Galatians 5:22-23 says “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” These are the character qualities of Jesus. And we are never more like Jesus than when these qualities flow out of our lives.
At salvation the Holy Spirit sets up residence within us and begins to produce the above listed fruit in our lives. Apart from the Holy Spirit a whole difference set of character qualities will describe our lives. We read about these in Galatians 5:19-21, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like…”
- Whereas we would naturally drift towards hatred, supernaturally (as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives) we drift towards love.
- Whereas naturally we would drift towards fits of rage or drunkenness, supernaturally (as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives) we drift toward self-control.
- Whereas naturally we drift towards discord, supernaturally (as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives) we drift towards peace.
And when we live lives filled with the fruit of the Spirit people far from God can “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). A godly life will always be more effective in pointing the lost to Jesus than persuasive arguments. If you’re a jerk, no one will stick around you long enough to hear any of your arguments. On the other hand, if the fruit of the Spirit dominate your life, you’ll have more than a few opportunities to share the love of Jesus, and more than a few people willing to listen to what you have to say.