Are you showing fruit?

At first you may read this question and say "here we go, what is he going to say now?". I want to show you some scripture and as you are reading it, really think about it and focus in on what the Word of God says. The scripture is Galatians 5:16-24 ...

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 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 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Let's start with verse 16. Are you gratifying the flesh? By that I mean, are you feeding your sinful desires and having no regret? If so 1 John 3:8 says "Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil."

Did you see what it says? It says you are of the devil, you have not been born again. Verse 17 clearly states that "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh". 

Are you submitting to the Holy Spirit or bowing to your flesh? 

You are a servant to a master no matter what you think. You are either a slave to sin or a servant of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Verse 18 states that if you are led by the Spirit, are you being led by the Spirit or are you as it continues to say, still under the law? 

Verses 19-21 go through just a few sins that you could be making a practice of. Read through them and exam your life and yourself. Look at the end of verse 21, it says "that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.". That's serious. You will NOT inherent the kingdom of God. Verses 22-23 are a short list of types of fruits a Christian should be bearing in their life. 

Take a look at this list and really look back and ask yourself, does this describe me? If you look back and say "no problem there", ask the person you live with. You may get more of an honest answer. If you don't live with anyone, ask the person you spend the most time with. 

Verse 24 says "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."  If you look back, these reflect Jesus' words in Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." 

Are you putting your fleshly desires and wants or even needs to death every day in your pursuit of Christ? 

If you say, "no problem there" as you might have earlier, again I say, ask the one you live with or the person you spend the most time with. I pray that this encourages you and if need be admonishes you. It says in 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?-unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" 

Please pray about these things and let the Holy Spirit convict you where He needs to and encourage you to continue to grow. If you read this and you realize that you aren't a Christian, please I beg of you, repent of your sins, which is asking for forgiveness from God and turning from your sins and turning to God. Then, put your faith in Christ and His work alone that He worked for us on the cross. We can not do anything for our salvation because it says in Ephesians 2:8-9 "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast." 

So again I say, if you aren't a Christian, please repent of your sins and put your faith in Christ! 

Jonathan Eckel