The Fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

In the passage above, Paul talked about the fruit of the Spirit. He listed several characteristics that would be included in this category. Those traits are what the fruit of the Spirit looks like.

He described this as fruit for a reason. Fruit is what grows on a tree or plant of some sort. It does not grow independently; instead, it is a natural product of the life of the plant. In the same way, these characteristics do not spring up independently in our lives; they are the natural product of the Spirit’s influence on our lives. This influence will affect our conduct as we “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) and will impact our decisions as we are “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18).Continue Reading

Add Self-Control (Season 12, Episode 5)

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Add Self-Control (Season 12, Episode 5)

In this season, we’re discussing Peter’s admonition to add to your faith (2 Peter 1:5-11).

One of the qualities are are to add to our faith is self-control. In this episode, we discuss what this is, what it looks like with and without faith, and how we go about adding it to our faith.

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Willing to Forgive

Forgiveness

Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).

When Jesus taught His disciples about the need to forgive those who had sinned against them, they said, “Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). They recognized that it is not always easy to forgive, especially when others habitually or consistently sin against us – either “seven times a day” (Luke 17:4) or even “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22).

However, as the Lord’s disciples, we must be willing to forgive others as the Lord has forgiven us. Paul wrote, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).

We are to be willing to forgive, but what does this willingness to forgive look like?Continue Reading

Elders in Every Church (Part 3): Character Qualifications for Elders #2

Elders in Every Church (Part 3): Character Qualifications for Elders #2

In the previous lesson we noticed several of the character qualifications for elders. This lesson will discuss those that remain which are found in the following passage in Paul’s letter to Titus:

For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self- controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:7-9).

There are several character qualifications given in these verses. A few of these were discussed in the previous lesson. Let us consider the ones that we have not discussed already.
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Paul’s Message to Felix

Paul before Felix

After Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, he was taken to Caesarea where he had the chance to speak with Felix the governor. The apostle used this opportunity not to plead with the governor to release him, but to deliver a message from the gospel that Felix needed to hear.

But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his wife who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you’” (Acts 24:24-25).

The points that Paul discussed with Felix are necessary for all of us today. Let us briefly consider them:
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The Root of the Problem (Part 16): Lack of Self-Control

The Root of the Problem: Why We Sin & How We Can Overcome

It is easy to look at our society today and conclude that self-control is an old-fashioned virtue. If we desire something, we should go get it. If something feels good, do it. This is the message that our culture is preaching to us. But regardless of the prevailing mindset of society, the Scriptures teach us that we must exercise self-control.
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Six Things Pornography Users Do Not Want

XXX key

Pornography is a huge problem in our society. Many Christians have even fallen prey to it despite Jesus’ plain warning:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:27-29).

Many believe pornography is harmless (or they simply refuse to admit to understanding how destructive it is). But Jesus said that lusting after someone is so destructive that one ought to be willing to go to extreme measures to remove the opportunity to lust. This is the primary problem with pornography – lust.

However, one can be guilty of lust without ever viewing pornography. While it is true that sin is committed anytime one lusts after someone, pornography is particularly dangerous. There are reasons why people choose to feed their lust in this way. It is because there are certain things that pornography users do not want. We will notice six of these in this article.
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