Three Results of Salvation
 
by Dr. Ken Matto
 
(Psa 1:2-3 KJV) But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. {3} And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
 
Arbor Day is a day when, once a year, we traditionally celebrate it as a day if planting trees. I love trees because you can sit under them and the shade cools you from the burning son. They make a nice summer day nicer. In the Bible God calls His redeemed children, trees of righteousness.
 
(Isa 55:12 KJV) For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
 
(Isa 61:3 KJV) To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
 
In the Isaiah 55 verse, we read that we shall go out in joy and be led forth with peace. This is all the language of salvation because the only ones in Scripture who possess the joy and peace of God are the believers. The mountains and the hills will break forth in singing. The mountains and hills in Scripture are all figures of kingdoms. We basically read that the kingdom of God will break forth in joy and that would be evidenced by the “trees” clapping their hands. We know that mountains can’t sing nor can trees clap their hands. This is language of the joy of salvation.
 
Then in Isaiah 61, we see that great transformation from the sadness that the world brings to the joy that the salvation brings. We see that the Lord is the one who does the planting, to wit, the saving is done of God, for the glory of God. This passage too expresses the joys of salvation.
 
In our theme verse today we see three results of salvation:
 
1) Bringing forth fruit in season - As believers when we send forth the Gospel, whether it be in person or support for a ministry in a foreign land, we may be desirous to see fruit. Sometimes we get anxious and want to see the fruit of salvation instantly. Sometimes that happens, but here in this verse God is telling us that a tree will bring forth fruit in his season. Now God is not telling us what kind of tree He is speaking of, but the bottom line is that there are many different trees around the world and they all have different times of bringing forth fruit. The fig tree brings forth its fruit before the leaves and apple trees bring forth the leaves and then the fruit. What God is telling us here is that God gives the harvest time of each type of tree and as Christians we must understand that building the kingdom of God is done according to God’s timetable and not ours. He says there will be fruit but in its season and not ours. Our responsibility is just to be faithful and to be very evangelistic in our efforts.
 
(1 Cor 3:6-7 KJV) I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. {7} So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
 
(Gal 6:9 KJV) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.  Sometimes we may become frustrated in our outreach efforts because we may feel that since we are producing no fruit, it is of to no avail. Don’t believe that lie! If you are being faithful and handing out good biblical material, you will produce fruit, maybe not at the proportion you desire but remember salvation is in God’s hands and not yours.
 
2) His leaf shall not wither - God also gives a promise not only about our evangelistic effort but for own spiritual walk. If we stay upon the Word of God, we will never suffer a withering leaf. This means that our entire walk, when ordered by the Word of God, will cause us to remain as a green tree. A tree starts dying when it begins to lack water. A Christian begins to face withering when we begin to transition from the Words of God to the Words of man. When we find more pleasure in the writings of man, then we can expect to see our spiritual walk begin to deteriorate. This also applies to reading books about the Bible instead of getting into the Word itself. Books about the Bible are man’s words and even if they are as true as true can be, they should not replace the water of the Word. Take a look at your walk today, is there any withering leafs on your branches?
 
3) Whatever he does will prosper - God is not speaking here of finances but there could be a smidgeon of that here. If a godly man starts a business and dedicates it to the Lord by giving of the profits to missions, God may choose to bless the efforts and he may financially prosper. I believe that what is in view here goes way beyond anything material. God is telling the believer that when a person is stayed on the Word of God, they will prosper in their spiritual life. It does not matter how small your involvement seems to be according to worldly standards, there is no such thing as a small ministry. Every bit of true ministry affects someone’s life in some manner. It may comfort them or anger them, nevertheless, there is always a spiritual prosperity to the person who does the ministry. I know for a fact that when I write these studies or do an article, God always shows me something I never saw before and since I am able to pass it along to others, not only do I, but they spiritually prosper. That is the goal of the Christian, spiritual prosperity. We need to get our eyes off of worldly things when we read the word prosper in the Bible. We need to make physical prosperity the ancillary interpretation instead of the primary one. There are Christians who give to the Lord’s work but seem to always be short of cash and there are those who give nothing yet are financially self-assured, this is why physical things can never be the primary focus of Christians, since we are spiritual people.  (4/25/03)
 
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