" A Fruit Called Goodness"

In Jesus Holy Name October 10, 2021

Text: Galatians 5:22-23

“A Fruit Called Goodness”

3rd in the series

All week I was wondering if this is a foolish topic. Every parent, every grandparent, every teacher knows what it means to be “good”. To be “good” is simply to obey the rules. Don’t talk back. Don’t get into trouble. The word ‘good’ is used so frequently in our everyday lives that it almost loses its meaning. For example, how many times a day do we say, “good morning”, “good luck”. This was a good day. That was a good lunch. It was so good to see you? Be good. We use the word all the time.

The spiritual fruit of “goodness” is different. It accomplished by the Holy Spirit. So how is that different? To “be good” does mean “keep the rules”. “Good” usually means something was successful or enjoyable. “Goodness” is a character trait, that leads to good actions that others experience and see.

Paul notes that the fruit of goodness can only come after kindness. What exactly is goodness? The Bible tells us that the word ‘goodness’ actually means holy, pure and righteousness. Literally goodness is godliness, a righteous character. https://www.ospreyobserver.com

I read the news the other day, but the newspaper very seldom has long articles on “acts of goodness”, bad news seems to sell better…shootings are on the rise, the pandemic is still with us, there is political unrest in the streets and at school board meetings. Our news media seems to remind us that we are living in a chaotic world.

Crazy, that this is our reality, right?

As followers of Jesus how do we keep our balance? How can we stay attuned to the realities of our day, care about the circumstances in front of us and still have our mindset focused on imitating Jesus? Over the past few Sundays we have been examining the character traits that should be obvious in a Christian’s life. We talked about patience, then kindness, and now the topic is goodness.

How can you extend goodness and grace? (Jenny Randle devotionals)

We've made it this far, navigating heavy questions like:

• Should the kids go to school? Will they have to get COVIN shots?

• What mask should I wear?

• Should we go back to church in the building? Even though some are still worried that we might be too close.

• Are we excited about a vaccine booster for COVID?

• I may loose my job if I don’t have “the” shot, what's next?

• Can I take a nap? Yes and amen.

I found an excellent word of advice on living out the character trait of goodness: “Live in such a way that if people should see you, they should see God’s goodness in you.” (writer us unknown) There is a reason Paul listed the fruits of the Spirit in a descending order.. First, love. For when you have “agape” selfless love in your heart then the other character traits flow …joy, peace. If you are at peace, not agitated, then patience can be experienced by you and those around you. Once you have patience you can demonstrate kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).

Imagine how different our relationships would be if we were always people of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness...

Paul tells us that these character traits are always in conflict with our sinful nature. He wrote: “The sinful nature, desires what is contrary to the Spirit, They are in conflict with each other.” Galatians 5:17-18

What Paul is saying is that our “habits” are normally “selfish”. It is seldom that we do wrong as the result of careful deliberation. (Dallas Willard Divine Conspiracy p. 343) The example is King David. He saw Bathsheba bathing through an open window shade. He could have turned around and walked away, but his selfish desire took over. Then his act of “wrongdoing” by human nature caused him to do more wrong by “denying, misleading, and rationalizing and finally murder. He could not say: “Well, I’m only human.”

James reminds us: “When tempted no one can say God is tempting me.

Temptation is a result of the inner selfish nature that gives birth to a sinful action and the consequence is death and separation from God.

In Galatians 5-19-21 Paul runs through the list of habits that can control our mind and actions. (read Gal. 5:19-21)

Look at the story of Ananias and Sapphria in Acts 5. They were part of the Christian Church after the day of Pentecost.

Read v 1-2 They saw the money…. And their human nature gave in to greed. Paul in Colossians 3:5 states clearly that our human nature on its own chooses greed which is idolatry. Ananias and Sapphria still wanted recognition. Selfish ambition lead them to cheat the Holy Spirit and the “church”.