The Lusts of the Flesh and the Fruits of the Spirit part b

I ended part one at 5:13 Paul talked about being under the law or under grace. As the chapter proceeds he puts the law of God into one clear sentence and goes on to describe the lusts of the flesh and the fruits of the Spirit. In verse 5:14 he gives us the whole of the law, “you must love your neighbor as yourself.” In verse 15 Paul uses “however” to transition from the law of love to what happens when we do not keep the law of love. “However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.”

Paul describes the works of the flesh as; sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and “similar things”. He adds, “I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” This statement again brings to question salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit within us.

There are those who believe that once we are saved we may continue to do the things we have always done because we are saved by grace. But Paul tells us that “those who do such things”, (Referring to the lusts of the flesh.), will not be saved from God’s wrath. Does this mean we are not under grace but are under the law, NO! Not by any means. We will keep sinning until we are perfected. What Paul is talking about here are those who though they may say they are Christians are not of the faith. Paul in verses 22-23 tells us the fruits of the Spirit, (Holy Spirit) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

I’m reading a great book, The Reformation, A History by Diarmaid MacCulloch in it he describes the back biting and viciousness of the leaders of the reformation. The Roman Catholic Popes and its bishops and cardinals, Calvin, Luther and Zwigli, other reformation leaders all had major character flaws and fought each other tooth and nail over ideology. As a result they consumed each other.  Throughout the Reformation some leaders were some were tortured, others burned at the stake and wars raged all in the name of Christ. Clearly “love thy neighbor as thyself” within the Roman Catholic Church or the Reformation Protestant churches was not considered. Yet in spite of it all God used these men to further the Gospel of Christ and to reform the Roman Catholic Church. Looking at the whole of “Christian” history in the Middle Ages and the Reformation we find it filled with everything but “love thy neighbor as thyself.” However, the true faith has always had a remnant of true believers who did practice what Jesus taught.

There is a divergence between the works of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit.  Though we may start out as new Christians doing the works of the flesh we are to end up doing the fruits of the Spirit. It is interesting that Paul used the term “fruit” to describe the attributes of a Christian and the work of the Holy Spirit within us. A fruit starts as a bud on a tree, and then becomes a flower, then a small unripe fruit, then a fruit ready for picking and enjoying. The fruits of the Spirit grow like that within the Christian, the old things and our love for them diminishes as the fruits of the Spirit grow. It is a natural law that two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Sexual immorality cannot live in the Christian who has self-control, hostilities cannot live in the Christian who has kindness, and murder cannot live in the Christian who has goodness. As the fruits of the Spirit replace the lusts of the flesh the Christian matures and grows. Old things pass away as we “put on Christ.”

However, if no change is being made within and the fruits of the Spirit are not replacing the lusts of the flesh then one should question whether or not he/she is really a Christian. If we keep with the analogy of the fruit we see that as the fruit grows the bud is replaced by the flower which is replaced by the unripe fruit which is replaced by the ripe fruit. Much like the bud is replaced by the flower sin is replaced by the fruits of the Spirit. At first little changes take place as the bud becomes a ripe fruit. At first the changes are hardly visible to the eye.  But if you look in time laps it is a marvelous thing to watch the bud starts to open the first little bits of the flower appears then the flower is in full bloom, bees and other like insects come to feed off the pollen. Then the flower is replaced by a small fruit that grows into a beautiful ripe fruit suitable for eating and nourishing the body.

The fruits of the Spirit grow the same way and as the fruits of the Spirit grow they replace sin. Our friends see a change and may inquire about it or make fun of the changes as they manifest themselves outwardly. I remember when I quit drinking for six months.  My friends couldn't deal with it. It made them nervous so they made fun and questioned my manhood. Others bought me drinks thinking I would drink them if they were bought for me. I didn't, no one tells me when to drink or what to drink. Their insistence made me more resolute than ever to keep to my personal goal of six months of not drinking. I soon realized that my friends were not my friends but fellow sinners who didn't want to be reminded of it. I must say as an aside I was happy when the six months was over! I do love a good bourbon or whiskey but only as long as I am in control of it.

The point is that as we change we become different. Truly, we become different people as the Spirit convicts us of the sin in our lives we are led to replace it with goodness.  Where we use to turn a blind eye to those in need we seek to help them. Where anger was peace reigns. Where depression was there is joy. Why? Because as we grow we realize that God who we are now able to call Abba, Father really cares for us and though we may go through terrible times, we are His and He is ours. We can, like the Apostles, martyrs, and all Christians trust Him to see us through even the most heart wrenching trials. With that peace that passes all understanding.

Paul ends the chapter with a call to live by the Spirit. We are not to be “conceited provoking one another, being jealous of one another.” As followers of Jesus we are to rejoice with those who are successful and not be jealous of the success of others. There is a great tendency today to be jealous and covetous of other people. Someone is successful and we hate them for it. Someone becomes rich and we want to punish them. But God our Father calls us to be happy with what we have and in all things to give thanks. I have often quoted Romans 8:28 “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” Sometimes I forget that each of us has a different calling, yet we are all one in Christ. We must let the Holy Spirit teach us and change us.