Fruits of the Spirit (Matt.5:13-16 )
Intro: Many years a missionary employed a Chinese scholar to translate the New Testament into the Chinese language. The scholar was a Confucianist and had never heard of Christianity until the missionary had hired him. The scholar was a painstaking person and wanted to produce a splendid translation. As he completed his work the missionary remembered that he had not said one word to the scholar about Salvation and his need for a Savior. Talking to the scholar the missionary said, "after you have translated the bible what do you think of Christianity, would you like to become a Christian?" The scholar replied " Yes I think it's wonderful and if I could see a Christian I might be interested in becoming one. ”But "the missionary replied " I'm a Christian". You! Are a Christian the scholar exclaimed I don't mean to offend you but the bible says that Christians are Christ like I've not seen Christ in your life .I seen you talk about people when they weren't there would Christ do that? I seen you spend the collections that came in for the church on trinkets and treasures for you're self .I seen you lust after your neighbor's wife, I seen you drink saki until you were in a drunken stupor , are these the actions of a Christian? I think not. I think that if I could see a Christian, I would become one.
Text: Mat 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Mat 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Mat 5:15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
Mat 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
What are the signs of a true Christian and what makes him shine
1.They have the Fruits of the Spirit
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness and self-control.
(1) Love LOVE Unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the well-being of another.
A young boy was overheard asking his playmate, "Wouldn't you hate to wear glasses all the time?" "No," came the answer, "not if I had some like my Grandma's. She always sees when people are tired or sad, and she knows just what to do to make them feel better. One day I asked her how she could see that way all the time. She told me it was the way she had learned to look at things as she grew older." After thinking for a minute, the first boy concluded, "Yeah, I guess you're right. It must be her glasses."
As Christians, we need to be like that grandmother. We should look at our neighbors as our Savior did. He always had compassion on the masses. "Next to God, man should be the highest in {our} value scale . . . it is a fact that persons who love and find fulfillment in other people will also find happiness for themselves." Yes, being concerned for the welfare of others does bring happiness. But our highest motivation should not be to get all we can out of a relationship; rather, it should be to obey our Lord and Savior. He has commanded us to love one another, as He has loved us.
In the Teachings of Jesus Just before the parable of the Good Samaritan, a lawyer quoted the two commands to love and then asked Jesus: "And who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29) Jesus gave the story of the Samaritan who took care of the man who fell among robbers to illustrate the selfless love which is to be characteristic of citizens of the Kingdom.
In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus gave the radical command to love one's enemies and to pray for those who persecute. Loving only those who love you is, according to Jesus, no better than those who are not His disciples. The love that Jesus' disciples have for others is to be just as complete as God's love (Matt 5:48; compare Rom. 5:8).
In these teachings, of course, the selfless love is a response to God's prior activity. It is a way of living expected of those who are citizens of the Kingdom.
First Corinthians 13:1-3 indicate that the gifts of the Spirit (ecstatic speech, wisdom, faith, and self-sacrifice) are good for nothing without love; only love builds up. The Spirit distributes His gifts for the common good (1 Cor. 8:1; 12:7).
First Corinthians 13:4-7 characterizes love: Love is patient and kind, not jealous or boastful, not arrogant or rude. Love is not selfish, irritable, or resentful. Love does not rejoice at wrong but in the right. Love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.
Even though love does not begin in the human heart, the believer must actualize love. The Christian walk is to be characterized by love The Christian is to increase and abound in love (1 Thess. 3:12).
(2) JOY The happy state that results from knowing and serving God.
Joy is the fruit of a right relation with God. It is not something people can create by their own efforts. The Bible distinguishes joy from pleasure.
The Bible warns that self-indulgent pleasure-seeking does not lead to happiness and fulfillment.
Joy in the Christian life is in direct proportion as believers walk with the Lord. They can rejoice because they are in the Lord (Phil. 4:4). Joy is a fruit of a Spirit-led life (Gal. 5:22). Sin in a believer's life robs the person of joy (Ps. 51:8,12).
When a person walks with the Lord, the person can continue to rejoice even when troubles come.
Joy in the Lord enables people to enjoy all that God has given. They rejoice in family (Prov. 5:18), food (1 Tim. 4:4-5), celebrations (Deut. 16:13-15), fellowship (Phil. 4:1).
(3)Peace PEACE, SPIRITUAL Sense of well-being and fulfillment that comes from God and is dependent on His presence.
Old Testament The concept of spiritual peace is most often represented by the Hebrew root slm and its derivatives, the most familiar being by the noun shalom. Its basic meaning is "wholeness" or "well-being."
. Throughout the Old Testament spiritual peace is realized in relationship. It is realized when people are rightly related to each other and to God.
New Testament The Greek word eirene corresponds to the Hebrew shalom expressing the idea of peace, well-being, restoration, reconciliation with God, and salvation in the fullest sense. God is "the God of peace"
The Gospel is "the good news of peace" because it announces the reconciliation of believers to God and to one another
God has made this peace a reality in Jesus Christ, who is "our peace." We are justified through Him (Rom. 5:1), reconciled through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20), and made one in Him (Eph. 2:14).
In Him we discover that ultimate peace which only God can give
Such peace is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) that forms part of the "whole armor of God" (Eph. 6:11,13), enabling the Christian to withstand the attacks of the forces of evil.
(4)Patience PATIENCE An active endurance of opposition, not a passive resignation. Patience and patient are used to translate several Hebrew and Greek words.
Patience is endurance, steadfastness, longsuffering, and forbearance.
God's people are to be patient. The psalmist learned to be patient when confronted with the prosperity of the wicked (Ps. 37:1-3,9-13,34-38). Christians should face adversity patiently (Rom. 5:3-5). Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). Christian love is patient (1 Cor. 13:4,7). Ministers are to be patient (2 Cor. 6:6).
Christians need patient endurance in the face of persecution.
Jesus is the great example of endurance (Heb. 12:1-3). Perseverance is part of maturity (Jas. 1:2-4).
Christian patience is ultimately a gift from God (Rom. 15:5-6; 2 Thess. 3:5).
(5) Kindness KINDNESS The steadfast love that maintains relationships through gracious aid in times of need.
Old Testament The principal word used to express kindness in the Old Testament (chesed) means a loyal love which manifests itself not in emotions but in actions. Originally, this loving kindness was considered an integral part of covenant relations.
. In time, however, the concepts of kindness, mercy, and grace intermingled.
Kindness was shown in social relationships as the bond between host and guest ;ruler and subject ;or friends
Primarily, kindness characterized the covenant relation between God and his people.
When kindness is included in lists of human virtues, it can be understood as helpfulness to others prompted by an experience of God's redemptive love
(6) Goodness Though God alone is truly good (Ps. 14:1,3; Mark 10:18), Scripture repeatedly speaks of good persons who seek to live their lives in accordance with God's will. Christians have been saved in order to do good (Eph. 2:10; Col. 1:10) with the Holy Spirit's help.
(7)Faithfulness FAITHFUL Steadfast, dedicated, dependable, and worthy of trust.
12:7). "Faithful" is used to describe the relation of God and Israel (Deut. 7:9). The faithful God keeps His covenant, and the faithful people keep His commandments.
In the New Testament the adjective "faithful" is a derivative of the Greek noun meaning "faith." Once again the fundamental meaning is that the one so described is trustworthy and loyal. The root idea is that one has fidelity toward another person or toward God
The faithful person is steadfast, unchanging, and thoroughly grounded in relation to the other. This sort of fidelity, or faithfulness, is used in both the Old Testament and the New Testament to describe God's relation to the world and to describe the quality of relationship that Israel and Christians are called upon to have with God and with one another.
(8) Gentleness /Meekness MEEKNESS A personality trait of gentleness and humility, the opposite of which is pride. Meekness does not refer to weakness or passivity but to controlled power.
The meek receive the special concern of God and are called blessed (Ps. 37:11; Matt. 5:5).
Christians are encouraged to be meek (Eph. 4:1-2; Col. 3:12). Meekness is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23) and should mark the Christian's attitude toward sinners (Gal. 6:1).
All Christians should be prepared to give a defense of their faith in meekness (1 Pet. 3:15).
(9) Self Control SELF-CONTROL Modern translations' term for several Greek words indicating a sober, temperate, calm, and dispassionate approach to life, having mastered personal desires and passions. Biblical admonitions expect God's people to exercise self-control (Prov. 25:28; 1 Cor. 7:5; 1 Thess. 5:6; 1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 3:3; Gal. 5:23; 2 Tim. 1:7; Titus 1:8; 2 Pet. 1:6). Freedom in Christ does not give believers liberty to cast off all moral restraint as some members in Galatia and other churches apparently believed. Nor does it call for a withdrawal from life and its temptations. It calls for a self-disciplined life following Christ's example of being in the world but not of the world.
If you visit any large foundry where the boilers are kept going at full force, you would never be able to look into a boiler to tell how much water there is in it, but you would be able to tell how much water the boiler contains by an instrument which is attached to the side of the boiler. Alongside is a small glass tube, which has some fluid in it. If this glass tube is half full of liquid, then there is an indication that the boiler is half full of water; if the glass gauge indicated that there is no water in the glass, then we can depend that there is no water in the boiler. The little glass gauge is the indicator for the large boiler.
How can people tell whether we love God, our fellowman, or even ourselves? They can never look within our hearts and get the answer; it is only by our outward actions, the works that we do as Christians that people are able to tell how much or how little our religion amounts to. Our love for God is indicated by the works of love in which we engage. There are people who are constantly looking at the Christian's gauge.
