Fruits of the Spirit

Sorry it's been a few days. I promised you some kind of commentary on the Fruits of the Spirit, so here goes. It may be a little half-done because I've been dealing with stupid fatigue for a few days, but it doesn't hurt to try:

Galatians 5:19-26 (New Century Version) reads:

"The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: being sexually unfaithful, not being pure, taking part in sexual sins, worshiping gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people, feeling envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like these. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not inherit God's kingdom.

But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do. We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit. We must not be proud or make trouble with each other or be jealous of each other."

I've engaged in most of the sins listed above at some point or another. Since I've become a Christian, I've engaged in much less, and God continues to move in me to display the fruits of the spirit. I'm not perfect, no Christian is perfect. But once you surrender yourself to God, you are reborn in the holy spirit. John 3:5 "Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit."

Works alone cannot save you, as Paul relates in Ephesians 2:8-10: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

However, once you have been saved through faith, and reborn of the Holy Spirit, your faith is manifested through your works, which are the fruits of the spirit. Paul explains in Romans 6:15-22 that before we were saved we were slaves to sin, but once we are saved we are slaves to righteousness. Our faith in Jesus Christ demands our complete surrender to him, and that will manifest itself through our works, through our actions. Once your heart changes, so does your actions. But anyone can ACT righteous without having a pure heart.

I try to love others with a pure heart because that's what Jesus calls me to do. And even when it's difficult, because I am a sinner, I call out to Him for strength, for I know I've been redeemed by His blood, and do not need to give in to the sin. How many people love others so they will get something back in return? By being reborn in the spirit, you now live your life for Jesus, call to Him for strength when you are weak, and praise him for his blessings continuously.

Remember our Pat Robertson discussion a few days back... well he said something stupid, very stupid. And although from the outside that may appear his heart has not changed through his faith in Jesus, I want to respond a few ways:

1. We cannot truly know what's inside a man's heart and if he's truly saved. Only God knows what's in someone's heart.
2. Christians will continue to make mistakes after becoming a Christian. We will never be perfect like our Father in Heaven.
3. We don't always bear all the fruits of the spirit. (Self-control is REALLY hard for me and I fail at it often, but I think I'm pretty faithful).

People should not judge all Christians based on Pat Robertson's untimely and insensitive remarks, just as they should not judge all Christians based on my bad hormonal days when I'm screaming at Rich and calling him names (neither Pat nor I are being very gentle!).

All humans are incapable of being perfect, so my hope is that we all stop judging each other for something we are all guilty for, and start loving each other, caring for each other, and forgiving each other when we fall. God knows I need it!