Fruitful: More Like Jesus--Less Like Me
Do you ever wonder...
How are we supposed to live a Spirit-led life in our unspiritual world?
With cultural lines between good and evil so blurred, what should our lives look like?
If I'm really a child of God, why do I do the things I do and say the things I say?
What does the Bible say?
The lessons in this study will examine what the Bible says about the attributes and characteristics that should describe every Christian's walk. The purpose of studying these qualities is to allow the Spirit of God to use the Word of God to produce His fruit in you.
Most of Paul's thirteen letters were written to churches he'd established, usually as a response to a crisis or a question. Most of those crises were caused by the misrepresentation of the Gospel by Judaizers-conservative Jewish converts to Christianity who believed fervently that one had to keep the Jewish laws and customs to be a real Christian. These false teachers were spreading a false gospel, convincing new believers that Paul's gospel was insufficient and heretical. Lies rumors, and half-truths traveled faster than facts and the actual truth of the Gospel. Resisters and Saboteurs stayed busy unraveling what had been carefully sewn. Every place Paul shared the Gospel, he encountered troubles from within-from both Jewish and Gentile fellow 'Christians', and troubles from the outside--unsaved locals and pagan religious leaders.
As exhausting and excruciating that was, we can today be thankful for their sacrifice and grateful for the result.
Because of the issues and questions and false teachings, we have the magnificent letters Paul wrote to clarify, correct, and instruct the body of Christ. These letters, rich and powerful, are as applicable today as they were in the first century.
And as a result of his writing, we have Paul's glorious letter to the Galatians. It is most likely his first letter, written early in his mission, to the churches he planted in the region of Galatia. It is raw and real, packed with theology and practicality-what to believe and how to live.
Paul's main argument in Galatians is intended to answer the question that is still pertinent today: How are new Christians supposed to relate to the Jewish law? False teachers claimed that to be 'fully Christian' they had to become like the Jews, specifically in regard to circumcision and dietary laws, what was clean or unclean.
Gentile converts wondered, 'If I'm free in Christ, why can't I still live like I did before I became a Christian?' 'Can't I simply add Jesus to my life and carry on?' Sound familiar?
In Galatians Paul clarifies the true Gospel, defends his apostleship, and explains the believer's freedom in Christ and adoption as a child of God. In chapters 5 he describes what the saved life should look like and what it shouldn't look like. Followers are to "keep in step with the Spirit." Freedom is not a license to sin or to do whatever you want. The proof of one's freedom and faith is living in the Spirit as evidenced by bearing spiritual fruit. You are a new creation. The sign of belonging to God's Kingdom is no longer circumcision, but the evidence of a Spirit-led life-the attributes, attitudes and actions-the Fruit of the Spirit.
This in-depth study focuses on the Fruit of the Spirit versus the Works of the Flesh. Paul's words provide an opportunity for self-examination, comparing our attitudes and actions with both lists in Gal. 5:19-23. My prayer is that God will open your heart and eyes to become more like Jesus each day, loving Him more as you 'keep in step with the Spirit.'
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