The Fruits of the Spirit – 3

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Walking in the Spirit means bearing fruits of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit are clearly spelled out in the above scripture and it will be pertinent for us to study each fruit vis-a-vis their antonyms so we may have a better understanding. This is the final part of a three-part study series on the fruit of the spirit.

Goodness

Goodness is the act of doing good deeds. Good deeds are countless. It is worthy of note that our salvation was not dependent on the good things we did. However, no man can claim to be born again without doing good deeds. You cannot claim to be born again if you shut your bowels of mercy to a suffering brother when you are well able to bring him out of such suffering,

Proverbs 24:12-13  12.If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?  13.My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste

The opposite of good is bad, a bad man only think of how to harm his neighbour, how things should not go well with his neighbour, how the neighbour should remain in penury, how to deprive the neighbour of any good thing that accrues to him. If you find yourself doing any of these things then know for sure that you are not a good man. Because a good man does not only do good to others but also think good thoughts towards others.

Faithfulness

The bible says that it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. A faithful man is the desire of every woman; a faithful worker is the desire of every boss; a faithful servant is the desire of every master; a faithful child is the desire of every father; a faithful minister is the desire of God.

The opposite of faithfulness is unfaithfulness; and unfaithfulness in whatever form is evil, whether it be marital unfaithfulness, unfaithfulness at your work place, unfaithfulness to your master, unfaithfulness to God. Without faithfulness a man may not be able to serve God effectively, because God cannot trust such a man as to commit heavenly things to him. Therefore, anyone led by the Spirit of God must be found faithful.

Gentleness

A child of God is a gentle man, not a weakling. Jesus Christ was gentle but never a weakling. He was accused of having a demon, he did not rain abuses on his accusers, and neither did he fight them. His good deeds were spoken against by the Pharisees yet he would not stop moving on. Nevertheless, when they were selling at the temple, he did not hesitate to drive them out. His gentleness was not weakness. Our Lord wasn’t a rough man; therefore we cannot afford to be rough people. Our Lord wasn’t a man that causes confusion therefore we shouldn’t be people that cause confusion. For God is not an author of confusion. This also implies that God does not support rebellion; therefore a gentle man cannot be a rebel, because rebellion only brings confusion.

Self Control / Discipline

Discipline, self discipline, forced discipline are various terms used to denote regimented actions by individuals. Whether it is self discipline or forced discipline, God requires his children to be discipline. Don’t go is don t go, sit down is sit down, pray is pray. It takes discipline for you to obey God and pray when He is asking you to pray, whether it is 2am. It takes discipline to decide to study the word when others are in a party. It takes discipline for one to restrict himself to the places he visits. It takes discipline to fast, and it takes discipline not to eat everything you come across. It takes discipline to behold a half naked lady and not to continue looking. Indiscipline is a fruit of the flesh, for example, it is fleshly lust that will make a man see a half naked woman and continue to fix his gaze at such. But a disciplined Child of God will call himself to order though his flesh longs to see the sight again. Therefore, discipline is bedrock for every child of God.

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