Sermon Transcript
Good morning, everybody. All right, we are in the book of Galatians. We are in chapter 5, and today we conclude the fruits of the Spirit.
Now, sometimes, when we see lists, they can make us feel really overwhelmed. Sometimes lists can make us feel like we want to shut down because you go, “Do I really have to do all of this?” Other times, you look at lists and they can be helpful. You look at them and you go, “Oh, this is all I got to do.”
So, as we’ve gone over these lists the last two weeks—the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit— which of these feelings did you get? Did you feel overwhelmed, or did you feel free? Hopefully, you felt free. You see, the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit that Paul has given us were never meant to make us feel overwhelmed. They were merely meant to open our eyes to see whether or not we are yielding ourselves to the power of God’s Holy Spirit that he has put within believers.
When we read through the works of the flesh, it was only meant to help you see if you were yielding yourself to the flesh. And when you read the fruit of the Spirit, it was only meant to make you ask yourself: am I yielding to the power of the Spirit? The truth is, these lists were only meant to help you see which power you are yielding to, because everyone yields to a power—everyone. Both of these lists are symptoms.
Just like the flu: you get the flu, you get symptoms—nausea, maybe vomiting, the other stuff, right? You’re going to sneeze, you’re going to cough, you’re going to get body aches. And these are symptoms of the flu. It’s the same with us. If you walk in the flesh, you get the works of the flesh. If you walk in the Spirit, you start to exemplify God’s person, because you have God the Spirit causing symptoms in your life.
Today, we’re going to finish up these fruits of the Spirit. And with it, we finish our diagnosis process. We finish answering the question: to which power are we yielding ourselves—to the flesh or the Spirit?
So, rise with me, church, as we read Galatians 5:19-24:
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. 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. (Galatians 5:19–24, ESV)
All right, let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, I come to you as a humble servant. In my flesh, I do not have what it takes to beckon your people to see the great mercy and love of God that transforms us into being creatures of God—God-mirroring people. Will you please come today and fill us up with the Holy Spirit? Fill this place up with your Holy Spirit, so that our minds would be catapulted to the heavens, so that we can see the great work of the Lord and how you have made it possible for us to slay the flesh and walk in the Spirit, and for us to exemplify the person of God in our very beings.
Lord, I pray that after today’s sermon we do not go home and turn into little legalists, feeling like we’ve got this whole list of to-dos, a person to become, as though we can make that happen by our own strength. I pray that you stop us from being little legalists. And Lord, make us into people who just submit and yield to the power you make available to us, so that our flesh will no longer control our tongue, our heart, and our mind.
Use us, Lord, for your glory, so that we can go out into the world and make the world new, spreading the kingdom of God and making salvation available to all peoples. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Today’s main point of the sermon, as we finish the fruit of the Spirit, is the same as last week: Modern Christians should assess their spiritual health by examining their own lives up against the fruit of the Spirit here and asking yourself, “Do you genuinely exhibit kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control towards others as we fulfill the Great Commission?”
And then, after we assess this in ourselves and we ask, “How am I doing?” you need to resolve based on the results that you give yourself. We’re not pointing fingers at anybody. This is a self-assessment that God has given us as a tool. And then we’re going to take that, and we’re going to say: Am I yielding to God’s Spirit to make sure that these are blossoming in my life?
What we need is a spiritual “disease” that causes us to exhibit great symptoms—this is a disease you actually want to catch. It is a godly infection that transforms your life and everyone around you. This spiritual transformation makes you walk like Jesus, and that’s what we hope to receive as we examine these last fruit of the Spirit.
Kindness
So, church, turn with me as we look at the first one: the fruit of kindness. Just like last week, remember that all of these fruit—except for the last one—can actually be found as descriptions of God Himself. God is called kind, good, loving, joyful; all the fruit that the Spirit of God produces in us are traits of God. The first one is kindness.
We need to ask: how does Scripture define God as kind? The answer is in your printout. If you’re with us for the first time today, you’ll see inside the bulletin there’s a sheet so you can follow along with the sermon and keep up with the flow of thought.
God is described as kind because He seats us with Christ and includes sinners in His family. This is seen in Ephesians 2:6-7, where Paul writes: “He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (CSB). And folks, He did this for us while we were still sinners and dead in our sin. We were enemies of God—Ephesians 2:1-5 makes that clear.
When it says that He seats us with Him in the heavens, understand that He is talking about placing us next to Him on His throne. We are being redeemed—not just redeemed, not just put in the family of God—but also being called royal. That is kindness. This is a supreme picture of adoption like you have never seen before: the spiritual reality of you, a sinner, being brought into the kingdom of God, placed next to God on His throne, called family, and told that you are royal. There is no story like it on earth. None. That is kindness.
God is also described as kind because He has included us non-Jews into the family of God. This is made clear in Romans 11. There, Paul says that we are not to be arrogant—the non-Jews—towards the Jews who denied Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus came to earth as a Jew through the lineage and family of Abraham.
Well, somewhere around the first century, Jews were kicked out of Rome, and the Roman churches for a short time were only filled with Gentile (non-Jewish) believers. Eventually, the Jews were allowed to return. When they did, the Roman churches experienced conflict because Gentiles had gotten used to doing church their way. When the Jews returned, the Gentiles and Jews fought about how things should be done. Paul had to remind the non-Jews not to be arrogant.
In Romans 11:21, he says: “If God did not spare the natural branches [i.e., the Jews who rejected Christ], he will not spare you either. Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen [i.e., who reject Jesus], but God’s kindness toward you—if you remain in His kindness” (CSB).
So, kindness is seen in the fact that non-Jewish people are invited to belong to the family that Jesus belonged to naturally through Abraham. But this kindness doesn’t just include non-Jews; it’s also an act of kindness for God to bless Jews who believe as well. The fact that God has included sinners in His family at all is an incredible act of kindness.
So then we must ask: how are we to mirror this kindness that God has given us? This is in your printout. We reflect God’s kindness by being kind to others who do not deserve it. It’s easy to love those who love us back, to give money to those we know can pay us back, to buy things for people who give you gifts, to love children when they’re obedient and follow the rules, to love a church that does everything God calls them to do, to love church members who never mess up, and to give all your money to people when you know they’ll applaud and pat you on the back. But can you be kind to those who will give you nothing in return and give you zero acknowledgment? Can you love children who don’t always follow the rules?
We just adopted a dog—happy day! This is the first time we got a puppy and she is so cute, but I have so many punctures on my arm because she is a puppy. If I only loved that dog when she sat when told, she would’ve been out of the house within 30 seconds. Folks, I was gifted this beautiful calfskin Bible—look at that! [Pastor holds up Bible with pages torn out from dog bites.] That’s the love of a puppy right there; that puppy loved me back.
But if I only loved that dog when she was perfect, that would not be showing her the kindness that God has given us. The truth is, we’re all like that dog. We all chew and puncture, spit, throw up, ruin carpets, chew up shoes in God’s house. We all do terrible things by nature. God’s kindness is that He has shown us kindness we don’t deserve; that’s how we mirror that kindness.
You might say, “That is too difficult for me, Josh, I am not like that.” You’re right! You are not like that. Pure and simple—no one is. You might say, “It’s too hard to love my enemies.” You’re absolutely right, because Jesus says, “The flesh is weak, but the Spirit is willing” (Matt. 26:41). That’s why we have to tap into the Spirit of God and yield to Him.
It is even more difficult for you to love people the way God loved you when you forget how He loved you and how awful you are without Him. People who cannot love those who are difficult to love probably think too highly of themselves; they think they’re not as hard on God. The truth is, every one of us is rotten to the core without Jesus and without the Spirit.
So, I ask you: who in your life are you struggling to love and be kind to—who just grates on your nerves? Who is the Lord calling you to show the same kindness Christ showed us?
Goodness
Goodness is the next one. So, how does God exhibit goodness in the Bible? On your printout, you’ll see God reflects goodness because God is the definition of good. If there is no God, there is no definition of good. We don’t call God good because He fits some external definition; we call things good because they reflect and point to God.
When people came to Jesus and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit salvation?” (Mark 10:17), Jesus responded, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” It’s Jesus’ way of saying, “You’re getting it; you just called me good—do you really mean what you’re implying, because only God is good and you’re calling me good?” The reality is, Jesus is right: there is no one good except God alone, which is why Jesus is good.
C.S. Lewis, who wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia), also wrote Mere Christianity. That book made an impact on me when I first became a believer, because it helped me realize it is absolutely impossible—absolutely impossible—to say something is good and remain secular. Being a secular society is a pipe dream; it can’t happen because you cannot make a defense for why something is good or bad when you take God out of the picture.
Now, I’m not saying we need to make America an official Christian nation and have all public school teachers teaching the Bible. Personally, I don’t care for somebody at a secular university teaching my kids the Bible anyway—I’d rather have control over my kids’ spiritual education. What I am saying is, there’s no way on God’s green earth you can legislate what is good if you take God out of the picture. It is 100% impossible, because our definition of goodness comes from who God is.
Listen to this quote from Mere Christianity:
““If the universe is not governed by an absolute goodness, then all our efforts are in the long run hopeless. But if it is, then we are making ourselves enemies to that goodness everyday, and are not likely to do any better tomorrow… God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror; the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemy… Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger—according to the way you react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way”
C.S. Lewis recognizes: if you want good things in the world, you have to understand that goodness flows from God Himself. But that also means you have to recognize He is God. You cannot have good things in this world and reject God at the same time.
So how are we to reflect God’s goodness? The answer is in your printout: we reflect God’s goodness by helping others flourish, particularly our enemies. Do you look at those who grate on you, who annoy you, and genuinely think to yourself, “I want that person to succeed”? Be honest with yourself—think of the person who annoys you the most (maybe it’s me!), and ask: do you genuinely want to see that person glorify God and flourish, to become more successful in life than you are? Do you genuinely desire to see them flourish? That is the definition of goodness. Goodness means you genuinely seek for them to flourish.
This is the opposite of what we see in the works of the flesh. In verses 19-21, we went through all the works of the flesh, and particularly envy and jealousy were on there. These are the works of the flesh that say you get really bothered when the people you don’t like are doing well. But if you are filled with the Spirit of God, the people who spit on you, reject you, and are mean and rude to you—you can even rejoice when they do well, because that’s exactly what God did for you. You spat in His face and rejected Him naturally as sinners, like me, and God rejoices even when we do well.
Faithfulness
Faithfulness. How is God described as faithful? God is faithful, on your printout, because He is dependable. How is He dependable? He is guaranteeing our salvation. This is an attribute of God that guarantees God will consistently be God. God is the source of goodness. The thing we need God to be most dependable about is being God—and this is something we can bank on.
If you grew up in an unstable home—I didn’t, but if you did—you truly understand how important it is for God to be dependable. If you come from a home of brokenness, you probably struggle with always feeling like you’re on shaky ground every time you meet somebody new. Children who come from an unstable home often have an innate struggle with trusting people and can’t figure out how to move on in life. I’m here to tell you that Jesus is the source of your stability and your dependability. He is dependable and will never do you wrong like the people who made your childhood unstable.
In particular, we can trust Him to make sure we will be saved. Romans 3:3 makes this clear—God’s faithfulness means He will keep all His promises. Then, in 1 Corinthians 1:8, it says that God’s faithfulness means He will keep us strong in the faith—you will not fall away from the faith because God is sustaining you. Paul says in the book of Philippians, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (1:6, ESV). You will not fall away from the faith if you are truly of the faith and God truly dwells in you. The only way you will fall away is if you were never truly born again. But people who have God’s Spirit have the God of dependability, trustworthiness, goodness, and love dwelling inside them, holding them until the end.
This means we must reflect the faithfulness of God—the dependability of God. How do we reflect that? On your bulletin or printout: we reflect God’s faithfulness by being dependable for others. When we yield to the Spirit and walk in Him, you become that person others can rely on. Do people currently look at you and say, “I can rely on that person”? If you think of someone in your life who is walking in the faith and is truly godly, I guarantee if you ask yourself, “Is that person dependable?” the answer is almost always yes. Godliness and dependability are inseparable; they’re almost always present together. The person who is godly is dependable. You know they’re dependable because they’re always serving, always working for other people’s good, and always hoping to see others flourish.
So in our diagnostic, our self-assessment, you have to ask: do I live a life that is consistent with God’s dependability? Do people look at me and say, “You are dependable”? If your answer to any of these is “Nope,” there’s still time. And I am grateful there’s still time because we’re all a work in process—including me. The answer is: we yield to God’s Spirit to make that happen.
To be dependable, we must recognize what God is and is not calling us to do. This is important because you cannot be dependable if you keep trying to do things God isn’t calling you to do. You have to know your lane and stick to it. If you keep trying to do things God hasn’t called you to, He isn’t going to equip you for that. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest for your souls. Take my yoke upon you…” His yoke is a picture of an ox—someone putting a yoke around its neck and now you’re working for Jesus. Jesus says if you work for Him—do the work He gives you—then you will have an easy and restful soul. When you do God’s will, it isn’t easy, but there is rest internally. There is a peace that comes with doing God’s work.
But if you keep trying to do things for others that God has not called you to do, you’re not being equipped and therefore will not be dependable. You have to know what God is calling you to do to be consistently dependable for others.
Gentleness
Gentleness. How is God described as gentle? On your printout: God the Son is gentle because He never pulled rank and He takes away our burdens. I just quoted Matthew 11:29: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and lowly in heart.” Jesus is called gentle because He gives us rest for our souls. Zechariah 9:9 says the Messiah who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey would be called gentle, and Matthew says Jesus fulfilled that. Our Messiah is gentle and gives us rest for our souls.
We’re going to see in a second how He never pulled rank. What does it mean for us to reflect God’s gentleness? On the printout: we reflect God’s gentleness by never pulling rank and by lightening other people’s loads. You are gentle by lending a helping hand to those in need. When we are gentle, that means we never grow angry, we’re not rough, not brusque, we don’t rush into anger. The Greek word— πραΰτης (“prautes”)—means you are never prone to anger out of a sense of self-importance. A truly meek person—a gentle person—never says, “I deserve to be treated better.”
And where do we get this from? Is this God? Absolutely. Philippians 2:5-6 says, “Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider His status as God something to claim to His advantage.” You see, Jesus came to earth—He is God in the flesh—and people did not believe in Him. They wanted to kill Him, to crucify Him. All Jesus would have had to do is say, “I am King,” [Pastor snaps his fingers]—and everyone would just drop dead. He could have pulled rank—He absolutely deserved to be treated better—but because He is gentle, He did not. He is patient and loving and kind and good, and He was patient with us sinners. He did not pull rank, and that’s what we are called to do.
Yes, you might deserve to be treated better, but is that preventing you from being humble and gentle toward others? How are you faring in this—are you pointing people to God’s gentleness by your words only, or also by your actions?
Self-Control
The last one is self-control. This is the one fruit of the Spirit that is not explicitly described as an attribute of God, but it’s certainly implied. Why? Because this means you never lose control of your emotions or actions. You’re always in control.
On the printout: we reflect God’s character by having control over our desires, passions, and emotions. Folks, this is the gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to stop all other works of the flesh. Don’t want to envy? Great, God has given you self-control in the Holy Spirit. Don’t want to lust after women or men? Great, God has given you self-control in the Holy Spirit. Want to stop snapping at your kids? Lord, help us! That’s because He has given you self-control in the Holy Spirit.
Want to love sinners in your church? Great, God has given you self-control in the Holy Spirit. Want to do something hard—love your enemies, be there for those who hate, despise, and spit on you? Great, God has given you the Holy Spirit. Maybe you’re a cop dealing with drug addicts who just keep rolling over you—great, God has given you the Holy Spirit to do that, too. God has given us the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit equips us to do everything Jesus does.
[The feed cut out at this point. The remainder is taken from the pastor’s notes.]
The self-control of the Christian looks like the self-control of an Olympic athlete. Paul says:
Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24–27, CSB)
Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:5-8 to always be working to add self-control to our lives, along with goodness, knowledge, endurance, godliness, and brotherly affection, because, “if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Self-Control is the fruit of the Spirit that reverses what we lost in the Garden of Eden. After the fall, we lost the ability to choose good. Why? We became a slave to sin: “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Romans 6:6, ESV). And, “when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness [i.e., unable to choose righteousness]” (Romans 6:20, ESV). By the power of the Holy Spirit, if we yield to it, as believers, we can finally choose to do righteousness.
Conclusion
This is why Paul can say, at the end of his diagnostic lists: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24, ESV) Do you have this freedom? Do you feel that you are fighting and can’t win? If you feel that you do not exhibit the fruit of the Spirit, then please remember that you cannot fix the flesh by the strength of the flesh. The answer to flourish in the Spirit’s fruit is to yield to the Spirit. Submit to his leadership in your life. Repent where you fall short, and let him steer the ship. If you do, you will become a person that is full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.