|
|
||
|
|
|||
Normally, when a Bible study includes the phrase “the fruit of,” it is followed by the word “Spirit.” That is, after all, from a very commonly quoted passage in one of Paul’s letters. In fact, it is relevant to today’s study, so we ought to make note of what those verses say.
In contrast to the works of the flesh, Paul writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.” (Gal 5:22, 23)
We have pointed out in previous studies that the word “fruit” is singular. The Scriptures do not tell us that there are various fruits of the Spirit, so that they may be developed, or not, individually. In Christ, one cannot excel at joy, and need more gentleness. In Him, one cannot be lacking in temperance, but full of love. That is not the legitimate, sanctified experience, and the reason is that these are not attributes on which we work. The body may have different strengths. Your arms may be strong but your legs weak, and by exercise you can build muscle to increase your strength. That is not the way of the Spirit. Development here is by faith, not by work; therefore, all that we gain of spiritual things, we gain by receiving it from a greater source. In this case, we receive the fruit of the Spirit from the perfect Source, Christ Himself.
In addition, we do not gain “more” of these things over time. To the perception of those on the outside, it may appear that way. As we become more sanctified, it may appear that we are gaining more love, and gentleness, and joy. But this is just the appearance – literally. They are “appearing” more frequently, and to a greater degree. This is a subtle, but important distinction. When we are born again, we receive the fullness of Christ, our Savior. We receive His life, un-borrowed, un-derived, and complete, in ourselves, even in this sinful flesh. We learn more and more, over time, to reveal these gifts, but we have them fully at the moment of the new birth. Specifically, when we are born again, we receive all the love that Christ possesses. When we are born again, we receive all the joy that Christ possesses. This may take a little time, but I really want to say it for all of them individually… we need to hear this, and truly take it to heart.
When we are born again, we receive all the peace that Christ possesses. This is a promise fulfilled, a promise to remember in times of trouble and sorrow. When we are born again, we receive all the longsuffering, all the patience, that Christ possesses. When we are born again, we receive all the gentleness that Christ possesses. When we are born again, we receive all the goodness that Christ possesses – and that is a very powerful testimony. When we are born again, the moment we are born again, we receive all the faith that Christ possesses. Isn’t that in the list? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness… faith. We read in Revelation 14:12 that we, who overcome the Beast and his image, testify of the “Faith of Jesus,” the “Faith of Yahshua.” Well we have it, already and in full, the instant we give our lives to Yahweh and receive His Son into our hearts. What an encouraging and uplifting thought!
When we are born again, we receive all the meekness that Christ possesses. It is not proud to give thanks that one has been made teachable. Moses declared that he had received meekness. Yahshua said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Mat 11:29) When a saint, one who has that very testimony of Yahshua the Messiah, says something similar, we know the almost inevitable response: “You can’t say that! What about Luke 18:9-14?”
Let’s read what passage before we return to complete our list, and I’ve been meaning to give a little commentary on these verses for some weeks now: “And [Yahshua] spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others, ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” “‘And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto Heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.’” (Luke 18:9-14)
So, what is a Seventh-day Adventist to do? We are told in the Bible that we are the righteousness of God in Christ. I cite this verse a lot, for it is one of the most powerful in the Bible: “For He [the Father] hath made Him [the Son] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Cor 5:21) That is the ultimate victory over every trial, over every temptation, over every snare of Satan. Those who believe that promise, those who live in that promise as the air that they breathe… the grave has no power over them. They will not die. They will be translated into glorified bodies without experiencing death.
The Bible tells us that Christ’s testimony was this: “And He that sent Me is with Me; the Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.” (John 8:29) All the saints say this, because they have received the fullness of Yahshua in their hearts. What He said, we say, except for claims to His uniquely divine nature. But what He did, we do… and greater things than those, because He has gone to the Father and rains down His Spirit upon us. What He could only do in one place in His flesh, He now does in many places, because Christ is in us, His people, as the promise and the reality of His glory.
And that is really they key to understanding the difference between the testimony of the Pharisee, as recorded in Luke 18, and the testimony of Jesus, which the saints declare. They sound very, very much alike, don’t they? And no wonder, because Satan himself appears as an angel of light. The words are very similar, but the difference in intent, the difference in spirit, makes them entirely opposing principles.
The Pharisee was among “certain [men] which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.” The righteousness of the Pharisee was a false righteousness, because he trusted in himself. The result of that self-generated righteousness was the contempt of others. The righteousness of Christ originates with the Father, and results in love for others. The righteousness of Christ makes us the servants of others, because Yahweh loves them, and will only send them faithful servants. The saint says, not, “I am righteous,” but rather, “Christ is righteous, and Christ dwells in me.”
The actions may be the same, and the testimony very similar, but the meaning behind them is very different. When the believer says, “I have gained the victory, I have overcome the flesh,” it is not because “I fast twice in the week,” and “I give tithes of all that I possess.” No, righteousness is by faith, not by works; therefore, “I have gained the victory, because Christ won it for me, and I have gratefully accepted it through faith.” I am humbled, rather than exalted, by the righteousness of Yahweh. I am thankful, rather than entitled to praise, because I do always those things that please my Father. It is a joyful observation, that I have been cleansed of unrighteousness, not a boast before the on-looking universe.
A man who was filthy and falls into a river may arise and marvel, “Oh, look, I am clean!” It is not a boast, it is an expression of joyful wonder. It is in just the same way that a Creation Seventh Day Adventist, and anyone who shares the Faith of Yahshua, says, “I have ceased from sin!” It is not, like the Pharisee, a beating of the chest in pride. It is a falling to the knees in gratitude, because we know that we could never accomplish that on our own merit, nor could we maintain such a state on our own for a moment. It is Christ in us that has accomplished it, and Christ in us that sustains it… not because our bodies, our flesh, has been made holy, but because within this defective and awkward vessel dwells a Holy Spirit, abiding still therein, and made compatible with our earthly lives, only by the power and grace of our Father.
The publican, who could not even lift his eyes to Heaven, that is every one of us who feels the weight of his sin, and acknowledges that he is worthy of death. But it is with joy that we read the judgment of Christ: “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.” He did not stand on that mountain forever, lamenting his lack of forgiveness, and his lack of justification. His prayer was answered. Our prayer is answered. We believe that this is so. We know that this is so. We rejoice that this is so. And, we are not liars before God and men; therefore, we testify that this is so. We do not dishonor our Savior by declaring His work to be insufficient, or incomplete. He has made us what we have become… and as we heard from Sister J. last week, even dirt may be precious, if that dirt has been touched by the Savior. We are “precious dust.”
One more, to finish Paul’s list: When we are born again, we receive all the temperance, all the self-control, that Christ possesses. Nothing is impossible for us in Christ. What He instructs, His Word gives us the power to accomplish. We control ourselves, we decide… that is really what temperance is, after all: the power to decide. Those who say, “We cannot cease from sin,” they are rejecting the fruit of the Spirit. They are saying, “We do not have self-control. We do not have the power to decide to overcome temptation.”
But in this they are calling Paul, and by extension Yahshua, and by direct extension Yahweh, a liar, because we are told by Their inspiration that we have the very self-control of Christ. The flesh cannot overcome sin, but the Spirit commits us to the choice to overcome sin… and I do not mean “this” one sin and “that” individual sin, but “Sin” itself, the very principle of evil that results in sinful actions of the flesh. Christ’s love has killed sin in our hearts, and in our spirits; therefore, we do not fulfill the works of the flesh. If this has not been your experience, trust it, believe it, declare it openly, and you will see the miracle of your faith being matched with an answer from Heaven. Those who live in this hope experience it. Those who doubt it, and let their past experiences dictate their futures cannot have it… but we have the self-control of Christ, the deciding power of Christ. We choose it; those who fellowship in the Spirit have chosen it. Amen.
So then, if the Fruit of the Spirit is so wonderful, why are we studying the Fruit of the Law?
It is because we have the responsibility, the sometimes difficult responsibility, of explaining the role of the Law in the testimony of Yahshua the Messiah.
The Bible says, “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the Law.” (1Cor 15:56) And again, “For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” (Rom 10:4)
That sounds pretty negative, doesn’t it? At its best, the Law is useless, because it is Christ, and not the Law, that is our righteousness. At its worst, that Law gives strength to sin, which results in death. Why would anyone want anything to do with the Law?
You know, the first place in the Bible that the word “Law” is mentioned in relation to the Law of Yahweh is Exodus 12:49: “One Law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.”
The last place in the Bible that the word “Law” is mentioned is, surprisingly, not in the Book of Revelation. It’s actually in 1 John: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the Law; for sin is the transgression of the Law.” (1John 3:4)
So, the first place a reference to Yahweh’s Law appears, it is to tell us that it applies to everyone, whether an Israelite, or a “sojourner,” a Gentile. The last place it appears, John is using it to define sin – the transgression of the Law, literally a state of “lawlessness” that violates the principles to be observed by both Jews and Gentiles.
This makes the Law a pretty important concept, and Paul agrees: “But we know that the Law is good, if a man use it lawfully; [legitimately, for its intended purpose; and most people stop here, but we need to keep reading] knowing this, that the Law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” (1Tim 1:8-11)
That last part is very important… the Law is not made to teach sinners righteousness before, or contrary to, the Gospel, but “according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God.”
It is good news, it is the proper use of the Law, to teach us what sin is. Sin did not pass away from the world at the Cross. We still have plenty of murders, and whoremongers, and liars… who need to know the Father’s testimony, that these things are contrary to righteousness. Guilt for sin comes from knowing that God’s Law has been transgressed; that is why the Law is the strength of sin, and why the sting of sin is death. Yes. Good. Let it be the sting of death to us. Let us, like Paul, acknowledge our guilt, and our worthiness of death, so that we come to Christ for forgiveness, for resurrection, for a new life, His life, to replace the old and ruined one. It is the Law that does that, that brings us to recognition, to the point of death, and beyond, into “life after death.” It is real, it is right now, and it is the life that everyone who is born again experiences even as we await our Savior’s return.
The Fruit of the Law is death. But just like the Fruit of the Spirit, it is a good thing; it is a part of the Gospel. We see the Law, and we see that our lives before Christ have not measured up. We are weighed in the balances of the Sanctuary, and we are found wanting. Do we ignore this? Do we run from it, and pretend that our works, and our righteousness, can somehow, eventually, over many years, gradually make us more worthy of God’s love? Absolutely not! “God forbid.”
Instead, let the Law kill you, if you are not yet dead to self. If you have not experienced, and testified to the universe of, victory over every known sin in your life, there is good news for you. The Law reveals to you your true condition. The Law reveals the certain doom for which you are destined. The only way out is through. Be crucified with Christ, so that, well, Paul wrote of this very eloquently: “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)
Righteousness does not come by the Law. Death comes by the Law. But that is not something to fear, or to flee. Nominal Christians read that “Death cometh by the Law,” and they say, “Oh, then we must avoid the Law.” No… If you avoid the Law you will die in your sins, in your transgression of that Law. But if you acknowledge the Law, and its power, then you will also die… but you will die TO your sins instead, and you will be raised back to life by the power of your Father and your Savior.
In receiving the Gospel, we fulfill the Law, not only in obeying it, although that is a proper interpretation of the idea, but also in fulfilling its purpose, to reveal the death of sinners, and to reveal the need for the life of Christ in us, our only hope of glory. As it is written, we are free from the Law by the Law, by submitting to its unchanging authority, “that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom 8:4)
The Fruit of the Law is death, the death of sin and sinners. That is good. It is the death of the “old man” that we are before and without Christ. It is the death of all that is contrary to love, and it leaves behind a vessel, a hopeful vessel that dared to ask for salvation. It is a vessel that our Father gladly and completely fills, so that, having experienced the Fruit of the Law, we may now, with a life made complete, experience the Fruit of The Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,” so that, as it is written, we are “made the righteousness of God in [Christ].” Believe that promise. Never be ashamed to testify of the faith that is within you, through the grace of Yahshua the Messiah, our Lord.
David.