Counseling Through Jeremiah 17:5-9

By Wendy Wood

Several times throughout scripture God uses the analogy of a tree to explain the life of a believer or an unbeliever.  Psalm 1:3 says that a person who delights in the law and meditates on the Word day and night is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit and does not wither.  The picture created is that loving the Lord and His word produces a joyful, fruitful, newness of life that is evident to all around.  The fruit of this person’s life is healthy and plentiful.  It is vibrant and alive.  Psalm 1 goes on to say that the wicked are like chaff that the wind blows away.  Here the person’s life is unstable, easily carried away by changing circumstances (wind) and is not rooted in truth. Picture a tumbleweed being blown about the wind down a dusty road.  This is not a lively tree, by the remnants of an old life that floats away in the air, or a tumbleweed blown about by the current trends of this age. 

Luke 6:43-45 again compares a person’s life to fruit trees.  The “good” heart, the one who trusts and delights in the Lord, produces good fruit.  The good fruit is the fruit of the Spirit and this person’s life is characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.  Others observing this person see the difference in how they respond to people and circumstances and notice that Christlikeness is present.  But Luke 6 also says that bad fruit comes from a bad heart, or someone who is trusting in themselves rather than God.  This person’s fruit is more like the fruit of “old man” desires and is anger, anxiety, conflict, lust, greed, and lies.  The ugly fruit comes from a hardened heart and is not a pleasant person to be around.  Typically, the people coming in for counseling are experiencing “bad fruit” in their lives but don’t know what to do about it.

God uses the word pictures of trees to show that what our hearts are worshipping determines the type of fruit or behavior will come out of us.  These pictures are very helpful to demonstrate and explain how the fruit in our lives comes directly from the heart.  I frequently use Jeremiah 17 as a teaching tool in counseling.  This helps the counselee connect the fruit of their life with what their heart (the root) is trusting in, either self or God.

Jeremiah 17:5-6  

“Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man

    and makes flesh his strength,

    whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He is like a shrub in the desert,

    and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

    in an uninhabited salt land.”

Jeremiah 17:5-6 is a man who trusts in himself.  He is trying to control his life by working hard to produce the results he wants.  This may be a person who gets angry when things don’t go as planned or when someone inconveniences him.  Trusting in man can also look like needing respect or approval from others.  This person must have the love and admiration of his peers or superiors and lives life trying to make himself feel good by getting approval.  He is trusting in man to give him worth and value.  A person who trusts in man may be all about pleasure and comfort.  This person is trusting in what money can provide or what adventures he can pursue for happiness.  This man is trusting that temporary happiness is what will make his life meaningful and worth living.  The person who trusts in man is not trusting in God.  This person has committed two evils, says Jeremiah 2:13.  He has forsaken God and is hewing out broken cisterns for himself which holds no water (Jeremiah 2:13).  God must be ignored in order to trust in man.  Trusting in man will never lead to a full life.  It will be the empty pursuit of continually needing more and more of whatever he believes will satisfy him.

This person is like a shrub in the desert.  Picture a dead, thorny bush in the heat of Arizona or Texas.  This dead bush is prickly and sharp.  The ground that this bush is planted in is dry, hard, and salty.  There is no life anywhere near this shrub.  What does this look like in a person’s life?  This “shrub” comes into your office as someone who is angry, sad, or anxious.  They have spent so much time working to achieve the life they want and cannot understand why things are working for them.  The idols of approval, money, pleasure, control, and comfort have not produced what your counselee thought they would deliver and you have a discouraged and frustrated person before you.  Relationships are difficult for this person.  Anyone or any circumstances that doesn’t meet their expectations rubs up against the prickly, sharp thorns of this bush and gets cut.  Others experience this person as an angry, quick tempered, difficult person.  The “shrub” person most likely has many broken relationships in their life and is frustrated that life is not going as they thought it should go.  They are looking to the wrong sources for life giving water and nutrients. Rather than trusting in God, this person is trying to work their way into joy.  Life feels like a parched wilderness.  They feel lonely and without hope.  There is nothing in their vision that can help their circumstances change.  They continue to look to themselves or others to make them happy.

Contrast this shrub with this description of a beautiful tree.

Jeremiah 17:8-9

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

    whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

    that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

    for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

This person is trusting in the Lord.  This person’s heart is planted in the life giving water of Christ and His gospel hope.  The one who trusts in the Lord spends time in God’s presence in prayer and in His word so that his thoughts, desires, and emotions are shaped by the glorious truths about God.  This person searches God’s word for God’s character, promises, and grace.  He spends time talking to God and committing to trust His will and plan for his life.  This person gets up each day and thinks and prays about how he can please God.  

This person’s life is characterized by the fruit of Christlikeness.  This person is patient in their speech and responses.  This person is loving and seeks to serve others.  This person is faithful to keep his word, even when it is inconvenient.  This person gives thoughtful, gracious responses when others are rude or unkind.  This person still sins.  Trusting in the Lord is never going to be perfect and complete while we live under the curse of sin.  But this person is quicker to repent and enjoys the freedom from enslavement to sin that Christ has purchased on the cross.  This person produces fruit consistently and others experience joy and grace in their presence.  This person is being transformed from one degree of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18).  Whether his circumstances are good or difficult, in drought or plenty, this person experiences peace within his soul because he knows the One who is sovereign and good.  There is no need to be anxious when trusting in God.

Both of these trees experience heat.  Picture a sun shining on these trees.  The tree in the desert is already dead and the hot sun just perpetuates the deadness of the shrub.  The tree that is planted by the water uses the sunlight to grow and produce more fruit.  The heat or sun represents our circumstances.  The “heat” may be the inconvenience of traffic or a toddler having a bad day.  The “heat” may be an illness or the loss of a job.  The “heat” may be a huge blessing of a bonus at work or an unexpected promotion.  The “heat” may be a child’s success at school or the pregnancy that’s been hoped for for years.  The sun or heat represents all the different circumstances that happen throughout life.  

The person who trusts in man responds to his circumstances as if he is in control.  When circumstances are difficult, he is angry and anxious and responds with prickly behavior. He desperately tries to regain control by barking out orders to others or throwing himself into a new plan that will produce the wanted results.   When his circumstances are good, he takes credit for all the hard work he has done and glories in his own achievement, not giving thanks to the Giver of all gifts.  

The person who trusts in the Lord responds differently to heat.  When circumstances are difficult, the one who trusts in the Lord prays and digs into God’s word to understand their situation from a biblical perspective.  He talks to God, pours out his heart to God, and commits to trust God and His will for his life.  When circumstances are good and a blessing, this person who trusts in the Lord is thankful and gives God the praise and gratitude for His blessings.

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things,

    and desperately sick;

    who can understand it?

Because we live under the curse of sin, our hearts are deceitful!  We are easily fooled into thinking we are trusting in the Lord when, in fact, we are trusting in man.  We read our bibles, go to church, and participate in a small group, so, of course, we are trusting in God.  Don’t be so sure.  Ask God to search your heart and reveal any offensive way in you (Psalm 139:23).  Prayerfully ask God to reveal to you where you are truly putting your trust in the moment to moment interactions and responses you have.  As you walk with your counselee through the first few sessions, it will be helpful to keep this passage in mind, and frequently ask these questions.

As you describe these two types of people, ask your counselee: 

Which type of tree characterizes your life most of the time?  

What is the “heat” you are experiencing right now in your life? 

What words and actions come out of you in the “heat” moments?

What emotions do you experience frequently?

What thoughts repeat in your mind when difficult situations arise?

How are you trusting in man?

The Cure for a Lack of Fruit in Our Christian Lives

Derek Thomas 

The Westminster Confession of Faith insists that Christians may be “certainly assured that they are in the state of grace” (18:1) and goes on to assert that this “infallible assurance of faith” is “founded upon” three considerations:

1. “the divine truth of the promises of salvation”

2. “the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made”

3. “the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are children of God” (18:2).

The possibility of “certain” and “infallible” assurance is set against the backdrop of medieval and post-Reformation Roman Catholic views that paralyzed the church with an “assurance” that was at best “conjectural” (wishful thinking), based as it was on rigorous participation in a sacramental treadmill. Few epitomized the contrast more starkly than Cardinal Bellarmine (1542–1621), the personal theologian to Pope Clement VIII and ablest leader of the Counter-Reformation, who called the Protestant doctrine of assurance “the greatest of all heresies.” What, after all, could be more offensive to a works-based and priest-imparted system of salvation than the possibility that assurance could be attained without either? If Christians can attain an assurance of eternal life apart from participation in the church’s rituals, what possible outcome could there be other than rampant antinomianism (the belief that God’s commandments are optional)?

But what exactly did the Westminster divines mean when they implied that our assurance is “founded upon” inward evidence? Behind this statement lies a practical syllogism:

(major premise) True believers demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit.
(minor premise) The fruit of the Spirit is present in me.
(conclusion) I am a true believer.

It should be obvious that the subjectivity of this argument is fraught with difficulty. While the certainty of salvation is grounded upon the (objective) work of Christ, the certainty of assurance is grounded upon the (objective) promises God gives us and the (subjective) discovery of those promises at work in us. And it is this latter consideration that gives rise to one or two problems.

Theologians have made a distinction between the direct and reflexive acts of faith. It is one thing to believe that Christ can save me (direct act of faith). It is another thing to believe that I have believed (reflexive act of faith). Apart from the first consideration (that Christ is both willing and able to save) there can be no assurance of faith. Indeed, it is pointless to move forward with the discussion about assurance apart from a conviction of the truthfulness of this statement: “Christ is able to save those who believe.”

Assuming, then, that there is no doubt as to the ability and willingness of Christ to save those who believe, how may I be assured that I have this belief? The answer of the New Testament at this point is clear: there is an “obedience of faith” (Rom. 1:5; 16:26). True faith manifests itself in outward, tangible ways. In other words, the New Testament draws a connection between faithfulness and the enjoyment of assurance. True believers demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit, and this fruit is observable and measurable.

Four Ways of Knowing

The Apostle John addresses this very issue in his first epistle: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Apart from belief “in the name of the Son of God,” there is no point in furthering the discussion about assurance. The question at hand is, “How can I know if my belief is genuine?” And John’s answer emphasizes four moral characteristics of the Christian life.

First, there is obedience to the commandments of God. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1 John 5:2–3). True faith is not and can never be antinomian.

Second, there is practicing righteousness: “You may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him” (1 John 2:29). Those who have a genuine faith will display a life of faith, a life molded and shaped by the obedience of faith. They demonstrate a desire for godliness.

Third, there is a radical breach with one’s former life. John expresses it radically (by employing a relative contrast in absolute terms): “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning” (1 John 5:18; cf. 3:6, 9). The explanation of this admittedly difficult language requires more space than is allotted here, but it is clear enough that a true and genuine faith is incompatible with a continuation in the pattern of sinful behavior that characterizes the life lived in unbelief.

Fourth, there is walking in love: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death … whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 3:14; 4:7). Loving our brothers and sisters is something dear to the Apostle John’s heart. After all, according to tradition, the elderly Apostle in Ephesus, carried by the arms of his disciples, was heard to repeat, “Little children, love one another.” And when asked why he kept repeating it, he answered: “It is the Lord’s command. And if this be done, it is enough.”

These four marks then collectively contribute to an assurance that our faith in Christ is genuine. But what if I cannot discern these outward evidences in myself and wonder if they are lacking? Should I then conclude that my faith is hypocritical or insincere? Yes, that is a possible conclusion. But it is not necessarily the correct conclusion, because our assessment of the evidence of outward faith in these four marks may be faulty. We may be too hard on ourselves. We may doubt what others can clearly see. Satan may cloud our thinking. The lack of consistency may lead us to conclude that no evidence at all is present. And personality and disposition may lead us to negative assessments when a more objective scrutiny deduces a different conclusion. But the possibility exists that our faith may be insincere. What then?

Faith in Evidence or Faith in Christ?

And it is here that differences of counsel appear. A predictable counsel might be, “Try harder.” It is a comment I most remember from annual school reports—“Could do better.” A person who doubts the genuineness of his faith due to inconsistency of behavior would then be urged to “be more consistent.” Read more Scripture, pray with greater fervency, love with greater altruism, and so on. But what would such counsel achieve? First of all, it is doubtful that someone predisposed to read the presence of fruit negatively would fare any better in his evaluation simply by increasing effort. But more importantly, such counsel is predisposed to commit the fatal error of viewing the fruit of the faith as the root of faith. It is fundamentally predisposed to appeal to self-justification—something for which we are all hardwired.

The counsel to “do more” in the belief that works provide the ground of assurance rather than the evidence of assurance is the path to legalism—and legalism in its proper sense. In his book The Whole Christ, Sinclair B. Ferguson urges a “gospel logic” to the effect that “there is no assurance of faith that can be experienced apart from faith.”

And it is here that one perceives a counterintuitive counsel that must be given to the one lacking assurance. To look to works (and the counsel to “do more works”) as a means of gaining assurance is essentially counterproductive and pastorally deadly. Only Christ can save us, and assurance, when lacking, must be found by looking to Him. Apart from faith in Christ, no work on our part will assure us of anything except Pharisaism.

Far from being a counsel to laxity, what this counsel intends to secure is an understanding that faith gives rise to obedience rather than obedience’s giving rise to faith. And the difference is crucial. One gives rise to legalism; the other to evidentiary, evangelical (gospel-based) works.

Abiding in Christ

Is not this counsel (to look first to Christ) precisely what Jesus said in His final word to the disciples in the Upper Room?

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4–5) Bearing fruit, something that Jesus identifies as keeping His commandments (15:10), is intimately related to abiding in Him. It is in the sphere of abiding in Christ and not apart from it that fruit emerges.

There is only one cure for a lack of fruit in our Christian lives. It is to go back to Christ and enjoy (yes, enjoy) our union with Him. The “love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). The Greek verb translated here as “controls” is elsewhere rendered as “surrounds” and “hems in” (Luke 8:45; 19:43). That’s what the experience of abiding in Christ does—it hems us in to obedience. From such gracious love, compliance with His commands emerges. Disobedience drives Him away. But when we enjoy His presence, we also desire to “please him” (2 Cor. 5:9). And as we bear the fruit of this union, assurance grows.

This post was originally published in Tabletalk magazine.

Posted at: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/cure-lack-fruit-our-christian-lives/

Abiding in Christ

John MacArthur

Our relationship to Christ is unlike anything else in the human realm. It can be described only by comparing it to relationships we are familiar with. It is like a deep friendship. It is like two people in love with each other, or like the love and respect shared by a father and son.

Scripture uses a number of metaphors to describe our relationship to Christ. He is the King and we are the subjects; He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep; He is the Head and we are the body. One of the best metaphors is the one Christ Himself used in John 15:1-11, where He is the Vine and we are the branches:

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 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. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

The vine-and-branches concept makes an ideal metaphor, because it is filled with parallels to our relationship with Christ. A branch grows through its connection with the vine, and we grow because of our relationship with Christ. A branch is nothing apart from the vine, and we can do nothing apart from Him. A branch draws strength from the vine, and we become strong through Him.

In the metaphor of John 15, Christ is the Vine and the Father is the vinedresser. He prunes the fruit bearing branches to make them bear more fruit. He removes the fruitless branches, and they are burned. Through continual pruning, the fruitfulness of the vine is increased. The branches that abide in the vine—those who are truly in Christ—are blessed, they grow and bear fruit, and the Father lovingly tends them. It is a beautiful picture of the Christian life, and it magnifies the blessings associated with abiding in Christ: salvation, fruitfulness, answered prayer, abundant life, full joy, and security.

Salvation

The branches that abide in the true Vine represent those who are truly saved. The others are not properly connected to the Vine. You have seen shrubs that have weeds growing in them. The weeds are intertwined with the branches of the shrubs and appear to be part of the same plant, but in reality they are attached to a different root. They are like people who have only a superficial relation to Christ.

Tragically, some people pretend to be Christians but have no real connection to Christ. They might regularly go to church or be involved in a Bible study. They might even talk about having a relationship with Jesus. But they aren't genuine branches in the Vine. Evangelical churches are filled with false branches. Some husbands come to church only because their wives want them to. Some young people come to church to be involved in a youth program, but they are not interested in knowing Christ personally. In fact, many outwardly spiritual people never go beyond mere association with Christians.

Jesus pleads with people who are superficial branches. He says in verse 4, "Abide in Me." He is saying to those who are like Judas, "Be genuine; abide in Me and show that your faith is real; bear fruit and remain on the vine." It is like saying, "You superficial branches: be saved; have a genuine relation to Christ."

Abiding in Christ is a mark of true salvation. Sometimes a person who is active in the church leaves suddenly and never goes back to church again. Or a leader in the church may become apostate. People in the church wonder what happened. The explanation is in 1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us."

If a person's relationship to Christ is genuine, he remains. First John 2:24-25 says, "As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life." Those who abide inherit eternal life.

That is not to say that you can be saved by being steadfast. The point is that if you continue in the faith, you are showing that your connection to Christ is real; if you depart, you demonstrate that it never was.

Paul made the same point in Colossians 1:22-23: "He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven."

Hebrews 3:6 likewise says, "Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end." By continuing in Christ we give evidence that we are really part of His household. Later, the same chapter says, "For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end" (v. 14). A true believer has a living and vital relationship with Jesus Christ that cannot give way to unbelief or apostasy.

Only the person who abides in the true Vine can claim the promise of the constant presence of God. Jesus said, "Abide in Me, and I in you." That means if we truly abide in Him, He will truly abide in us.

Many people come to church thinking that God is with them just because they sit in the pew. But being in a church doesn't mean the Lord is with you. He doesn't live inside a church; He lives in His disciples. A person who sits among true disciples might be as far from Christ as the native of a tribe that has never heard the gospel—if he does not abide in the true Vine.

Jesus says in verse 9, "Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love." A real disciple doesn't come to Christ, receive His love, and then leave again; he remains. That is what Jesus is saying, whether He says "abide," bear much fruit," or "abide in My love." They all mean, "Be a real believer."

A Christian can abide only by being firmly grounded in Jesus. If a branch is to abide, it cannot be even half an inch away—it must be connected. Those who are saved are those who are abiding, and those who are not abiding are not saved.

Fruitfulness

Those who truly abide will bear fruit. Jesus tells us how in verse 4: "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." The person who abides discovers that his soul is nourished with the truths of God as he stays in a close, living, energized relationship with Jesus Christ. The natural result of that is spiritual fruit.

Sometimes we think we can bear fruit alone. We become independent because we think we are strong or clever. Or sometimes we look at fruit we have borne in the past and think we can do it alone; we forget God worked through us to produce the fruit.

A branch can bear no fruit apart from the vine. Even strong branches can't bear fruit independent of the vine. The strongest branches, cut off from the vine, become as helpless as the weakest; the most beautiful are as helpless as the ugliest, and the best is as worthless as the worst.

Fruit-bearing is not a matter of being strong or weak, good or bad, brave or cowardly, clever or foolish, experienced or inexperienced. Whatever your gifts, accomplishments, or virtues, they cannot produce fruit if you are detached from Jesus Christ.

Christians who think they are bearing fruit apart from the Vine are only tying on artificial fruit. They run around grunting and groaning to produce fruit but accomplish nothing. Fruit is borne not by trying, but by abiding.

To bear genuine fruit, you must take your place on the Vine and get as close to Jesus as you can. Strip away all the things of the world. Put aside the sins that distract you and sap your energy. Put aside everything that robs you of a deep, personal, loving relationship with Jesus. Stay apart from sin and be in God's Word.

Having done all that, don't worry about bearing fruit. It is not your concern. The Vine will merely use you to bear fruit. Get close to Jesus Christ and His energy in you will bear fruit.

Some people find reading the Bible insipid and boring; they think sharing their faith is dull. Others find those things exciting. Invariably, the difference is that one is working on the deeds, and the other is concentrating on his relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't focus on the deeds; focus on your walk with Christ—the deed will grow naturally out of your relationship.

Fruit is a frequent metaphor in Scripture. The main word for it is used approximately a hundred times in the Old Testament and seventy times in the New Testament; it appears in twenty-four of the twenty-seven New Testament books. It is mentioned often, yet it is also often misunderstood.

Fruit is not outward success. Many think that if a ministry is big and involves a lot of people, it is fruitful. But a church or Bible study group isn't successful just because it has many people—fleshly effort can produce big numbers. Some missionaries might minister to few people but bear much fruit.

Fruit-bearing is not sensationalism. A person does not have a lot of fruit because he is enthusiastic or can make others enthusiastic about a church program. God produces real fruit in our lives when we abide.

The fruit of the Spirit is common to all of us, yet the Spirit uses each person differently. Fruit cannot be produced by simulating the genuine fruit another person has borne. It is tempting to see the fruit another person has produced and try to duplicate it. Instead of abiding, we try to produce what someone else has produced, but end up with only artificial fruit. God did not design us to produce the same kind of fruit. Our fruit is uniquely arranged, ordered, and designed.

Real fruit is, first of all, Christlike character. A believer who is like Christ bears fruit. That is what Paul meant in Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Those were all characteristics of Christ.

Christlike character is not produced by self-effort. It grows naturally out of a relationship with Christ. We don't first try to be loving, and when we have become loving, try to be joyful, and so on. Instead, those qualities become part of our lives as we abide in Christ by staying close to Him.

Second, thankful praise to God is fruit. Hebrews 13:15 says, "Through Him then, letus continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name." When you praise God and thank Him for who He is and what He has done, you offer Him fruit.

Help to those in need is a third kind of fruit to God. The Philippian church gave Paul a gift; in Philippians 4:17 he told them he was glad for their sake that they had: "Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account." He appreciated it not for the sake of the gift, but for the fruit in their lives.

In Romans 15:28, Paul wrote, "Therefore, when I have finished this, and I have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain." Again he referred to a gift as "fruit." In both cases, their gifts revealed their love, so Paul counted it as fruit. A gift to someone in need is fruit if it is offered from a loving heart, in the divine energy of the indwelling Christ.

Purity in conduct is another kind of spiritual fruit. Paul wanted Christians to be holy in their behavior. He wrote in Colossians 1:10, "that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

Converts are another type of fruit. Many New Testament passages show that converts are spiritual fruit. For example, in 1 Corinthians 16:15, Paul called the first converts in Achaia the "first fruits of Achaia." Like other spiritual fruit, success in winning converts is not accomplished by anxiously running around and participating in lots of "evangelistic activities"—it comes by abiding in the Vine. The way to be effective in leading people to Christ is not solely by being an aggressive witness; rather it is by abiding in Christ. Concentrate on your relationship to Jesus Christ and He will give you opportunities to share your faith. There is no need to become anxious because you have not yet won a certain number of people to Christ. As you become closer to Him and more like Him, you will discover that sharing your faith is a natural outgrowth of abiding. You may not always see fruit immediately, but fruit will be borne, nevertheless.

When Jesus was traveling to Samaria, He met a woman getting water. She told the people in her town about Jesus. As the people from the town came out to meet him, He said to the disciples,

Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages, and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, "One sows, and another reaps." I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor. (John 4:35-38)

The disciples were reaping the results of other people's labor. Those people did not see all the result of their labor, but their efforts still bore fruit.

William Carey spent thirty-five years in India before he saw one convert. Some people think he led a fruitless life. But almost every convert in India to this day is fruit on his branch, because he translated the whole New Testament into many different Indian dialects. He was not the one to reap directly what he had sown, but his life's legacy bore much fruit.

One of the most fulfilling experiences in life is to bear fruit for God. If it isn't happening in your life, the reason is simple—you are not abiding in the Vine.

Answered Prayer

God gives an incredible promise to those who abide: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you" (John 15:7).

Notice that there are two conditions to that promise. First, we must abide. The Greek word for "abide" is in the aorist tense; it indicates something that happened at one point in time and has permanent results. Again, it refers to salvation and indicates that the promise is only for real believers.

Of course, in His sovereign wisdom, God sometimes answers the prayers of a non-Christian; but He does not obligate Himself to do so. If He does, it is His sovereign choice and for His purpose; but He does not have to. The promise of answered prayer is reserved only for those who abide in the true Vine.

Still, many who are true branches do not always get answers to their prayers. It may be because they are not meeting Jesus' second condition, which is, "If my words abide in you."

"My words" doesn't mean only the individual words of Christ. Some people misuse red-letter Bibles because they regard the words of Jesus as more inspired or more important than the words of other writers of Scripture. But the words of Paul, Peter, John and Jude are just as important. The Lord Jesus Christ has spoken through all of Scripture; it is all His message to us. Therefore, when He says, "If My words abide in you," He means we must have such high regard for all of Scripture that we let it abide in us, that we hide it in our hearts, and that we commit ourselves to knowing and obeying it.

To meet the first condition, a person must be a Christian. To meet the second condition, he must study all of Scripture in order to govern his life by what Christ has revealed.

The same principle is found in John 14:14, "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." Praying in His name is not merely adding "in Jesus' name" to the end of a prayer. It means praying for that which is consistent with the words and will of Christ.

The Christian who is abiding in Christ and controlled by His Word is not going to ask anything against God's will. Because he wants what God wants, he is guaranteed an answer to his prayer.

Our prayers often go unanswered because we pray selfishly. James 4:3 says, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures."

Our prayers will be answered if we follow Paul's example in 2 Corinthians 10:5, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." We must rid our minds of everything that violates God's truth and will. When we think according to the will of God, we will pray according to the will of God and our prayers will be answered.

There is so little power in the prayers of the church today because we are not fully abiding and seeking His mind. Instead of bringing our minds into obedience to Christ and asking according to His will, we ask selfishly, so our prayers go unanswered. If we cultivated an intimate love relationship with Christ, we would desire what He desires; and we would ask and receive.

The psalmist said, "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). That means that when you delight completely in the Lord, He implants the right desires in your heart. His desires become yours. What a blessing it is to know that God will answer every prayer we bring to Him!

Abundant Life

Abiding in Christ is the source of the abundant life Jesus spoke of in John 10:10. Those who abide fulfill the magnificent purpose of life, which is to give God the glory He deserves. Jesus said in verse 8, "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit." When a Christian abides, God can work through him to produce much fruit. Since God produces it, He is the one glorified.

Paul recognized the source of fruit in his life. He said in Romans 15:18, "For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me." He did not tell people how good he was at preaching or evangelism. He recognized that everything worthwhile in his life came from God.

In Galatians 2:20 he said, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me." He knew God did it all.

Peter had the same idea in mind when he said in 1 Peter 2:12, "Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation."

So this is the logical progression: the one who abides bears fruit; God is glorified in the fruit because He is the One who deserves credit for it; the purpose of life is fulfilled because God is glorified; and thus the one who abides and glorifies God experiences abundant life.

Full Joy

One of the chief elements of the abundant life is fullness of joy, which is an outgrowth of abiding in the true Vine. Jesus says in verse 11, "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full."

God wants us to be consumed with joy, but few Christians are. Churches have many people who are bitter, discontent, and complaining. Some people think the Christian life is monastic deprivation and drudgery—a bitter religious pill. But God has designed it for our joy. It is when we violate God's design that we lose our joy. If we abide fully, we will have full joy.

When David sinned, he no longer sensed the presence of God. He cried out in Psalm 51:12, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation." He had allowed sin to hinder the pure abiding relationship. He did not lose his salvation, but he lost the joy of his salvation.

That joy returned when he confessed his sin and accepted the consequences of it. His guilt was removed; he returned to a pure, unhindered, abiding relationship; and his joy was made full again.

The joy of abiding in the true Vine is unaffected by external circumstances, persecution, or the disappointments of life. We can experience the same joy Jesus had. And His joy flows through those who abide in Him.

Security

Abiding in the true Vine brings the deepest kind of security. Romans 8:1 says, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Those who are in Him cannot be removed, they cannot be cut off, and they need not fear judgment. There is no suggestion here that those who now abide might later cease to do so. Their position is secure.

On the other hand, those who do not abide will be judged. Jesus says in verse 6, "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned." He is referring to the Judas-branches, the false disciples. Since they have no living connection to Jesus Christ, they are cast out.

The true believer could never be thrown away. Jesus promises in John 6:37, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." If a person is cast forth, it is because he was never a real disciple.

The branches that are cast off are gathered and burned. They burn forever and ever. It is a tragic picture of God's judgment.

The parable of the wheat and tares tells us that the angels of God gather those destined for judgment. Jesus says in Matthew 13:41-42, "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

There will be a day when God sends His angels to gather from around the world the Judas-branches who have no connection to Christ. He will cast them into eternal hell. It is tragic when a person appears to be a genuine branch but ends up in hell.

William Pope was a member of the MethodistChurch in England for most of his life. He made a pretense of knowing Christ and served in many capacities. His wife died a genuine believer.

Soon, however, he began to drift from Christ. He had companions who believed in the redemption of demons. He began going with them to the public house of prostitution. In time, he became a drunkard.

He admired Thomas Paine and would assemble with his friends on Sundays when they would confirm each other in their infidelity. They amused themselves by throwing the Bible on the floor and kicking it around.

Finally, he contracted tuberculosis. Someone visited him and told him of the great Redeemer. He said Pope could be saved from the punishment of his sins.

But Pope replied, "I have no contrition; I cannot repent. God will damn me! I know the day of grace is lost. God has said to such as me, 'I will laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear cometh.' I have denied Him; my heart is hardened."

Then he cried, "Oh, the hell, the pain I feel! I have chosen my way. I have done the horrible damnable deed; I have crucified the Son of God afresh; I have counted the blood of the covenant an unholy thing! Oh that wicked and horrible thing of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which I know that I have committed; I want nothing but hell! Come, oh devil and take me!"

Pope spent most of his life in the church, but his end was infinitely worse than his beginning. Every man has the same choice. You can abide in the Vine and receive all of God's blessings, or you can be burned.

It doesn't seem like a difficult choice, does it? Yet millions of people resist God's gift of salvation, preferring the superficial relationship of the false branch. Perhaps you know people like that—or perhaps you are like that yourself. If so, Jesus' plea to you is a loving invitation: "Abide in me, and I in you."

Posted at: https://www.gty.org/library/articles/P18/abiding-in-christ

Above All These, Put on Love Part 4 (Love Does Not Envy)

Love does not envy.  The original word is zēloō.  It is a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, successes, or possessions. Wayne Mack says “envy consists of a disposition of dissatisfaction or dislike over the fact or thought that someone seems to be ahead of us, or above us, or superior to us in honor, position, respect, success, possessions or effectiveness”.  At the heart of envy is self glory.  Envy wants the attention and pleasure that someone else is experiencing for itself.  When we are envious of another person, we are unhappy that something good is happening to them, and we want it for ourselves.  Envy says to God, “You should have given ________ to me!”  It is an accusation against God’s goodness and wisdom in how He gives blessings to people.

Scripture paints envy as a significant sin.  

Satan was envious of God’s authority and power and tempted Eve to follow him rather than God. (Genesis 3)

Cain was envious of Abel being accepted by God and it led to murder. (Genesis 4)

Joseph’s brothers were envious of the attention he received from his father as the favorite son and they sold him into slavery. (Genesis 37)

Saul was envious of David because David proved himself a mighty warrior and received praise from the people. (1 Samuel 18)

The chief priests and elders were envious of Jesus’ popularity and had Him arrested. Even Pilate knew the arrest was a result of envy.   (Matthew 27)

Throughout Scripture there are several places that list sins.  These lists tend to include serious sins, and among them is envy.  

Mark 7:21-23  “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,  coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”  

This is significant because it shows envy begins in the heart (as all sin does).  Envy is from a heart that seeks its own good and its own pleasures over and above the good of others.

Romans 1:28-31 “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless”

Envy does not acknowledge God’s ultimate freedom to make decisions.  He gives and He takes away out of His nature that is wise, loving, powerful, kind, and good.  Envy assumes that we know more and would make better decisions than God as to who has talents, possessions, successes, and positions.

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Envy is a work of the flesh.  Envy is the deceitful desire of the flesh to want more than God is giving.  It is the desire to have the recognition, position, success, or praise that someone else is receiving.  Rather than loving the other person and celebrating with them (or rejoicing with those who rejoice), an envious person wishes the other person didn’t have those blessings. Genuine love is glad for others who are experiencing happiness and success.  Genuine love celebrates other people and gives thanks to God for blessing others.

Consider these times when envy is a temptation.

A friend calls you to share the exciting news that her son is receiving an award at school (and your son is not).

The person who works next to you receives a promotion and you have been at the company longer than he/she has.

You start scrolling through social media to see a family from church on ANOTHER vacation when you haven’t taken one for a couple of years.

A friend’s husband receives a reward at work and your friend spends 30 minutes telling you how awesome this award is and how proud she is of her husband.

Your friend goes on and on about how considerate and loving his/her spouse is and you’ve been struggling with your spouse for months.  

A friend invites you over to show you the newly redecorated rooms in her house and your husband has been refusing to spend money on your house for years.

When others succeed or have an advantage or receive an unexpected gift, we tend to think “what about me?”  We quickly size up the situation and feel like we haven’t gotten what we deserve so someone else shouldn’t get it either.  We reveal the pride in our hearts by the self-focus of our response.  Our eyes (and desires) are on ME.  Rather than trusting in God’s goodness and wisdom in how He allocates position and possessions, we accuse God of being unfair and unkind to us.  Envy robs us of loving God and others.

The opposite of envy is contentment.  Contentment is autarkeia in the Greek and means “a perfect condition of life in which no aid or support is needed, sufficiencies of all the necessities of life”.  First Timothy 6:6 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain”.  The same word, autarkeia, is translated as sufficiency in 2 Corinthians 9:8.  “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”  

God’s grace is what brings contentment because it is sufficient.  It is more than enough.  It abounds!  God’s grace in Christ is the only place where we can find contentment.  Through Christ we are forgiven and restored to a relationship with God. We are eternally secure in Christ’s righteousness and holiness credited to us.  There is absolutely nothing else we need. When our contentment is in Jesus -  not our circumstances, possessions, advancements, successes, or approval ratings - we will find rest from the unrest of envy.  When we rest in Christ, we are not dependent on people or things to make us happy.  

Jerry Bridges says, “The choice to accept it [God’s grace is sufficient] and experience contentment is mine.  And the choice is  yours in your particular circumstances.  This is the secret of contentment [and I would say, freedom from envy and jealousy]: to learn and accept that we live daily by God’s unmerited favor given through Christ, and that we can respond to any and every situation by his divine enablement through the Holy Spirit.”

Contentment comes when we recognize and submit to the fact that God is the giver of all gifts.  God gives “severe mercies” at times which are gifts that are challenging and are truly hardships, but He uses them to draw us to Himself and cause us to grow in humility and dependence on Him.  God gives mercies that are easy to accept that we joyfully receive because they feel good. Contentment is based on feelings, however. Contentment trusts that in God’s wisdom, love and power, He has given us what is best for us.  First Corinthians 4:7 asks, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”  Every gift, whether difficult or easy to receive, is from God.  Who are you to judge the gifts God gives to you or others?

Christ has already satisfied the wrath of God for your sins.  Christ has lived the perfect holy and righteous life that is now credited to all who trust in Him as Lord and Savior.  Christ has defeated death and sin so that neither controls you or enslaves you.  Christ has ascended and is your Advocate in heaven presenting you as holy and blameless before God the Father.  Take some time to meditate on these truths.  There is nothing, absolutely nothing, else that you need.  Christ is sufficient!  His grace abounds!

When you are tempted to be envious, stop and preach the gospel to yourself.  Stop and meditate on the seriousness of envy and the accusation against God that He is not enough for you.

Jonathan Edwards has these challenging words. “The spirit of envy is very contrary to the spirit of heaven, where all rejoice in the happiness of others; and it is the very spirit of hell itself - which is the most hateful spirit - and one that feeds itself on the ruin of the prosperity and happiness of others, on which account some have compared envious people to caterpillars, which delight in devouring the most flourishing trees and plants….It is like a powerful eating cancer, preying on the vitals, offensive and full of corruption.  It is the most foolish kind of self injury; for the envious make themselves trouble most needlessly, being uncomfortable only because of the prosperity of others when that prosperity does not injure them… But they are unwilling to enjoy what they have because others are or may enjoy what they are enjoying.”

Application:

1.  Which statements or concepts stand out the most to you about envy?

2. Think about how you respond when others receive benefits in status, possessions, respect, admiration, or successes.  Rate yourself on a scale of 1 - 10, (1 being “I always rejoice with others” and 10 being “I'm upset and angry that I didn’t get the benefit).  Why did you rate yourself this way?

3. Look up the following verses.  What do you learn about envy and contentment?

James 3:14-16

Proverbs 27:4

Mark 7:21-23

Proverbs 4:11-12

1 Timothy 6:6

2 Corinthians 9:8

1. What situations do you tend to be envious about?  Does it relate to work, spouse, children, possessions, adventures, reputation, successes?  Try to be specific about what areas you are tempted to envy.

2. Which specific people do you struggle to envy the most?  

3. Take some time to repent of your envy.

4. How could you “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15) when those situations or people come up?  Be specific about what you need to think (renew your mind) and do (Christlike words and actions to put on).

 Maximum Impact by Wayne A Mack (I have taken this list from examples used in this book.)

 Charity and Its Fruits by Jonathan Edwards.

 Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness.

Above All These, Put on Love Part 3 (Love is Kind)

By Wendy Wood

Love is kind.  The Greek word for kind is chrēsteuomai which means goodness or graciousness. It means to “show one’s self mild”. Being kind is showing good to others. Kindness is active.  The opposite of kindness is severity:  lacking compassion and gentleness, being harsh or inconsiderate. “God is love” (1 John 4:19) so God is kind.  God is kind to all.  Luke 6:35 says, “But love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”  God chooses to be kind to all.   He “causes the sun to shine on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45).  Everyone experiences the kindness of God in some ways.  Kindness is doing good to others for their benefit and well-being.  It involves helping others, seeking to alleviate hardship or suffering, being useful or being sympathetic, and then actually doing something that helps someone in need.  Kindness seeks to make someone else’s experience more enjoyable and beneficial than it would be otherwise.

Kindness seeks the good of the other person.  Ultimately, this means seeking to share the hope of the gospel with others (Matthew 28:20).  It includes helping a fellow believer see the sin that they are caught in so they have the opportunity to repent (Galatians 6:1).  Kindness includes encouraging others (1 Thessalonians 5:11), helping those who are afflicted (James 1:27), helping the weak, admonishing the idle, and encouraging the fainthearted (1 Thessalonians 5:13).  Kindness speaks truth with love (Ephesians 4:15) and uses words that build others up and kindness works to benefit those who hear (Ephesians 4:29).  Kindness helps with physical needs like water (Matthew 10:42)  and care when a neighbor is hurt (Luke 10:25-37).  Like the Good Samaritan, a kind person sees a need and goes to great length to meet that need.

Again, the world has a different definition of kindness.  The world says that kindness shows tolerance of every opinion and viewpoint and will never disagree or disapprove of another’s choices.  The world says we are unkind to call sin sin.  According to the American culture, any type of stand against sin is ‘judgmental’ and ‘hatred’.  We again must be careful to define kindness as God does.

As believers, we are God’s ambassadors.  We represent Christ in our interactions with others.  Kindness should permeate all our relationships and every encounter we have with others because God is kind.  As we have experienced the kindness of God in forgiveness and being drawn into relationship with Him, we will reflect that kindness in attitude, thought, word, and deed.  Our actions and words must be filtered through God’s example of kindness.  What we say and do is just as important as what we don’t say or do.  To be kind we must consider our tone of voice, the body language we display, and the timing of our words. We will constantly evaluate all our responses based on what the other person needs at the moment.

Consider these common occurrences in life and opportunities to show kindness rather than severity:

When your children need correction

When your spouse has said something offensive or hurtful to you

When a friend makes a comment that hurts your feelings

When a checkout clerk ignores you

When you are tired and just want to put your feet up but someone needs help

When a friend is struggling with a besetting sin that you are aware of and she is not

When someone in your life group talks way too much and dominates your group time

When someone is in need of childcare and you have the evening free

How would kindness respond in these situations?  

Do you correct your children with kind words and a kind tone even when it’s the tenth time you are repeating yourself?  

When your spouse is unkind to you, do you respond with gentleness and meekness?  

When a friend hurts your feelings do you harbor bitterness for a while or do you gently explain how you are hurt and seek reconciliation?

When a clerk ignores you do you take it personally and get rude or do you consider that she may be having a really hard day and a smile from you would be beneficial to her?

 Are you quick to give up your relaxing time to help others simply because someone else will benefit?  

Do you remain silent about a friend’s sin because it would jeopardize your friendship to point it out or do you kindly help her see how she is sinning and point her to Christ’s forgiveness?

Are you willing to patiently endure someone who lacks social skills so they are comfortable with a new group or do you fume inside and gossip about her later?

Are you quick to give up your free time so someone else is blessed or do you focus on yourself and what you want?

Kindness looks to the good of others.  As you read through the above examples, think about the opportunities you had this week to extend kindness to others.  Where did you see the chance to do something that would benefit someone else?  What did you do?

Scripture tells us that it is God’s kindness that draws us to repentance; we are drawn to God by His character which is kind.  He is “for us” (Romans 8:31); He desires our good which comes only from being in relationship to him. Romans 2 starts with asking questions about why we judge other people’s sin when we are guilty of the same sins.  The question Paul is asking is “Do you take God’s kindness for granted and excuse your sin but expect others to be kind and loving to you?”  Romans 2:4 says, “Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”  God doesn’t ignore sin, but He is kind to show us our sin and our need for a Savior because He is so loving He desires what is best for us.

Jesus was kind.  We see his example over and over in the Gospels where he always was looking to the good of others.  Even when he was tired and exhausted from a long day of ministry, Jesus had compassion on the crowds.  He lamented that the people were like sheep without a shepherd and he wanted to serve them and guide them.  Rather than take care of his own needs, Jesus consistently ministered to those around him.  When rebuke was needed, he rebuked because kindness doesn’t ignore sin.  Sin has real consequences and love seeks to help others be restored to God.  Love confronts sin with kindness and gentleness (Galatians 6:1). 

Jesus showed His love in how He acted for the good of others with a gentleness and care for who the person was and what they were suffering.  In Mark 1 we see several examples.  Mark 1:31 shows Jesus taking Simon’s mother-in-law by the hand and lifting her up physically as he also healed her fever.  Later in that chapter, in verse 41, Jesus was “moved with pity” so he stretched out his hand and touched a leper.  At risk to himself, for the good of the leper, Jesus touched someone that the rest of society wouldn’t come near.  Lepers in those days had to walk around announcing themselves as “unclean” in a loud voice so others could be sure to stay far away.  Jesus did what was best for this man and allowed him to experience a loving touch after years without.

Sometimes being kind meant Jesus addressed sin head on.  When the rich young ruler approached Jesus and asked about eternal life, Jesus could have shied away from correction when the young man said he had been obeying the commandments since birth (Mark 10).  Kindness, desiring what was truly best for the young man, was demonstrated in Jesus pointing out that the man loved his possessions more than God.  Jesus cared about this man’s heart, his relationship with God, and his eternal destiny, so kindness meant confronting sin.

Even when Jesus was hanging on the cross in agony, he demonstrated kindness to his mother (John 19:26).  Rather than being focused on himself and on what he needed, he acted on behalf of his mother and made sure she would be cared for by John after he was gone.  Kindness looks to the interest of others.  Kindness seeks to do what will be good for the other person.  Kindness uses words and actions to make someone else’s situation better.  

Application:

1. Which concepts stand out the most to you about love being kind?  Why?

2. Think through the principles above of seeking to do good for others in the way you think, speak, and act.  How do you rate yourself in kindness on a scale of 1 - 10 (10 being as kind as Jesus) and why?

3. Look up the following verses and write down what you learn.

Galatians 5:22-23

Psalm 141:5

Acts 28:2

Ephesians 2:4-10

Titus 3:4-7

4. In what situations that you face on a regular basis is it difficult for you to act for the good of others even to the point that it inconveniences you?

5. What people are the most difficult for you to be kind to?  Why?

6. Evaluate your week.  Where did you show genuine kindness to others because you know God is kind to you and you want to show that kindness to others?

7. What are some specific ways that you need to change to be kind?  Write out at least 3 new ways to show kindness.

Above All These, Put on Love Part 2 (Love is Patient)

By Wendy Wood

Love is patient. Patient in the Greek is makrothyme . This is a verb meaning to suffer long and to bravely endure misfortunes and trouble. It also means slow to anger and slow to punish. Jonathan Edwards, a North American preacher in the 1700s, explains that having a love that is long-suffering means that a person will receive injuries with a soul filled with meekness, quietness, and goodness.

We tend to think of patience as having to wait in line at Costco for 5 minutes. We congratulate ourselves when we don’t use a sharp tone when one of our kids has to be asked twice to pick up their room. In other words, we have reduced this beautiful facet of love down to not exploding when something doesn’t go our way immediately. But God says that we should endure harsh, bitter words from others with quietness and meekness in our hearts. We should demonstrate gentleness and kindness when others sin against us and repeatedly hurt us. Long-suffering means that we should suffer for a long time while displaying the attitude, words, and actions of Christ.

Wayne Mack says “This word means we will bear not only a small injury, but also a great deal of injurious treatment from others without retaliation. We are to meekly bear these injuries without retaliation though they go on for a long time. We should be willing to suffer a great while in reference to our own interests before we defend ourselves... Even then we do it in such a way that we do not do unnecessary injury to the person who injured us.”

Consider how you typically respond in these situations:5

1. When others are unfair or dishonest in how they treat you.

2. When others make promises and then don’t keep them.

3. When others exaggerate or misrepresent your faults.

4. When you are treated without respect and honor and cooperation from people in

   authority over you.

5. When people over whom you have authority do not show respect, ,honor and

   cooperation to you.

6. When others will not admit they have wronged you.

7. When others blame you for something you didn’t do.

8. When others take longer to do something that shouldn’t take that long.

9. When others don’t listen and you have to repeat yourself.

5 Maximum Impact by Wayne Mack (I have taken the liberty to paraphrase his long list.)

10. When others are late for appointments with you.
11. When others use belittling or unkind words towards you.
12. When others spread unkind things about you and gossip about you.
13. When others borrow things and don’t return them, or don’t use the toothpaste

tube the way you do, or don’t turn off lights, or leave cupboards doors open.

Here are just thirteen examples of times when most of us are not long-suffering. These are times when we display whether or not we are truly patient in the way we love our fellow believers, neighbors, family, enemies, and everyone else or if we prefer ourselves and our own convenience and comfort. Scripture shows us some examples of living this out in a way that honors God.

Paul shows us in 1 Corinthians 4 how he and Apollos were long-suffering. “To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure, when slandered, we entreat” (verses 11-12). Rather than returning harsh words for harsh words or retaliating when they were mistreated, Paul and Apollos chose to endure patiently and display the love of Christ to those who were reviling and slandering them. Their ministry was marked by love (long suffering patience) and they saw people turn to Christ as they loved others well.

Again, in 2 Corinthians 6 Paul says they showed great endurance in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, and imprisonments, just to name a few. And they did this with purity, knowledge, patience, kindness and the weapons of righteousness so as to give no offense to anyone. Paul was so set on honoring Christ that he was compelled to love others no matter what they did to him. Long-suffering is displayed when you are able to be kind in the face of mistreatment and trials, even when they go on for years and years. Paul’s entire ministry was one of persecution, imprisonment, and suffering, yet he longed to love others with the love he had received from Christ.

Of course, Paul was only imitating the greatest example of love. God displays His patience with His people throughout the entire bible. In Exodus as God was responding to Moses in the midst of “stiff-necked” people He says of Himself, I am "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth” (Exodus 34:6). “Slow to anger” is another way of saying long-suffering. When we don’t get what we want, we tend to be quick to anger and display a lack of patience with any inconvenience. This is not like God who patiently endures us sinning against Him many times every single day.. Again, Psalm 86:15 says, “But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.”

Looking back at the thirteen examples given of times when we fail to show patience or long-suffering love, it is because we are quick to anger and frustration. God, on the other hand, is slow to anger, and endures the many, many ways He is wronged and sinned against by men. When we ignore God, deny His existence, act as though He were unfair or unkind to us, God does not destroy us as He rightfully could. He bears with us. Consider how God has been patient with you over the course of your life. Really, stop. Take some time to think about how often you sin against God. About how often you repent and ask for forgiveness only to do the same sin again. God is patient! When we are upset about repeating ourselves for the third time or frustrated that our spouse is doing that annoying thing again, think about how God has patiently endured your besetting sins and continues to forgive you.

Christ’s life is an example of glorious patience and long-suffering. Consider how Jesus was mistreated by his friends, family, enemies, and crowds. “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return, when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” (1 Peter 2:22-24). Jesus endured the worst possible case of injustice. He was perfectly sinless and holy. He endured all temptation without sin. Yet He was the one who suffered and bore our sins while being forsaken by God so that we, His enemies, would have life and righteousness. Jesus is the ultimate example of patience.

Consider when Peter denied Jesus three times (Luke 22). Jesus had forewarned Peter that he would deny Jesus three times and Peter assured Jesus that he would never abandon Him. Jesus, of course, was right and Peter pretended not to know Jesus. Jesus’ “turns and looks at Peter” when the rooster crows. Then, after Jesus’ resurrection, he demonstrates that patience with restoring Peter by asking him three times, “Peter do you love me?” What a beautiful picture of Jesus patiently showing Peter that he was forgiven and still counted among Jesus’ friends. Peter possibly remembers this when her writes ““The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. . . . Count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him. (2 Peter 3:9, 15)

Jesus again showed tremendous patience with Saul who was persecuting believers. On the road to Damascus, as Saul was heading to the city to get permission to arrest and jail more Christians, Jesus appears as a bright light and says, “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 7) If there was ever a person who deserved a quick, angry response, it was Saul. Instead, Jesus waited and then showed tremendous mercy and compassion by transforming Saul into Paul, a deeply devoted servant of Christ. How would you or I have responded to someone who was stoning, beating, and arresting our friends?

We are called to Christlikeness. God’s desire for us is our sanctification
(1 Thessalonians 4:3). So putting long-suffering in practice means that we will endure with kindness the injuries inflicted by others whether the mistreatments are intentional or mistakes. It means that we will respond with kindness and not harbor unforgiveness or bitterness. It means that we will gladly bear with the weaknesses and sins of others without expressing sinful attitudes or actions in return.

We cannot love like this on our own. It is only through the power of Christ’s Spirit in us that we can love this way. In Christ, united to him by grace through faith, you can grow to love this way. It will require prayer and dependence on God. It will require trust that God’s promises and design for how to live are best and rewarding. It will require pursuit, the intentional effort of choosing to love in the face of mistreatment. We can only love because God loved us first (1 John 4:19). We must spend time reflecting on God’s patience and long-suffering and through his power seek to love others this way.

5 Maximum Impact by Wayne Mack (I have taken the liberty to paraphrase his long list.)

Above All These, Put on Love Part 1

By Wendy Wood

Jesus summed up the entire law in two commandments (Matthew 22:37-39) saying love God, and love others. Throughout Scripture, believers are commanded to love. We are commanded to love fellow believers (John 13:34) , neighbors (Leviticus 19:18), family (Ephesians 5:25, Psalm 103:13), and enemies (Matthew 5:44); meaning we are to love all people. This command comes from God who defines Himself as love. 1 John 4:8 tells us “God is love”. God’s very character is the definition of love. Love is not a feeling we have when we feel warmly toward someone else. Love is action oriented and is aimed at the other person’s well-being. Genuine love is a heart posture that desires the good and well-being of another person.1 When Scripture tells us to “put on love”, we are replacing our sinful habits of selfish attitudes and our sinful ways of interacting with others and replacing it with Christ-like love. Colossians 3:12-15 tells us

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

Love is to be put on “above all” because it is necessary to do any of the other attitudes, actions, and words listed above. Without love, we may be able to occasionally show kindness or sometimes bear with one another, but only genuine love is a God glorifying motive for relating to people in relationship. We can only show this type of love when we know this kind of love from God. Put on then, is key. Preceding this section of verses, Paul recounts that we have been raised with Christ, we have died to sin and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. We are reminded that we will appear with him in glory. We are called to love in Christlikeness because we are united with Christ by grace through faith. As the scripture above tells us, we are God’s chosen ones who are holy and beloved. Christlike love only comes after God has opened our eyes to faith and has put within us a new heart that is able to love sacrificially. Christian love must look different from the world’s love.

Our culture has much to say about love. Sometimes we hear about “falling in love” as though love were something that happens to us spontaneously and accidentally. Unfortunately, if this is the axiom you live by, you can also “fall out of love” and no longer feel obligated to be married to or in relationship with that person anymore. “Falling in love” is an emotional high, not the high calling of selfless, sacrificial attitude and actions towards others. Countless “love songs” talk all about warm, fuzzy emotions that focus on how the person experiencing the feelings likes how they feel. This is a selfish and distorted version of love. When we enjoy the exhilarating feelings of someone new that we are attracted to, we “love” how that person makes us feel. We feel excited, or we are comforted, or we are hopeful and are happy to be feeling this way. Really, we are focused on taking care of ourselves and enjoying how we experience the relationship rather than being focused on how to serve the other person. This is not biblical love.

Biblical love is about sacrificially choosing the other person’s well being over your own. Philippians 2:3-4 tells us to “count others more significant than ourselves”. The word “count” means to consider, calculate, and to reckon. We are to choose to place ourselves below others and intentionally place their needs ahead of our own. Biblical love seeks to emulate Christ and how he interacted with others. Philippians 2:5-8 shows us the extent of Christ’s sacrificial love.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Jesus’ love was humble and intentional. He “counted” Himself a servant to others. He wasn’t concerned about His own well-being, but rather was willing to give up His life for others.

Our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). We can easily fool ourselves into thinking we are doing something out of love for others, when we are really being selfish and serving ourselves. Only what we do with the right motive (desiring to love God and please Him through loving others) will be considered God honoring in his sight. God knows our hearts and intentions perfectly (Hebrews 4:12). We cannot fool Him. Therefore, we must learn to love Him and others more from a genuine heart. We must continually be growing in loving God and others.

The importance of doing things with love cannot be overstated. First Corinthians 13 begins with saying that you can have absolutely amazing gifts of prophecy and faith, but if they are not done with love they are nothing. Worse, the picture Paul uses is a “noisy gong or a clanging cymbal”. I remember when my boys were quite small and would pull pots and lids out of the cupboard. They would bang away enjoying the loudness and cacophony of sound. I would cringe and barely be able to tolerate the sound for a few minutes. That awful, irritating, and annoying sound is what we believers are like when we act without love. We fail to produce anything good (like well orchestrated music) and additionally, others don’t want to be around us. Even to try to help someone or share the gospel with them, without love, is useless and frustrating to others. Jerry Bridges talks about putting an entire row of zeros on a paper.2 You may be able to line up 30 zeros and have a 30 figure number. What is it worth? Nothing! But put a single numeral one in front of those zeros and suddenly there is tremendous value. That is what love does to the gifts God has given us. When we are loving others from the heart, our service to God matters.

Wayne Mack compares love to a diamond.3 A diamond has many facets that make up the total value and beauty of a diamond. When buying a diamond you may consider cut, clarity, color, carats, and shape. These facets complement each other and are essential to making the diamond complete. Yet, they are all unique in the quality they bring to the diamond. Love is like a diamond. It is made up of many facets, all of them essential and unique to the way love is expressed. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Paul shows us the many facets of love. Without these different qualities of love, our impact for Christ will be nothing. With these qualities of love growing in us, we will bring honor and glory to God as His love is displayed through us.

I’ve already mentioned that we need to learn to love as God loves because without love our gifts and service to God are nothing. Then, after Paul explains the facets of love, he gives us another reason we need to learn to love well. First Corthinians 14:1 begins with “Pursue love”. To purse means to run after or to press on to reach a goal. Wayne Mack says, “God does not just zap this kind of love into our hearts. We must search for it, train for it, reach for it! It takes effort and sacrifice and prayer for us to be able to lay hold of this precious love.”4 We are commanded to love.

1 Maximum Impact by Wayne A. Mack

2 Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

3 Maximum Impact by Wayne Mack

4 Ibid

Bearing the Fruit of Kindness

by Paul Tautges

As a fruit of the Spirit, and a part of what it means to be like Christ, kindness is also an attribute of God.

• God is kind to all of his creatures. This is what theologians call common grace; that is, it is common to all—even those who reject Christ.

• The words of Jesus in Matthew 5:45 are an example of common grace: “For [God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

• According to the apostle Paul, writing in Romans 2:4, it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance. It is not God’s harsh pressure that brings us to salvation, but His kindness, which works alongside His patience (the fruit we learned about last Sunday).

• Therefore, since it is the kindness of God that leads us to the repentance that results in salvation, kindness is most appreciated by those who are saved. And not only is it the kindness of God that leads us to salvation, but day-by-day we continue to see multitude ways in which God is kind to us.

God is even kind to his enemies, as Jesus says in Luke 6:32-36.

If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

When you find a Christian who is truly humble and kind to all you have found a jewel, since kindness is less common than we realize. I laughed out loud when I read how one Bible dictionary defines kindness. Kindness is an “attribute of God and quality desirable but not consistently found in humans.” Sadly, this is true. We live in a mean world. But what is most grievous of all is when those who claim to be followers of Christ are downright mean-spirited and unkind. Brothers and sisters, it should not be this way. Of all people in the world, we should be models of kindness.

Defining Kindness

The definition that I will use in this blog post is from one of my systematic theology textbooks: “Kindness is expressed as a tender, gentle concern for others that actively seeks out ways to serve them.” (Biblical Doctrine, page 376).

These expressions of kindness are present in the tender ministry of Christ, who did not come to be served, but to serve. Jesus was tender, not harsh. The only exception to this was when He was dealing with the religious leaders who opposed the authority of God and His Word. His kind and gentle spirit is especially made clear in the only place in the Four Gospels where Jesus describes himself.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

This kind of gentleness is a mark of Christlikeness. According to 2 Corinthians 6:6, kindness is also a mark of an authentic minister of the gospel. In the first letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul described the ministry that he and his companions had this way:

For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

1 Thessalonians 2:7

If we are to be like Christ then we must grow the fruit of kindness. In Ephesians 4:32 we are commanded to be kind to one another, as part of the outworking of the gospel in our hearts.

Four Truths about the Fruit of Kindness

In this passage of Scripture there are four truths about kindness, which God wants you to understand and apply to your life.

1. Kindness reveals new life in Christ (Eph. 4:25-29).

2. Kindness requires help from the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30).

3. Kindness replaces harmful deeds of the flesh (Eph. 4:31-32).

4. Kindness reflects the love of God (Eph. 5:1-2).

Kindness is very important to God. It is an area of character development that He expects us to authentically display as fruit of the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. It is a mark of spiritual growth and maturity. And so important is kindness to God that He says it is more important than performing religious sacrifices to Him.

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

Posted at: https://counselingoneanother.com/2020/05/17/bearing-the-fruit-of-kindness/

Context Matters: Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing

 BY RYAN HIGGINBOTTOM

Perhaps you’ve heard that no one can do anything apart from Jesus. You may have been told this saying refers to our complete reliance upon God. Or, you may have read this phrase during leadership or evangelism training, urging your frequent communication with Jesus.

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible in context—not just as a collection of memorable phrases—we’ll find that some familiar verses take on richer and deeper meanings.

The Vine and the Branches

The phrase “apart from me you can do nothing” is just a portion of John 15:5. This is part of a long conversation Jesus has with his disciples on the evening of the Last Supper, after Judas departs (John 13:30). Jesus tells them he is the vine and his father is the vinedresser (John 15:1); God takes away branches that do not bear fruit, and he prunes every fruit-bearing branch (John 15:2).

Because of their parallel nature, we need to read John 15:4 and John 15:5 together.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4–5)

In the immediate context, “you can do nothing” is related to “bear[ing] fruit” and “apart from me” stands opposite to “abide in me and I in him.” We cannot know Jesus’s full meaning in John 15:5 without understanding “abiding” and “bearing fruit.”

Abiding

In one way, the metaphor of the vine and branches makes clear the meaning of “abide.” Branches draw nourishment and life from the vine; without that connection, they die.

Abiding in Jesus is not an extra level of discipleship—it is essential! He is life itself; anyone who does not abide in Jesus is thrown away like a branch from the vine and burned (John 15:6).

Abiding in Jesus is also connected to both Jesus’s words and his love. If anyone abides in Jesus, his words abide in them, and their prayers will be answered (John 15:7). Jesus tells the disciples not just to abide in him but to abide in his love (John 15:9). He then explains what this means—if the disciples keep Jesus’s commandments, they will abide in his love (John 15:10). Jesus teaches this not as a burdensome duty but so their joy will be full (John 15:11).

We should also notice the similarity between the words “abide” and “abode,” or dwelling. Unfortunately, some translations obscure this link. Jesus is going to prepare a place for his disciples in his father’s house (dwelling); he wants them to be where he is (John 14:2–3). He speaks of his connection with the father as “the father abiding in me” (John 14:10, NASB). Throughout this discourse, Jesus’s relationship with his disciples shares many features of his relationship with his father.

Any disciple that wants to bear fruit must abide in Jesus and Jesus must abide in them (John 15:5). This mutual abiding, along with the other context summarized above, points to a unity, knowledge, obedience, and love that is life-sustaining and supernatural.

Bearing Fruit

As with abiding, bearing fruit goes hand-in-hand with following Jesus. Jesus says that bearing fruit is the way a person proves to be a disciple (John 15:8). In the metaphor of the vine and branches, bearing fruit is what normal, healthy branches do.

If anyone loves Jesus, they will keep his commandments (John 14:15), and thus we see a connection between bearing fruit and keeping Jesus’s commands. Jesus knows that we need help in this calling, which is why he promises to send “another helper”—the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). The Spirit abides with the disciples and will be in them (John 14:17, NASB).

We see this essential link between love, obedience, and the presence of God in John 14:23.

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:23, NASB)

So bearing fruit is a Spirit-powered yet normal part of being a disciple of Jesus. And it happens as we abide in, love, and obey Jesus.

Abide in Him

Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. When we read this verse in context we see that Jesus is not primarily warning against self-reliance nor dismissing the contributions of non-Christians. Yes, he is drawing a sharp line between those who follow him and those who do not. But this is a call to life.

Those connected to the vine are animated by the life-giving Spirit, and they are fruit-bearing by nature. Apart from the vine, there is no nutrition, no life, no fruit.

Context matters.

Posted at: https://www.knowableword.com/2020/04/13/context-matters-apart-from-me-you-can-do-nothing/

Reaping the Harvest of Walking in the Spirit

 Paul Tautges

The Christian life is not a playground; it’s a battlefield. Since we are in a war, and the world, the flesh, and the devil are always working against the Spirit’s agenda, we must get serious about sanctification, overcoming sin, and becoming like Christ. But we cannot do it without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Gal. 5:22-26

“But” indicates that what is to follow is in contrast to the works of the sinful flesh, the Holy Spirit produces a harvest of righteousness in the believer’s life. To reap the harvest of walking in the Spirit, you need to occupy yourself with four ongoing actions…

Recognize the outworking of the Spirit’s sanctifying work (vv. 22-23).

“But the fruit” in contrast to the works of the flesh. Jesus used gardening language when describing our growth in Him (John 15:1-5). The fruit of the Spirit is the outworking of the new life of Christ which is active within you. William MacDonald writes, “It is significant that the apostle distinguishes between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Works are produced by human energy. Fruit is grown as a branch abides in the vine (John 15:5). They differ as a factory and a garden differ.”

Notice that “fruit” is singular. It is not fruits, but fruit. The fruit is Christlike character. The primary evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in a believer’s life is not some form of bizarre behavior, but that of stable, godly character that reflects Christlikeness. So, again, we are reminded that God’s goal for us is to become conformed to the image of his Son: For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son (Rom. 8:29). Other Scriptures indicate the same Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:13).

What does it look like to be becoming more and more like Jesus? There will be a harvest of righteousness. You and others will see that you are growing in the following nine virtues. No doubt, as the list of the works of the flesh was not exhaustive, so this list is not either.

• LOVE is the supreme Christlike virtue. “The greatest of these is love,” as Paul says in 1 Corinthians. Love holds all the other character qualities together (Col. 3:14). Love is the demonstration of putting others before yourself. It is the outworking of the life of God within you (Eph. 5:1-2).

• JOY is an inner stability of spirit. It’s being satisfied with God and how his will is being worked out in your life. It opposes the striving of the spirit that too often characterizes us, because we are discontent. Joy is finding one’s contentment in Christ, not in our circumstances, and in knowing him more and more.

• PEACE probably includes both dimensions of peace: Peace with God, as the Spirit bears witness with your spirit that you are a child of God, and the peace of God, as you walk in prayerful dependence upon the Spirit your anxiety is brought under his control.

• PATIENCE is longsuffering. This kind of patience is not easily annoyed, but describes the patience that awaits God’s will to be done in your trials and suffering, and in God’s timing. Longsuffering waits for God to vindicate you of false accusations, while you continue to love your enemies and pray for them.

• KINDNESS is as the ESV Study Bible says, “Kindness means showing goodness, generosity, and sympathy toward others.” Romans 2:4 says this is the attribute of God that brings us to repentance. Paul asks the religious person who is trusting in his good works to save him: Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

• GOODNESS is kindness in action. The Good Samaritan models this kind of character. While the Levite and the priest avoided the wounded man, as if he was a leper, the Samaritan outcast drew near and met his needs.

• FAITHFULNESS refers to trust in God which leads to obedience to God. But it also refers to being a person that people can rely upon. Sadly, this is an often-neglected character quality. Everyone just wants to follow their heart, instead of following God and being faithful to others (1 Cor. 4:2).

• GENTLENESS is the combination of humility and servanthood. In the four Gospels, Jesus only once describes himself in a personal way: “I am gentle and lowly in heart” (Matt. 11:29).

• SELF-CONTROL is the ability to govern yourself. You don’t need others to govern you, because you have learned to say No to your own fleshly desires, and yes to the Spirit. This quality describes the person whose life is disciplined. It’s the opposite of laziness.

Against this fruit “there is no law.” If these qualities are becoming more and more evident in your life, there is less and less of a need for outside governance. Instead, you are learning to govern yourself from inside, as you walk in the strength of the Spirit.

Represent Christ and your union with Him (v. 24).

“Those who belong to Christ” are true believers.  The harvest of fruit, or the lack of a harvest of the fruit of the Spirit, says something about your true spiritual condition. Believers “have crucified the flesh,” which refers to a completed action in the past. It’s referring to what happened at the moment of your conversion. Armand Tiffe has published a helpful personal Bible study of Romans 6. It’s entitled The Liberating Truth of Romans 6. Working through that study will give you a firmer grasp on your position in Christ, and how Christ sets us free from our sinful habits and lazy tendencies. God says that your sinful passions and desires were crucified when you first came to Christ. So why return to them? Why would you want to return to that which once enslaved you?

Relinquish control to the Spirit’s leadership (v.25).

“If” means since. Since you are a new creature in Christ. Since the life of God now dwells within you, in the person of the Holy Spirit, do not be controlled by your sinful flesh. Instead, walk in submission to the Spirit. The word walk here, in verse 25, is a different word than the one used previously. Here it means to keep in step, or march in line, with the Spirit (see also Eph. 5:15-21).

Repent of prideful attitudes and actions (v. 26).

Pride is an enemy. It is the enemy of the development of Christlike character. When you say in your heart, “I’m not going to change that part of my life” then you are demonstrating a stubborn determination to remain in control. Instead, the Holy Spirit wants to help you change—to be humble, flexible, and moldable like a lump of soft clay. Paul mentions three prideful attitudes to repent of.

• Conceited = holding false, empty opinions of yourself. This is the person who enjoys always being the center of attention. Christians should not be puffed up, larger-than-life characters.

• Provoking one another = challenging one another, describes the person who is argumentative simply because they enjoy a verbal fight. It flows from and feeds pride.

• Envying one another = craving what others have, due to your own discontent. MacDonald says, “Envy begrudges another person’s superior success, talents, possessions, or good looks.”

He goes on to say, “All such attributes are foreign to grace.” Wherever you see these attitudes in your life, you need to repent of them. You need to humble yourself and esteem others are more important than yourself.

God’s call is clear. In Christ, we are called to walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling. But we cannot do this successfully without the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. As we yield the control of our mind and heart to the Spirit’s will, as revealed in the Word of God, we will see His fruit become increasingly evident in our lives. Seeing progress in your Christian life is the chief means by which God builds assurance of your salvation (2 Pet. 1:3-11).  This is the work of God’s grace in our lives, not only saving us, but transforming us into the image and likeness of Jesus.

Watch or listen to the sermon here.

Posted at: https://counselingoneanother.com/2020/01/20/reaping-the-harvest-of-walking-in-the-spirit/