Unconfessed sin and the fruitless leader

April 12, 2019 | by Dann Spader

According to Jesus, the Father’s ultimate goal for every one of us is to move us to the “much fruit” level, so
that we can prove we are His disciples and thus bring Him glory. “By this my Father is glorified,” Jesus claims,
“that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” ( John 15:8 ESV). 

However, not every believer ultimately bears much fruit. ere is a definite progression of fruit-bearing with
some definite barriers between each level. Fortunately, Jesus also exposes barriers that keep us from getting to
the next level and gives His Father’s remedy.

One of these barriers I see is the barrier of sin. Jesus states, “He [my Father] cuts off every branch in me that
bears no fruit” ( John 15:2). e word translated “cuts off” is the Greek word airo, and it is used over a hundred
times in the New Testament. 

But only here is it translated “cuts off.” e word literally means to “lift up” or “move to a different location.”
In Matthew 9:6, for example, after Jesus heals the paralyzed man, He tells him to airo his mat and go home—
to lift it up and take it someplace else.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit a vineyard, you will find the vines carefully lifted up and placed on wire
trellises. If a gardener sees a vine that has fallen from the trellises, he will lift it up (airo) out of the dirt, clean it
off if necessary and place it back in the sunlight so that it can eventually bear fruit. If it is left in the mud, it
will become like a branch that withers and will be thrown in the fire to burn ( John 15:6).

e barrier between no fruit and fruit is simply the barrier of sin. Sin causes us to fall out of the sunlight (Son)
and into the dirt. If we are left in the dirt, we will shrivel up and become unproductive. But if we are lifted up
(airo), cleaned off if necessary ( Jesus said, “you are already clean”), and placed back into the Son light, then we
can move from no fruit to fruit. Jesus makes it clear: we cannot bear fruit apart from Him ( John 15:5). And in
the same way, we cannot bear fruit if sin is controlling our lives. We must deal with known sin, and then the
Lord will cleanse us from “all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Sin is the barrier that keeps us from bearing fruit.
Every day spent in sin is a day we fail to bear fruit.

Because of this, it is critical that we teach our disciples how to immediately and completely repent of any
known sin. Granted, we all need to repent initially of our sinfulness. But I love what the Christians in
Romania call each other—Repenters! For them, the Christian life is a life of repenting. Confessing known
sin, by faith claiming Christ’s cleansing, and then moving forward in the power of the Spirit. is is a
Repenters’ lifestyle.
is passage raises the question, If someone produces no fruit, are they even a Christian? Some would like to
argue that if there is no fruit there must not be any real life. And while there is some truth in this statement,
let’s be careful about making quick assessments. In this passage, we are told the Gardener cuts off every
person (branch) “in me” that bears no fruit. Up to this point in the gospel of John, whenever anyone is
referred to being “in me,” that person is a Christian. You cannot be in Christ without having Christ in you.

We have to ask ourselves, Has there ever been an hour we have lived in sin and failed to bear fruit? Has there
been a day? Or a week? Or a few years? All of us would have to answer yes. You can be in Christ but still have
unconfessed sin in your life. It doesn’t change our status as a Christian, but it does affect our ability to bear
fruit.

e real question, I think, is, Can you be in Christ for a long time and still bear no fruit? To this question, I
would have to answer no. Because God’s clear agenda is to get all of us to the place where we bear fruit, more
fruit and much fruit. And He will do whatever that takes to make this happen. He is jealous for His glory.

Hebrews 12 tells us that as a loving Father, God will take us through a process of discipline in our lives if we
fail to deal with sin over the long haul. God’s process of correction is gentle. It begins with a rebuke and is
followed by discipline (Hebrews 12:5–6). If we still fail to respond to His loving discipline, He will punish us
(12:6). Be assured, God will not tolerate sin in His child’s life for long. God’s agenda for us is holiness, which
leads to fruitfulness, and sin keeps us from that. If we never experience the discipline of God, then we are
probably not sons of God but sons of this world.

No matter how you interpret the text, sin is a barrier to bearing fruit. For the non-Christian, it is a life of sin.
For a Christian, it is a persistent lifestyle of unconfessed sin that the Father will address.

is post is excerpted from 4 Chair Discipling © 2019 by Dann Spader. Used by permission from Moody
Publishers.

Photo source: istock 

Source URL: https://www.biblicalleadership.com/blogs/unconfessed-sin-and-the-fruitless-leader/

DANN SPADER

Dann Spader is the Founder of Sonlife Ministries and currently serves as

Founder and President of Global Youth Initiative (an alliance of organizations
in 95 countries committed to "equipping leaders for movements of
multiplication”). He is author of the Like Jesus Resource (4 Chair Discipling,
Walk Like Jesus, Live Like Jesus) and co-author of Growing a Healthy Church
and e Everyday Commission, among other titles. Learn more about how you
can build a culture of disciple-making in your church or ministry at LikeJesus.

Connect with Dann:

 