Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness and Faithfulness | Resources
Sermon Text: Galatians 5:16–24
“I say, then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Discussion Questions
1. Define goodness as it is used in verse 22.
2. Define faithfulness as it is used in verse 22.
3. Why do you think goodness and faithfulness make the list of Spirit-empowered fruits? What do these teach us about God?
4. Share a time God gave you either supernatural goodness or faithfulness.
5. Are you in need of Spirit-produced goodness or faithfulness right now?
Memory Verse
“Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23 (CSB)
Devotional
We often tell our children to be good. When they are young, that probably means don’t hit, kick, or bite. As they mature, we teach them that being good is much broader. By the time we are adults, we should understand that goodness includes doing things for the benefit of others, even if it costs us something.
In Galatians 5:23 Paul gives a broad brush for Christians to be good. The goodness of Christians will be recognized by the way we live and how we treat others, which reflects Christ’s goodness. We also expand our understanding of faithfulness as we mature. When we are little, we are often expected to be good for certain periods of time. Please sit still at church. Please be good at school. Please don’t fight while we’re on a trip, at a wedding, or in the grocery store. As we get older, these time periods run increasingly together so that we are expected to be good all the time. That expectation of maturity becomes faithfulness.
As we mature in Christ, our lives are increasingly controlled by the Holy Spirit. We become reliably faithful to exhibit all the fruit of the Spirit, including goodness. Our faithfulness in treating one another well (being good) is one of the most powerful foundations for witnessing.
Jesus put it this way in John 13:35: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” One of the most obvious ways we exhibit love is to be faithfully good to others. God uses our faithfulness in being good both to encourage each other and as part of His plan to draw others to Him.
Let’s be faithful and good as He is faithful and good.