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CHURCHGOERS OR CHRISTIANS? (GALATIANS 5:16-26)

REFLECTION

“Churchgoers or Christians?” is the theme for our reflection. Churchgoers are people who have not yet experienced the transformative power of the Gospel and are merely part of the church as a social group. Christians are people who have experienced regeneration through the transformative power of the Gospel and are determined to live according to the teachings of Scripture with the desire to bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. The difference between a churchgoer and a Christian is that a churchgoer is still living in sin but pretends to be a disciple of Christ, but a Christian is a repentant sinner who has become a dedicated and faithful disciple of Jesus Christ and has been empowered by the Holy Spirit bear the fruit of the Spirit.

According to today’s Scripture reflections, the sign of a true Christian is his or her desire to bear the fruit of the Spirit over the desires of the flesh. It is impossible to live according to the desires of the flesh and still walk faithfully in the Lord. It is for this purpose Paul admonishes us through his letter to the Galatians that “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things, there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:19-26). Churchgoers live a life of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is living according to the flesh yet pretending to walk faithfully with the Lord by faking the fruit of the Spirits. Let us walk faithfully in the Lord by allowing only the Holy Spirit to lead us so that we shall continue to bear the fruit of the Spirit and overcome the retrogressive and unrighteous desires of the flesh. Our Christianity must manifest in our relationship with our fellow Christians and non-believers. People must witness our faithfulness to God and the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit as a sign of our Christianity. We must refrain from preaching one thing and doing the other.

Let us briefly reflect on the fruit of the Spirit.

Love is the mother of all Christian virtues therefore for us to be called the children of God we must possess the unconditional love of our Lord Jesus Christ.”We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (1 John 4:19-21) Love is an attribute of the Spirit of God and anyone who loves has the Holy Spirit at work in him or her and will certainly reflect the perfect image of Christ.

Joy and peace are the feelings of happiness and wholeness even in the face of persecution and challenges. Our joy or happiness and peace are not derived from the pleasures and circumstances of life or absence of war or disturbance but “…the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10). Which means that:… all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). When the Spirit of God is with us we can still experience joy and peace even in challenging situations because we are assured that our “… redeemer lives,” (Job 19:25)

Forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are all acts that can be achievable in the believer’s life when the Holy Spirit dwell in him or her. It means that because the Spirit of God lives in us we shall restrain ourselves from gratifying the desire of the flesh. Paul reminds us, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) When the Spirit of the Lord dwells in us we shall exercise retrain, forbearance and self-control in following the sinful cravings of the flesh. Again, we shall remain kind and good to others and also be faithful to God and in our relationships with others.

In summary, we have discovered that there are marks of a churchgoer and marks of a true Christian. The fruits of the Holy Spirit make the difference. Let us endeavour to produce fruits of the Spirit through the study of the Word of God and enablement of the Holy Spirit. Shalom.

PRAYER

1. Let’s pray to have a personal relationship with Jesus through repentance and regeneration.

2. Let us pray for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our even as we remain faithful to God.

3. Let us pray for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to overcome the temptations and desires of the flesh.

Holy Spirit, may You guide and make us fruitful even as we remain faithful to God through the obedience of His Word. Amen