Be Fruity - part 2

As promised here is the next part of what I like to call the "Be Fruity" series. I'm not sure how many parts there will be; I hope several. However, time will tell.: ) Okay, first things first. After reading my initial introduction from the previous post, you have a general overview of each subsequent post. There is so much in this one passage of Scripture that one broad sweep of an explanation just simply will not do. This post I will focus primarily on the first verse.

Galatians 5:16 (ESV), "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

This verse seems incredibly simple, and I believe this essentially has two points for my purpose. The first is in order to "walk by the Spirit" one must first know, and be known by, the Spirit. The second is the command to "walk by the Spirit" in order to live a life worthy of our calling as children of the most High God.

So, number one - in order to "walk by the Spirit" one must first know, and be known by, the Spirit (that is God). I've heard several people claim to know God only to discover later in life that they did not in fact truly know Him, or believe in Him. This is what I mean by also being known by God. One can maybe have a legitimate belief that there is a God without ever accepting it as Truth. If a person thinks that there must be a "higher power" but does not accept Jesus as Lord, that person does not receive eternal life from the Creator. Matthew 7:21-23 says, " 'Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" And then will I declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."' " (ESV) In order to have eternal life, in order for God to "know" you, you must accept that there is only one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Spirit, and that Jesus the Christ is the Son of God. That He did come to the Earth in a miraculous way, live a perfect life, died for our sins, and on the third day rose again to life. You must then confess that you are a sinner, that you need a Savior, and ask Jesus to save you.

That is essentially the only way any of these posts will work in your life. If you do not believe in Christ, you may certainly learn from His word, but it will not save you or give you eternal life.

Now, the second part is the command to "walk by the Spirit" in order to live a life worthy of our calling as children of the most High God. To "walk by the Spirit" is basically to follow His teachings from His word, weighing everything by Scripture and prayer. The fruits of the Spirit are a wonderful guideline to begin with. If all Christians (including myself) lived in this way, the world would be a better place. The verse says that when (not if) we "walk by the Spirit" then "you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." It is a command, not a suggestion.

All of that being said, when we come to know Christ as Lord, we are commanded to live by the Spirit. If we rebel against this command, there is no reason for us to call on God as our Father. Maybe it seems kind of harsh, but for goodness sake, He created us, He provides for us, He offers us eternal life through the horrific death and resurrection of His only Son. I think living by His rules is greatly in our favor! He deserves nothing less.

Why Me? or Be Fruity - part 1

Through all of life's adventures and pitfalls, every human - in my opinion - has a place inside them that desires all the attention, pity, accolades, and self-martyr encouragement. More to the point, I believe that every human has either a tiny or huge desire for the spotlight. Hubby and I were driving today, and as we made our way on the interstate we fell behind a dump truck with the words "Why Me?" stenciled on the back. Our first reaction was to express a confusion over that sentiment's presence on that particular vehicle. Our second reaction was to continue an on-going discussion we've had for many nights lately - the consistent, primary focus on the love and promotion of self above any and all else.

I don't know why, but this past Sunday I began to consider this and the connection with living a holy life. It seems to me that many Christians consider holiness a by-product of Salvation. Granted, Christ begins a good work in us and continues it until the day of completion. But the idea that we automatically conquer former sins, temptations, strongholds without responding to the spiritual battle that does in fact rage around us in a real, practical, and faith-filled way, is slightly ludicrous. Life is not all peaches and cream. Christ promised hardship as well as love, trials as well as joys, tribulations as well as peace. Holiness should be something we strive for with every fiber of our physical and spiritual being. Christ's sacrifice demands it.

With that, I think we, as the body of Christ should re-examine the fruits of the Spirit, not forgetting the fruits of the sinful nature (also referred to as the "flesh"). Galatians is an awesome book of the Bible. Here is Galatians 5:16-26 (ESV):

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. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 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. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is God-breathed, meaning inspired directly by God Himself. I think that could mean also that the way the scriptures are put together is not an accident. I believe Paul mentions the fruit of the flesh first for a reason. That is what is there first. We are born into sinful nature. Once we understand right from wrong, and especially when we come to faith in Jesus as the one true God and the only way to the Father, we are obligated to work out that sinful nature with the Holy Spirit living inside us.

Now, due to this thought, I found myself examining how I live out my faith, and it occurred to me that faith is MEANT to be lived out or acted upon. (Very astute finding, huh? My mom always said I was pretty smart.; ) So if faith is meant to be acted upon, then any time we do not act out our lives in faithfulness, like with the fruits of the Spirit, we could be in fact acting out our lives in the fruit of the sinful nature. In fact, it is very probable that we could be living a sinful life as opposed to a holy life.

So, here is my conclusion ... we should "Be Fruity".

I plan on expounding more on this in the coming weeks, and I would love to see some comments!! I know this one was a little wordy, but I didn't have much time; ) Have a blessed week!