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Copyright © 2012 J. Neely. All rights reserved.
Chapter 1 - Barren Fig Tree
Luke 13:7
7 Then [de] said he [epo] unto [pros] the dresser of his vineyard [ampelourgos] , Behold [idou] , these three [treis] years [etos] I come [erchomai] seeking [zeteo] fruit [karpos] on [en] this [taute] fig tree [suke] , and [kai] find [heurisko] none [ou] : cut [ekkopto] it [autos] down [ekkopto] ; why [hinati] [kai] cumbereth [katargeo] it [autos] the ground [ge] ? KJV-Interlinear
7 'And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?' NASB
If there is no apparent change in the individuals soul, then that person's life is forfeit as useless, in that it is unproductive.
Lets look at the last of this verse first. 'It even uses up the ground.' This means that the tree occupies space within the vineyard. It sucks up the nourishment which is in the ground, even taking some of the nourishment from its neighboring plants. It offers nothing in return, and even takes from the productive opportunities of other surrounding plants. Thus this tree takes, but gives nothing back, and it even stands in the way of others in limiting or preventing them from producing properly.
So, the argument that whatever it is you want to do in life is or should be ok, because it does not harm or bring harm to others does not hold. It is a convenient lie which negative people hold on to, in order to justify their chosen pattern of life.
The three years is representative of a sufficient amount of time for a mature fig tree to produce fruit. It has gone through three years of a productive cycle, and has given nothing back to its owner. Note that a young tree is not expected to produce until it reaches an age where it can produce.
The owner is God. The land is the world. The vineyard is the collective population of believers in Christ. Their upkeep is the teaching of the Word of God. The individual fig trees are representative of believers in Christ. They are not unbelievers, because unbelievers do not reside in the vineyard of God, not can they produce good fruit - the results of ones spiritual production. Not saved, the unbeliever has no spiritual life.
The three years is the time allowed by God for the believer to demonstrate some kind of spiritual results in their life. It is not an exact three years period, but is representative of a complete but indeterminate amount of time, or of sufficient time to reveal the believers motives, thoughts, decisions, and actions of life.
So God gives every believer sufficient time to establish their thought pattern in life. If the believer is positive toward God and is responsible in that the believer desires knowledge of God and pursues that course which will result in his learning, then he will be productive in some fashion.
If the believer is indifferent and has no desire to learn of God, and so demonstrates that attitude by simply not being obedient to any or most of the commands of God, then he produces nothing spiritually. He also leaves an example behind Him to which others might look and thereby teaches others (by example) by his own actions or attitude. The others, might by young children or other adults (family or friends or strangers).
If there is no measurable spiritual production in the believers life, then his life is forfeit. He is in effect cut down as worthless. Perhaps tossed away into the garbage or cut up for firewood. Anyone who lives through their life and in its end is evaluated as historical filler (simply occupying space for no apparent reason), has indeed been the fool when so many opportunities have been and are available to them during their life, and they then come to their end with nothing to show for their life.
Only spiritual assets contain and maintain any value in the long run (in this life and into the next). Any physical asset of this life which man can measure in any way, is temporary at best. And, will come to its end certainly when history terminates, but most things come to their useful end or become obsolete within a generation or two, if not sooner.
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Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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