August 3, 2021 FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Philippians 1:9-12, 27 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; so that whether I come to see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.”
We choose the life we live; we choose our beliefs, our thoughts, our attitudes, our actions and our view of life (our world view). The obviously all important factor is the source of our motivation for life. In reality, we are motivated by one of only two things-the desire for self-fulfillment or the desire to know God and to live according to His ways; we live either according to the kingdom of this world, or the kingdom of God. It was Paul’s prayer that believers would be filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ. We are admonished in the verses above to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; the implication is that we have a part to play in determining the life we live; another implication is that we can chose not to live worthy of the gospel. For example, if I react to someone out of anger, I am at that moment not living worthy of the gospel; if I respond with gentleness and love, then I am living worthy of the gospel. I know that these are very simple and basic examples, but they do reveal the importance of how we conduct ourselves. The good news is that if we belong to God, then we have been transferred to His kingdom and have been made righteous; and because we have been made righteous, we can live righteously in this present world. When we live worthy of the gospel, our love for each other abounds and increases; we grow in real knowledge and discernment; we approve the things that are excellent; and we will be found blameless when He comes. On a practical note, living such a life is such a better life-a life free of regrets, dissension, selfishness, and all manner of things that rob us of the life that God has for us. Living righteously bears good fruit. To live worthy of the gospel does not just happen automatically; there is a ‘standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the gospel.’ We need to be connected with others where we encourage one another in the things of the Lord, and there is a sense where we ‘strive for the faith of the gospel’ as we say no to our flesh and to the things that are not of the Lord, and yes to the things that are pleasing to the Lord and worthy of the gospel. May we abound in the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
Ephesians 5:8-10 “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consist in all goodness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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