"Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."

In Hebrews 12:16, God uses an analogy to sum up pornography and other sexual sins. (The word fornicator comes from the Greek word "πόρνος", pronounced "pórnos") What's odd about the analogy is the fact that he doesn't use an inanimate object to make his point, but rather a person.

Nowhere in the story of Esau is there even a hint that he had a problem with sexual immorality... because he didn't. Yet, he may as well have been a porn star. Hebrews 12:16 takes Esau's desperation for a stupid bowl of beans and today's nonchalant attitude towards sex, and brings us to this very serious perspective:

That we cannot be so consumed by our sexual appetites that we are too quick and willing to satisfy our urges in exchange for this awesome and most precious new birth.

ROMANS 7:1-3

Romans 7 begins by using a very simple truth to make a very complicated point. "Til death do us part" is widely understood to mean that the marriage is bound together until one or the other dies. At that point, the remaining spouse is free to marry someone else. The explanation goes on to say that it is the law that binds them together until death.

ROMANS 7:4-6

Then Paul uses that same simple point to make a slightly deeper point: that we who have received Christ have died and are no longer bound to the law- just like in the first example. Christ, who was raised from the dead, and we, who were physically baptized (symbolic death and resurrection) and are spiritually raised from the dead, have been joined together like a marriage. However, there is no longer a death that can "do us part." Thus, we have been freed from the law.

But what about those who have not received Christ?

ROMANS 4:15

"Where there is no law, there is no sin."

Satan is extremely smart. He knows that a person cannot be expected to keep a law that does not exist. And where there is no law, there is no "crime." So then, if he can make sin lawful, then he can eliminate the law and make people accept sin as righteous. Satan knows that in order to keep people away from God, he must make them sinful without it appearing to be the case.

ISAIAH 59:2

"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.."

If they do not die spiritually, then they are bound to the law of sin and death.

The fruit of the Spirit is a gift from God, not the result of human effort. No man by trying could ever produce the fruit of the Spirit; that is why it is called the fruit of the SPIRIT, not the fruit of MAN.

In Galatians 5:17 Paul points out that the flesh and Spirit are contrary to one another and everyone is led by either one or the other. The evidence of those who are led by the flesh is listed in verses 19-21. The evidence of those who are led by the Spirit is listed in verses 22-23. Many people mistakenly refer to this second list in the plural: the “fruits” of the Spirit, but that is incorrect. The fruit or evidence that a person lives a life that is led by the Spirit is the fact that their life shows love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. This is not the result of human effort, struggling to live according to the requirements of the law or the demands of the flesh. Instead, it is the natural condition of a life guided by the Spirit. It is a direct result of fellowship and communication with God.

We won’t deal with all of the characteristics listed, but we will focus on three and show how they effect and interact with the other six. Next time.

We'll begin our examination of spiritual Christian evidence with the fruit of “Gentleness.” Gentleness is from the Greek, "chrestotes," and is similar, but not identical, to “goodness.” Some Bible translators translate it as “kindness,” but that doesn’t fully explain what Paul is going after in Galatians 5:22. Chrestotes actually goes further than goodness and deeper than kindness. It is not simply goodness as a quality; it is goodness in action, expressing itself in deeds: grace, tenderness, and compassion based on a foundation of righteousness. A person can exhibit an act of kindness without having a foundation of righteousness. In general, their kindness is shown to those that they feel are “deserving,” or is self-serving and shown in order to draw attention to themselves. A child of God, however, is able to show kindness to those that most of us would feel are undeserving. Spiritual gentleness does not act according to personal biases and certainly not to gain the praise of men, but because it is born of righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love…” Gentleness is the soft nature of love.

Next, we will look at the “not so gentle” side of love.

In part 2 we learned that “gentleness” (chrestotes) is the softer side of love. Today we will look at "goodness", the “not necessarily gentle” side of love. Goodness is from the Greek agathosunē, which refers to that quality in a man who is ruled by and aims at what is good; it is the quality of moral worth and is built on the same foundation as gentleness: righteousness. While chrestotes (gentleness) and agathosune (goodness) are similar in definition, the difference between the two is found in the deeper meaning (connotation). Chrestotes describes the kinder aspects of “goodness,” while agathosune includes the sterner qualities of doing “good” to others that are not always by gentle means.

In John 2:13-17, when Jesus cleansed the temple of the corrupt moneychangers, he was demonstrating agathosune: what He did was good, although it was by no means gentle. The Christian expression of goodness is not always gentle, but it is always righteous. Goodness is a quality that exists in the character of the true Christian because it flows to them by the power of the Holy Spirit. The closer we get to God, the more we think like Him; what pleases Him, pleases us and what He hates, we hate. Next time, we will discuss the third piece of Christian evidence and then we will tie it all together.

The third spiritual characteristic or fruit that we will examine is meekness. Meekness is from the Greek "prautes," which, means “mild and gentle friendliness.” The deeper meaning of prautes is difficult to express in English however, because the words ‘meekness’ and ‘mildness,’ bring with them an overtone of weakness and cowardliness while prautes suggests nothing of the kind. Because of the difficulty in fully translating this word, some have chosen to translate it as ‘gentleness,' which falls very short because prautes describes a condition of the transformed mind and heart, and ‘gentleness’ is more appropriate to actions. Meekness is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is a calmness of spirit that is neither excited nor cast down, simply because it is not preoccupied with itself at all. The Christian attitude of meekness is bent toward God first and foremost; it is a confident contentment in God's direction and plan for us. The meekness displayed by Christ and provided to the believer is the fruit of hidden power. It is like a dam that holds back a mighty flood on one side, while at the same time releasing a peaceful trickle on the other. The meek Christian is not weak at all, but strong in God's eyes. They may trickle with humility from the limited view of the natural eye, but they have the unlimited power of God working behind them. Meekness is strength under control. Tomorrow we conclude this series by tying this all together.

Like thread woven into a beautiful tapestry, the Christian characteristics in Galatians 5:22-23 are knit together in the Christian’s life and are designed to reflect the character of God and to stand as evidence that we have been transformed into His image. Knitting always begins with a ‘foundation row’ and each row that follows is built upon the first to create a pattern until the finished product is revealed. “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…” (Eph. 2:10). Love is the ‘foundation row’ and the other characteristics are each built upon love: Joy is the delight of love, peace is the contentment of love, longsuffering is the patience of love, gentleness is the soft nature of love, goodness is the righteous deeds of love, faith is the believing nature of love, meekness is the strength of love, and temperance is love's restraint. In knitting, you only have to pull one thread to unravel the entire piece, and so it is with the spiritual characteristics. Each is woven together, crossing one here and another there, making the whole person blameless in spirit, in soul, and in body. While transforming his soul with goodness, his body is able to express gentleness, which is goodness in action. In the meantime, his spirit is being rewarded with the power of meekness through the depths of humility. If you were able to pull one loose “thread” from the Christian's character, then you will have unraveled every piece of evidence that they have indeed been transformed by God.

1 Corinthians 9:27

“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”

1 Timothy 4:7-8

“But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.”

Do you ever wonder why you look at something, know without question that it is no good for you and even has the potential to be deadly, yet you are drawn to it and even crave it and seek ways to partake of it? Do you know why? Because when you’re hungry, you just want to be filled. You don’t concern yourself with the potential outcome or consequences; you just want to satisfy that hunger. It really has to do with discipline and partaking only of that which is good for you and refusing to indulge in that which isn’t. It’s about having the discipline to exercise and build strength: praying, fasting, reading the Word—these are spiritual workouts. The bottom line? First, don’t let yourself get so hungry that you will grab anything to fill you up. Second: Practice discipline. If you know it’s no good for you, stay away from it. Just because you crave it or have a taste for it doesn’t mean you have to indulge in it. Learn to tell yourself “no,” and make yourself work out even when you don’t feel like it. Discipline isn’t about doing what feels good or about being comfortable; it is about doing what is right and what is good for you even if it isn’t comfortable or convenient.

Choices are constantly coming to us throughout the day. Every choice requires a decision. Every decision must pass through our minds as sensible for whatever reason we've concluded. Every "sensible" conclusion must be filtered through our emotions for a final "like" or "dislike." At this point, we either do it or we don't; we either let it, or we won't (this is called the will).

But what happens if every decision we make skips the part where we like it (approve), or dislike it (disapprove), and we just do things without feeling? What happens when the emotions die?

In Ephesians 4, there are four verses that describe the person who is "past feeling."

How they got there:

1. A darkened mind because of valueless thinking

2. Valueless thinking equals ignorance

3. Ignorance equals blindness

You cannot approve or disapprove of your decisions if you are blind to what you are deciding. Instead, you become a slave to your own free and depraved will.

God gave us a way to put an informed stamp on the choices we make. Our emotions are a part of that process. This is why we see so many ignorantly detached decisions... even by so-called Christians. They cannot explain how they got in the mess they find themselves in. "It just happened."

Ephesians 4:17-20

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But ye have not so learned Christ;

In Matthew 22, beginning at verse 15, a group of religious leaders got together and schemed to trip up Jesus.

The Jewish religious leaders did not approve of Jesus, because they believed that when the Messiah came, he would overthrow the Roman government and set up his kingdom on earth. The Romans had their feet on the necks of these leaders and the people they pretended to represent. Instead, Jesus came and spoke peace. He loved sinners and the poor. This eliminated him from any possibility that he was truly the Messiah in their minds.

What they knew was this: if anyone spoke against the Roman Emperor, that person would be arrested and maybe even put to death. They figured Jesus would mess up and speak against having to pay taxes to Caesar, so they brought him money to represent an amount to be paid in taxes.

Their question was basically this: Is it right in God's eyes that we pay taxes to Caesar? In other words, "We are God's people and of God's kingdom. Caesar is not of God but is of this world's kingdom. Should God's people be contributing to his nasty lifestyle?"

Jesus takes the coin, and asks this strange question: "Whose image and whose writing is on this coin?"

They reply, "Caesar's."

But why is it a strange question?

1. Jesus knows they are trying to trip him up over Caesar.

2. Jesus knows who Caesar is.

3. Jesus could have answered the question without involving the coin.

The question was a spiritual response to foolishness: Those who are of this world's kingdom have this kingdom's image or likeness stamped on themselves. Those who are of God's kingdom have His image or likeness stamped on themselves as well.

Give to Caesar what belongs to him. Give to God what belongs to Him.

In Isaiah 5:4, God asks the question, "What more could I have done in my vineyard that I did not do?" He is talking about his people becoming as wild grapes. He says that He planted grapes but got wild grapes. There is a huge difference between the two.

Wild grapes grow anywhere, attaching themselves to anything. They depend on other sources to produce fruit, and their leaves are smaller. Wild grapes don't need to be cultivated by the vine grower, because they thrive under uncultivated conditions. Their grapes are small, their clusters are loose, and the bark of their stems never shed. Their taste is bitter.

This is what God is saying:

Wild Christians grow all over the place, attaching themselves to almost anything. They depend on worldly means to produce fruit (such as self-help groups, fads, horoscopes, etc). They don't need cultivating or teaching through intense suffering at the hands of the cultivator, because they thrive without it and attribute common suffering to the fellowship of His suffering. Their fruit is smaller. Their fellowships are looser; untrustworthy. Their old growth never sheds. And they are bitter.

Isaiah 5:4

What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?

wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

Genesis 16:1-9

God made a promise to Abram and Sarai, but when God seemed to be taking too long to fulfill His promise, they took matters into their own hands. This choice did not affect their lives only, but it also affected the life of Hagar. Yes, she played a role in the drama by disrespecting Sarai once she found out that she was pregnant, but she was nevertheless impacted by Abram and Sarai’s ongoing decisions. So Hagar finds herself running away from a problem that she contributed to causing. The Angel of the Lord finds her hiding out in the wilderness and He asks her a very piercing question: “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” He is not asking the question for information (He never does), but He is forcing her to evaluate her situation. “Where have you come from?” What brought you to this moment, to this situation, to this outcome? “And where are you going?” How are you planning to “solve” this problem? Are you planning to run away for the rest of your life? Are you planning to hide out in the wilderness until the wild beasts eat you? Or will you turn to the Lord, trust His plan, and obey His Word? The Lord told her to “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” We cannot run away from, hide from, or ignore our problems, we must face them, deal with our role in them, and trust the Lord for the solution to them. When we take matters into our own hands, we only make a mess and we impact the lives of others, possibly for generations to come. Where have you come from and where are you going? Return and submit.