Sermon: The Fruit of the Spirit – Faithfulness and Gentleness

We'll turn open to the book of Galatians

as we continue through the fruit of the Spirit.

I think interestingly could have paired together this morning's text in this text together

many similarities. The ideas I think translate back and forth between what we talked about this morning and what we'll focus on tonight.

This morning we're just taking two of elective of whole, of the fruit of the spirit. We're gonna look at faithfulness and gentleness, but let's go back to Galatians five and verse 16 and read through 24 together. This is the holy iner sufficient word of God. I Let me pray before I read. Father, we pray that you would bless the reading and the preaching of this word tonight. You would implant it in our hearts would resonate reading.

And even as we think upon it a little more in depthly tonight through the preaching, become clear to us where it is that we're to be encouraged, where it is that we are to be rebuked where it is that we are to be thankful. Impress your truth upon us we pray Christ's name and Galatians chapter five, verse 16 and following. But I say walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh for the desires of the flesh or against the spirit and the desires

of the spirit or against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the spirit who are not under the law. Now the works of a flesh are evidence, sexual morality and purity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, bits of anger, rivalries, cis divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before,

that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the spirit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control against such things There no law and those who belong to Christ Jesus of crucified the flesh, passion, desires, we live by the spirit that it's also keep in step with The That's not become conceited provoking one another, envy the grass, withers our fades. The word of God is forever God.

Amen.

This evening we tackle two of uh, the last of this list of the fruit of the spirit. We're going to look at faithfulness and gentleness together. It seems pretty normative at least by experience. It seems to me that when someone comes to saving faith, initially coming to saving faith, when they're listening to sermons or when they're in their private devotions and they're reading the word of God, there are different things that that begin to resonate that pop off the page.

And there are certain texts that that just seemed to flood a Christian's early mind. And all of a sudden you realize, ah, that I need to know. I think 10 Commandments usually is one of those give maybe Revelation 20 or 21 or Revelation five. Think about the beatitudes as Jesus preaches them. They're in Matthew five or there are different concepts where you realize Jesus is the good shepherd where he is the alpha and the mega,

the beginning and the end or this through to the spirit. It's one of those that very early in the Christian life you realize this. I'm supposed to know this one seems important. They're all important. This one seems especially important. Need to understand this and know this.

We learn at the very beginning of the Christian life, most of us very early in the first days, weeks, months, maybe you grew up in a Christian home and this was just part of you don't remember not knowing this, that if you were a Christian you were made a temple of the Holy Spirit. God does not dwell in houses made by human hands, but rather he chooses amazingly to take up residence and you and I that he unites us to his son and as we're united to his

son, the spirit of his son has come into our lives and now we are filled with the spirit of God. And so even as we just read, as you are filled with the spirit of God, with the very spirit of Christ, you are to walk and step with the spirit, the temple of the Spirit and as a temple of the Spirit, the spirit gives. And one of the things that he gives is what is pointed out here in Galatians five. He gives this collective fruit of the spirit.

It's a common experience for every Christian. You are given the fruit of the spirit. It's singular fruit of the spirit as has been pointed out in this series. And it's common to all of us. And it's rightfully called the fruit of the spirit because it comes from the spirit.

It's distinct from the spiritual gifts which also are given by the spirit. But those we can have differently. Scott has this gift of the spirit that I do not have. Pat has this gift of the spirit that I do not have. Sarah has this gift of the spirit that I do not have and I have a gift that maybe they do not have, but the fruit of the spirit to be common, the common gift to all of us as he abides in us and the spirit comes into us and he bears these gifts of love and joy

and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. The fruit of the spirit is singular. It is yours.

Now you know that at the beginning of the Christian life, pretty early, what took me about 15 years to figure out in the Christian life is that though this is mine, the fruit of the spirit is given to me. It's, it's a gift that is received that I didn't have to to labor after. In one sense, there's also the truth that I'm to labor after it. It's something that's given that's mine. And yet it's something that I'm to grow in,

something I am to seek after something that I am to continue to sweat, to be conformed to more and more. It's a pursuit. It's a gift and it's a pursuit. So listen, just as examples, lemme just give you one for each. Love is given and yet we are commanded. Love one another, love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. You're commanded. Do it. Seek after it. You are given joy. And yet we are. We are instructed.

Over and over we rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. That's the one that hit me early in the Christian life. But I don't have much joy but it's supposed to be mine. And I'm reading over and over these refrains throughout the New Testament, Rejoice Count all things as joy. You're to pursue it. Peace. Peace is yours. Yet we are told if it is possible on your part, live at peace with all men. Patience we're commanded.

Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness with patience bearing with one another and love goodness Jesus. Admonished, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Faithfulness. Jesus teaches in revelation, be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life. Gentleness. He says, be gentle as doves and wise a servant self-control. Peter says for this very reason,

make every effort to add to your faith goodness and to goodness knowledge and to knowledge self control, gifts that are given. Yet they're to be yearned for a gift you have Received And yet you're to labor For. Both are true, They're pursuits, They mark a person in the spirit and yet they are to more and more mark a person in the spirit, thus keeping in step with the spirit. So we turn to faithfulness and gentleness. Faithfulness

And gentleness. They're yours yet they're to be labors of love for you.

You want to manifest them more and more and that takes effort. I'm gonna look at them tonight. Faithfulness, let's define it first. We think about it together. Faithfulness is being under the controlling principle of desiring to do what is right and doing what is right

is being under the controlling principle of desiring to do what is right and doing what is right. Best definition I can come up with. It's a desire that manifests itself in action. It has the idea of being trustworthy, of being loyal. Now why? Why do we want to do as Christians filled with the spirit? Why should there not only say, ah, this is a gift that's given to me. Why is it that this should be a desire? Why Is this something that you should be chasing after?

Not simply because it's right though that is sufficient reason. It's not the highest reason or the highest motivation. The faithful man or woman desires to do what is right because in faith they want to honor the most faithful one. God Faithful. He's a covenant keeping God. He is loyal.

In Romans three, three, Paul speaks about the faithfulness of God. He uses the same word that's used here in a very related fashion of God. He is the faithful one and you and I are united to him. And as those who are united to him and are to look like him, created in his image, recreated in his image and are walking now in the face of this earth serving us salt and light in this world, you and I are to look faithful like him.

As Peter says of us as Christians, we are stewards. And then he says, as stewards quote, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. We have been entrusted and we've been entrusted with much. And therefore, as those who have been entrusted, we want to be trustworthy with what has been given to us faithful stewards. Remember reading about one of my heroes in church history. Someone said of him this, He Said, no one could know him without perceiving that his own peace

and happiness were bound up with the prosperity of Zion. He lived faithfully. He To live for him, meant to live for the kingdom but even more than the kingdom. For him to live, meant to live for the king of the king Faithfully. Whether You eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

All For him. Faithfulness Is seen each moment, not just a certain day of the week, not just a certain part of the day or even a season of life. But all of life has lived Coram deo before the face of God wanting to be faithful to him as he's Faithful to us.

This is living faithfully. Living Faithfully means living faith filled. They're People of faith. We easily talk about that Jesus Christ is the object of my faith. That we are to have more than a token of faith. We want to be suffused with Faith. We want it to be seeping out of all of our pores. We want it to fill our eyes. We want it to inform our minds. We want it to stir our passions and our desires. We want it to shape all of our motivations.

That everything is shaped by this fact that we are faith filled. It's not just sectioned off, off to a little corner of our mind or our heart, but we want it to. We want to be suffused with it completely taken up in it so that no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in that we're faithful.

We prove ourselves to be faithful.

Consider some examples. We'll do this for each tonight. This is what happens uh, when some of our dear brothers and sisters in Christ in the history of the church, you think, how is it that they could be prodded and they could be pricked and they could be beaten and they could be sewn in, into, and yet they remained faithful to the end. How? How does that happen? Well, they were faith-filled, were filled up in the spirit with the things of Christ

may not be called to a Marty's death. You have been given in Christ

all that you have been given and we have received much and whatever we received Were Used and loyal service to him. And Jesus tells that parable of the talents, that's his aim. Then look, it doesn't matter whether you've been given one or you've been given five or you've given 10, you're to be faithful with what has been given to you.

We're not to be faithful with what we don't have, but with what we do have you too often excuse ourselves, it's only I had a wife or extra time or if only the Lord will fill my bank account a little more. He is faithful in a little will be faithful in much. We are not the determine deter. We are not the determiners of our lot in life, but we are the determiners of how we use our lot in life. And we want to do that faithfully.

And that actually takes effort. It takes effort where you and I are upon our knees and we're looking to him independence and we're saying, oh Lord Jesus, I need an increase in faith and I I need your strength and I need your grace. 'cause I was not faithful yesterday and I was not faithful earlier today and I was not faithful last night. It means that we are continually setting our eyes upon him as much as we are able that we are encouraging one another to do the same.

You and I are to be faith filled, faithful today. I often tell fellow pastors that a mentoring that are struggling to some degree they're struggling with maybe the size of their congregation or they have just had three families lead their congregation. And I say the same thing over and over. I've said it two dozen times to different pastors. Say, look, if you're preaching to three people, you have enough to be responsible for before the throne of God.

Whatever it is he's given you. Whatever it is, it's enough to be responsible for before the throne of God. Whatever resources, whatever gifts, whatever friends, whatever family,

whatever your lot is in life. It's enough. Be responsible for before the throne of God. We want to be faithful in what he has given to us and to return it to him as a the thank offering. Worthy

faithfulness does not wait for tomorrow, doesn't wait for a sunny day. It doesn't wait for a dream to be realized. There are no circumstances in which you place a truly faithful person then they will not to a greater or lesser degree glorify God.

Remember the end of the parable of the talents. Jesus tells like many of you, Those Are the words I want to hear more than anything else. Uh, different words you want to hear in life, you want to hear I do or you want to hear that, that promotion or you want to hear that having a child or you want to hear that someone is safe. I'm worrying about these are the words that I want to hear beyond anything else

well done. My good and faithful servant,

not perfect servant. You're not gonna get there

faithful as you're able to be faithful. And When you're not, you repent and you ask for forgiveness and then you set out again to walk and step with the spirit. It's a walk. I love how Eugene Peterson used to say it. He said It's long obedience in the same direction. Listen, there are gonna be times you're out to step with the spirit and you're not faithful. That happens to the very best of Christians. The very best Christian in this room gets out of step with the spirit.

You find yourself outta step, then you drop your knees, you ask for forgiveness, you confess and you ask for help and you seek to be in step again. He is an incredibly gracious God. Incredibly Kind. He Is long suffering. He's Not looking to catch you out of step. He Knows when you're outta step. He says, my grace is sufficient for you when you're out of step. Now try and get in step again.

Of course the great motto is, Jesus Is Faithful to the very end. He was the greatest man of faith that has ever walked and ever will walk the face of this earth. And do you know what he did? He depended upon the spirit, the same spirit that He gifts to you and I. But we even have a better, he intercedes for us at the right end of the Father, that you and I would stay in step and that you and I would be faithful in what he has called us to

despite everything that he faced. Not the temptation of Satan, not the rejection of men, not the abandonment of disciples, not the beatings of soldiers, not across could turn him from remaining faithful to God.

And We want to be like him.

That's All sanctification is. I've said it to you over and over. I'm gonna keep saying it to you over and over. It's just becoming more and more like the one we love. He is the faithful man of God. And we just want to look more like this one. We love the one should one or faithful second. Gentleness. Gentleness I love or non-Christian. Aristotle defined gentleness of course was a Greek using the same Greek word. And he said,

gentleness is this. He said, it's a mean between excessive proneness to anger and incapacity for anger

like that a mean between excessive proneness to anger and incapacity for anger. Gentleness, I think unfortunately has been pigeonholed by some as a feminine virtue in our day. It is not a feminine virtue. It's a Christian virtue.

I'm not sure when, but it seems in recent years that gentleness has begun to be frowned upon among men and sometimes even among women in our culture. And being a gentleman is still, it is still a good and it is still a right thing. And frankly along for the day when it's celebrated again, when you and I are seeking to be gentle men and gentle women, that should be part of our pursuit as a Christian.

It's not easy to be marked by gentleness. It takes incredible strength. Strength to be gentle. Some of the strongest people that I know are the gentlest people I know. Again, it takes strength to be gentle. One does not need to use invective or insult or loudness or bullying or demeaning or threat or harshness to convey or to convince. They don't need that. And that requires strength.

Gentleness is closely related to self-control that follows. A gentle person is a person in control of themselves. They are not, as he goes on to say here, ruled by their passion. Passion does not control them

by the spirit. They are in control of themselves. And that's why Aristotle's definition is so helpful. Gentleness is a mean between excessive proneness to anger and incapacity for anger. It doesn't matter if you don't have a capacity for anger, if you'll never get angry, if there's nothing in you ever to be stirred in anger, then there really isn't a gentleness. You're not in control of anything but what Aristotle is pointing out

and Greek thought he's saying, look, it's a mean between the proneness to excessive anger and and incapacity for anger being in control.

So anger doesn't flare up. The word for gentle biblically is the same Root word has the same root word as meek. A meek person is a gentle person. Remember that when Jesus speaks and the sermon on the mount and the beatitudes, he says, that shall be the meek who inherit the earth, the meek. It's easier to recognize and articulate. So again, I just wanna consider some examples. Moses in the scriptures is set up as the great example of

meekness. Of gentleness. And it's in the midst of a trial when all the nation of Israel is speaking against him. When Miriam, his sister will join in when Aaron, his brother will join in and they are mocking him and they're ridiculing him and they're spewing hatred towards him. And then we read now the man Moses was very meek, more than all the people who were on the face of the earth. Why? Why are we told that he was meek? That's because of what he said to Joshua.

He told Joshua, he said, do not be jealous for my sake. He was gentle. I think about Abigail in the scriptures. She comes to mind when I think about gentleness. It's tied together with wisdom with her where she will meet David as he is coming down. She's got a fool of a husband. Na ball fool. He's a fool. And she's just wise and gentle in the way that she interacts with David. And then she is gentle as she interacts with that fool of a husband,

that she has the meekness

and the moment. Mother Moses nor Abigail, though her entire life and everything that she had was threatened and the moment they were not consumed with anger, there was no invective. It is not a lack of backbone that Moses has or that Abigail has. It isn't a lack of courage, meekness nor gentleness. Gentleness is laying down as a doormat for people to walk on. Rather it is a godly graciousness, informed by true knowledge of ourselves before God that manifests

itself in gracious actions and attitudes towards others. My definition

gentleness.

The godly graciousness informed by true knowledge of ourselves before God that manifests itself in gracious actions and attitudes towards Others.

I've been reading a lot over the last couple of years, uh, of old Princeton, uh, Princeton Theological Seminary when it was a bastion of orthodoxy. Some of the greatest minds and intellects and hearts of the church and even the country taught at old Princeton. And I've been reading all kinds of original autographs and biographies and sermons and memorial addresses when these different professors would pass away. And what has struck me over and over is how they were spoken of

these men, Archibald Alexander and Samuel Miller and Charles Hodge and BV Warfield and Moffitt and AA Hodge. And on week ago, How Often when people spoke about them, they spoke about them as gentlemen.

I'm not sure gentleman became an insult

instead of compliment. But whenever that happened, that was a sad day.

We want to help bring it back.

When man said of Samuel Miller, the second professor Princeton, one of the first ideas suggested by the mention of his name in any company where he was personally known as that of a Christian gentleman, he saw no reason why piety should be divorced from politeness then. I love this. He possessed the happy art of making religion appear lovely even to those who had never learned to love it. Gentlemen, that does that.

In one memorial about the very first professor at Princeton Archibald Alexander the preacher said at their memorial he was not a man whom circumstances made, he made the circumstances.

He had a rich experience of the grace of God. And this gave balance and impulse to all his powers. Gentlemen, charge of his passion. He did not allow his passion to rule him.

Others did not receive his anger and wrath and hatred. It was held in check like a, a lion that was chained.

It does not mean these men refuse to fight or as we talked about this morning, contend for the truth. They were some of the staunchest defenders of orthodoxy in their day. Truly great preservers and great purveyors of truth. But they always did so with gentlemen. When biographer of Samuel Miller said this, he said, Dr. Miller's natural gentleness of spirit and love of peace disinclined him to controversy. But his clear and comprehensive mind,

his freedom from prejudice and love of the truth imminently qualified him for it. So we engaged in it. He was a man that didn't shy from entering controversies when they needed to be entered into, but he did so as a gentleman

even when engaged and rigorous theological controversy. He brought what one memorial is said at his funeral, a gentlemanly bearing. So much so that this man that was memorializing him at his funeral remembered one avid opponent of miller's in a theological debut dispute said of him on the floor. As he was disputing him, he said he could not but regard him with the highest respect. He disagreed with him about everything. And yet he said, I respect you

'cause he was a gentleman,

especially partic uh, address the men in this room.

'cause there are different voices in our evangelical world that are saying differently right now.

It is manly to be gentle.

Say that again. It is manly. To be gentle

is godly manliness.

Jason, I don't know if I believe you. All right, let's think about this together. We think about the fruit of the spirit. As we said, they are most exampled, not just in Moses, not in Abigail, but in Jesus.

Jesus is the man perfectly walking and step with the spirit

that's exemplified to him and him. And what did he say? Know it. Come to me all you who are weary and heavy late and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Or I am gentle, lowly and heart.

Learn from me. Learn what? Gentle, lowly and heart.

He's the best of men. Gentle

Christian life is becoming more like the one we love and part of the reason we love him so much. Gentleness, does that mean he isn't strong? No. Does that mean he isn't courageous? No. Does that mean he doesn't speak truth? No. Gentle.

A few quick applications, faithfulness,

stop looking for more.

Be faithful of what you have.

Whatever is on your plate, whatever circumstances you find yourself, you were to use what you have, where you have for the glory of God, whatever stage of life, whatever your resources, whatever your gifts, whatever your spouse, whatever your kids, whatever your friends, whatever your job you seek to be faithful in it. Say, ah, but I sure would like to serve the Lord with this. Or I sure would like to serve the Lord in this room.

Be faithful in what he has given you. Enough

faithful and little. Be faithful in much Think, think often. Meditate upon God's faith. We depend upon it. We absolutely depend upon it. That he is a covenant keeping God. That he is faithful to his promises, that he is faithful to who he is. That he is going to be faithful in his forgiveness, that he's going to be faithful in his love. So you keep reminding yourself of this over and over and over. He is the faithful God.

Steadfast love covenant faithfulness.

And I want to be like him. Gentleness.

Think about each person you encounter being in the image of God. That helps.

But that's often a little too abstract for you and I. So this is what I want you to do. Think about each person that you meet

and treat them as you want. Your husband, wife, kids, mom, father treated. Not how you treat them

because sometimes we mess up,

but how you want others to treat them.

See, we get pretty exercise, don't we? When those that we most love are treated harshly, meanly, savagely by others, unkindly. If every person you interact with, you're thinking, I'm going to treat them as I want my wife, my child, my mom, my father to be treated. That'll change how you treat people

A Lot more gentle. We all would be.

This is silly, practical, but it works. I've often told people over the years that I'm counseling that are dealing with anger and passion. They know it. It just raises up in them. Often you can see it on their face. There's twitching or there's eyes bulging outta her head. It's just, it's there and it just, it just comes. It just spews out of the mouth. This crazy practical. But I just say, listen, this is what I want you to do.

When you're starting to feel that anger rise before you say anything, just swallow silly. Incredibly practical. Those two seconds of swallowing just allow you to think this who I want to be in Christ I in step with the spirit. Do I really wanna unleash this right now? Think about that. Next time you're in it with your spouse house, that kid has just pressed that button again where that roommate is left the dishes dirty again.

That with the spirit

Lord and our God is again, he repeats it over and over about himself and it's what we love. He is slow to anger and abounding. Instead

be like him. Say, but didn't Jesus go through the temple and drive them out in anger with a whip? Yes he did. You're not Jesus.

His passions never ruled him. Now there's a place for righteous anger. You and I are to have righteous anger and there is time that we are to an be angry and do not sin as the apostle said. But frankly, if you and I look back over our lives, most of the time we're angry. 99% of the time we're angry. This isn't righteous anger

because we didn't get what we desired or we were insulted or we felt cheated or we felt slighted or we didn't like how that turned out. It infringed too much upon our space, what we are comfortable with, what we like. That's why it came in. That's passion.

Lean into being gentle and I promise that when you need to be angry for the sake of Christ, he'll give it to you and exercise it. Finally, I want you to think back. Think back on those whom have most positively influenced you. Almost without a doubt they did so gently

and think about your own past and your greatest regrets. It is almost never ever because you were too gentle, but often because you were too hard.

He's faithful. He's gentle, calls us to be faithful and gentle marks our savior and that's to mark us increasingly so let's pray together.

Lord and our God, we are thankful.

You are a God who is slowed to anger and steadfast in love.

You are a God who is faithful to those covenant promises, steadfast in love. You are a God who is gentle.

You are slow slowing.

We're thankful that though we are often outta step with the spirit, you are so very gentle with us. And though we are often not faithful, that you are so faithful to us. We pray that in Christ filled with the spirit, that we would just come to look more and more like the Savior, that we love your praise unto your glory. One day we shall see him as he is and we shall be made like him. And we long for that day. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Come quickly.

Amen.