- Fruit Inspection Time
- Fruit Inventory, Part 1 of 3
- Fruit Inventory, Part 2 of 3
- Fruit Inventory, Part 3 of 3
- The Fruit and the Spirit
Paul’s purpose in writing his letter to the Galatians is to convince the readers that people don’t have to become Jews or follow the Old Testament law to be Christians. Requiring these things is in direct opposition to the gospel because salvation comes only by grace through faith, not by our performance. There isn’t anything we can do to earn our way to salvation.
So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. (Galatians 5:1 NLT)
Through Christ, we’ve been set free from bondage to the law. We no longer live under the dark cloud of never being good enough to please God. Even so, all those rules in the Bible are still alive and well. We are free from a lifetime of trying and failing to obey God perfectly, but that doesn’t mean we can forget about God’s commandments. We’ve been set free from slavery to the law. We’ve been set free to live in the power of the Holy Spirit.
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. (Galatians 5:13 NLT)
We’re free from the law, but we’re not free to live however we want. Here Paul hits on something we know a great deal about: our sinful nature. He’s talking about the old part of us, the part of us that was in control before we followed Christ, the person we would be without Christ. He’s talking about the natural you, your human nature. We’re not under bondage to the law, but neither are we free to live our lives by satisfying our human nature.
There is a battle within each of us between our sinful nature on the one hand, and our new nature, led by the Holy Spirit, on the other. When we allow our sinful nature to have control, this is the result:
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. (Galatians 5:19-20)
But when we surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow him to control us, this is the result:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
When we live by the Holy Spirit, God produces in us his fruit, and Paul gives us nine characteristics of this fruit. We’ve looked at the first six characteristics here and here. Now for the final three.
Faithfulness. The word here means “the character of someone who can be relied on.” This is a person who keeps her promises. Someone trustworthy, reliable, dependable. Someone true.
Before I started the first day of my very first job, my dad gave me some advice. He said, “Be dependable. Be someone they can trust. Make sure your boss knows that when he assigns you to do something, you will do it.” I’ve never forgotten that advice.
I don’t have to tell you how rare this commodity is today. In your work, in your school, in your family, the person who lives a life of integrity and faithfulness stands far above the norm.
Gentleness. This word refers to mildness, especially toward those who are not mild to you. Paul is talking about strength under control and power harnessed to serve others. Gentleness is a refusal to push people around just because you can. It’s the exact opposite of violence and outbursts of anger.
This trait isn’t popular in our culture. Some would claim that this isn’t very manly, it’s wimpy. But let’s look at gentleness in action.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:29)
You think gentleness is wimpy? Jesus wasn’t wimpy when he allowed himself to be nailed to a cross, when he suffered the pain of crucifixion, when your sin was placed on him, or when he saw his Father turn his back on him. One thing we desperately need today is for more people to exhibit the gentleness of Jesus.
Self-control. Paul is talking about the power to keep oneself in check. The person with this virtue masters his desires, especially under temptation. When you’re under severe stress, when you’re angry, when things start to fall apart, when you’re facing intense temptation, are you able to exercise self-control?
Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.
Paul says that when we stop trying to obey all the rules and allow the Holy Spirit to live through us, this is how we’ll look. Jesus wants people who don’t know him to look at Christians and see this fruit. When people look at you, is this what they see?