God Alone Saves

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Everyone knows that for a harvest to take place one must plant and water seeds, but only God can provide the increase. With the woman at the well, Jesus harvested. He knew that her heart was open to receive Him so that when He shared truth with her, she believed it. She then left and shared with others. Jesus told his disciples that the harvest is now and a big indicator of this was that He was with them.

There are few harvesters who are ready to pick God’s fruit. Many think they make fruit by what they say, do, and think. You cannot present the gospel clear enough for one to receive it if God’s harvest time has not come. How did we ever arrive at the conclusion that we can push the harvest time along? The woman at the well had a heart that was ready, but not all hearts are ready. Paul planted seeds by sharing the gospel, and Apollos watered the seeds by providing discipleship. Only those whom God chose received the fruit.

God has done the work. He sent His Son to redeem the world. All we can do is tell people about Him with our words, work, and life. The woman at the well pointed many to Jesus. But they believed because they heard from Jesus. It wasn’t the woman’s witness that saved the people; it was the life of the Savior. Salvation is only the beginning. For any relationship to grow, it needs to be watered and tended to. If you neglect your relationship with Christ, you will not reap spiritual fruit because Christ alone produces fruit.

A wall in the temple kept Gentiles from going any further into the temple. If they had, they would have been removed and stoned to death. Jesus broke down that barrier. Now, all can come to Jesus. The people wanted Jesus to stay and eat with them, but Jesus said He had food to eat that they did not know about. Jesus knew it was harvest time in Samaria, and many of the Samaritans believed. It was obvious that their lives had been changed when they wanted a Jew to stay with them longer.

It would be ridiculous to think that we have any part in salvation. Our role is to tend to the fruit, not to produce it. In order to have the right spirit, a meek spirit, you must tend to your own heart and life as the Lord intended. The Lord placed Adam in the garden “to tend and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). As a disciple of Jesus, you are to tend to your heart and keep it pure in the eyes of the Lord. When you do this, you will reap and sow as an outflow of your relationship with Jesus. The woman at the well did not need a class on how to lead someone to Christ, she simply went and shared what He shared with her. God calls you to do the same.

In John 15, Jesus makes it clear that we bear fruit but do not produce fruit. When the harvest is ready, we will be sent to receive, clean, protect, and prepare the fruit. Jesus produces salvation while we simply disciple those He has produced. We are to watch for those who are ready to receive the gospel so we can disciple them. Our role is to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

From John: True Belief Brings Joy by Alison Veazey and Kerry Skinner.