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Strip Off the Old Personality if You Want to Live ForeverThe Watchtower—1964 | September 1
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conform to the world’s way of thinking and acting? How has this been accomplished in the case of the hundreds of thousands of Jehovah’s witnesses of all nationalities? All who want to live forever will find the Scriptural answers to these important questions presented in the following article.
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Let the Spirit’s Fruitage Make Over Your PersonalityThe Watchtower—1964 | September 1
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Let the Spirit’s Fruitage Make Over Your Personality
“Produce fruit that befits repentance. [For] every tree . . . that does not produce fine fruit is to be cut down and thrown into the fire.”—Matt. 3:8, 10.
1. In his Sermon on the Mount, how did Jesus say we could tell the difference between good and bad trees?
“BY THEIR fruits you will recognize them.” This proverbial truth is often quoted, but not everyone who repeats it knows he is quoting from Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. In that Sermon by way of illustration the Great Teacher enlarged on this principle of truth, saying: “Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men.” “A good man brings forth good out of the good treasure of his heart, but a wicked man brings forth what is wicked out of his wicked treasure; for out of the heart’s abundance his mouth speaks.”—Matt. 7:16-20; Luke 6:45.
2. What kind of fruitage did Paul say would identify persons who will go into everlasting destruction?
2 In his letter to the Galatians Paul also said that rotten stock could easily be recognized by the worthless fruit it produces. So if you see a person practicing fornication or uncleanness or engaging in loose conduct, if you see an idolatrous person or one practicing spiritism, if you see a person expressing hatred, strife or jealousy, or one being seized in fits of anger, if you see one stirring up contentions, divisions, sects or envies, if you see one engaging in drunken bouts or licentious revelries, or if you see one practicing things like these, then you know you are looking at a rotten tree that is about to be cut down and pitched into the fire of everlasting destruction. “As to these things,” Paul continues, “I am forewarning you, the same way as I did forewarn you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s kingdom.”—Gal. 5:19-21.
3. From these scriptures to what conclusions do we come?
3 These conclusions are therefore inescapable: rotten trees must first become good trees before they can produce good fruit; the man’s heart must first become good before his mouth can speak forth good things; incorrigible ones who resist and resent changing will be summarily burned up, annihilated. Furthermore, if such changes in personality and in one’s course of conduct were not possible, then
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