Fruit

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:13-26

We are free IN CHRIST. Our salvation is assured. It is not, however, a license to continue sinning. Our freedom enables us to serve Christ and the Church. Groveling in guilt is not service, and it stands in the way of Christian service. Legalism, with its lists of dos and don’ts is not service, and keeping score just distracts from the true issue, which is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It is about Whose we are, and that is our freedom. We are as He is to the Father.

The Christian life calls for a relaxed mental attitude toward fellow believers. Live and let live. Our brother belongs to God, and answers to God, just as we do. Our objective is to learn and grow together in grace until we reach maturity in the faith, having the mind of Christ. Arguing and judging each other is destructive and obscures our purpose of honorably representing our Lord.

The way to keep things in proper perspective: walk by the Spirit. Each believer in Jesus Christ is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but our personal volition decides whether we allow the Spirit to control, or our old sin nature. When we are yielding, or submitting our will to the Spirit, we are thinking Jesus’ thoughts and our work is divine good. To do that, we must keep our slates clean before God by regular, private,  confession of sin to God the Father (I John 1:9), thereby being filled with the Spirit and equipped to serve. By not doing that, anything we think or do is in the flesh (sarx—carnality--sinful nature). The flesh cannot please God. Even if those works are not considered evil, any good done in carnality is human good and worthless for the kingdom of God. In the Spirit, we are not under the law.

In verses 19-21 Paul lists acts (plural) of the flesh (old sin nature). These are the behaviors and attitudes that sin produces in unregenerate man. They are also produced in carnal believers, who selfishly cater to their fleshly desires. They are acts of rebellion, inconsiderate treatment of fellow man, lasciviousness.  These acts indicate immaturity, hindrance of the Spirit and willing disregard of Bible doctrine. These acts are characteristic of unbelievers, who have no part in the kingdom of God. Is this who we want to be?

No. We want to produce the fruit (singular) of the Spirit. That fruit IS LOVE.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. I Corinthians 13:4-8

The production of the Holy Spirit in the life of a mature believer IS LOVE.

Mature Christian Love is characterized by: joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If one produces love, the modifying characteristics indicate that genuine Christian love. How else can love be known? It is shown by these lovely, appealing traits. It is demonstrated by these relaxed, peaceful attitudes. It is an air of calm and confidence, because of the absolute security of our permanent position IN CHRIST, and the knowledge that our brethren share that position. There is a serenity, an inner happiness in the mature believer who is producing love, which no carnally minded person can know or understand, because it is the production of the Holy Spirit. It cannot be “worked up” or faked, or competed for.

There is no law against true Christian love, for it is the production of God.