Now there were some present at the time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them-do you think they were more guilty than all the other living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Then He told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this gig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”
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Jesus again and again says to repent or you will perish. What Jesus teaches here though, is that repentance is so much more than just an apology. It is determining that your life won’t look the same as it did before. It’s deciding that our life, based on the grace we receive from God, will then go forward and bear fruit. Bear fruit? You know…that passage in Galatians you have heard your whole life. We repent…and then go live a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. If we are to truly repent, God must be able to see the fruit from our changed life. So…is your life producing fruit?
A Journey With Jesus 