THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT - PART II
The Fruit of the Spirit Part 2 (FOS 2)is the second part of this course. Students should enroll in and complete Part 1 before enrolling in Part 2.
The Missing Fruits
Have you ever had to spend time around someone who was: grumpy, grouchy, impatient, mean, unkind, worried all the time, sad all the time, rude, dirty minded, selfish, stingy, inconsiderate, insensitive, always complaining, cantankerous, argumentative, unreasonable, snobby, greedy, loses their temper often, or smokes like a chimney etc...?
The truth about that person, according to God’s Word, is that person is lost. Whether that person is your spouse, your parent, your child, your best friend, your preacher or the person in the mirror and you’ve just resigned yourself to put up with it or go around with a headache all the time because of it, it is a fact that must be admitted and recognized. Christian and all those words above, just are not synonymous.
Fruit Inspection
Christ said, "...by their fruits you will know them." (Matt.7:20) If the fruits of the Spirit are: "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control" and we know them by their fruits, a simple comparison will tell you that those in the first list are bearing the fruits of somebody other than the Spirit. In the same context, Christ said, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire". He also said that, "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit." (Matt. 7:15-23)
They Just Don’t Mix
So much for the idea that I can just mix the two and get to go to heaven. "I’’ll be kind and loving to everybody, but I am depressed all the time". "I’ll be generous with my giving and that will buy the right to be inconsiderate." "I’ll be very patient and gentle, but I won’t hold to all the teachings of Christ in my beliefs." According to this verse, we have deluded ourselves, if we believe these statements to be true.
Examining The Fruits Of The Spirit
Have you ever given "The Fruits of the Spirit" much thought? In this course, we will explore each of them individually and hopefully examine our hearts more closely, to make sure they are all securely there.