FOTS: Wrapup

Well, then, that's all the fruits listed in Galatians. Even a cursory reading of the Bible will show there are other fruits. Though I like Shawn's reminder that the singular is used - they're many, yet they're one. I couldn't help but notice how many times there was overlap.

What's also important is that they all come from a heart that wants to serve Christ. (Fruit of the Spirit, after all.) They're also often positive commands - that is, they demand more from us then simply denouncing sin and thanking God we are not as other men. As Christians, we need to do something, not just be against something.

The next portion of Galatians urges us to walk in the Spirit. (5:25) The Christian must be a doer of the word, and not just a hearer. (James 1:22-25) His faith will necessarily bring forth fruits - maybe not as much as some others (Matt. 13:23), but it will still be evident. (This is a good reminder that not all Christians are at the same place in life, and to be patient with those who have little and work to disciple them, and to be thankful and respectful to those who have been given more.) And it keeps pride in check, too. The man who thinks he's all that, who's convinced himself that he's good and everybody else is terrible is told that he's really nothing. (6:3)

Again, this is all Spirit-driven through the work of Christ on the cross. If we do well, well, we're still unprofitable servants. (Luke 17:10) The glory goes to Christ alone. Now, if Christ was willing to die for us - folks who certainly did not deserve it - oughtn't we be willing to work a little bit to bring forth fruit and thus bring Him glory?

FOTS: Temperance

Temperance usually brings to mind one of two things - control around alcohol, or anger management issues. This is fine, of course, as both fall under the heading of temperance, but the issue is a bit broader than that. There's a whole host of things - not necessarily bad in and of themselves - that we nonetheless tend to go overboard on. So we need to look at TV, food, Facebook (where I'm definitely guilty as charged), blogging, Solitaire, work, pets, hobbies, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

There's a glaring omission from that list, something the Bible tells us is harder to control than anything else - the tongue. (James 3) Not exactly what we think of when "out of control body parts" comes to mind, but there it is. It's a flaming fire, a rudder that can steer everything else astray. The man who just talks because he can't help himself - he simply must be heard - is unwise, unlike the man who knows when to zip it. (Proverbs 10:19) Keeping quiet doesn't automatically make one wise, of course (Proverbs 17:29), but the point is that simply talking can prove you really don't know anything. (And I've got plenty of past posts here that prove that point.)

Of course, we have to go beyond the tongue. After all, somebody without temperance is like a city with no defenses. (Proverbs 25:28) And how often does the Christian walk back this up? How often do we start obsessing over some worldly thing or another and take our eyes off of Christ? We know that it's the old man that's working in us (Romans 7:15-25), but that doesn't give us license to sin (Romans 6:1).

Thankfully, we follow a Savior who exercised perfect control on earth, who knows what it's like to be tempted. (Mark 1:13, Heb. 2:18) Not that he tempts us, of course (James 1:13), but He won't allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle (I Cor. 10:13). Which means we have only ourselves to blame (James 1:14). Thankfully, Christ's perfect temperance means we cannot be seperated from Him. (Romans 8:39) And as such, rather than taking the prideful "I've got more self-control than that guy over there" - i.e. the American self-reliance approach - it means we know our own weakness and show thankfulness for the temperance granted us in the Spirit.

FOTS: Meekness

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. - Matthew 5:15

Christ described Himself as being meek (Math. 11:29), which at first glance seems an odd thing for God incarnate to be saying. But that's mostly because when we hear the word "meek", we think of the scrawny nerd getting beat up in the movies. But that's not really what's in mind here. The word seems to have to do more with humility. Not to keep bringing him up, but it's free with e-Sword, so here's Matthew Henry's commentary on the verse:

He is meek, and can have compassion on the ignorant, whom others would be in a passion with. Many able teachers are hot and hasty, which is a great discouragement to those who are dull and slow; but Christ knows how to bear with such, and to open their understandings. His carriage towards his twelve disciples was a specimen of this; he was mild and gentle with them, and made the best of them; though they were heedless and forgetful, he was not extreme to mark their follies.

James encourages the wise to show their wisdom with meekness. (James 3:13) Contrast this to our general attitude when we're right - we love to crow about how if only somebody had listened, they could've avoided all this. Generally never a helpful statement, I've found. Of course, if I'd paid more attention to Galatians 6:1, I'd have known that we're supposed to rebuke each other in a spirit of meekness. The reason affixed to that is worth remembering, incidentally - we, too, can be tempted.

So, then, we know and remember that we, too, can fall into sin. And if we're honest, we know the struggle with the old nature all too well (Romans 7, never forgetting Romans 8). So, then, we use that meekness in forbearing with each other in love (Eph. 4:2), showing meekness to all men (Titus 3:2). This has drastic implications for the church - rather than a disjointed group of people who happen to believe some of the same things, but only talk about each other in the context of how annoying everybody else is, we're instead each aware of our own need for God's grace, and we try in turn to show that grace - that meekness - to each other.

Great promises are made to the meek - they'll eat and be satisfied (Psalm 22:26), inherit the earth (Psalm 25:9), be saved by God (Psalm 76:9), be lifted up (Psalm 147:6), be beautified (Psalm 149:4), and have their joy in the Lord increased. (Isa. 29:19 - what a promise!) And all this comes from Christ, who humbled Himself to death for our sins. (Php. 2:8) No wonder we're called to put on the same meekness.

FOTS - Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. - Hebrews 11:1

Faith is one of the cornerstones of the New Testament. Christ commended the faith of the centurion (Math. 8:10), who knew that Jesus only had to say the word and it would be done. In fact, evidence of faith frequently led Him to heal (Mat. 9:22, 9:29); while signs of doubt (a postmodern virtue) in His apostles led them to be rebuked (Mat. 8:26, 14:31). What's especially comforting is that we don't need super-human amounts of faith to get by - just a little bit of faith in an infinite Savior. (Mat. 17:20)

Of course, this faith didn't come free. Christ was set forth as a propitiation - that is, He took our place - on the cross (Rom. 3:25), which is why we boast in Him, not our own powerless works. (Rom. 3:27) Sola fide. (Rom. 3:28) This doesn't mean we're simply content to be saved and moved on, because faith without works is dead. (James 2:17) And by now hopefully we've seen that the fruit of the Spirit has some pretty life-changing consequences for the child of God.

This one faith (Eph. 4:5) impacts our view of the church, too. We anticipate coming to a unity of faith (Eph. 4:13), knowing that right now we're all children of God by faith. (Gal. 3:26) And if sinful children fighting grieves a sinful father, just try to imagine the grace a perfect father would have to show to not only overlook it, but to give up His only Son to die for those sins to bring us peace. (Rom. 5:1) And to further resurrect Him - without that, it'd be pointless. (I Cor. 15:17)

That's a lot, but what are some of the other implications? Hebrews 11 is full of them. It has implications for worship (4, Heb. 10:22), death (5, 36-37), kingdom-building (12), trusting God (17-19), and choosing God over the world (25), to name a few. No wonder we're told to contend for the faith (Jude 1:3) - without being contentious ourselves, of course (I Cor. 11:16).

Of course, none of us will ever have perfect faith as long as we sin. Thankfully, we have a faithful Father (I Cor. 1:9), from whose love nothing can separate us (Romans 8:38-39) Overwhelming to think about, eh?

FOTS - Goodness

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever

This is, perhaps, stating the obvious, but goodness is of the Lord. It fills the earth (Psalm 33:5), leading to the refrain of Psalm 107 - "Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness". Too often, men proclaim their own goodness (Proverbs 20:6a), which is of course usually a lie (Proverbs 20:6b). We tend to boast of our virtues, but how often do we leave those listening wondering what, exactly, we're talking about, seeing as we don't really show any fruits at all?

As Calvinists, we sometimes (excusably) freak out when we see the words "good" and "man" in the same sentence. Doesn't that clash with total depravity? Well, if the Holy Spirit isn't involved, then yes. But Paul had no problem telling the Romans that they were filled with goodness (Rom. 15:14), asserting that we're saved unto good works (Eph. 2:10) (in the middle of a discourse on justification by faith alone, it should be noted), telling Timothy that men and women should be known by their good works (II Timothy 3:17 and I Timothy 2:10), and so on. James, hearkening back to Proverbs, encouraged the wise to show their wisdom out of a good conversation with works (James 3:13). And, of course, Christ encouraged His disciples to let their light shine before men so they could see their good works. (Mat. 5:16) This doesn't change our works not saving us (Eph. 2:9), but it does mean we can look at the goodness of Christ in our fellow believers instead of seeing nothing but sin.

The goodness of God is one of the reasons Paul presents for not judging each other. He asks men who judge if they despise God's goodness (Romans 2:4), reminding them that it's His goodness that keeps them engrafted into Him (Romans 11:22). The covenant is ultimately not of lineage or works (and let us never be so proud as to think we don't at some level practice works-righteousness), but of God's mercy. Something we're called to emulate. One more reason to be thankful for the Spirit, eh?

Fruits of the Spirit: Gentleness

Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy gentleness hath made me great. - II Samuel 22:36

Paul implored the Corinthians invoking the gentleness of Christ, because he He didn't want to have to give them the riot act when he came in person. (II Cor. 10:1-2) Similarly, James told his readers to be gentle and easy to be entreated, declaring it a sign of the wisdom from above. (James 3:17) But what is this gentleness? Matthew Henry's commentary on this verse provides a helpful definition:

It is gentle, not standing upon extreme right in matters of property; not saying nor doing any thing rigorous in points of censure; not being furious about opinions, urging our own beyond their weight nor theirs who oppose us beyond their intention; not being rude and overbearing in conversation, nor harsh and cruel in temper. Gentleness may thus be opposed to all these.

Echoes of I Cor. 13, eh? A couple of interesting points arise here. The first is "easy to be entreated". This calls to mind Christ's discourse on prayer in Luke 11:9-13, where an earthly father who gives to his children is compared to God the Father. If a pure God can give to filthy wretched sinners, surely we can give to each other. This isn't too suggest that we take advantage of each other, of course, but we're also not to hold back when we can help (Proverbs 3:27). Hopefully, the implications for forgiveness are pretty obvious as well. (Luke 17:4)

James contrasts a gentle spirit with a bitter and strife-creating spirit, which is devilish (James 3:14-16). The same contrast is made in Titus 3:2. This means that we in conservative camps need to learn to temper our love of quarrel. Because let's face it, we like to argue. We like to show the world just how tough we really are. At that point, we're no longer Christocentric, but self-centered, proving our own strength. This isn't to say that we don't reprove, but that has to be done a certain way - meekly. (Gal. 6:1) So much for our bluster and swagger, then. And that gentleness has to be shown to all men. (Titus 3:2) Not just the ones we like, the world can do that. (Mat. 5:47) If Christ can show His gentleness to us, surely we can show it to others.

Fruits of the Spirit: Longsuffering

The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation - Number 14:18

Well, we blew it. We were given a paradise and the chance to be in the presence of God every day, more than a good deal, and we thought hey, let's rebel. What a bunch of little snots. We deserve hell, we'd surely give it to anybody who did the same to us. Thankfully, we serve a patient, longsuffering God, who gives us His spirit to impart some of the same longsuffering to us.

Longsuffering impacts our church life. It's an essential part of keeping the unity of the Spirit. (Eph. 4:2-3) Paul lists it in his characteristics of church members. (Col. 3:12) Of course, this is something we all want others to show us - WE have reasons for behaving the way we do, of course - but aren't as quick to extend to others. The parable of the servant forgiven the many talents in helpful here - if Christ can handle our great faults, we should in turn be able to have patience with each other.

In the Old Testament, God's longsuffering is often tied with His mercy. It's also means "slow to anger", something we naturally are not. When we, by the grace of God, become slow to anger, we appease strife instead of feeding it (Proverbs 15:18). Even exhorting each other must be done with longsuffering (2 Tim. 4:2) - sanctification is not instant, something any Christian can attest to.

Thankfully, even though we're generally impatient and untrusting in trials, we serve a faithful God that is not slack in His promises, but longsuffering to us. (2 Pet. 3:9) Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, who suffered long on the cross for us.