Fruit of Goodness _ The Nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit (6)
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November 29, 2015 |
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 Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
"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).
The beautiful fruits of the Holy Spirit are not just borne in the heart, but they are certainly to be revealed through good deeds. If you bear the fruit of goodness among the fruit in your heart completely, you will give out the fragrance of Christ. Thus, many souls will come to feel Jesus Christ through you and they can give glory to God. Let's look into this fruit of 'Goodness'.
1. The heart that acts by the truth as the standard
Worldly people discern and judge whether something is good or evil according to their consciences. In the absence of having pangs of conscience, worldly people think they are good and righteous. But, this 'conscience' is different from person to person. It's because the process by which the individual conscience is formed is different from person to person.
However, the conscience that is the standard to discern between good and evil, is based on the foundation of one's nature and this nature depends on the kind of life energy one is born with and the kind of environment in which a person is raised.
Those children who receive good life energy have relatively good natures. Also, people who are raised in a good environment where many good things are seen and heard are likely to form good consciences. On the other hand, if one is born with many evil natures from his parents and comes in contact with many evil things, his nature and conscience are likely to become evil.
For example, children who are taught to be honest will have qualms of conscience when they tell a lie. But those children who are raised among liars will feel it is only natural to lie. As mentioned, consciences become different according to individual, area, and time. Those who think they follow their conscience are merely following what they think is good. However, they are not following an absolute good.
But we who are believers in God have the same standard with which we distinguish between good and evil. We have the Word of God as the standard. Spiritual goodness is to have this truth as our conscience and follow it.
2. The heart that cannot bear it if there is no practice of true goodness
In the spiritual sense goodness is the state of the heart that seeks goodness through the Holy Spirit, which is the goodness of the truth. Since the good man brings out of his good treasure what is good, those who really seek goodness will naturally have intentions in actions that are good so that they can be seen externally. Wherever they go and whomever they meet, they show generosity and love with good words and deeds.
Just like people who have sprayed perfume on themselves will give out its fragrance, those with goodness will give out the fragrance of Christ. But they cannot bear the fruit just because they have a longing to seek goodness. If they heard and learned, they have to cultivate goodness in their hearts and actually practice it.
In Luke chapter 10, we have the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man was beaten and robbed while travelling, and he was half dead. A priest was passing by and saw that he was dying, but the priest just passed by him. A Levite also saw him, but he also just passed by him as well. Priests and Levites were the ones who knew the Word of God and served God. But, they did not show the deed that they were supposed to show when they were supposed to have followed the will of God.
Later, a Samaritan was passing by and saw this man who had been beaten and robbed. This Samaritan covered his wounds and took him to an inn. He asked the inn keeper to take care of him, promising that he would pay the cost on his way back. Because he had goodness, he couldn't just ignore a person who was dying. Even though it meant his loss of time and money, he couldn't just overlook the dying person. If he had passed him by, this Samaritan would probably have had the burden of it on his heart. He might have been troubled over what happened to that man who was injured. Spiritual goodness is being unable to bear it if we do not choose the way of goodness.
3. Jesus' heart of goodness
Matthew 12:19 reads, "He will not quarrel, nor cry out; nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets."
Usually, when we see people who are considered to be good by others, we see a person who doesn't have any troubles or problems with anybody. Just as it says, 'nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets,' they are quiet and they don't quarrel with anybody. They don't speak of other people's faults or shortcomings. They don't try to flaunt themselves or to raise themselves up among others. Even though they suffer unjustly, they do not complain.
Next, verse 20 says, "A battered reed He will not break off, and a smoldering wick He will not put out, until He leads justice to victory."
When we grow a tree or plants, if they have bruised leaves or branches, we will usually cut them off. Also, when a wick is smoldering, the light is not bright, and it gives out fumes and smoke. So, people just extinguish it. But those who have the spiritual goodness will not 'break a bruised reed or put out a smoldering wick'. If there is the slightest bit of chance of recovery, they cannot cut that life off, and they try to open a way of life for others.
Here, the 'bruised reed' refers to those who are filled with sins and evil of this world. The smoldering wick symbolizes those whose hearts are so stained with evil that the light of their soul is about to die out. It is unlikely that these people who are like bruised reeds and smoldering wicks will accept the Lord. Even though they believe in God, their deeds are no different from worldly people. They even speak against the Holy Spirit or stand against God.
At the time of Jesus, there were many who did not believe in Jesus and even though they personally witnessed amazing works of power, they still stood against the works of the Holy Spirit. Yet Jesus looked at them with faith until the end and opened opportunities for them to receive salvation.
Those who have the fruit of goodness will accept these people who let their evil come out. They don't try to distinguish who is right or wrong or who is good or evil and then break them off and discard them. They just treat them in goodness with a truthful heart and eventually they will touch their hearts.
Of course, if the others continue to show increasing evil, they will fall into the way of death even though we show goodness to them. But even in these cases, we will not just set a limit of our endurance and forsake them if they go over that limit. It is spiritual goodness to try to allow them to seek spiritual life without giving up until the end. We will continue to try to offer them chances to receive salvation.
Then, how is this spiritual goodness different from other spiritual characteristics? You may think, 'In the parable of the Good Samaritan, can his acts be described as charitable in mind and merciful?'
Of course, charitableness of heart and mercy all belong within goodness. But the distinctive aspects of spiritual goodness are the desire to follow such goodness and the strength to actually practice it. The focus is not on mercy itself because we can help others out of sympathy. The focus is on the goodness with which the Samaritan couldn't just pass by when he was supposed to have mercy.
When you do the voluntary works for the church, and if you have the fruit of goodness, you will be faithful in not only one thing but also in all aspects. If you neglect any of your duties, there might be somebody who suffers because of it. God's kingdom might not be accomplished as it should be. So you must try to be faithful in all respects. I believe you can apply this principle to all other characters of spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if you bear the fruit of spiritual goodness, you will have the image of the Lord. You will not do anything that can make even a little one stumble. You will have goodness and humbleness on the outside as well. You will be respectable having the form of the Lord, and your behavior and language will all be perfect. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will bear the fruit of spiritual goodness quickly and glorify God greatly!
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