Born Again Christian Part 4
Scriptures: 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Isaiah 55:11; Galatians 5:19-24
This morning as I close out this series titled Born Again Christian, I want you to know that God’s Word does not change if we choose not to believe it! His Word will empower and act in the lives of those who believe it. Being born again is about believing God; what He did for us in sending His Son to die for our sins and believing His Word that is here to guide us as we walk with Him. How His Word is manifested in our lives is totally based on what we believe about it. During Bible study this week we talked briefly about what Paul told the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 2:13. He said, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” He said that the word of God when accepted and believed would perform “…..its work in you who believe.” When the word of God is accepted and believed as coming from God then that “believed word” is able to do its work within us. God said in Isaiah 55:11, “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
When we accept God’s word and believe it, it is able to go to work in our lives and fulfill what God has ordered it to do – it will not return to Him void. So when the Word says “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) you can if you believe the Word! Believing the Word of God when you are going through trials and tribulations that would make others quit and give up will make you press on because the Word within you is at work to keep you going. When the Words “….the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick….” (James 5:15) is believed, we can be healed of our diseases! When we believe the Word we empower it to act in our lives. I want you to understand this principle because in this final message on born again Christian we are going to look at what should be evident in the lives of every believer who accepts Christ as their personal Savior. We are going to talk about the fruit of the Spirit which comes through our understanding of God through His empowered Word.
All of you know that Missouri is known as the “Show Me” state. It’s a phrase that was coined in 1899 by then Missouri congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver while delivering a speech in Philadelphia. He said, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats; and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.” This morning, we’re going to go to scripture with a “Missouri Mentality” to see what we’re supposed to see in the life of a Born Again Christian. Remember last week when I told you that God “qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light”? Well this morning, with our “Missouri mentality,” we are going to look at some of those “qualifications” that He has given us access to through the Holy Spirit. These “qualifications” are the proof source of our being born again.
Turn with me to Galatians 5:22. It says, “But the fruit of the Spirit…” Let’s pause here for a moment. “But” is a word that connects thoughts that are different from each other. So whenever you make a statement followed by “but”, your next statement will generally be opposite or different from the statement you just said. For example someone saying, “I love going to Church on Sundays” followed by, “but when it rains I love to sleep in and watch it live on the video stream.” The but offers an exception to the rule spoken in the first statement. So, what is different from “the fruit of the Spirit?” Let’s go back up and begin reading with verse 19. “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21) This is a vivid picture of what’s different from the “fruit of the Spirit.” There are some who teach that the “deeds of the flesh” are referring to the sinful behaviors of the lost and not those of Born Again Christians. Is that true? We’re going to answer that with two verses, Galatians 1:1-2, which says “Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia.” Who is Paul writing to? He’s writing to believers to address wrong doctrine that was creeping into the churches. One of those doctrines was that a person could still practice the sinful behaviors we read in Galatians 5:19-21 and would still make it into heaven. Paul emphatically says that is not the case. He makes it clear that a person will not make it to heaven if they live this way. So here is where we must decide if the Word Paul spoke is from Paul or if it was the Word of God. If you accept it as the Word of God then you also accept that we cannot live any old type of way and expect to get into heaven.
Now that we see what the “But” in Galatians 5:22 says will be different, let’s read it and verses 23 and 24. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:22-24) What we’re going to do this morning is briefly define the “fruit of the Spirit” and then see how the fruit should be manifesting in our lives. Now let me say up front, Paul said that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh and its passion and desires. In other words, those who belong to Christ are not doing the works mentioned in verses 19-21, but are doing the works recorded in verses 22-23. As we go through these “gifts of the Spirit”, some of the definitions are going to surprise you. What we’re going to see this morning is the “Bible’s definition” not the “world’s definition” of those fruits. (Remember, the purpose of the Bible is to show light in darkness; to lead people out of sin into service of God.) I will be spending more time on two of the fruits (love and peace) than on the others. Understanding them will help us manifest and live out the other fruits more effectively.
Let’s begin with a definition of fruit. The word “fruit” means “something produced; the evidence of being attached to the true vine.” Who is the true vine? In John 15, Jesus was sharing the Passover supper with the disciples and He tells them, in verse one “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” (John 15:1) In verses 4-5 Jesus says “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” The Born Again Christian “who abides in Him” will produce fruit. This should tell us that there are Christians who are not abiding in Him as they are producing no fruit. The first thing we see is that the “fruit of the Spirit” will manifest when we are and remain attached to the vine. We cannot bear fruit of ourselves, but only when we are attached to the vine. When we are attached to the vine (Jesus), we agree with and follow His teachings. That’s what it means to be attached to Him.
The first fruit in the list is “love” and while it does mean “a strong, tender, compassionate, affection, and devotion to the well-being of someone,” when referring to God’s love, it also means “God’s willful direction toward man and God doing what He knows is best for man and not necessarily what man desires.” (As parents we sometimes call this tough love when we have to forcible act in the best interest of our children who are not capable of making the best decision for themselves.) The Bible says love is seen in the good we do for someone even if they don’t like it. Right now, in this country, when people talk about God’s love they define it in terms of emotions. But there is a story that’s recorded in the book of Mark that I want you to see where Jesus demonstrated the biblical definition of love. In Mark 10, a rich man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers him and the rich man says he’s done all those things from his youth. Then Verse 17 says “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’” How did Jesus show love? He told the man what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. And guess what? The man didn’t like it. Verse 22 says, “But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.” Jesus demonstrates love by telling the man what he needed to hear and not what he wanted to hear. This is how we “show” our love for people and how we do “show” our love for Jesus. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.…He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me.…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word…” (John 14:15, 21, 23) If we want Jesus to know that we love Him, He says we will do what He says.
The next fruit of the Spirit is joy. The word “joy” means “a calm delight, cheerfulness.” You can have joy for yourself and for the blessings others receive. As a fruit of the spirit, joy is something that you have on the inside and it’s not determined by what’s happening around or to you. It’s different from being happy because happiness usually occurs when something happens to us. We can have joy without any external stimulation. James 1:2-3 says, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” Why would James say that we should have joy when we are facing trials? Because joy is not generated through our circumstances; it comes from our relationship with Christ. Peter captures this when he wrote, “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9) A Christian’s joy will confound the world – they will not understand it. A Christian without joy is someone who does not fully understand who they are in Christ. Knowing who we are in Christ will produce joy within us!
Joy is really close in meaning and application to the next fruit of the Spirit, “peace.” The Bible defines peace as the “state of rest, harmony, order and security in the midst of turmoil, strife and temptation.” In other words, our ability to produce the fruit of peace has nothing to do with our surroundings. Our peace has everything to do with abiding in Jesus, who is the true vine. In John 14:1 Jesus says “Do not let your heart be troubled.” How can we do this? “Believe in God, believe also in Me.” Later in the chapter, in verse 27 Jesus comforts us by saying “Peace I leave you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” Do you know how we can keep the peace that Jesus has left with us? Two little words in this verse tell us. We cannot “let” our hearts become troubled or “let” it be fearful. Colossians 3:15 says we are to “Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.” We have a choice. We will either “let” trouble and fear rule our hearts or we will “let” the peace that Jesus has given to us rule our hearts. We choose. It’s our choice!
The next fruit of the Spirit is “patience” (long-suffering) which means “self-restraint.” It’s the quality of a person who is able to avenge himself but refrains from doing so, even when the person is right. Ephesians 4:1-3 says “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Paul is telling us that we don’t have to win every discussion or every argument. God has called us to something higher than living by our emotions. We have been called to walk worthy of Him, to show the world by how we live that we are His sons and daughters.
The next two fruits of the Spirit are “Kindness” and “Goodness.” They are two very similar fruits. “Kindness” is “the grace which pervades everything about a person to the point of mellowing all harsh behavior.” It’s a disposition that’s not necessarily seen in the person’s actions, especially when he or she is facing sinful behavior. The reason “Goodness” is similar is because it’s a disposition that “expresses itself in benevolence, but does not spare sharpness and rebuke when needed to cause good in others.” A person may display his zeal for goodness and truth when he or she uses scripture to rebuke, correct or chastise a person. And the key point is “using scripture” and not his or her person views or opinions. We see an excellent example of the convergence of kindness and goodness in Jesus’ actions in Matthew 21:12-13. “And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, ‘It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a robbers’ den.” In the eyes of those buying and selling in the temple, there is nothing good or gentle about Jesus’ actions. But when you understand them as part of the fruit produced by a Godly spirit, then His actions are clear and unmistakable. We also see this in Romans 15:14 when Paul writes “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.” The key word in Paul’s statement is “admonish.” That word means to “rebuke somebody mildly but earnestly.” Many Christians today believe that it is not there place to rebuke anyone and those who do are acting “unChristian like.” That is not what the Bible says though. Again, the Bible is about getting people to focus on God and keeping people out of hell, not on someone’s feelings.
I’m not going to spend much time on “faithfulness” except to say “it is the firm persuasion, conviction, belief in truth.” I believe one verse captures the importance of living a life a faith. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6) There is no other way to please God than to have unwavering faith in Him and what He says.
The fruit of “gentleness” “expresses an inward grace of the soul and calmness toward God. It is the acceptance of God’s dealings with us and considering them as good in that they enhance the closeness of our relationship with Him.” Gentleness also “encompasses expressing wrath toward the sin of man as demonstrated by Jesus.” How are we to understand “gentleness?” Jesus “shows” us what “gentleness” looks like when He says “I can do nothing of my own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 5:30) The fruit of “gentleness” will be seen in us when what we believe, say and do lines up with what the Bible says. And when we see behaviors that do not line up with the Bible, we call people on it. The Bible calls that being gentle because the whole purpose of the action is to keep a soul out of hell. When we act on what is best for a person because in that instance we actually know what’s best, our motivation is not to shame or judge anyone, but to help them walk more closely with Christ. The world tells us that doing this is selfish and wrong, but we have to remember that the world wants people to deny God and end up in hell. The world cannot be our compass!
The last fruit is “self-control.” Because we have the spirit of God living on the inside of us, we can control our souls and emotions so that they will not make us do things that we should not do. That’s why the last part of verse 23 says “against such things there is no law.” We don’t need a law to make us control our actions. In Hebrews 8:10 God says “I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.” Why is this distinction important? The first part of 1 Timothy 1:9 says “Realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane….” We are God’s children. We have been made righteous and our Father has written His law in our minds and hearts. Only those who are not born again need the law and here Paul is not talking about the law of Moses but the laws that governed society in his day.
The two passages that we read in Galatians 5 are sandwiched in between the same commandment. In verse 16 it says “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” In verse 25 it says “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” Paul is making a point: We have to decide to live by our born again spirits. God is not going to make us. He’s not going to force us. The first fruit of the spirit is “love” and we saw that Jesus says if we love Him we will keep His commandment. New Light, walking by the Spirit is one of those commandments. So, I guess the question this morning for us is “How much do we truly love Him?” When we are walking by the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will be evident in how we live. If someone claims to be a Christian and you do not see these fruits evident in their lives, then instead of allowing them to live with their belief that they are fine, take them to the Word. Get the Word in them and then the Word will help bring the fruits out of them.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. Our service Sunday worship starts at 9 a.m. and Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. We are developing more social media streams so please stand by and we will notify you once those channels are up and running. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
