Fruits of a true Christian – (this is an excerpt from an article written for 'Tomorrow's World Magazine')
For the true Christian, God becomes the centre of everything. The genuine Christian is really God-centred. He will want to please God in all his thoughts and actions. He will constantly remember that God is his Father and that Jesus is his Savior. Therefore he will not be looking for clever trick arguments to "get around" keeping God's commandments or His inspired Holy Days.
Rather, he will "feed" on Christ by constantly studying and drinking in the inspired World of God, the Bible (cf. John 6:56-57). He will learn the habit of seeking God in earnest prayer as Jesus did (Mark 1:35). In all of this, he will learn to "walk with God" – to have his thoughts and actions more in tune with God and Christ every day of his Christian life.
A genuine Christian will also be led by God's Spirit to "love his neighbour as himself." He will strive, with God's help and guidance, to be kind, loving and giving. The real Christian will seek to live by Christ's instruction: "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
A genuine follower of Jesus will strive to be a "giver", to help, serve, encourage and lift up his fellow human beings. He will put his whole heart into helping to give God's precious Truth to others. As Daniel wrote: "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever" (Daniel 12:3).
In his own life and personality, the Christian will, more an more, manifest the spiritual "fruit" that Paul described: "but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).
Through Christ's Spirit living within him, the true Christian will demonstrate love, a sincere, out flowing concern for all men – and warmth and affection for all those around him. The true Christian will always have a deep and abiding love for God and for Christ, his Savior. He will appreciate forever the fact that Jesus Christ came down to Earth to suffer, to shed His blood and to die in order to reconcile us with God. So the genuine Christian will have an everlasting feeling of love and loyalty to Jesus Christ!
Furthermore, true Christians will experience inward joy and peace, which are priceless. As the Apostle Paul wrote: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). All Christians will grow in the spirit of kindness, longsuffering, goodness and gentleness and that above passage describes.
Another vital fruit is faith, the spiritual strength to trust in God and demonstrate commitment to that trust in every area of life. As King David was inspired to state: "But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favour You will surround him as a shield" (Psalm 5:11-12).
The final fruit of the Spirit is self-control, the spiritual strength to master one's sins and lusts in order to obey God. Again, if you truly surrender your heart, mind and will to God, accept Jesus Christ and are baptised in His name, you are promised the power of the Holy Spirit give you this kind of strength and self-control.
Through God's Spirit, He gives us the power to obey His commandments. And our obedience shows that we have that Spirit.
We shouldn't expect perfection in our lives, on the contrary, we should expect trials in our lives which will help us grow. We have already learned that we are to grow in grace and in knowledge, so these will be applied to our lives. The true Christian life is on of overcoming and growing to become more like Jesus Christ, even in our innermost thoughts and desires.
But for true Christians, the magnificent future makes all the trials, tests and "growing pains" more than with it (cf. Romans 8:18 ).
JI
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For the true Christian, God becomes the centre of everything. The genuine Christian is really God-centred. He will want to please God in all his thoughts and actions. He will constantly remember that God is his Father and that Jesus is his Savior. Therefore he will not be looking for clever trick arguments to "get around" keeping God's commandments or His inspired Holy Days.
Rather, he will "feed" on Christ by constantly studying and drinking in the inspired World of God, the Bible (cf. John 6:56-57). He will learn the habit of seeking God in earnest prayer as Jesus did (Mark 1:35). In all of this, he will learn to "walk with God" – to have his thoughts and actions more in tune with God and Christ every day of his Christian life.
A genuine Christian will also be led by God's Spirit to "love his neighbour as himself." He will strive, with God's help and guidance, to be kind, loving and giving. The real Christian will seek to live by Christ's instruction: "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
A genuine follower of Jesus will strive to be a "giver", to help, serve, encourage and lift up his fellow human beings. He will put his whole heart into helping to give God's precious Truth to others. As Daniel wrote: "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever" (Daniel 12:3).
In his own life and personality, the Christian will, more an more, manifest the spiritual "fruit" that Paul described: "but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).
Through Christ's Spirit living within him, the true Christian will demonstrate love, a sincere, out flowing concern for all men – and warmth and affection for all those around him. The true Christian will always have a deep and abiding love for God and for Christ, his Savior. He will appreciate forever the fact that Jesus Christ came down to Earth to suffer, to shed His blood and to die in order to reconcile us with God. So the genuine Christian will have an everlasting feeling of love and loyalty to Jesus Christ!
Furthermore, true Christians will experience inward joy and peace, which are priceless. As the Apostle Paul wrote: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). All Christians will grow in the spirit of kindness, longsuffering, goodness and gentleness and that above passage describes.
Another vital fruit is faith, the spiritual strength to trust in God and demonstrate commitment to that trust in every area of life. As King David was inspired to state: "But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; let those who love Your name be joyful in You. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favour You will surround him as a shield" (Psalm 5:11-12).
The final fruit of the Spirit is self-control, the spiritual strength to master one's sins and lusts in order to obey God. Again, if you truly surrender your heart, mind and will to God, accept Jesus Christ and are baptised in His name, you are promised the power of the Holy Spirit give you this kind of strength and self-control.
Through God's Spirit, He gives us the power to obey His commandments. And our obedience shows that we have that Spirit.
We shouldn't expect perfection in our lives, on the contrary, we should expect trials in our lives which will help us grow. We have already learned that we are to grow in grace and in knowledge, so these will be applied to our lives. The true Christian life is on of overcoming and growing to become more like Jesus Christ, even in our innermost thoughts and desires.
But for true Christians, the magnificent future makes all the trials, tests and "growing pains" more than with it (cf. Romans 8:18 ).
JI
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