Text: Galatians 5:22-25 Title: Indicators of Genuine Faith, Date/Place: NRBC, 6/24/07, PM
A. Opening illustration: "The Spirit produces one fruit, not nine fruits. The fruit, however, has nine facets or qualities. If a believer is walking in the Spirit, he will possess all nine of these qualities. The source of the fruit is the Spirit who produces it in and through the believer."
B. Background to passage: Again Paul is comparing the looks of the genuine Christian life with those of the false believer. After looking at the pattern of life of an unbeliever, Paul speaks of the fruit (singular) of the Spirit. The logic goes like this: if the Spirit of God dwells within you, He will produce fruit, thus identifying you as a believer. Jesus said that good trees make good fruit… Again, notice that the Spirit produces one fruit that has nine different facets
C. Main thought: We will briefly look at these nine qualities, so that we can evaluate our crop, and then talk about two keys to seeing these things in your life if you are a believer.
A. Love (v. 22)
1. This is the word agape, meaning unconditional, highly-valuing, sacrificial love. And it is the one on this list by which all the others flow from. One writer said that Paul could have stopped here.
2. Luke 6:32, John 13:35,
3. Illustration: "The term love, which heads the list of the Spirit’s fruit, should not be regarded merely as one of the cluster; it is rather the stem from which all the rest hangs. Love stands at the head of the list, but it is the heart of the whole." a little girl named, Nan, writes this letter: “Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only four people in our family and I have trouble loving them!”
4. This is the mark that distinguishes us. Not because others don’t love. But because Christians love those who don’t love them. Christians continue to love under adverse conditions, even persecution. Do you love faithfully, willfully, sacrificially those that don’t deserve, or even despise your love?
B. Joy (v. 22)
1. This is happiness not based upon circumstance but upon the character and person of Jesus Christ. It is a command in parts of the NT, but a fruit here. One that the Holy Spirit produces in the person that is walking in step with the Spirit.
2. Deut 28:47-48, Phil 1:25, Ps 37:4,
3. Illustration: A young girl became a Christian in an exciting revival at her church and was baptized the closing Sunday morning. That afternoon she ran through the house singing and dancing. Her sour grandfather rebuked her with these words, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You just joined the church and you’re singing and dancing on the Lord’s Day!” Crushed by her grandfather’s attitude, the little girl went out to the barn, climbed up on the corral fence, and observed an old mule standing there with a sad, droopy face and bleary eyes. As she reached over and patted the mule sympathetically, she said, “Don’t cry, ole mule. I guess you’ve got the same kind of religion that Grandpa has!”
4. If you joy is well-placed in Christ, it is an unshakable foundation, because nothing can shake our Lord and Master. Do you have joy that overcomes circumstances, or happiness that undulated with the tides? Are you a grouchy, depressed, negative, hateful Christian, or genuinely filled with joy?
C. Peace (v. 22)
1. Peace comes from our relationship to God, and also between believers and others. It all starts will a calm assurance that God is in control.
2. Ps 27:1, Matt 5:9, Rom 12:18,
3. Illustration: the guy who couldn’t understand why God wanted a dent in His car, The first thing Will did was to totter over to Jason. He knew Jason was at the bottom of this thing, only since no one had ever done something like this to him before, he didn’t know what the thing was. So he did what he had always done. He put his arms around Jason and lay his head against the mean little boy’s chest.
4. Live with a deep trust in God’s character and power. We should be peacemakers in our homes and families. Quick to settle disputes humbly and Christ-like. Feuds, grudges, fights, arguments, etc. have no place in the lives of believers. You should be the one that is the level-headed one in the family, job, church.
D. Patience (v. 22)
1. This word for patience dealt not with bearing up under circumstances, which is definitely a Christian quality, but enduring people. And sometimes God places more on some than others. This is another quality that is grounded in our understanding of an absolutely sovereign God.
2. Rom 5:3, Col 3:12, Eph 4:2,
3. Illustration: Pat Dubar having all those family issues, “Tell you what—you start my car, and I’ll sit back here and honk for you!” The captain said, "Man, that was a tremendous leap, but if you would have just waited another minute, we would have reached the dock, and you could have walked on."
4. And we all have those special people in our lives that help provide us with the means to increase our fruit production. And God will use you to minister to those people. Don’t give up on them, allow the Holy Spirit to minister to them through you. Walk in obedience to the promptings of the Spirit, and pray, and see the Lord help you endure.
E. Kindness/Goodness (v. 22)
1. Kindness is the feeling that compels you to do nice things for others who don’t deserve them. Goodness is the actual things that you do.
2. Matt 5:16, 39-45,
3. Illustration: bumper sticker that says: “Practice random acts of kindness” but according to Paul, if you are walking in the Spirit, they should be consistent, Bush praised the SBC this week "I appreciate your many good works that make our nation a stronger and more hopeful place," Bush said. "You’ve contributed millions of dollars to fight world hunger and logged countless hours in disaster relief and rebuilding.
4. Disaster relief is a great place to end up, but please begin in your homes. Sisters be kind to you brothers, husbands be good to your wives. Shower your family with blessings that you give with ulterior motivation. Be so good that people are perplexed about your life. Shine brightly!
F. Faithfulness (v. 22)
1. This word could be translated faith or faithfulness. But I believe in the context of believers’ behavior toward others, faithfulness fits best. This is a character trait where people keep their word, make good on their commitments to family, church, job, and others.
2. Philip 2:25-28, 2 Tim 4:10
3. Illustration: not encouraged by society—kid on my team who “just lost interest” and quit, all the lame excuses I get, because people think that I think bad of them for missing, A Massachusetts doctor and Harvard graduate has been suspended for leaving a patient on the operating table midway through spinal surgery so he could deposit a check at his local bank
4. You don’t have to call these Spirit-filled believers and ask them why they haven’t been to church in 6 months anywhere. You can count on these people to show up and do what they agreed to do. Long-term evidence of this kind of faithfulness is important.
G. Gentleness (v. 23)
1. This word should be translated “meekness.” We associate gentleness with weakness, but that is not what this word means. It means power under submission. By the way this is word that is used to describe the spirit of a godly woman. It is a submissive and teachable spirit that manifests itself in humility toward others. However this word is not incompatible with decisiveness or conviction.
2. Matt 5:5, 21:5, 1 Pet 3:4, 15
3. Illustration: “my way or my way” from wife swap,
4. Are you teachable and humble around others, or do you always have to be right? Is it a “my way or the highway” attitude with you in your office or home? The Spirit will produce submissive power if you listen to His leadings and follow.
H. Self-Control (v. 23)
1. Self-explanatory. Having mastery over passions, desires, emotions, etc. Put at the end, because it is important to doing the other seven. We could go on about our society’s practice of putting the blame on every other person but the guilty.
2. Tit 2:2, 1 Cor 9:24-27,
3. Illustration: "Excuse me, General," she asked quietly, "but could I ask you what magic words you used on that little boy?" The old man smiled serenely and gently confided, "I showed him my pilot’s wings, service stars and battle ribbons and explained that they entitle me to throw one passenger out the plane door, on any flight I choose." There was a time or two that I got a little aggravated in baseball this year, but I didn’t go back and yell and anyone, you just let it go, and go on with life.
4. No natural disposition, lame excuse, or fleshly desire should consistently overpower you in the Spirit. And this is one of those that some fight more than others, but that nobody finishes the fight. Just be responsible for your own actions. And when you lose it, rarely, go and apologize, for the Spirit of God will convict you quickly.
I. Fight hard and abide in the Vine (v. 24-25)
1. Issue is with the heart. Your behavior will reveal whether your heart has been truly changed. Again these are patterns, not isolated incidents. And the list of things to look at is these last two paragraphs. Changed hearts still need to crucify the flesh and hold it down until it is dead. Difference between this verse and 2:20 is that it is active here. We must do the killing. That is what crucifixion is, a slow killing. A changed heart needs to abide in the vine. That is the key to bearing the fruit. Notice I didn’t say producing, these are not works, but bearing, we are obedient and the Spirit produces the fruit.
2. Matt 15:19, John 15:4-5, 2 Cor 13:5, 2 Peter 1:10,
3. Illustration: "Paul will not call these virtues works. He reserves that term for deeds done in obedience to the Law or acts prompted by the flesh. These virtues are fruit, the results put forth by the indwelling energy of the Spirit." Like a chicken with its head cut off, or a snake with its head chopped off, “True Christians do not succeed in completely destroying the flesh while here below, but they have fixed it to the cross and they are determined to keep it there till it expires.”
4. Therefore, make sure that you are truly converted. Make sure that the old man is really the old man. Make sure that you are a new creature. Make sure that you aren’t fighting immorality with a corrupted heart that is really feeding the fire. Do battle at the root of the problem. Realize that the root of it is in the old heart, kill the sin there. Finally, live in Jesus. Be with Him, love Him, constantly wash yourself with scripture, love what He loves, hate what He hates, strive to make His life come out through you, and draw as close to Him as you can be, instead of as far away as you can be and still be a Christian.
A. Closing illustration: Read the parable about the dragon from this morning’s sermon again, Donald Gee tells the story of when he was young and tried to plant tomatoes. That particular summer was not very good for growing plants. His tomatoes never developed on the plants not even little green tomatoes. He was thrilled when he came outside one day to find big red ripe tomatoes on his vines. When he got closer he realized they were tied on by his mother. Sometimes, we also try to fake the fruit of the Spirit. We try to tie it onto an unchanged life.
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• Is Christ Exalted, Magnified, Honored, and Glorified?
