|
||
|
Text: Galatians 5:16-6:10
● Christianity is not mere a “philosophy” or “theology” to be developed, but
a person to be rightly recognized and obeyed. Jesus is the word of God made
‘flesh’; the thoughts, dreams, motives and purposes of God being
fleshed-out right here in the world---
right here where all of that is supposed to matter!
● So, apparently, Jesus was either really ‘naïve’ or really convinced of the
potential effectiveness of his strategy: that people would be
lovingly-devoted to God and that such a devotion would radically alter the
way that they were with each other
and that this type of lifestyle would capture the attention and
hearts of those longing for a reason to believe!
● When we come to the writings of the NT, it appears they would have us know
that with the coming of the Spirit to ‘temple in us’, we have a new heart,
with new motivations, new God-ward impulses--- a new way of thinking about
life. So, the Holy Spirit is constantly urging us toward authenticity, being
who we really are--- holy!
● To describe
God as holy is to identify his uniqueness, his ‘Godness’; it
does not indicate that God is ‘distant’ or ‘untouchable’, but is actually
the quality of God which allows him to relate to us in such a way that he’s
not diminished by our ‘mess’ (sin), but that he is actually touched/effected
by it.
To speak of
people as being holy, it
is not to assume some moral perfectionism, but it seems to suggest something
of God impacting their lives which uniquely identifies them (sets them
apart) and causes them to be recognized.
● From what we are able to conclude from the scriptures, holy is what we
“already are”, what we
“are becoming” and
“what we will eventually be”.
I am convinced that the
success one realizes in this process is contingent upon moving toward
holiness (in practice and expression) from a place of holiness. You’ll never
become holy because you acted holy. God doesn’t say,
“Try to be holy as I am holy”---
he wants us simply to allow our present arrangement with him
(accepted/loved) to compel us toward a lifestyle that’s in keeping with who
we really are.
● There is no ‘short-cutting’ this process. Admittedly, many of us are slow
learners. We try to become apprentices of Jesus (learning life from him)
while attempting to maintain control over our lives; we try to find ways of
loving God that doesn’t require that we love our neighbors!
~ If your faith is making both you and God less available and less
attractive to others, your faith is morphing into something which more
resembles lifeless formalism than holiness
[simply, if no one wants to be around you or God…]
● Let’s face it, this idea of ‘holiness’ (being set apart) anticipates that
our lives will be different, distinguishable; not in sectarian or
self-righteous ways, but in beautiful and attractive expressions of people
in pursuit of the Spirit-led life.
But, the problem with
holiness is that it has too often been reduced to ‘appearance’ or
‘conformity to a laundry list of moral codes’ which lets us focus on our
behavior and ignore our hearts. Jesus would never let us get away with that!
● The Bible calls it “self-righteousness”; a sin that’s rarely ever
recognized by the inflicted. This sin is unique to the ‘religious’. This
understanding of holiness is always…
… accommodating & achievable,
because it allows us to set the parameters; we can always adjust the
standards to ensure success,
… polarizing, because it
creates distance; it distances us from God and others,
… deceptive, because it is
always embedded in words and actions that appear godly;
… the perfect cover for
hypocrisy; you never have to be “real”--- you can’t be, because the
‘real you’ is what you’re trying to hide.
● In Galatians 5, Paul is setting the contrasting approaches to life
side-by-side and offering us a vision of what each life produces, possibly
in hopes that the beauty of the Spirit-led life might be more compelling.
Even with the apparent contrast, Paul knows that not even a clear
presentation of the consequences is persuasive enough to cause us to choose
the good [does the threat of punishment always interrupt wrong behavior?]
● The fruit of the Spirit is not to be understood as virtues that if we try
really hard, we’ll begin to produce (i.e. when someone acts in kind ways
toward you, but seems to be struggling to do so, the virtue loses its
appeal). Instead, they are virtues (character qualities of Jesus) which
naturally proceed from a life being motivated and ordered by the Holy
Spirit.
Jesus said that he was “the vine and
we are the branches” and that “if
we remain in him, we will bear fruit” (John 15). It’s just what live,
healthy, connected branches do, without much effort. So, the issue for us is
not the effort to bear fruit, but to remain [“remain in my love…”].
►There is something about fruit [of the Holy Spirit] that overcomes
skepticism and appeals deeply to the human heart.
I’m convinced that many
who followed Jesus or became followers as a result of their interaction with
the early church did so not because they had formulated a concise
doctrine, but because they had been loved.
● What did Jesus anticipate that the world’s response to his followers would
be…
“Wow, that’s quite a
convincing argument”
or
“Wow, look at the way these people
love each other!” [John 13:35] We were to be characterizes as a
people who “love well”.
►As I read the story, I become more convinced that what we lack (which the
early church seemed to possess) is an image of life with Jesus which is big
enough to compel us toward holy living. Creeds and doctrines and orderly ways of explaining our faith are wonderful tools for helping direct our pursuit of God, but in and of themselves, they are not compelling enough to re-order our lives; they must be accompanied by a vision of what such a life would actually look like in practice [i.e. our demands for ‘abstinence’ and ‘fidelity’ without the beautiful expression of a faithful, committed relationship becomes merely rules to be obeyed]. Maybe it’s because there is an absence of distinguishable examples?
►Love is to be our explanation; our way of defending our faith--- genuinely
experienced and embodied love.
Which do you think is more necessary:
honing our skills at pitching the “God-story” or becoming more loving?
Which has had a greater impact on you:
someone who can articulate theological
information or a life which embodies love? Paul said,
“without love, it’s all just noise”
(1 Corinthians 13). ● I understand that when we speak of our conduct as an indicator of our lives, I realize that can be ‘slippery’. We all misbehave now and then and we all flash glimpses of goodness now and then. The occasional expressions are never reliable indicators of a person’s character. Unbelievers will never totally dismiss our faith due to the occasional failure, but they will reject a faith which produces no identifiable likeness to Jesus.
“Don’t look at me, look at Jesus”:
at some point, we must be able to say,
“Follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Cor.11:1)
● I am convinced that our culture wants a
“city on a hill”. Jesus said “it
cannot be hidden”--- it cannot be overlooked or ignored.
Most people know we are buried in a moral and ethical dilemma, and if we are
honest, we all know that relativism doesn’t really work because it lacks a
compelling motivation to be good (besides how your goodness might benefit
you) and is radically self-serving.
● So, as we engage our culture with its conflicting worldviews and pursuits,
let us understand that the most formidable resource we have is
“persuasion” (1 Cor.2:4; 2 Cor.5:11). Literally,
‘having made their friend’, ‘to listen
to’, ‘to bring about a change of mind by influence’.
● The fruit of the Spirit is simply indicators, expressions of what one
might expect their life to look like as it is being transformed [notice,
these virtues address the ways we as Spirit-people are with each other in
the world].
“love”---
heads the list because it is diametrically opposed to the type of
self-gratification which motivates life in the flesh.
“joy’---
the confident expectation that characterizes a community that lives in the
tension of the ‘already and not-yet’. The Spirit is offered to us as a
foretaste of the fulfillment of God’s new world. Therefore, joy
characterizes our being together as those whose experience is not yet
complete. So, we “groan” (Romans 8).
“peace”---
this virtue is always highlighted in circumstances in which there is
disorder and strife. “Christ is our
peace” (Eph.2:14-) and has moved intentionally toward us in order to
restore relationship.
Therefore, the community
of believers is to be identified as those moving toward each other,
eliminating obstacles which prohibit wholeness and inter-personal
reconciliation. We are to be ‘reconciling people’.
“patience”---
the better translation of that word is “forbearance” because it is always
used in the context of our relationships with others, not just in long
check-out lines!
Forbearance is the tolerant expression of love (Romans 2:4) whereas kindness
is the active expression of love. It is the tenacious expression of love
that keeps faithful to the relationships and people which seem to tax us;
those on whom we expend more energy and extend more grace.
“Longsuffering” (KJV) is
the virtue which prevents us from writing people off and too quickly
reacting intolerantly or out of fatigue.
“kindness”---
actively loving and pursuing others; this is not only tolerating people, but
actually finding practical ways to restore and lovingly respond to them.
Kindness is the active expression of love we received from God which
actually caused us to re-think life, re-think God.
“goodness”---
relates specifically to the right kind of life. It is closely tied to
kindness, but it actually celebrates the ‘rightness’ of our actions toward
others. It is good because it is beneficial for others and proceeds from a
God who is ‘good’ [as we “do” the
good we discover it validates our commitment and celebrates the rightness of
our lives].
“faithfulness”---
it’s the quality of consistency. Probably the most often celebrated
character quality of God. There’s a predictability to faithfulness which is
not easily distracted and does not abandon the commitment even during
challenging circumstances. It says, “you can depend on me”; I’ll be here”.
“gentleness”---
in Matthew 11, it’s one of the words used to describe Jesus. The
loving-response to frailty and the fragile condition of others. We are
called to restore others in view of our own limitations and weaknesses. I
would call it ‘tender-strength’, because it recognizes the vulnerability of
the other.
“self-control”--- [don’t you wish this one was optional?] it’s the one virtue that
seems to address the individual. It challenges us to consider our propensity
toward excess and abuse and how it affects both us as individuals and the
community. “there is no law against these things”--- when we are living by the Spirit, our lives will naturally produce the ethical behavior that the Law required. You don’t have to say to people who are loving each other, “Don’t kill”, or to people who are intentionally pursuing the good of another, “Don’t covet”.
The fruit of the Spirit is essentially the evidence of “the Law etched on
the human heart”. ● So, this is the life that’s possible--- this is the life that’s inevitable as we allow the Holy Spirit to shape the character of Christ in us and lead us toward such a life. This is the life that “love produces” (Romans 5--- “God has poured his love into our hearts…”: not just that God loved us, but that we have his love within us to compel us toward the blessed life).
|
