for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth,(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)(for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
5 sermons cite this verse
… So walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. John Lennon used to say, life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. Well, I guess Paul is saying that God's will is what happens when you're busy bearing fruit. So look at the soil right around you. These are the days. Let's bear some fruit and we will discover God's will along the way. Now, one last thing before we dismiss, and it's this. 2 Peter 3, 9 says, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Beloved, if you are headed to hell today, you are out of the will of God, because he's not willing that any should perish. He does not want you to die in your sins. And that's why Jesus died for you on the cross. But you can't very well walk with Christ if you haven't first received him. …
… in step with the Holy Spirit? He says, well, others are going to notice. But better than that, others are going to be better off. So here's what he says. He says, the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is, and then he lists them. But I don't need to show you the list. because you already know what would be on this list. The fruit of the Spirit is exactly what you hope your spouse is. The fruit of the Spirit is exactly what you hope your fiance or boyfriend or girlfriend will strive to be. If you're not a Christian, or you walked away from faith, and maybe you're thinking about coming back, or somebody forced you to watch this, if you're not a Christian, here's the thing. I don't know you, but I would imagine the fruit of the Spirit is actually what you strive to be. And like me, you fail occasionally or often. Just a quick list. This isn't the full list. …
… For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them. For it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light. For everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you. Now the text compares light and darkness, obviously. There are essentially two commands. One is a positive command in verse 8, Walk as children of light. The second is a negative command in verse 11, do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness. So darkness and light are set against each other. Now the context for this, as you well know, began in chapter 4 as we began to look at the practical instruction of the Spirit of God through the Apostle Paul for living the Christian life, for walking through the world in a way that honors the Lord. And we have talked about walking worthy. We have talked about walking in unity. We have talked about walking in purity, walking in integrity, last time walking in love, and now we have come to walking in light, Just another way to perceive the life of the believer. …
… If those things are part of your life, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Verse 9 says this, the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth. And there you have it again. If the light has dawned on you, if gospel truth has come to you, if you have been regenerated, You are marked by goodness and righteousness and truth. You, verse 8, were formerly darkness, now you are light. That's stark transformation. You were dead, you were alive. You were darkness, you were light. You were ignorant, you know the truth. This is the work of salvation. Now we understand that that transformation redefines our mind, our heart, our behavior, our conversation, everything about us. It doesn't mean we're perfect, we're not yet perfect, but we are transformed so that we have new affections, new intentions, new motivations. Our speech changes, our attitudes change, our behavior changes, our relationship changes. The focus of our life moves from the worship of self to the worship of the true God. …
… We have the Spirit of God on the inside of us who will enable us. Listen, the Bible says the fruit of the Spirit is vengeance, hostility, anger, bitterness. It doesn't say anything of the sort. The Bible says the fruit of the Spirit, that is the Holy Spirit who lives within us, the fruit of the Spirit is love and joy. And listen to this, peace and goodness and self-control. These are the fruits of the Spirit. Now, it doesn't say the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, and gentleness and self-control and patience. And patience, unless, except, if, and but. Doesn't say any of that. It just says the fruit of the Spirit. Does that mean that I can love people only when I'm loved? I can have peace only when the situation is created. For example, God says, my peace I give unto you, not as the world gives unto you. Let not your heart be troubled. Unless, except, and if, and but. No, because you see, if someone else could control my life, you know what that means? …