Song of the Drunkards

JESUS FACED A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF OPPOSITION FOR HIS HARD WORDS AND UNFLINCHING DEVOTION TO YAHWEH. NO SURPRISE THEN IF WE FIND OUR NAME FESTOONED IN BARROOM BALLADS (CF. PS 69:12).

The Fruit of Gentleness

September 9, 2012 in Bible - NT - Galatians, Holy Spirit, Meditations

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Today we come to the fruit of the Spirit identified by Paul as gentleness. It “is the character that will show calmness, personal care, tenderness and the Love of Christ in meeting the needs of others.” It is the opposite of roughness and violence, endeavoring to force others to comply with one’s own wishes.

Since gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit, it is quite obviously a characteristic of God Himself. Jesus assures us, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus is gentle and displays this gentleness throughout his earthly ministry.

Following in the footsteps of our Master, we are to be gentle in our dealings with believer and unbeliever alike. Paul writes to the Thessalonians that when he and his companions were among them, they did not “seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” Paul’s love for the Thessalonians moved him to treat them with gentleness.

This same gentleness is to shape not only our conduct toward our fellow believers but to unbelievers as well. Paul writes to Timothy, “A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth…” God has treated us gently, not holding our sin over us but forgiving us freely in Christ. So we are to be gentle in turn.

Often, however, like Moses we grow angry and frustrated with others and fail to treat them with gentleness. When God told Moses to speak to the rock and provide water for the people, Moses was too consumed with anger to follow the Lord’s will. Instead of speaking to the rock he spoke to the people in anger, rebuking and chastising them. Then he struck the rock and water gushed forth – but Moses lost the privilege of leading the people of Israel into the promised land.

So how are we doing with those who make demands of us, irritate us, frustrate us, annoy us, and disappoint us? Are we showing gentleness, reflecting the character of Christ, or have we been rough and violent. I fear that it is often the latter – so let us kneel and confess our sins to the Lord.

We will have a time of silent confession following which I will pray on behalf of the congregation.


Our God and Father,

You have been gentle with us – showered your grace upon us time and again despite our sin and rebellion. But we have been harsh – unforgiving to our friends and enemies, cruel to those who have harmed us, short with those who have irritated us. So too our culture. Forgive us for the sake of Christ and restore us into the image of a perfected humanity, full of gentleness and restrain. For the glory of Christ our Lord,

Amen.

The Fruit of Faithfulness

August 19, 2012 in Bible - NT - Galatians, Holy Spirit, Meditations

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Today in our discussion of the fruits of the Spirit we touch on the fruit of faithfulness. Faithfulness is defined by Webster either as “the quality of being true and constant in affection or allegiance; loyalty” or as “the quality of being firm in adherence to promises, oaths, or undertakings; firm and thorough in the observance of duty; conscientiousness.” As the Spirit of God works in us He teaches us to be more like God and Yahweh, the Triune God, is faithful – He is loyal and conscientious.

Jeremiah reminds us in Lamentations, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” God’s loyalty to His people has revealed itself time and again. Despite our fathers’ unfaithfulness in the wilderness, God was faithful and brought them into the promised land. Despite the unfaithfulness of Solomon, God remembered His covenant with David and faithfully fulfilled it by sending Jesus as King of kings. Despite the unfaithfulness of the late medieval church hierarchy, God raised up men like Luther and Calvin to recover the truths of Scripture and free God’s people from the bondage of superstition. Despite all men’s unfaithfulness in departing from the living God and serving other gods, God sent His Son to die for us and rescue us from the folly and death of idolatry. God is faithful.

And so, because by grace we have been united to this God and because we become more and more like that which we worship, it is this type of character that the Spirit of God is creating within us – faithfulness, loyalty, conscientiousness. When I make a promise, I fulfill it. When I swear an oath, I uphold it. When I have a duty, I perform it. This is the meaning of faithfulness.

And note that faithfulness manifests itself particularly in the face of the faithlessness, the sin and pettiness, of others. Faithfulness only reveals itself in the context of trials and hardships that make such faithfulness meaningful. I’ve made a promise and it’s hard to fulfill it – do I break my word or do I prove faithful? I’ve made a covenant and that woman/man is just so difficult to love – do I break my oath or do I prove faithful? I’ve got a duty but fulfilling it will demand sacrifice and hardship – do I neglect my duty or do I prove faithful? Mark Dever writes in his book What is a Healthy Church?

You and I cannot demonstrate love or joy or peace or patience or kindness [or faithfulness] sitting all by ourselves on an island. No, we demonstrate it when the people we have committed to loving give us good reasons not to love them, but we do anyway. Do you see it? It’s right there – right in the midst of a group of sinners who have committed to loving one another – that the gospel is displayed. The church gives a visual presentation of the gospel when we forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us, when we commit to one another as Christ has committed to us, and when we lay down our lives for one another as Christ laid down his life for us…

So this is the fruit that Paul places before us today: faithfulness. And reminded how often we and our broader culture fail to be faithful, let us kneel and confess our sins to the Lord.

The Fruit of Goodness

August 12, 2012 in Bible - NT - Galatians, Holy Spirit, Meditations

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Our opening Scripture today reminded us that God is good and manifests that goodness toward those who trust in Him. He protects us from harm, preserves us from the plots of men, and shields us from the malicious tongues of those who hate us. Because Christ is risen and reigns at God’s right hand, because He has been appointed by God to judge all men, no evil plots, no crafty schemes, no lying tongues will ultimately prevail. God is on our side and God is good.

And one of the things that God’s Spirit fosters in us as we place our trust in Him is this same goodness – the fruit of the Spirit is goodness, a goodness that looks out for the interests of others more than our own interest. Paul writes that we are not to return evil for evil or insult for insult; instead we are to overcome evil with good and give a blessing instead. In the knowledge that God promises to protect us, shield us, guard us and raise us to new life with Christ, we can face the threats and plots of man with confidence and strength; we can overcome evil with good for the good God is on our side.

So what does goodness look like? Goodness looks a lot like love – it suffers long and is kind; it does not envy; it does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. It does not grow bitter, does not wish others harm – but delights as God sends His blessings and prospers. It does not revel in filth, does not gossip, does not slander, does not envy the prosperity of others. Rather goodness rejoices that against all expectations God has had mercy on us in Christ, has rescued us from sin and death, and has promised to work all things together for the good of those who love Him.

And so reminded that we serve a good God, a God who has promised to work all things together for our good, let us kneel and confess that we have often failed to imitate Him and be good ourselves.