“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws”—Galatians 5:22-23(TLB).
Let’s imagine you were put on trial. You have been “accused” of being a Christian. How would the prosecution prepare their case against you? What evidence could they present to prove your guilt? That’s a pretty sobering thought, isn’t it? Would there be enough evidence to prosecute you for being a follower of Christ?
Recently, as I was preparing for a workshop I was leading on the fruit of the Spirit, I was amazed at the number of times the word “fruit” or “bearing fruit” was mentioned in scripture. Of course, the scripture most think about when they think of fruit is found in Galatians 5:22-23.
As I looked up this well-known scripture in different versions of the Bible, the one resonating with me was the version I found in “The Living Bible.” Look at the beginning of verse 22 above: “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives He will produce this kind of fruit in us.”
Many times, when we read the list of fruit that Paul mentions in Galatians, we feel overwhelmed by the challenge of trying to live out these characteristics. Are we born with the fruit of the Spirit? Nope. It’s only when we surrender to Jesus that His Holy Spirit comes to live inside us, helping us to produce fruit.
To understand Paul’s words to the Galatians, we must also understand the time in which it was written. Paul was warning the Galatians against false teaching in the churches. Jewish Christians still preached the Law of Moses and were teaching Gentile believers they must observe the Jewish law to be Christians.
These “Judaizers” were more concerned with the law than with God’s grace. Paul’s letter emphasizes God’s grace while upholding the call to live a righteous life following the Spirit.
While preparing for the speaking engagement, I also came across several assessments designed to evaluate spiritual fruit. I gave, as well as took, a 63-question inventory at our retreat. The higher your score for each quality, the more likely you are to be demonstrating that quality in your life. Most of the women, including myself, who took the assessment, were surprised by the results. Of course, it does require you to be honest with your answers.
As the day progressed, we talked about other scriptures in the Bible referencing God’s desire for us to be fruity Christians and not religious nuts. In Matthew 12:33-35, Jesus mentions a tree is known by its fruit. For our fruit to be good, our hearts must first be good.
In John 15:4, Jesus says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
Ask yourself, am I a religious nut or am I bearing fruit for His kingdom?