Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 186
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IMMERSE
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MESSIAH
5:22–6:15
tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not
inherit the Kingdom of God.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and selfcontrol. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires
of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are
living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our
lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous
of one another.
Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you
who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the
right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you
think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone
else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always
harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful
nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who
live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s
not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a
harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the
opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the
family of faith.
Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words
in my own handwriting.
Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good
to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of
Christ alone can save. And even those who advocate circumcision don’t
keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so
they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.
As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether
