According to many (if not most) Christians, born again believers in
the Lord Jesus are those who have become indwelt by the Holy Spirit of
God.
Galatians 5 of the Bible describes the positive changes in character
that are supposed to take place in those who have accepted and received
this life-changing experience. The “fruit of the Spirit” is the
resulting evidence of this spiritual transformation found in those who
choose to embark on this life-changing journey.
This is the translation of Galatians 5:22-24 found in the King James
Version of the Bible:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts.
~King James Version
The New American Standard Bible translation of Galatians 5:22-24 is
as follows:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh
with its passions and desires.
~ New American Standard Bible
Then why do the vast majority of professing Christians continue to
wallow in the “passions, lusts, and desires” of the flesh as evidenced
in the flaunting of their use of fur and leather; the trickery and
deceit by which they kill God’s creatures; the hypocrisy and blasphemy
of their self-serving “prayers,” asking their Creator to bless the body
parts and secretions of tortured beings who feel physical and emotional
pain as much as humans do (perhaps even more); and so forth.
And as though this isn’t evil enough, these same hard-of-heart liars
have the colossal nerve to marginalize and mock those who truly exhibit
the “fruit of the Sprit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control – and who try to
make this earth a better place for all of creation. They discourage and
chase away those very ones who live closer to God’s ideals (the fruit of
the Spirit) as children of God. (Luke 18:16-17, Matthew 18:1-10, Matthew
19:14, and Mark 10:14-15)
How can anyone, living in the 21st century and claiming to be born
again of the Spirit of God, fail to make the connection that is so
obvious? It seems as though they have allowed themselves to be
spiritually blinded by the ruler of this world, Satan, about whom Jesus
warned. (John 14:30 and John 8:47)
Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah said,
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness
for light and light for darkness.” (Isaiah 5:20)
Those who continue to be hard-of-heart, arrogant, and self-serving
(the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit), who think that they are
fooling God, would do well to heed the words of Jesus as found in
Matthew 7:13-14:
13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is
broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.
14 "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to
life, and few are those who find it.
~ New American Standard Bible
