Sunday, May 18, 1997 In Your Absence:
This week's lesson came from Galatians 5:16-26 and focused on how we should allow the Holy Spirit to develop His distinctive qualities of character in our life. First, we saw that we should be resisting many of the sinful desires which overtake us and that we should be turning from our sins. Second, we saw that we should be learning how to demonstrate some spiritual qualities in our life and that we should be bearing spiritual fruit as we strive to stay in step with the Holy Spirit. These aspects of Christian living are important! They not only honor and glorify our Lord, but they also show to others what we are and what we have in Christ. We live in a world where many are hurting and most are searching. We need to be all that we can be for Christ so that those who do not know Him can come to know Him through us. May we never be a stumbling block to someone who needs the Lord!
In the church at Galatia, those who had professed Christ were biting and tearing at one another. Was that because they were not really Christians, or was it because they had not truly surrendered their all to the Lord? Actually, either could have been true. A person who does not know the Lord as personal Savior cannot live a spiritual life, and such a person needs to figuratively go to Calvary and meet our Savior. However, a person who already knows Christ can also say and do things which hurt others and bring down the work of the Lord. In writing this letter to that church, the Apostle Paul was trying to teach Christians how they should be behaving, and his teachings also apply to us. Christian living is a growing process. We begin as spiritual babes, and as we learn and mature spiritually, we should become more Christ-like. We should literally be growing into little "Christs." Are you more like Christ today than when you first got saved? If you are truly in Him and He in you, then the answer should be yes.
In verses nineteen through twenty-one, Paul names some specific sins and associates them with how we should live. Is he trying to suggest that we do not sin? Certainly not! The Greek word, "live," in this passage actually means "practice." We are not to "practice" adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, and all the other sinful behaviors that he goes on to list. Instead, we should show evidences of the indwelling Holy Spirit by "practicing" an attitude of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. In a world where there is much hurt, sadness, and suffering, it is as we learn to demonstrate these positive traits of the Lord that others will be able to see Christ in us. It will be then that they will be able to find in us that for which they are searching. Always remember that you have the ability to be an instrument in the Lord's service, and even more so as you learn to de-emphasize yourself more and more and to emphasize Him more and more. May you always be faithful to that ministry or those ministeries to which you have been called. Please make it your goal to serve Him as you go through this week, and be sure to tell others what the Lord has done for you. Thank you, and I hope to see you in class soon.
Tom of Spotswood"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)
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