Good Works and Fruit

Good works,  that we, as believers in Christ “do”, can be done either from good motives, or bad, or maybe even a mixture, for those of us who have surrendered to His Work of conforming us into His image, not to be confused with fruit, as some do. Fruit is the outcome of that same work He only can do on the inside of us. As we remain in Him, “fruit” or His characteristics in us begin to develop. These qualities are what His Word calls the Fruits of the Spirit. Just as plants put on either flowers or literal fruit, so we, do too, as we grow “into” Christ, or more descriptively worded, He grows in us.
If we are not increasingly becoming more loving, peaceful, self-controlled, joyful, etc., (more like who He is) we need to ask ourselves if we have somehow detached from the Vine, or if we were ever connected to Him in the first place.
“By their fruits you will know them” the Lord tells us. We need to be observing, with spiritual eyes, our own branch to see if we are in the Lord. If we can possibly see that our character is not being conformed to His, but is, instead going backwards, we need to cry out to the only One who saves; our Lord Jesus Christ. Doing “good works”can often blind us to the fact that we have no fruit, becoming self-deceived; a place we don’t want to be.
Works or Fruit? Not the same thing, and a dire need to know the difference.