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Location:
6425 Jefferson Rd. For
directions, click here.
Jerry
Varnado,
pastor November
10, 2002 This
is the fifth sermon in our series
on the Fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Now, remember what "fruit"
is. Fruit
is the thing produced by the
inherent energy of a living
organism. It is the visible
expression of power working
inwardly and invisibly. And the
character of the fruit is
evidence of the character of the
power producing it. The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is
Love... The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Joy The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Peace The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Patience The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Kindness
and
Goodness Our
lives is the soil in which the
fruit grows. If you know anything
about gardening, you know that
soil must be cultivated to be
productive. In the same way, we
must cultivate our
lives. Peter
writes about this in 2 Peter,
chapter one. Start at verse
five: For
if you possess these qualities
in increasing measure, they
will keep you from being
ineffective and unproductive
in your knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. To
see the fruit of the Holy Spirit
in our lives, we must do those
things that cultivate its growth
and development. Those
things include studying God's
Word; spending time in personal
prayer; and attending worship.
These are ways we cooperate with
the Spirit of God, so that He can
produce the fruit in
us. Thus
far in this series, we've covered
"love," "joy," "peace," and
"patience." Today, let's talk
about "kindness" and
"goodness." First,
listen to some of the things the
Book of Proverbs says about
kindness. Here's
Proverbs 11:16-17: And
Proverbs 14:21: List
to Proverbs 19:17: And
finally, Proverbs
28:8: If
you look up synonyms for the word
"kind," you'll find these words:
friendly; generous; warm-hearted;
sympathetic; understanding;
humane; considerate; forbearing;
tolerant. But
a look at the original biblical
languages is necessary to fully
understand the biblical meaning.
Even though the New Testament
writers wrote in Greek, their
understanding of Hebrew carried
meaning over to the new
language. The
principal Hebrew word to express
kindness, chesed, bears
the connotation of "a loyal love"
-- and a love which manifests
itself not in emotions but
actions. Chesed
was reciprocal and expected. You
can see what I mean by that in
the story of Rahab, told in
Joshua. Rahab was not an
Israelite, and yet she hid the
Israelite spies when they went a
mission to Jericho. Look
at Joshua 2:12: You
see, Rehab expected kindness in
return for helping the Israelite
spies. Also,
turn to Genesis 40. This is the
story of Joseph. He's locked in
prison and interprets a dream for
Pharoah's cupbearer. Look at
verse 14: Joseph
expected kindness from the
cupbearer in return for
interpreting the
dream. The
understanding that kindness isn't
passive character trait but a
thing showed by action carried
over into the Greek word used to
express kindness:
chrestotes. The root
meaning is usefulness. In
Ephesians
2:7
Paul says the "incomparable
riches" of God's grace are
expressed in his "kindness" to us
in Christ Jesus. Sending Jesus
was an expression of God's
kindness, Paul is saying. Action
was involved. In
Acts
4:9-10,
Peter described the healing of
the lame man at the Temple gate
"an act of kindness." On
the other hand kindness can
sometimes demand inaction. You'll
see what I mean in 2 Timothy
2:24: The
act of quarreling is seen in
Scripture as the opposite, or the
negation, of kindness.
Anyone
can respond with kindness to
those who are kind to them, but
the New Testament raises the
standard considerably. As
Christians we should be kind to
everyone regardless of their
actions toward us. Why?
Because the motivation for
kindness is not what people have
done or will do but rather God's
kindness to us in
Jesus. Let's
look at a couple of verses that
touch on this. First, Ephesians
4:32: Also
1 Corinthians 13:4: Remember,
the first and foundational fruit
of the Holy Spirit is love and
this verse says that love is
"love is kind." One
more verse and we'll move on to
"goodness" -- Colossians
3:12: The
next fruit is
goodness. Listen
to some of the words used in the
dictionary to define goodness:
moral excellence; uprightness;
decency; virtue. I
think all of us would desire
those characteristics in our
lives -- but there is a problem.
We find it alluded to by Jesus in
Mark 10. Someone comes Him and
calls Him "good teacher." And
here's Jesus' reply in verse
18: Is
Jesus saying that He isn't good?
No. That cannot be true. Rather,
He is saying to acknowledge Him
as "good" is actually to
acknowledge Him as
God. Now,
where does that leave us, if no
one is good but God? The Apostle
Paul helps us understand where
this leaves us in his letter to
the Romans. In chapter 7, he
talks about how there is no good
thing in us, and yet by the power
of God in us, we can be good.
This
is a long passage, but it's
necessary to read it all to keep
his argument in context. I'm
going to start at Romans 7:14 and
go through chapter 8, verse
9; As
it is, it is no longer I
myself who do it, but it is
sin living in me. I know that
nothing good lives in me, that
is, in my sinful nature. For I
have the desire to do what is
good, but I cannot carry it
out. For what I do is not the
good I want to do; no, the
evil I do not want to do --
this I keep on doing. Now if I
do what I do not want to do,
it is no longer I who do it,
but it is sin living in me
that does it. So
I find this law at work: When
I want to do good, evil is
right there with me. For in my
inner being I delight in God's
law; but I see another law at
work in the members of my
body, waging war against the
law of my mind and making me a
prisoner of the law of sin at
work within my members.
What
a wretched man I am! Who will
rescue me from this body of
death? Thanks be to God --
through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So
then, I myself in my mind am a
slave to God's law, but in the
sinful nature a slave to the
law of sin. Therefore,
there is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ
Jesus, because through Christ
Jesus the law of the Spirit of
life set me free from the law
of sin and death. For
what the law was powerless to
do in that it was weakened by
the sinful nature, God did by
sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful man to be a
sin offering. And so he
condemned sin in sinful man,
in order that the righteous
requirements of the law might
be fully met in us, who do not
live according to the sinful
nature but according to the
Spirit. Those
who live according to the
sinful nature have their minds
set on what that nature
desires; but those who live in
accordance with the Spirit
have their minds set on what
the Spirit desires. The
mind of sinful man is death,
but the mind controlled by the
Spirit is life and peace; the
sinful mind is hostile to God.
It does not submit to God's
law, nor can it do so. Those
controlled by the sinful
nature cannot please God.
You,
however, are controlled not by
the sinful nature but by the
Spirit, if the Spirit of God
lives in you. And if anyone
does not have the Spirit of
Christ, he does not belong to
Christ. Now,
when Jesus said, "No one is good
but God," He made that statement
to someone who lived during the
period of transition from the Old
Covenant understanding of
righteousness to the New Covenant
understanding of
righteousness. Here's
what I mean. Under the Old
Covenant of the law,
righteousness (goodness) was
dependent upon behavior. Under
the New Covenant in Christ
righteousness is dependent upon
Jesus! And He is good! What
the Bible declares to us is that
when we are justified or saved,
God gives us the goodness of
Jesus Himself. When the Father
looks at us, He sees goodness of
Jesus. But
it gets even better than that.
God begins the process of
actually imparting that goodness,
that righteousness, to us through
the process we call
sanctification. God puts the seed
of goodness in us and then grows
it in us as we submit our lives
to Him. Let
me suggest this as a New Covenant
understanding of what Jesus said
to the rich, young ruler: "No one
is good but God, and those to
whom God gives His
goodness." Or
since we're talking about the
fruit of Holy Spirit, it would be
appropriate to say it this way:
"No one is good but God, and
those who have fruit of His
Spirit growing in
them." I
once heard the late preacher and
writer Jamie
Buckingham
say in a sermon: "As I have grown
older I have to come to
understand that often it is more
important to be kind [-- and
I add "good" -- ] than to be
right." Mr.
Buckingham didn't intend by that
statement to discount the
importance of truth. Knowing the
truth is essential. But he had
come to understand that if have
the truth without kindness -- and
goodness -- we will most likely
become legalistic Pharisees, and
that doesn't serve the goals of
the kingdom. Let
me explain what I mean. If the
truth of God is to have power in
a person's life, it must be
believed and received. Something
can be absolutely true and yet be
of no benefit to a person at all
unless they believe it and act
upon it. Now,
in Matthew 7:24 Jesus, as the
conclusion to the sermon on the
mount said this: And
in John 8:31-32 Jesus
said: What
He is saying is that to release
the liberating power of the
truth, that truth must be put
into practice. In
just a few more weeks, we'll be
celebrating Christmas. What God
did on the first Christmas was to
take the Truth, wrapped it in
swaddling clothes, and put it in
a manager. When
you and I received Jesus as our
Savior and Lord, God took that
same Truth, wrapped in our lives,
and put us in the
world. And
this is where kindness and
goodness come in. God didn't put
the Truth, who is Jesus, in our
lives just for the sole purpose
of our having the Truth. He wants
us give that Truth to the world
-- through our lives. God's Truth
is wrapped in your life and mind
for delivery to the world, to
your neighbor, to your
schoolmate, to your
coworker. And
that's why the fruit of the
Spirit -- the Spirit living in us
-- includes kindness and
goodness. Kindness and goodness
are essential elements in the
wrapper that makes the truth
believable and receivable.
The
fruit of the Spirit is. .
.kindness and
goodness.
Gateway
Church gathers
for worship
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at 10:30 a.m.
(Hwy. 129) in Athens,
Georgia.
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A
GATEWAY SERMON
The
fruit of the Spirit is...
kindness and
goodness
(Fifth
in a series)
Gateway
Church,
Athens GA
(Galatians
5:22-23)
When we talk about the fruit of
the Spirit, it is clear that the
power producing this kind of
fruit is the Holy Spirit Himself.
He does the work. However, there
is still something you and I must
do for the fruit to
grow.
Sermons
in
this
series:
Love
is the
root
and
foundation
for
all
other
fruit
of the
Spirit.
It is
God's
love
that
enables
us to
live
the
Christian
life.
Joy
flows
from
being
in
God's
presence.
By the
Holy
Spirit,
the
Lord's
presence
isn't
just
with
us, it
is
within
us.
The
peace
of God
is
found
in a
particular
place:
the
path
of
God's
will
and
purpose
for
your
life.
We
must
learn
to
wait.
Not
doing
so can
lead
to
disastrous
consequences.
God's
truth
is
"wrapped"
in our
lives
for
delivery
to the
world.
Kindness
and
goodness
are
essential
elements
of the
wrapper.
The
Fruit
of the
Spirit
is...Faithfulness,
Gentleness,
and
Self-Control
Faithfulness
prospers
individuals
and
organizations;
Gentleness
resists
using
power
inappropriately;
Self-control
means
we can
overcome
behavior
that
violates
biblical
standards.
[M]ake
every effort to add to your
faith goodness; and to
goodness, knowledge; and to
knowledge, self-control; and
to self-control, perseverance;
and to perseverance,
godliness; and to godliness,
brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness,
love.
Kindness
definedA
kindhearted woman gains
respect, but ruthless men gain
only wealth. A kind man
benefits himself, but a cruel
man brings trouble on
himself.
He
who despises his neighbor
sins, but blessed is he who is
kind to the needy.
He
who is kind to the poor lends
to the LORD, and he will
reward him for what he has
done.
He
who increases his wealth by
exorbitant interest amasses it
for another, who will be kind
to the poor.
"Now
then, please swear to me by
the LORD that you will show
kindness to my family, because
I have shown kindness to
you."
"[W]hen
all goes well with you,
remember me and show me
kindness; mention me to
Pharaoh and get me out of this
prison."
And
the Lord's servant must not
quarrel; instead, he must be
kind to everyone….
A higher
standardBe
kind and compassionate to one
another, forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave
you.
Love
is patient, love is kind. It
does not envy, it does not
boast, it is not proud.
Therefore,
as God's chosen people, holy
and dearly loved, clothe
yourselves with compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience.
No
good"Why
do you call me good?" Jesus
answered. "No one is good --
except God alone."
We
know that the law is
spiritual; but I am
unspiritual, sold as a slave
to sin. I do not understand
what I do. For what I want to
do I do not do, but what I
hate I do. And if I do what I
do not want to do, I agree
that the law is good.
An
appealing wrapper"Therefore
everyone who hears these words
of mine and puts them into
practice is like the wise man
who built his house on the
rock."
"If
you hold to my teaching, you
are really my disciples. Then
you will know the truth, and
the truth will set you
free."
An
audio tape of this sermon is
available
free of charge (U.S. requests
only).
Request
a tape by calling
or writing the Gateway Church
office.
Please specify tape number
021110a: The Fruit of the
Spirit is...Kindness and
Goodness.
©
2002 Gerald R.
Varnado