말보다 말씀! 빚보다 빛!

   Let’s Bear the Fruit of Goodness (Gal. 5: 22; 1 Corinthians 13:5)

[Key Word] Goodness: “moral excellence; virtue” or “the best part of anything;                                                  [Main Question] How can we bear the fruit of mercy? 

1. Rely on God’s Goodness!

• The Divine Passive: The fruit of goodness cannot bear by ourselves. By God's Goodness we can bear the fruit of goodness.
• Romans 8:28 shows, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,¹ for those who are called according to his purpose.” In the Greek text, God is used as the subject. The use of God as a subject means that God is leading in goodness. From our standpoint, goodness is achieved by God. It is a spiritual passive.
• Acts 11:24 presents, “Barnabas is a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” Being good is not by our strength, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we rely on the Holy Spirit, we can bear good fruit.    
• Why can only God do good? Only God is good.                                                                                                       Luke 18: 18-19 speaks, “And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” 

2. Overcome evil with good!

• The imperative: We must remember the meaning of imperative form. Imperative is related to a sense of mission. Our mission is to do good.
• God has made us do good. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” So what hinders us from producing fruit of goodwill? What obstacles should you overcome? It is evil. It is evil forces.
• What is evil? It is to deviate from the Word of God. It is evil to go against God's providence for creation. After creation, evil emerges as the sin of Adam. The wicked are those who do not know the will of their master. The wicked cannot distinguish good from evil. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world,¹ but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.     
• We must overcome evil with good. Through the good of the Lord we must overcome.
• Romans 12:17-21 addresses, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.  ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.  ¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it¹ to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."  ²⁰ To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."  ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
• We must overcome evil with good as a God’s warrior.

3. Bear good fruit continuously!

• The Present: The present tense is an ongoing action. It's an ongoing action that can't be stopped. It is something we must continue to do. It is also necessary to continue to bear fruit of goodwill.
• Psalm 107:1 shows, Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!
• Psalm 118:1 says, Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
• We must continue to taste the goodness of God. Psalm 34: 8 speaks, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
• We must live a life that follows the Lord who is the Good Shepherd. John 10: 11-12 underscores, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.”                                                                                             

 [Exegetical Idea] Paul urges Christians to bear fruit of goodness under the guidance of the Spirit.  [Theological Idea] Believers must bear the fruit of goodness by overcoming evil with good.    [Application] Let’s share the fruit of goodness!