduction, people-pleasing, temper tantrums, self-pity, escapism, and withdrawal. Some copers may seek outside strength, solace, and pleasure through sinful and harmful behavior such as substance abuse, illicit sex, gluttony, financial schemes, and death-defying extremist activities.

Such believers often try to cover-up their shortcomings by attempting to convey the opposite of what is truly going on in their hearts and lives. They may be outspoken against the very addictions or fleshly patterns of functioning and behavior that hold them in conditional bondage. For example, a person who chronically lies may display open contempt toward others who lie, and this in an effort to deceive others into believing that, since he hates lying so much, he surely would not lie himself.

When fleshly coping mechanisms eventually prove to be unsuccessful, a believer might simply give up trying. At the depth of brokenness, he loses all hope in himself, his fellow man, and even in God. It is not uncommon for him to think about suicide. Tragically, he does not understand that his old self has already died and that he is a new-hearted, new creature who is free and victorious in Christ.

The Fruit of the Fat-Hearted Christian
Fat-Hearted Christians may be successful achievers in the worldly view. They may believe God has rewarded them because they are superior to others, that their works are especially pleasing to God, and that they have higher standing with God. But those are deceptions. God loves all of His children unconditionally and equally, though He disdains fleshly living. Fat-Hearted Christians function out of a fleshly, divided heart, and walk according to the flesh and in the ways of Satan, sin, the world order, legalism or lawlessness. God regards the achievements of their fleshly living as “fruit for death” (Romans 7:5) (Figure 10-4).

In contrast to the Broken-Hearted Christian, the Fat-Hearted Christian’s life experiences have been mostly positive, with relatively few and insignificant rejections and trauma. His life and memories are mostly pleasant, and so he is comfortable in his self-sufficiency and fleshly manner of living. However, he lives a lie—that his apparently successful way of living must be the right way, and even God’s will for him.

Figure 10-5: The self-aggrandizing, fleshly soulical functioning of the Fat-Hearted Christian.

As Figure 10-5 illustrates, the Fat-Hearted Christian experiences mostly positive” fleshly dysfunctionality in his spiritual heart. Intellectually, he has distorted concepts of God, self, others, and the world around him. Emotionally, he is generally content, comfortable, secure, self-assured, cnfident, and competent. Because of his apparent success, he may have prideful and exaggerated feelings of self-strength, self-significance, self-righteousness, and self-worthiness. And he believes most people have the same high regard for him that he has for himself. In his will, he may harbor desires and intentions that are lustful and perverse. Since his identity, self-esteem, and security are tied to his wealth and possessions, he may be anxiously driven to protect what he has, and to accumulate even more.

The Fat-Hearted Christian’s methods for protecting self and getting ahead bear many similarities to the coping mechanisms of the Broken-Hearted Christian, and may include control, manipulation, intimidation, aggression, assertion, bribery, extortion, lying, cheating, stealing, and so on. Such sins create sin-debt within the soul, and at some point even the Fat-Hearted Christian will begin to experience their negative effects.

It is tragic that many Broken-Hearted Christians strive to become like Fat-Hearted Christians. And it is tragic as well that the so-called “prosperity gospel” preached in some churches is designed to motivate and teach them how to do it.

Half-Hearted Christians of all types may develop psychosomatic health problems—and may even die from their effects. Paul writes that because such people do not rightly examine their spiritual hearts and do not allow the Holy Spirit to intervene and to heal, “many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep [have died physically]” (1 Corinthians 11:29, 30).

And so the many lies, deceptions, and fantasies stored in the Half-Hearted Christian’s memory hold him in conditional, functional, and behavioral bondage (but not in positional, relational, or ontological bondage). He is robbed of experiencing his freedom and victory, joy and peace, and other forms of grace and fruitfulness that can only be realized through whole-hearted living.

Figure 10-6: The walk of the Whole-Hearted Christian.

The Whole-Hearted Christian walks in the Spirit out of wholehearted obedience, which is love-motivated obedience from the heart (Romans 6:17), and produces “fruit for God” (Romans 7:4). (Figure 10-6). Because he walks in the Spirit, he walks in the ways of God, God’s love, God’s kingdom, and God’s grace. He enjoys close fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and is cooperating with Him in the joint process of being functionally conformed to the likeness of Christ.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch, and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:1-7).

“By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:8-11).

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another” (John 15:12-17).

The dynamics of love

Figure 10-7

Our behavior is governed by the condition and functioning of our heart. Figure 10-7 illustrates the dynamics of a whole heart—one that is functionally united by love, soul with spirit, and operates in harmony with the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Figure 10-8

When our hearts are whole and we walk in the Spirit and are filled by the Spirit (Figure 10-8), the gift of God’s love is poured out within hearts through His Spirit (Romans 5:5). “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Galatians 5:22), and when love is manifested in and through us, we produce the fruit of love for God, for ourselves, and for others:

1. The fruit of joy is the loving heart’s strength in Christ.
   
   
2. The fruit of peace is the loving heart’s security in Christ.
   
   
3. The fruit of patience is the loving heart’s endurance in Christ.
   
   
4. The fruit of kindness is the loving heart’s conduct in Christ.
   
   
5. The fruit of goodness is the loving heart’s character in Christ.
   
   
6. The fruit of faithfulness is the loving heart’s confidence in Christ.
   
   
7. The fruit of gentleness is the loving heart’s humility in Christ.
   
   
8. The fruit of self-control is the loving heart’s victory in Christ.
   
   
9. In summary, the fruit of love is the loving heart’s freedom in Christ.

Characteristics of the Whole-Hearted Christian
The spirit of life in Christ set us free from the principle of sin and death (Romans 8:2)—position ally, relationally, and ontologically, at the time of our salvation. In the very practical matters of our everyday lives, the spirit of life in Christ can set us free from the principle of sin and death (separation of fellowship with Christ)—if we function out of a whole heart. If we do not live wholeheartedly, we will experience conditional and functional enslavement to sin and death.

Because the Whole-Hearted Christian is motivated by love, the following statements can be made that characterize his life and life-style:

1. He is growing spiritually—is being functionally conformed to the likeness of Christ.
   
   
2. He is growing in his ability to know the mind of Christ and to think as Christ thinks.
   
   
3. He experiences Christ’s peace and joy, and is learning to respond to circumstances with Christ-like feelings.
   
   
4. He experiences diminishing fleshly desires and increasing new desires that correspond with the will of God.
   
   
5. He experiences victories over the flesh, Satan, sin, and the world order.
   
   
6. He walks in grace, is lovingly obedient from the heart, and thus fulfills the law.
   
   
7. He responds to the Great Commission by witnessing for Christ to nonbelievers.
   
   
8. He builds up the body of Christ through discipling others, intercessory prayer, and many other practical ways of ministering to their needs.
   
   
9. He magnifies the glory of God through his life, life-style, behavior and works.
   

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