Today we are beginning a new series on the fruit of the
Spirit. The “fruit of the Spirit” are a list of nine characteristics that Paul
mentions in Galatians 5:22-23--love, joy,
peace, patience, faithfulness, kindness, gentleness, meekness, and
self-control. These are contrasted with
the “works of the flesh” mentioned in 5:19-21 sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity,
strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,
drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.
This is not a comprehensive list. The works of the flesh are what we
characteristically produce when we live for own worldly reasons, following our
natural impulses and desires. They are
what we do when we act out what we feel like doing.
The fruit of the Spirit are also character traits found in
the life of Jesus. Because He was
without sin, He manifested them perfectly.
He was loving, joyful, peaceful and patient at all times, and so on
through the list.
Since the Holy Spirit is in us, these same nine qualities
ought to be present in us, too. The Holy
Spirit will produce these same traits inside us through the act of spiritual
renewal within. Like a virus inside us produces symptoms that help us diagnose
a disease, the fruit of the Spirit inside us produce a set of good symptoms
that help us know He is there.
We often see this dramatically when a person suddenly
encounters Christ. They suddenly become more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient,
gentle, humble, and so forth. But mostly, these effects come slowly t our lives
as the Holy Spirit manifests Christ’s character in us.
So much I learned in Bible School. But there’s more to the fruit of the Spirit than
that.
I think I’ve misunderstood what “fruit” is. We think of
fruit as something that naturally grows on a tree. But the Greek word for fruit
does not refer to where something grows, but whether it is edible. Their word for “fruit” was karpos, derived from the word “to pick.” If you didn’t pick and eat it, it’s not fruit.
I used to imagine the fruit of the Spirit was this. We are trees in God’s garden. When the Spirit is in our lives, we naturally
produce the fruit of the Spirit. Love,
joy, peace, gentleness, self-control, and all the others naturally and
magically appeared, as we look to Jesus.
We don’t have to work at it.
But there’s a problem with this. A lot of people in God’s garden aren’t
producing much fruit of the Spirit. Religion seems to have made no difference
in their attitudes. They like coming to
church, but they behave nothing like Jesus.
How can the people of (for example) Westboro Baptist Church protest at
the funerals of soldiers and insult gays on the street, and claim to believe
the Bible? How can Christians support slavery, violence and immorality? Where’s the fruit of the Spirit? How we claim to
“love the Lord” when we don’t love anyone else? Why do so many
Christians live in with fear, impatience, uncontrollable anger, arrogance, and
contentious attitudes, yet claim to have the Holy Spirit? They may be saved, but the fruit of the
Spirit are not in them.
Think of the fruit of the Spirit like this. God invites us into His garden—a garden
abounding with all kinds of good and wholesome things. Among the many great gifts offered to us in
this garden are the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience and all the
rest. It’s all there for the taking. But to have them, we must pick them. New ways of thinking and feeling are offered
to us, but we must take and eat.
The fruit of the Spirit are gifts from God’s, but we must
take and eat. Fruit doesn’t fall from
the tree into our mouths. We must choose
to take them. They are a gift, but they
are not a requirement. If we do not seek the fruit, they will not be evident in
our lives.
Let’s imagine a high school student who wants to join the
varsity football team. He is chosen to
be on the starting lineup. He is proud,
and struts around school in his letter jacket.
Then they coach tells him to show up for the first practice. “Practice?” he whines. “No one told me I had to practice!” What did he think he was chosen to do? Sit on
the bench?
Yet many Christian seem to think they were chosen to be
Christians but not act like Christians. We
are saved from more than just the fires of hell. We are also saved from the works of the flesh
to be changed through partaking of the fruit of the Spirit.
In Galatians, Paul is writing against legalism. Legalism
says that in order to have anything from God, we must earn it. There was no love in this view. It was all about having to prove oneself by
keeping all the laws of the Old Testament. But the Bible says that it isn’t what
we do that makes us good, but what God has done for us. Christ’s life given on
the Cross gives us new life. We don’t
have to do anything to be loved by Jesus.
He just loves us.
But towards the end of Galatians Paul has to deal the
opposite problem. Many people use God’s grace as an excuse for doing whatever
they want. They’re sure they are going
to heaven, so that they think they can live like hell on earth. Because they have accepted by God’s grace,
there’s no need to practice Spiritual virtues.
This sound like a very selfish, ungrateful way to live, but
I do not want to give that impression. Most
people who live with the works of the flesh do not live that way because they
want to, but because they do not think they have any choice. Paul says they aren’t so much in rebellion
but in bondage to the flesh. He writes
in Galatians 6 1 “For freedom Christ has
set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of
slavery.” Remaining in bondage to our old habits and attitudes is slavery
to Paul.
We are all recovering slaves--Some to despair, others to
appetites, others to addictions, and still others anger or fear. We say “I can’t help it,” but Paul doesn’t
buy it. We were made to overcome our
flesh, not live under its control.
Don’t excuse sin by appealing to human nature. Being in Christ means overcoming our human
nature. Don’t excuse temper by saying
you have anger management issues, or adultery by claiming to have a high
libido, or nastiness to others by claiming to have a personality disorder. The point of the Spirit’s work in our lives
is to transform our personalities into the personality of Christ. Jesus
forgives sinners and sets them free from sin, but He never accepts our excuses.
The life of the
Spirit is a garden of possibilities. Over
the gate is written. “Enter here, and
become what you were always meant to be.” In the garden, are fruit trees with
signs marked “Love,” “Joy”, “Peace”, “Patience,” “Kindness, ““Gentleness”, “Meekness”,
and “Self-control.” “All these qualities
are yours” God says to us. “But you must
take and eat. Incorporate them into your
lives. You have a choice—either sit in
the garden and starve, or take and eat from the fruit God provides.
To take the fruit, we may have to stretch ourselves. We may
even have to climb a few trees--but this is nothing. We no longer have to eat
the rotten fruit of sin. Now we can eat
the fruit of grace. But if we’re too
lazy to reach for it, then the fruit of the Spirit will never be ours.
The fruit of the Spirit does not change our lives all at
once. You can’t take one bite of an apple or a banana and expect to be
immediate health. It is the habit of
eating the right fruit and choosing them daily over junk food that produces a
change in our lives. The development of
new habits which will change our personality forever. The fruit of the Spirit
is both the instrument and the result of this second and far more difficult
salvation. This kind of salvation we
must work out with fear and trembling. The
fruit of the Spirit are not usually grown in us overnight, but are the result
of spiritual habits grown over a lifetime.
They are not just gifts--they are virtues. They manifest themselves in our lives as the
result of habits formed around God’s grace.
Over time, they cause us to look more and more like Jesus.
We don’t just love; we must learn to love. Love is the habitual turning from our own self-interest
to pursue the interests of God and others.
We don’t just have joy, we take joy. Joy is the habitual celebration of God’s
grace in life and creation. We daily
choose joy over criticism and disappointment.
We don’t just have peace, we make peace. We choose to make a habit of keeping the
world in perspective, so that we understand nothing we fight for on earth is
all that important.
We don’t just patience, we learn patience. Patience is the habit of being still without
strife, and being mindful of where we are now, instead of wishing we were
somewhere else.
We don’t just have Kindness; we learn to act kindly to
others. Kindness is the habit of wishing
and seeking the best for all who come across our path, even our enemies.
We aren’t just good, we practice goodness. Goodness is the practice of seeking for
uplifting things, not things that tear ourselves and others down.
Were aren’t just faithful, we practice faithfulness. Faithfulness is the habit of keeping our word
and standing by what we say.
We are just gentle, we practice gentleness. Gentleness is the habit of treating other
people with maximum grace and minimum judgment.
We don’t just have self-control, we practice self-control. Self-control is listening to God more than we
listen to our own inner voices.
The fruit of the Spirit are not just gifts. They are lifetime habits. They do not come overnight, but through years
of saying “no” to the flesh, and “yes” to the Spirit.
God invites you into your own personal Garden of Grace, and
invites you to eat of the fruit within. But
in order to eat that fruit, you must be willing to pick it. Lay aside the rotten fruit of the flesh, and
eat deeply of the fruit of the Spirit.
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