The Fruit of the Spirit 3

11/12/05 pm

Dr Kenneth Brownell, Pastor

Galatians 5: 22-23

Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

1. The fruits of the Spirit are a pen-portrait of the Christ-like character that should be true of every Christian.
2. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is evidenced by his fruit.
3.  We are not yet perfect! The Spirit is working within us
4. Most of the virtues mentioned by Paul, except possibly for joy and peace, are social in nature, concerned with our relationship with others and particularly other Christians.
5. It is easy to talk of having a relationship with God, but the test of authenticity of that relationship is how we relate to others (1 John 4: 20)
6. How we relate to others defines our character, who we are inside ourselves. 

 Faithfulness

• Loyalty, fidelity, trustworthiness, reliability, dependability, like:
  • Epaphrus (Colossians 1: 7)
  • Tychicus (Colossians 4: 7)
  • Philemon (Colossians 4: 9)
  • Jesus himself (Hebrews 2: 17, 3: 2, 13: 8)
• We are to reflect Jesus in our faithfulness
• Faithful service is the bedrock of church life and Christian ministry

Gentleness

• Meekness, humility, considerateness
• Not a weakness but a strength to be used in the humble service of others
• The opposite of self-assertiveness or pushiness so extolled in the world
• The way in which Jesus would have us serve one anotheR

Self-control

• Runs counter to what our culture says – indulge ourselves, spend on what you want, eat all you want, don’t restrain your passions, desires and sexual appetites, enjoy yourselves.
• Like athletes, we need to control ourselves (1 Corinthians 9: 25-27). Oliver Cromwell was a Devout Christian who mastered himself before he mastered others.
• Essential for living an effective Christian life:
  • Not only negative – money, sex, power etc,
  • But positive – directing our lives as God wants us to live (Titus 2: 11-13)
• Sometimes we don’t make progress in the Christian life because of a lack of self-control in respect of:
  • Prayer life
  • Reading the Bible
  • Meeting regularly together with other Christians
    
• There is no law against the fruit of the Spirit – how could there be?
• The fruit of the Spirit go some way to fulfilling the law
• The law cannot produce these virtues because it lacks power
• The gospel not only gives us forgiveness and acceptance but also the gift of the Holy Spirit, who works inside us to fulfil the law of God.
• The appearance of the fruit of the Spirit is not automatic – we must keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5: 24-26).

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