Tilling and Planting

Category: Theology

Beatitudes of Jesus

Intro

When I say “The Beatitudes”, I think you all know what I’m talking about. They are the opening statements of Jesus’ most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. They have been immortalized in so many different ways that I couldn’t count them if I tried. The number of sermons preached about them and in so many different ways is only known by God. Even in our culture that wants nothing to do with God, a few of these can still be found in some form. And yet, despite all this, many people don’t fully understand what Jesus was telling the people of His day – much less what He’s telling us today. And as my pattern has been for all my posts, I aim to bridge the gap between knowing about Biblical truths and understanding Biblical truths.

Just to give you a heads up, this post is the opening to a series of posts on the Sermon on the Mount. Stay tuned! There’s going to be quite a few, so subscribe if you haven’t so you don’t miss a single one (it’s free!).

The Beatitudes

First of all, some review. What exactly are the Beatitudes? They were a series of blessings that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 5 – the opening to His Sermon on the Mount I referenced. Jesus gives these as a roadmap to living a God-pleasing life. They are also promises of values that lead to prosperity and salvation. By following the principles laid out in the Beatitudes, Christians can live a life pleasing to God and positively impact the world around them.

However, it is worth noting that many of these would have shocked Jesus’ listeners as they go against what they had been taught in Synagogue. One person I read describes them as “laser-guided bombs” and “grenades”. Which is pretty heavy stuff. As I go through, I’ll point out any I can find that differ from what the culture expected.

Oh, by the way, I’ll be posting snippets of the passages as I go, but if you want to follow along with the entire thing, here’s a link to the whole passage: Matthew 5:1-12. All of these will be in the NIV.

The Poor in Spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (V3)

I mentioned that when Jesus spoke these, they were not what His listeners expected. Here’s a great example of one. The Jews believed that because they were descendants of Abraham, they had the Kingdom of God. But Jesus didn’t say that. He also didn’t say Jews or Pharisees, or even good, moral people. He said the poor in spirit, that’s who inherits the Kingdom of God.

And just what does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? It means humility. Specifically people who admit their fragile nature and choose to lean on God and let Him change their lives. It’s those who recognize that they have a spiritual need that the law – or their own good deeds – cannot fulfill and cannot save. When you humble yourself before God and admit your need for Him, you will see His Kingdom manifest in and through your life.

The Mourning

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (V4)

The mourning described here isn’t necessarily a grieving over someone (or something) you’ve lost. The type of mourning Jesus describes here is a mourning over sin. God promises His people in the Old Testament that anyone who mourns over the sins of Israel will be comforted. I think Jesus echoes that here, but for those of us Gentiles (and in light of the new covenant), Jesus is also calling out those who mourn over their own sinful state.

But it can also be applied to those who mourn for other people in our lives. That kind of mourning leads to us reaching out to others to provide encouragement. Or even to bring witness to them about the love of God.

I don’t think this one shocked the listeners so much – just because of the Old Testament parallels.

The Meek

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (V5)

All too often people associate meekness with weakness. But that’s just not the case. I actually covered this definition in my post on the Fruit of the Spirit. Here’s what I had to say about meekness there.

When applied to wild animals, the Greek word actually means “tame”. In other words, the wild animal has not lost any strength. But it knows how to control it and when to use that strength….And we must be like that. Humble, knowing our strength, but not lording it over people.

Those who choose to be meek and submit to God’s will can expect peace and tranquility in the next life when the earth is remade.

I could see some people being shocked by this one. After all, the religious leaders tended to lord their authority over the common people. And that’s nothing compared to how the Romans lorded their authority and strength over the conquered people. Furthermore, the people at this time were looking for a conquering Messiah to rescue them from oppression. So the idea of being meek and inheriting the earth likely sounded foreign to many of those listening.

The Hungry

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (V6)

In our next of the Beatitudes, we have the people who hunger and thirst after righteousness. These people long for virtue in their lives. They recognize that they have no righteousness of their own and need to rely on God’s righteousness. People who hunger after this rely on God’s righteousness for salvation, for transformation, etc.

Pharisees and other religious leaders likely felt stung by this one. Jesus tells them here that their self-proclaimed-righteousness does not make them blessed.

The Merciful

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (V7)

Luke writes that we must “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Jesus tells us by showing mercy to others, we ourselves will be shown mercy. Mercy from others and mercy from God Himself. How do you show mercy? By caring and acting for the good of others, especially when they don’t deserve it nor can repay it. After all, God in His mercy sent His Son to die for our sins. How can we repay such an act? And if we are to be merciful as He is, then we should perform acts of service towards others when they can’t repay us.

Taking it a step deeper, this includes forgiving others even when they aren’t sorry for whatever they did to you. And I think this is one of the things that would have made it difficult for those listening to Jesus to accept this statement. After all, the Law of Moses allowed for retribution in different ways – depending on the offense. This will actually come up in a later post, Jesus addresses this more directly later on in the Sermon on the Mount.

The Pure in Heart

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (V8)

The pure in heart. First thing to say about this is that it does not mean free of all wrong thinking or sin. Which is good, because otherwise this blessing would be next to impossible to receive. Rather to be pure of heart means you are free of selfish purposes and self-seeking motivations. It means your heart is undivided, you’re going after one thing and one thing alone. And when you are free of selfish ambitions and are in genuine pursuit of God, you will find Him. And He will cleanse your heart and will fashion His righteousness and character in you.

It’s pretty easy to have a divided heart. Just look at all the stuff around us to distract us. All in pursuit of “The American Dream”, whatever that is. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day certainly had divided hearts. They loved attention, wealth, power, etc. And they desired to be perfect in the Law and obtain salvation to be with God forever. I imagine there might have been some who felt like Jesus targeted them with this one. Some might have even felt a tug of conviction on their hearts.

The Peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (V9)

I like this one a lot. Mostly because I feel like I am one of these peacemakers. As a kid/teenager, I mediated arguments and debates between my sister and her friend. It seemed all my sisters would come to me to vent any frustrations they had with any of the other sisters. And that continued for a long time. And I’ve taken different types of personality tests, and if any of the defined ones included something about striving for peace and harmony or had the label “Peacemaker”, I always got it at the top. Never failed. I always seek to live a peaceful life. Peace between me and everyone around me. And I want others to live in that as well, so I’ll do what I can to help others achieve that. And this is what Jesus is talking about here.

However, in order to do this we need to cultivate peace within ourselves. We can’t give to others what we do not possess. And this has been an up and down in my life. I don’t always have the peace I need and desire in my life. But I continue to strive for it and pray for more of God’s peace in my life.

The other thing that falls in this one is sharing the truth of God’s peace and love with other people so they can achieve peace in their own lives. And peace does not mean perfect lives with no conflicts, but it does come with it a sense of “Everything will be okay” as God spoke to me.

Jesus’ use of the phrase “children of God” likely caused a stir. After all, as children of Abraham they’re also children of God. Right? Not according to Jesus.

And now we turn to the last of the Beatitudes.

The Persecuted

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (V10-12)

The last of the Beatitudes is one of the hardest to swallow. After all no one wants to be persecuted, right? No one wants people jeering them or hating them simply because of their beliefs. But Jesus promised that we would face persecution in this world. He never said it would be easy, in fact He said the opposite multiple times (John 15:20-21; John 16:33). Of all the Beatitudes, this one probably makes the least sense in terms of being blessed. But rest assured that in the end, we will receive great reward for enduring such persecutions. And in the short term, the Spirit of God remains with us and draws us closer to Him in those moments of trial. That’s a blessing in and of itself. Praise God!

And for the Jews, persecution was normal from the Romans. So this one for sure would have stung. As I said, it makes no sense that there could be blessing in persecution. And then His statement that it would be on His account. Not because of being Jewish, but because of being followers of Jesus. That’s radical, unless of course you intend to revolt against the social norms. Which is precisely what Jesus did. And what He expects us to do. Don’t follow society, follow Jesus. Expect ridicule and other forms of persecution, but hold steady. You are and will be blessed.

And that’s the Beatitudes in a nutshell. Peace be upon you all and stay tuned for my next post on the Sermon on the Mount.

Wrapping Up

By taking to heart all that Jesus said here in these Beatitudes, we can find peace, comfort, and a practical guide on what Jesus looks for in His followers. I hope that you all will seek after God and submit to Him that way you can see all these things manifest in your own life. God bless!

Outro

If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

July 10, 2025
Victory in Jesus
Intro

The church in America has been infected with a defeatist mindset. I don’t know how long ago it started, but at some point the Church forgot it has victory in Jesus over the enemies of God. All too often we live like we have been defeated and won’t even bother trying to fight. We say things like, “That’s just the way it is” and other similar things. Many Christians don’t realize that we don’t have to settle for struggling with sin and muttering “I can’t wait to get to Heaven to not have to deal with this struggle.” They don’t realize that in Jesus we have victory over the devil and he has to flee from us when we tell him to. Some people might even claim that we are powerless to do anything. I beg to differ. The Bible tells a very different story. Check it out.

Victory Over Sin

The Bible says that Jesus was tempted and yet didn’t sin (Hebrews 4:15). Because of that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross atoned for the sins of the every person ever born from the creation of the world until now. And beyond. Jesus’ supreme victory over sin enables us to live victorious over temptations and sinful lifestyles.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24 (NIV)

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 1 John 3:9 (NIV)

Now I hear you saying, “But, Cory, I’m saved, but I still sin. What gives?” And my answer is simple. Ask yourself this question, “Am I living in a sinful lifestyle with no intention of changing, or am I actively fighting my sinful tendencies?” If you are actively fighting, then don’t worry, you’re on the right track! When John says “they cannot go on sinning” he means that we as Christians cannot live a lifestyle of sin and enjoy it like we used to. This means that we have victory in Jesus to overcome our sinful past and the temptations that crop up.

Victory Over Satan

When Jesus rose from the dead, He also defeated Satan once and for all. When Satan tempted Jesus, He claimed to own the Kingdoms of the world and could give them to Jesus. All Jesus had to do was bow down and worship Satan (see Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13). But look at what Jesus said after He rose from the dead.

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matthew 28:18 (NIV)

Jesus reclaimed all the earth through the Cross and the Resurrection! And to top it off, this passage – referred to as the Great Commission – shows Jesus telling His disciples that He gives them His authority as well. Furthermore, during Jesus’ ministry, He sent out His disciples and gave them authority over demons and evil spirits. So, why then are so many Christians afraid of Satan and his minions? Jesus gave us authority over them. There’s nothing to be afraid of. If you suspect that there’s some demonic spirit affecting you or a loved one, tell it to go! They have to obey. If it doesn’t seem to work or you are just struggling with the idea, then seek out someone with experience.

Victory Over Struggles

I’ve already talked about the sin struggles and struggles against demonic enemies. So what other struggles could I be referring to? How about mental struggles. Stuff like fear, anxiety, depression, general pessimism towards life, negative attitudes, addictions, etc. All these things can (and do) plague Christians every single day. But they shouldn’t. These are all things that Christ gave us victory over on the Cross. God says 365 times (or 366 times, I’ve heard it both ways) in the Bible “Do not fear”. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God doesn’t give out spirits of fear. He gives a spirit of a sound mind. A sound mind in this context is one of calmness. One that remains unbothered by what’s going on in the world. Yes, you should acknowledge that terrible things are happening, but you shouldn’t let it drive you into fear or anxiety.

We are not slaves to the thoughts that hit our mind.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

In Jesus, you have the victory to take every thought you have and give it to Jesus and instead force yourself to think about holy, pure, righteous things (Philippians 4:8). Jesus gave this power to us. But so much of the time, we allow the news and other negative talk dominate our thoughts and minds. I’m so grateful that I don’t have to allow it. I can turn around and combat it with the Spirit of God that lives in me.

How to Walk in Victory?

The question that all this brings up is, how do I do this? How do I actually overcome the struggles in my life? I hinted at part of it in the last section. The mind. All these struggles I mentioned have at their roots a particular mindset. Whether that mindset is “I can’t control the thoughts that enter my mind” or “Satan is so powerful I’ll never overcome him” or even “I have an advanced stage of cancer, I need to prepare for the inevitable”. In all these cases, in order to start walking with the victory we have in Jesus, you need a mindset change. And here’s some practical ways to go about getting that mindset change.

The Practical Side
1. First, you need to believe it. Choose today that you are going to start believing that Jesus already gave you victory over these things. And remind yourself of this every day.
2. Start every day reading the Word. Fill your mind with what the Bible says about who God is and who He says you are.
3. Speak life into your life. Declare out loud (doesn’t have to be loud) what God says about you from the Bible. Some good ones to start with are “I am more than a conqueror”, “God is with me”, and “I walk by faith, not by sight”.
4. Let go of shame. Do not allow sins and mistakes of the past rob you of joy or of being who God called you to be. Jesus already paid for those. Let it go.
5. Walk in obedience. Obey what God says in his Word and obey what God has called you to personally. The more you walk in obedience, the less you’ll find yourself doing or thinking the things you struggle with.
6. Surround yourself with people of faith. This goes back to a previous post of mine. It’s impossible to live this Christian life without a community of believers around you to build you up.
7. And lastly, pray with boldness. Did you know that God says we can come boldly to His throne (Hebrews 4:16)? But all too often we come with hesitancy and pleading, begging God to do something. The early church did not pray that way. In fact, they prayed with boldness, declaring the victory of Jesus over situations – and it happened! So pray like you have the victory. Pray with boldness. And if you struggle with boldness, pray for boldness! Acts chapter 4 says that the church prayed for boldness and God answered that prayer.
Wrapping Up

As I wrap this up, I just want to say that I’m talking to myself just as much as I’m talking to you. I struggle with thoughts and temptations and (at times) fear. I struggle with physical issues that I’m seeking healing on, but haven’t seen yet. My mindset isn’t fully renewed to see myself walk in the full victory of Jesus. But I’m learning, I’m moving forward not backward. And at the end of the day, that’s all God asks from us. To move forward. And God will do the rest. He’ll get us there. So, get out there and walk with your head held high and a smile on your face. People might think you’re crazy, but we have a hope that the world doesn’t have. And we are victorious in every way possible. So why shouldn’t we smile?

Outro

If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!
June 25, 2025
Infinite God

Intro

When you think of the word “infinite” what comes to mind? Outer space? The number system? An attribute of God? All too often we as Christians put God in a box. We try to put limitations on Him and then wonder why He doesn’t move in our lives. Some of us have grown up being told that God is infinite, but then being told that He doesn’t do certain things. So let’s get back to the basics. Our God is infinite. In an infinite amount of ways. And I wish to highlight some of the big ones that I know we’ve all heard. As has been the point of this entire blog, I want to go back to the basics. The simple truth of the Word of God and break it down to its core elements. So that we might have understanding and faith in it once again.

So what are those “big” infinite attributes I wish to highlight? Ever hear these words: Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Immutable? These are the ones I wish to highlight today (plus another one, but you’ll have to keep on reading to discover what it is).

Omnipotent

When I start talking about an infinite God, I think this is the attribute that comes to mind quickest. Omnipotent means “All-Powerful”. It means that God has the power to do whatever He wants. He created the entire universe with just His voice.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. Psalm 33:6 (NIV)

Some other examples of God’s omnipotence include: parting the Red Sea so Israel could walk across dry ground, giving a 100 year old man and 90 year old barren woman a son, making the sun stand still (which technically was making the earth stop rotating, but semantics), sending a global flood to wipe out everything on the earth (except those on the ark), becoming a man through a virgin birth, performing a crazy number of miracles as a man, and the list goes on. Seriously, just read through the Bible and you’ll be amazed at the number of miracles that God did. And He still does them today! All throughout history and up until the current day, there are testimonies of what God has done in people’s lives. I’ve heard some and know people who have encountered the unexplainable. Unexplainable, that is, except by an omnipotent God.

Omnipresent

To be omnipresent is to be everywhere all at once. The infinite presence of God is another attribute of His that readily comes to people’s minds. And the Bible makes this pretty clear.

Because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5b (NIV)

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:20b (NIV)

These are just two places – and the Hebrews is a quote from Deuteronomy 31:6. Doing a quick search online, there are at least 100 different verses that tell us that God is with us. Think about that for a moment, the minimum number of times the Bible states this is 100. More likely the number is higher than that, but I’m not going to try and count them all. For me personally, this has been one of my favorite attributes. One of the first times I clearly heard God was when I was going through something painful and I asked, “God where are you? Do you see me?” And He clearly spoke to me and said, “Yes”. God’s infinite presence highlights something else about God that is infinite. His love. God’s love is without limit. And His omnipresence proves that. If He didn’t love us, why stay with us?

Omniscient

To be omniscient is to be all-knowing. God knows literally everything. You can’t hide anything from Him. Every star that goes nova, every drop of rain that falls, every tear a person cries, every bacteria that divides to reproduce, etc. God knows it all. The Bible says that God calls each star by name and knows the number of hairs on your head. And it gets crazier. Because to be omniscient also means knowing everything from beginning to the end. God’s memory isn’t just remembering everything that has happened in the past, it’s also knowing about everything before it even happens. This breaks my brain a bit. The Bible says before the foundations of the earth were put into place, He planned to send Jesus to the cross (see 1 Peter 1:18-20).

This one is hard to comprehend. God knew before He created anything that mankind would sin and reject Him and He would have to send His Son to die a horrible death (see my post here about how bad it was) to redeem us. And He still did it! Why? Refer back to my comment about God’s infinite love. And this also goes along with Him giving us free will, so we can choose to love and serve Him. God wants us to choose. Because of His omniscience, God knew all possible outcomes depending how He chose to create everything. Free will? Rebellion, suffering, and redemption. No free will? I don’t even know what would have actually come out of that. But I can promise you there wouldn’t be any sin, suffering, or death! If there still was, God would not be the good God the Bible says He is.

Immutable

Immutability is actually a little less known than the prior three. The definition of immutable is “unchanging”. To put it into terms of God, God stays infinitely the same. As He was in the past, so shall He be in the future. God will never diverge from what His Word says about Him. This is comforting to know because if we’re seeking direction from God and we hear something, sometimes we wonder “Is this God, the devil, or me?” And one of the first things we can ask is “Does this line up with the Bible?” “Is it consistent with what the Bible says about God?” If not, then discard it because God will never change. The Bible clearly states this in a few different places.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Malachi 3:6 (NIV)

The one from Malachi hints at another part of God’s immutability. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. No matter how long it takes, He will fulfill it. He is faithful even when we aren’t. Israel kept turning its back on God and rebelling against Him. But because of His covenant, God did not destroy them. Because He is immutable. Another verse that highlights God’s immutability is found in Psalm 102. And with this one, I’m going to transition to the final infinite attribute of God that I wish to highlight – since Psalm 102 also highlights it.

But you remain the same, and your years will never end. Psalm 102:27 (NIV)

Eternal

The final (and bonus!) attribute is God is eternal. He has no beginning and He will have no end. Revelation contains a popular verse about this.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Revelation 22:13 (NIV)

But there are many others. Another common one to quote for God’s eternal nature is found in Psalm 90.

Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. Psalm 90:2 (NIV)

I wish to highlight the phrase “from everlasting to everlasting you are God”. What does that mean exactly? It simply means what I already said, God had no beginning – from eternity past He existed – and God will have no end – He will continue to exist for eternity future.

This is another one that kinda breaks the brain. To be sure, most of us can grasp the concept of having no end. Okay, something or someone just never dies or ceases to exist. I can get behind that. After all the Bible makes it clear that my spirit will continue to exist for all of eternity. And while it’s hard to imagine what I’ll be doing for all of eternity, I can at least grasp the concept. Grasping the idea of having no beginning is where I trip up. Bound in a world where time exists and everything around us has a beginning makes it difficult to imagine anything without one. This mindset begs the question “Where did God come from?” I’ve heard entertaining stories of children asking that question and the parents trying to explain a concept they don’t fully understand to a 4 year old.

Wrapping Up

So to wrap up, what does this all mean? Why talk about it at all? By knowing and understanding this, you and I can trust God with our problems. We can trust that He knows (Omniscient) what we are going through, that He is with us in the storm (Omnipresent), that He has the power to calm that storm (Omnipotent), and that He will come through when He says that He will help us (Immutable) because having been around for a while (Eternal) He is a stable God and a firm foundation upon which to build our lives. So cast your cares upon Him today and trust Him to come through for us when we need Him.

Outro

If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

June 10, 2025
Fruit of the Spirit

Intro

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.” I think we’ve all heard this before. It’s an often quoted passage from Galatians that children are taught. Sometimes I think we teach children this verse because we want them to behave that way. But that’s just a theory.

But given that, what do these all mean? Sometimes I think we go through this list without fully grasping what each one means. Especially since the original Greek may or may not mean what we think it means. Dive in with me to see what Paul is really telling us about the Christian lifestyle here.

My Experience

I’ll be honest here. I haven’t always been good about giving a personal connection with each of the topics I’ve written about. And that’s a bit unfortunate. Because frankly, the best blogs and messages are the ones where the writer or speaker has a personal connection to it. Some reason or motivation that gives them a reason to truly love the topic and be passionate about it. Many of the topics I’ve written about have all been fantastic topics that I enjoy and recognize as foundational. But to put a personal touch on each, I just couldn’t do. I mentioned a few times during my series on Baptismal Regeneration that I’ve had personal encounters with people who believe that way. That made me more invested in those than in some of the others. I genuinely wonder how many of you picked up on the different tone because of that.

But all that to say is that for this topic – the Fruit of the Spirit – I have a more interesting story and connection to it. And before jumping into talking about the Fruit, I’m going to share it.

The French Chef

Many years ago in high school, I volunteered at a local church’s Awana program as a junior leader for the Sparks age group – Kindergarten through 2nd grade. One semester, the topic for the kids teaching was the Fruit of the Spirit. And to help them learn it, the Sparks director – Mrs. Pat – found a fun skit to help the kids learn and remember. And she asked me to play as the titular character, a French Chef named Chef Tellzeetruth (gotta love these children’s skits, lol). As this chef, each week I would come in and talk with Mrs. Pat about a different aspect of the Fruit of the Spirit and would use a different real life fruit to symbolize the Spiritual side.

Now, I do not remember any of the fruits used or anything I talked about specifically, but I do remember that during this time I personally grew in the very characteristics I talked about during those Wednesday evenings. Amazing how that works. Sometimes to see the growth that you desire, you must step out and teach another. I mentioned in my introductory post that I was known for my Biblical knowledge and would get asked questions periodically. And if I didn’t have the answers, I would find them. That research and searching helped me learn as well. And that’s what I’ve found with my blogs also. So, a little encouragement here is to step out and help others learn. Share your knowledge and search for ways to learn more. Volunteer like I did. Teaching kids is a great way to learn more yourself! The questions they ask, lol.

Now that I’ve said all that, let’s dive into today’s topic. I first want to cover the context in which Paul wrote this passage before going into the individual fruits.

The Context

Here’s the passage from Galatians as we know it and tend to teach it.

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. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

The immediate context of this verse is Paul contrasting a life lived by the Spirit vs one lived by the flesh. The preceding verses have this to say.

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. Galatians 5:19-21(NIV)

Having these two different lists to contrast is important. After all, many of the godly characteristics listed here could technically be seen in some form in non-believers. However, it’s probably not a lifestyle – and it certainly has no eternal value. So sometimes you need to look for additional fruits (good or bad) to discern if someone is living by the Spirit or gratifying the desires of the flesh.

Paul’s whole deal here is arguing against the need for circumcision and obeying the law in order to follow Jesus and be saved. And he warns that anyone who practices any of these sinful lifestyles should not be fooled into thinking they are in Christ simply because of circumcision. And it’s only through the power of Holy Spirit that anyone can overcome these lifestyles and life the Christian lifestyle – as characterized by the Fruit of the Spirit.

One thing I wish to mention as an aside. If you are a Christian who struggles with a sin and are actively fighting it and trusting in God to help you overcome, you do not fall into Paul’s warning. Paul’s warning only applies to those who are not even trying and feel no reason to stop. These people are most likely not even saved – no matter what prayer they may have prayed or the fact that they were baptized at some point in their life.

The Fruit

Moving on to break down each characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit. Notice I said “characteristic”. Also notice that the Bible uses “fruit” singular. It’s actually one giant fruit that manifests itself in 9 distinct ways. Cool right? And to keep it in front of us, here’s the passage again.

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. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

You’ll notice that rather than “patience” the NIV uses the word “forbearance”. I will be discussing that in the section on patience. Now let’s go through each one to see what Paul meant and the expectations for us.

Love

We all probably think we know what love is. But did you know that the Greek had at least 8 different words for love? It’s true. And only a few show up in the New Testament. The two that most Christians are familiar with are philia – love between friends – and agape – unconditional love. Guess which one appears here in Galatians? If you guessed agape, congrats! (If you guessed eros…you might need to do some more study.) Evidence of Holy Spirit working in the lives of a Christian is that Christian having a godly, unconditional love towards people. No strings attached. We love others because God loves them.

Joy

When the New Testament talks about joy, it isn’t talking about a happiness dependent on our circumstances. Here in Galatians the word is chara. This word translates as joy or delight and is often accompanied with gladness. Regardless of circumstances. After all, God redeemed us and gives us grace, mercy, and His overwhelming love. Who cares what the world and the devil throw at us? We have the King of kings as our Father! “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 (NIV).

Peace

Biblical peace (eirene in the Greek) includes wholeness and harmony with God and other people. It includes a life free of conflict. Now that doesn’t mean that everything will be perfect and tranquil. But if you have true Biblical peace, then regardless of the circumstances, you will choose to not be at conflict. Someone might be angry with you and not want anything to do with you. But you choose to forgive and let it go and not stew about it. You are not in conflict with that person. As far as you are concerned, you are at peace with them. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NIV).

Patience

The NIV translates the Greek word here (makrothumia) as forbearance. Because of the lack of familiarity, other translations will use patience or long-suffering – which is a bit easier to understand. Other words that fit here to help us understand the meaning would be endurance, steadfastness, and perseverance. The root of the Greek word relates to two other words meaning “long” and “passion”. The picture we get with this word is to become “long-tempered” through the circumstances and temptations we go through (as opposed to short-tempered). Holy Spirit empowers us to “forbear” through all circumstances and not give in to temptation to sin or to lie down and give up when the going gets tough.

Kindness

I think most us has a pretty good idea what it means to show kindness. Some words that go along with being kind are friendly, generous, and considerate towards others. Putting their needs before your own. The Greek word here – chrestotes – conveys moral goodness, integrity, usefulness, and benignity (not harmful, gentle). The Bible says that it’s God’s kindness that leads to repentance. Not yelling at people that they’re going to Hell because of X, Y, and Z. Let’s save judgment for God and just show people kindness and respect. Okay?

Goodness

Goodness (agathosune) means uprightness of heart and life, goodness, and kindness. And when I say goodness there, I mean in action. It’s more than just saying good things, it’s living it out in our personal lives and our public ones.

Gentleness

I think this is another one we know pretty well. It conveys humility and compassion towards others. The Greek word, prautes, was translated in the KJV as “meekness” (interestingly, the KJV then had “kindness” as “gentleness”). However, “meekness” became associated with “weakness” and later translators opted for “gentleness” to convey the same thing. But meekness is not weak. When applied to wild animals, the Greek word actually means “tame”. In other words, the wild animal has not lost any strength. But it knows how to control it and when to use that strength. Jesus is the perfect example of meekness. The God who created the universe became a man. With a word He could have destroyed everything, but He didn’t. That’s meekness. That’s gentleness. And we must be like that. Humble, knowing our strength, but not lording it over people.

Faithfulness

We all know someone who is faithful. They show up week after week to serve or to help out. Anytime you call them for anything, they answer and they will help you to the best of their abilities. Biblical faithfulness is loyalty, reliability, trustworthy, etc. The Greek word pistis encompasses all these with a dependability on God. Because without Him, we can’t do anything.

Self-Control

The last characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit listed by Paul is Self-Control. The Greek word here is egkrateia. It means the ability to control one’s own body, its appetites and desires – physically and mentally. In the context of the early church in Galatia, it would have been related especially to sobriety and chastity. Today it would relate to these and so much more. I mean, do we really need to be picking up our phone every time there’s a lull in a conversation?

If you feel overwhelmed by any one of these, just remember that this is only possible with God’s help. Apart from Him, we can’t do anything (see John 15:5). Frankly I’m glad I have Holy Spirit helping me. Because I’d fail at so many of these on my own. Praise the Lord for what He has done in my life!

Wrapping Up

I hope from this brief study of the Fruit of the Spirit, you feel that you have a greater understanding of what God desires for your life as well as an encouragement that you aren’t expected to accomplish this alone. Only with Holy Spirit’s help can you live this life. That’s why Paul calls it the “Fruit of the Spirit” and not “Fruit of the Christian”. God bless you all!

Outro

If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

May 25, 2025
Baptismal Regeneration Logical Problems

Intro

Here in my final post regarding Baptism and Baptismal Regeneration, I give you some parting thoughts about the subject. Some logical problems that I challenge you to think about and then decide for yourself if Baptismal Regeneration can truly be compatible with what the Bible says about God and Salvation. (To catch up on any posts you missed, click here.)

Incapable of Baptism

Let’s think for a moment about people who physically cannot get baptized. Take for example an elderly woman dying of cancer in the hospital. She’s been running from God for so many years. Her children, on the other hand, love Jesus and have prayed for her all these years to be saved. And here, on her deathbed, she chooses Jesus. So, she prays, repents, and accepts the free gift offered to her by God. The joy and peace she receives in her final hours lift her spirits and those of her children. However, because of her physical state, her doctor won’t allow her to be moved for baptism. Now let’s say that her children don’t consider baptism necessary anyway so they don’t press the matter or do anything else to replace immersion in water. She dies a few days later. Does she go to Heaven, or Hell?

How to Handle

How do believers in Baptismal Regeneration handle such a situation? By sprinkling them with water. And that suffices. Let me repeat that: They sprinkle water on them and that suffices. Sprinkling water on people equals dunking them under water? Writing that sentence makes the logical parts of me squirm and groan. But then again, centuries ago people decided that dunking infants under water wasn’t safe, so they started sprinkling them with water to cleanse them of their sinful nature that they’re born with. Unsurprisingly that carried over to that working for anyone. Though they still prefer immersion – wonder why if all you need to do is get your hand wet and flick them with some water. In fact, let’s make it fun. Let’s just get water guns and squirt all the people for Baptism Sunday! 😄

But in all seriousness, how can dunking people under water equal sprinkling them? Especially since the New Testament says nothing about sprinkling of water when discussing baptism. Nothing, zilch, nada. And just ignore modern dictionary definitions of “baptism” – which include sprinkling – because the root Greek word means “immersion”. I do acknowledge that many Jewish cleansing rituals include the sprinkling of water, but none of those things carried over to New Testament believers. So, why does it exist without Biblical precedent? Exactly for situations like the one I mentioned earlier. Believers in Baptismal Regeneration need sprinkling of water in order for their doctrine to still work for everyone. Did you catch that? They need, need sprinkling for baptism. What does that sound like? Adding to salvation. Adding to what Christ accomplished on the cross.

Read my earlier posts on baptism for a more in-depth analysis on how this doctrine makes salvation works-based.

Heaven or Hell

How would believers in Baptismal Regeneration answer that question about where the elderly woman went? Based on my personal interactions with them, they would answer that question with “Hell”. To their credit, they’d be remorseful about it, but honest. However, this again goes to show how Baptismal Regeneration inherently makes salvation works-based. And how it claims that Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t enough on its own. We need to do something to complete it.

In conclusion to the first of the logical problems of Baptismal Regeneration, if a person desires baptism but can’t for one reason or another and want water sprinkled on them, I don’t have a problem with it. So long as they understand that it adds nothing to their salvation. I personally don’t care and I don’t believe God does either. After all, God looks at the heart (see 1 Samuel 16:7). And if their heart is for Him and fully trusting in Jesus for salvation, then sprinkle them with water. I’ll support it.

The Gap Problem

The next of the logical problems for Baptismal Regeneration I call “The Gap Problem”. What is this? Well, Baptismal Regeneration teaches that a person receives the remission of their sins (i.e. born again) during baptism. The “gap” comes from a period of time when a person might have a measure of faith but is forced to wait until they can arrive at a site with a water source to be baptized in order to be saved (if they believe that’s true).

The Gap Example

For example, John meets Dave for lunch out and says, “I’ve been reading the Bible you gave me, and I want to be saved.” Dave replies, “That’s fantastic! Let’s go down to the river. While I’m baptizing you, we can pray for the remission of your sins since this is how salvation works.” John says, “Okay.” Though in his heart he questions the necessity of baptism since what he has read in the Bible makes it sound like all he really needs to do is believe. John agrees that the Bible places importance on baptism, but he didn’t think it equated it with salvation. But then again, Dave’s the expert, not him. On their way to the river, a car runs a red light, hits Dave’s car, and kills John instantly.

Dave’s belief in Baptismal Regeneration led to him restricting the timing and location of John’s salvation to the river. This led to a gap in time in which John had some measure of belief – but hadn’t made the full commitment – and when he was going to be saved. This gap time allowed for Satan to take his life before he made the actual commitment to follow Christ. Thus, John has died in his sins and will spend eternity separated from God.

I believe this to be a major problem with Baptismal Regeneration. You run this type of risk all the time. Churches who preach this had better be prepared to baptize people spontaneously any day they are open to the public. If they don’t, I cry foul. That defines hypocrisy. Claiming you need baptism for salvation and then not being able to provide it in church when people give their lives to God at a random Wednesday service, or a Tuesday night Bible study.

The Flip Example

On the flip side, take that previous example and assume that Dave does not believe in Baptismal Regeneration. John meets Dave for lunch and says, “I’ve been reading that Bible you gave me, and I want to be saved.” Dave replies, “That’s fantastic! Let’s pray for the remission of your sins right now.” They pray and John puts his faith in Christ. Afterwards, Dave says, “You know, Jesus commands all believers to be water baptized as a way of publicly identifying yourself with Christ, so let’s go down to the river and baptize you.” John agrees – the Bible certainly emphasizes it. On their way to the river, a car runs a red light, hits Dave’s car, and kills John instantly. In this scenario, John already put his faith in Christ and received the remission of his sins. Therefore, he will spend eternity with God instead of apart.

Do you see the difference? And the problem? I mentioned that churches that preach this should always be ready to baptize people. But so should every single person who believes in it. And this leads into the next of the four logical problems I find with Baptismal Regeneration.

Who’s in Control?

The prior problem also highlights another problem. Did you pick it up? Here it is spelled out: People that embrace this doctrine effectively control when and where a person is saved. Does that scare you? It should. The Catholic Church used this amongst other things to control the masses for centuries. The Catholic Church claimed you had to be a part of the church and do XYZ to be saved. XYZ included various sacraments such as baptism, taking communion, going to confessions, and more. And the church controlled when and where these sacraments took place. Catholic priests forgave people’s sins. The church claimed it could kick people out of Heaven via excommunication from the church.

Granted, Protestants who embrace Baptismal Regeneration oppose what the Catholic Church did and say that they don’t claim such power or authority over people’s salvation. And to a certain extent that’s true. They don’t require ALL the sacraments, and they don’t require continual need to perform all these rituals. Plus, they don’t emphasize a specific denomination nor confession to priests or pastors, etc. You get it. They don’t require nearly as much as the Catholic Church used to.

The Truth

However, to tell a person “To receive salvation, you must confess and repent of your sins at the same time of your baptism” means the same thing as “That’s great that you want to be saved right now, but you only get saved when repenting of your sins while someone baptizes you”. Which puts that person’s salvation off to a future moment, i.e. telling them a time of salvation. That gives the saved person control over when a person receives salvation, regardless of whether they recognize it.

In addition to the when, they control the where. This is a little more obvious since there is a limited number of locations where you can baptize a person. If you aren’t already in a church building with a baptismal, or a house with a bathtub, or next to a lake, river, or other body of water, then the saved person has to take the seeking person to another location, i.e. controlling where a person is saved. I give people who believe in Baptismal Regeneration the benefit of the doubt. I think that most people who embrace this are ignorant of the fact that by their words and actions, they are controlling when and where that person’s salvation occurs and opening the door for Satan to steal, kill, and destroy that person before they get to that location at that time. (Which goes back to the Gap Problem from earlier.)

In Summation

To summarize, by believing this doctrine a person ignorantly takes some measure of control over another person’s salvation. Jesus commands us to proclaim the message of salvation. But that doesn’t give us the right to dictate when or where people can receive salvation. Unfortunately, across denominations there exists a mindset of only being saved at church events. (Unintentional, but that’s how society sees it.) God help us all overcome that mindset and show people it doesn’t matter. However, when people add Baptismal Regeneration to the message, it complicates matters. Because now instead of an altar call in a land-locked park of “Come forward and surrender your life to the Lord,” it becomes “If you want to surrender your life to the Lord, come to this address at this time and there you can receive salvation at the time of your baptism.” Can you see the difference?

This approach turns some people off since they may wonder why they can’t do it in a park with no water. It creates greater confusion and more questions. Which could manifest more from the children. And we claim that all you need is child-like faith (see Matthew 18:3). After all, the Bible claims children can grasp and understand salvation. Granted, believers in Baptismal Regeneration probably will never do outreaches somewhere they can’t immediately baptize people. However, this type of approach creates more limitations on salvation. And that creates more control – even though ignorant and unintentional they may be.

What Kind of Salvation Plan?

The fourth, and final, of the Baptismal Regeneration logical problems has to do with what kind of salvation plan the God of the Bible would create. Yes, I believe that looking at the nature of God and who He is will tell us all we need to know about what His plan of salvation would look like.

God’s Desires

First, God is a God of love. And not just any kind of love. Unconditional love that desires only the very best for those He loves. Second, God desires everyone to come to salvation (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20). If God desires the very best for us and desires everyone to come to salvation, wouldn’t it be logical for God to make the plan of salvation as simple as possible and with as few limitations as possible? Yes, He would! Therein lies the problem with Baptismal Regeneration.

The Problem

As I discussed earlier, Baptismal Regeneration places limits on the where and when salvation can occur. A second person must be present, and they must be at a location where water can be used to baptize (sorry soldier on the battlefield). Those are some hefty and unnecessary limitations for God to require. After all, large parts of the world don’t have nearby water sources. (Looking at you Sahara Desert!) And large parts of the world don’t have modern conveniences that would allow for quick access to water. God is God and can create any plan He wants and make any requirement He wants. But if God truly wants the best, and truly desires all to become saved, then the extra requirements make no sense and contradicts God’s desires.

The Plan

Lastly, God intended for the new covenant to be 100% handled by Him since mankind messes up anything requiring them to do things to get God’s forgiveness. Just think about all the requirements of the old covenant and how many additional things the religious leaders of Jesus’ day added on. Or even the amount of stuff the Catholic Church added on. How is Baptismal Regeneration any different from those? When the Bible talks about the new covenant, it always points to what God planned and what Jesus fulfilled. It’s all about God doing all the work for all time so we wouldn’t have to do anything except receive it by faith – which has always been His requirement (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4, Hebrews 11, Ephesians 2:8-9).

Wrapping Up

Given all that I’ve written now about the subject, I hope you see clearly the truth that Baptism is not necessary to be saved. These logical problems that I’ve shared about Baptismal Regeneration in this final post are not the only ones out there. And truly my thoughts in this post and my previous ones are incomplete in their analysis of the subject. I’d encourage you to read more about it.

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Outro

If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

March 25, 2025