Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness

“But the fruit of the Spirit is…gentleness.” ~Gal. 5:23

Brothers,

When I first began to write this letter, I thought that it would be an easier fruit to write on. But after starting this letter over again four or five times, I’m beginning to realize how much is implied in that single word. A soft answer, a calm touch, humility and a spirit of peace. Like so many of the traits listed in this section in Galatians, gentleness overlaps some of the others. We speak more gently when we are self-controlled, peaceful, loving, joyful, and kind. What is gentleness? According to Strong, it is another word for humility or meekness. And what is humility? As one author put it, humility is not the state of always degrading yourself, but is the state of always being so focused on God that you forget yourself. So again, what is gentleness? It is one of the results of forgetting yourself. Think about all that that means. When your days are filled with meditating on the glory of the Lord and on the majesty of His name and the excellence of His Word and the breathtaking beauty of His creation, when you lose track of time when you are on your knees singing praises to God and laying your cares at the foot of the Mercy Seat, when your lips are constantly turning your conversations with others to the greatness of the Lord, when someone compliments you on a job well done and all you can do is thank the Lord for seeing fit to bless your way, then, I assure you, the Lord will give you a spirit of gentleness. Now you may be saying, “Yes, yes, but what are some practical ways to apply this? You have said what must come first, but you haven’t yet said what comes after. What does it look like to be gentle towards others?” Well imagine that one of your siblings has asked you where a certain book is and you give an answer. After your sibling looks around for that book, comes back, and tells you it’s not there, you get up, walk over to where you said it would be, and sure enough, there it is. All at once you are irritated at having to get up out of your comfy seat, annoyed at the tone of voice your sibling used, and frustrated that they didn’t actually look where you said. All that you feel like doing is either to walk sullenly back to your seat without saying a word or to make a sarcastic comment that is by nature cruel. Gentleness would be to simply say, kindly, “There you are” and hand them the book. Now one of the hard things about writing on the fruit of the Spirit is, like I said earlier, in some cases, traits overlap. In the case above, gentleness is a combination of self-control, love, longsuffering, and kindness. Take another situation: a family at church has just received news that while they were on vacation, their house flooded and thousands of dollars worth of furniture and belongings was destroyed. Or imagine that a friend’s grandmother just died the morning before. In each of those situations, gentleness wouldn’t be shown so much in words as in actions. Especially right after the loss of a loved one, people sometimes just need an understanding hug or a shoulder to cry on. When confronted with a situation where it is difficult to discern what the right response is, again, forget yourself. First, eliminate any response that would not give God glory. Second, with the remaining options, try to find the one that does the best job at either soothing, comforting, encouraging, or bringing joy to your neighbor. I know it is hard to remember to do so when the situation actually presents itself and that analyzing the situation could take longer than you have. I’m not saying that it is easy to be gentle. What I am saying though, is that the more you practice being gentle, the easier it will become. So forget yourself! Keep your focus on the Lord by memorizing, praying, and living out the Word. Build up and do not destroy; mend and do not break.

Your brother in Christ,

Corey

Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness

“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” ~2 Peter 1:5-8

“But the fruit of the Spirit is … goodness.” ~ Gal. 5:22

Brothers,

When we think of the fruit of the Spirit, we often think of a whole list of qualities and traits that we should strive for. What we rarely think of is the first passage above. Yes, we should strive for the fruit of the Spirit, but what we often miss is that there is an order to things even then. Some traits cannot be added unless others are first in place. Think of a skyscraper: you cannot build it starting from the top. First you must lay the foundation and then add one story at a time until you reach the top. Such is the case with us spiritually. We will not love others if we are not first kind to them. We cannot gain true knowledge unless we already have a fear of the Lord. So instead of tackling the fruit of the Spirit in the order that it is listed in Galatians, I’m going to go in the order of 2 Peter.

What is virtue? Some use it as a general word for all godly traits. But what it really means is excellence or, as Strong’s definition says, manliness. It seems to imply a more general foundation for the Christian life. Virtue is not self-control or brotherly love which are more specific, potentially harder to learn traits, but is simply goodness. That is why it comes first in Peter’s list. Self-control in holding one’s tongue comes after one learns to speak kindly, which in turn comes after learning what kindness is which results from imitating those who are godly examples to us. Virtue is like the stump of a tree that the other traits spring from. Because of this, some unbelievers can be good, but not self-controlled. They may act like upright citizens and believe that man is not to murder or steal or lie. All that is goodness and virtuous. But it is not godliness. However, it is the first step towards godliness. Without having a foundation of virtue, of solid values and principles, we cannot continue to build. Only the man who orders his life according to God’s law can truly be a Christian. In other words, unless you obey God, you cannot love others or be self-controlled or patient. So my encouragement for you is this: strive with all diligence to obey God. Evaluate your life and serve Him fully for by doing so you are strengthening your foundation and practicing goodness.

Your brother in Christ,

Corey

Rise Up, Little One!

“The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. Also your people shall all be righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time." Isa 60:19-22

Brothers,

Instead of going on to the fruit of the Spirit like I had said I would, I’ve decided to wait one more week because there is something else I want you to hear. Two weeks ago, we were in the car and I was flipping through my Bible and I came upon the passage above. The following week, our family was at a Homeschool Camp where the speakers spoke about the persecution of the Church throughout the world. In their talks, these speakers encouraged us to preach the Word at all times, to conquer our fear, and to be bold. One of the main things I’ve always struggled with, though, is the actual act of starting a conversation. I’ve always been able to lay out the situation in my head and to think of all the good arguments, but when I actually have to do it, I almost always get so afraid that I don’t take action. The Lord brought that issue to light a lot in these past few weeks. Opportunity after opportunity was missed, all because I was afraid. One day, three guys asked what religion I was and I answered, but instead of taking that perfect opportunity to share the gospel, I remained silent. The next day, two boys were talking about the differences in several religions and again, instead of taking a stand for Christ, I remained silent. Throughout that week, chance after chance came my way, but I didn’t take any of them. At the end of the week, my family headed up to the Camp I described earlier. At the end of camp, I kept on praying that the Lord would give me yet another chance and would help me to actually take it. The very next morning, I was given that opportunity and the Lord answered my prayer.

As some of you know, Casey and I, out of necessity, are taking some classes on a campus this year, and in one of those classes, we have to do a debate. That morning I was able to speak to my whole debate group. Now, if the Lord could work through me, who has been given more opportunities than I can count, He can certainly work through you. The openings may not always be obvious, but with the Lord’s help, we can see them every time. Why don’t we take action? We allow fear to take hold of us. Look at the passage. When you read that, does it not send shivers down your spine? Does it not excite you and energize you? How can we read such a passage and be afraid of speaking the truth? I have spent 17 years being afraid and have only just started to cross the first hurdle. But let me tell you, the joy in being able to share the Gospel is worth the discomfort of standing out. Yes, I was nervous. Yes, I was afraid even when talking. Yes, I was shaking from head to foot. But I was also excited, joyous, praising the Lord for helping me through. That first hurdle, when you look at it seems enormous, but the Lord is bigger than that obstacle. So my encouragement to you is to remember this passage the next time you are given the opportunity to share the Word. “A little one will become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation.” May the Lord be your strength and your support. For what is a few moments of awkwardness here on earth when compared to the reward when we get to heaven and hear the Lord say to us, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”? Never be afraid, brothers! Take up your sword and go to battle! The battle is not won by sitting, but by swinging with all your might. Rise up and go to war!

Your brother in Christ,

Corey

Fruit of the Spirit: Walking in the Spirit

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” ~Gal 5:16-17

Brothers,

In looking for a topic for this week’s letter, I came upon the end of Galatians 5, which talks about the fruits of the Spirit. My plan is to go over those individually in the coming weeks, but first I wanted to take a look at what comes directly before it. Take a look at the passage above. Whenever we read passages of Scripture or even letters, such as this, our tendency is to look over it without paying much attention to it, but remember, when we read Scripture, we’re reading the inspired word of God. Even if it didn’t talk about such important topics, it would be important merely because of the One who spoke it. But it is made all the more significant because of what it says, so read it again. Now in Eph 4:24 it says, “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” In other words, we are to walk in the Spirit. Yet what does this tell us about ourselves? If we truly put off the old man and put on the new, if we truly walk in the Spirit, we would not gratify the flesh. And yet every day, we struggle with our fleshly desires and often we give in to those desires. This means that we have disobeyed a direct command of God Most High. We shy away so much from the thought of hard training and pain that we continue in sin. For what is the opposite of walking in the Spirit, but walking in the flesh? If we are not doing one, we are assuredly doing the other.

But, how do we walk in the Spirit? First, by hiding God’s Word in our hearts. This is such an important part of the Christian’s life that it cannot be neglected without serious consequences, for how can we walk in the Spirit if we do not know what that entails? We can only find this out in the Word. Scripture is our daily bread; without it, we will starve. Second, we walk in the Spirit by applying the Word. In James we are told to be doers of the Word, not just hearers. While it is important to know what to do, after we find out how, we must actually do it. The final part of walking in the Spirit is prayer. Prayer is a refinement of our faith. It is one thing to think, “I need help,” it is another to be on your knees crying, “Father, help your servant.” Through prayer, we not only praise God for who He is, but we lay our needs at His feet. Through the combination of these three – hiding God’s Word in our hearts, applying the Word, and praying – we equip ourselves for the war against our flesh and work towards walking in the Spirit. As we will see in the next few weeks, many of the fruits of the Spirit are the result of this training. Humility, though not one of the fruits listed in Galatians, is the result of seeing our utter depravity before God and understanding that salvation is not through any act of our own, but only by God’s grace. Patience comes from imitating how Jesus lived His whole life, but as seen especially in the account of His crucifixion, where He didn’t respond to any of His enemies’ mocking comments or to their actions. Kindness is seen throughout the Bible in God’s continued mercy to His people despite their rejection and in His extended mercy to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Each of these virtues is achieved by first searching the Scriptures for instruction, then applying that teaching to everyday life, and finally in seeking help from God for the accomplishment of that goal. Be diligent and walk in the Spirit. Do not try to battle the flesh by your own strength, for you will fail, but hide, apply, and pray. Hide, apply, and pray.

Your brother in Christ,

Corey

"For By Your Words You Will Be Justified, and By Your Words You Will Be Condemned."

“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." ~Matt 12:36-37

Brothers,

During a talk with a friend this week, this verse was brought to my attention. That night, I was trying to figure out what it meant. I had said that the verse doesn’t mean we have to talk theology all the time, but then I got to thinking: what can we talk about? By the time I was done looking at the passage, I realized that I was trying to make the verse mean what I wanted it to mean. I’m sure neither of us can say we always have wholesome speech. I sometimes find myself go through a whole day with only a few scattered things that could possibly be called edifying, but which are spoken in an un-edifying tone. That night, I was trying to justify my speech by adding meanings to this verse. So, as I mentioned earlier, I asked myself what can we talk about? Or conversely, what can’t we talk about? In other words, what is idle speech? The answer: idle speech is speech that is idle. It does not edify, encourage, or strengthen. It is not wholesome, nor pure, nor good. Though it may not be bad, per say, it is not good. In this passage, Jesus doesn’t give us a choice between mediocre and good; He commands us to reject the mediocre and embrace the good. In Isaiah 50:4, when speaking of Jesus it says, “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary.” That is what we are to be speaking. We are to encourage, to strengthen, and to bear each other’s burdens. A joyful heart brings joy to the Lord, but be careful that it is not foolishness you are laughing at. As you may know, I have a strange sense of humor that leads to obscure and odd jokes that often result in making me laugh (though no one else usually does). Is this merely idle speech? Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know where to draw the line on many things, therefore I can only give you the general guidelines laid out in Scripture: let your speech be wholesome and make sure what you say is worthy of being said. Can we talk about the weather, events, humorous stories, non-Christian literature, movies, meals, music, plants, or any of the other vast array of conversational topics? As far as my understanding reaches, there are times when we can speak of all these topics, for through them we can build relationships and bring joy to others. Yet in all this we are to keep the focus of our speech on that which brings God glory. So we are not to let a focus of strengthening relationships lead us to frivolous talk. As bearers of the image and name of Christ, we are to constantly bear witness of Him through our words and actions. Thus we have so many commands in Scripture to guard our tongues diligently. So my encouragement to you is this: “be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19). Meditate on what you are going to say. Before you talk, run a quick test and see if it meets the criteria. If you let yourself slip, an apology to the one you are talking to may be necessary. It is better to be humbled before man, than to lay up condemnation before God. May the Lord help us both in that task!

Your brother in Christ,

Corey