Bad and good fruit

Popularity, miracles, and spiritual maturity? What do the good fruits of faith look like? The Chief Apostle gave a clear answer.

“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” The Bible passage from Matthew 7: 20 was the focus of a divine service for ministers in Cooper City, Florida, USA on 15 November 2025. After words of thanks to the ministers, Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider outlined the difficult times and complicated environment in which ministers work today. He went on to say that some religious denominations are very popular, while others are not. “So what are we doing wrong?” he asked.

Spiritual maturity as a touchstone

Jesus knew this and foretold that there would be many false prophets. “They will come in sheep’s clothing and say, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ and they will produce great signs and wonders” (Matthew 7: 15; 24: 23–24). He said that they would be recognised by their fruits, but these fruits should not be understood as success. What Jesus meant was spiritual maturity. This is something that cannot be measured by facts and figures. “The only way to grasp spiritual maturity is by faith. You have to believe in the victory of Jesus Christ.”

Beware of the bad fruit

In his day, Apostle Paul often had to deal with false prophets. He described them as “enemies of the cross”. Such prophets that distort the gospel still exist today and can be identified by the following characteristics.

• They follow the law rather than mercy. Seeking salvation by strictly adhering to certain rules and traditions corresponds to the Old Testament, not the New Testament. Jesus said, “You cannot earn salvation simply by behaving correctly, obeying the commandments, or observing certain traditions. You need a Saviour.” And that Saviour is Jesus Christ.
• They seek earthly pleasures and personal honour. Pray and sacrifice and your life will improve. Such an attitude reflects a way of thinking more in line with the Old Testament. Paul says, “Their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame.” Earthly matters are their only concern and everything revolves around their own person. Many preachers today on television, on the radio, everywhere, “use Jesus Christ for their own glory and their own interests”.
• They spread falsehoods. Paul even noted, “They use polished and flattering words to tell people what they want to hear.” In doing so, they made compromises with those in power in order to avoid problems. Nor did they shy away from spreading falsehoods that were not the teaching of Jesus.

Look out for the good fruit

“The good fruit of the apostolate is sound doctrine,” that is, the truthful proclamation of the gospel. These fruits include

• eternal life. “We preach Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth and became man to allow humans to have access to eternal life.”
• salvation. “He came as the Son of God because He wanted to reconcile human beings with God and enable them to return to fellowship in the kingdom of God.”
• grace. “The apostolate teaches that we cannot earn salvation. We need grace.” It teaches us the true law of Christ and how to obtain grace.
• sacraments. “Jesus taught us that in order to be saved, we must receive the sacraments. We must be reborn out of water and the Holy Spirit. We must receive Holy Communion.”
• love for our neighbour. “Love God and love your neighbour.” We must consider each human being as an individual, “as a soul loved by God”, the Chief Apostle said. Jesus gave His life for each individual soul.

In summary, the Chief Apostle said, “Dear brothers and sisters, this is the fruit of the apostolate: sound doctrine, true faith, true trust in God, and true love for our neighbour.” And all those who produce this kind of fruit can strengthen faith in Christ and in the apostolate.