I. Peace (Gal 5:22)
A. Another of the fruits of a life ruled by the Spirit is peace.
B. Peace is the absence of conflict or turmoil. Because of the Spirit dwelling in
us, we no longer have conflicts:
C. With God. We used to be enemies of God (Rom 5:10), but now we
have peace because of the sacrifice of Jesus (Rom 5:1).
D. We no longer struggle with God and He is no longer against us because of our
sin. We are now on the same side.
E. This is the reason the gospel is often called the "gospel of peace"(Acts 10:36,
Eph 6:15).
F. With ourselves. Rather than the turmoil and doubt of worldly living, the one
led by the Spirit has no conflict within himself. This does not mean that
he does not struggle with the temptations of sin, but that he has peace with
what he has done, what he is doing, and where he will spend eternity.
G. Rom 8:6. Peace is the natural fruit of filling our minds with the Spirit. The
flesh brings inner turmoil (James 4:1), while the Spirit brings inner peace.
H. John 14:27. Jesus promised this peace to all who will turn to Him rather than
the world. It was this inner peace that propelled the apostles through the
suffering and death the gospel would bring.
I. Phil 4:6-7. Only when we surrender our doubts and worries to God will His
peace be with us. Anxiety and a desire to solve problems ourselves not
only reflect not following the Spirit, but also reflect a lack of inner peace.
J. With others. Because we have peace with God and ourselves, those led by the
Spirit are easily at peace with others.
K. Eph 2:14-17. Jews and Gentiles were brought to peace by Christ. Although
they used to be enemies (v. 15), now they are one in Christ. This
demonstrates that no justification exists for warring with others over
physical differences such as race because there is now just one body (v.
15, 16).
L. Moreover, we are to diligently seek peace with all men (Rom 12:18).
M. Jesus blessed the peacemakers, who find themselves in situations of conflict
and attempt to resolve differences (Matt 5:9, James 3:18). This is God's
nature and is a fruit of walking after the Spirit rather than the flesh.
N. Most of all, when we have God's peace, there is no self-seeking or
dissatisfaction. "If God is for us, who can be against us?"(Rom 8:31)

II. Longsuffering (or patience/perseverance) (Gal 5:22)
A. Patience is a trait tragically lacking in our time. Marriages fall apart long
before death, we must have our drive-thrus and express lanes, and
Christians often start strong only to lose the faith and falter.
B. This is nothing new. Jesus spoke long ago of the seeds planted on shallow soil
that "believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away"(Luke 8:13).
God says of His people that "your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and
like the early dew it goes away"(Hosea 6:4).
C. Patience is needed through:
D. Suffering. Difficult times come in life, and we must have the patience and
steadfastness to get through them without sabotaging our spirituality.
James 5:7-10.
E. Rev 2:2-3, 10. Christians in the New Testament suffered for the sake of
Christ, and we do today as well. We must endure the barbs, harsh words,
and mean things others throw at us with patience. It gets old, but we must
endure! We need patience!
F. Dealing with other people. Perhaps we could deal with suffering more easily
if we did not have to deal also with others who frustrate and discourage us.
G. It is a wonderful blessing to have Christian brothers and sisters who help us do
right. But on the other hand, there are many people (even our brethren at
times) who tax our patience!
H. Eph 4:2. We must bear with one another in love when we get cross with our
brethren. Let us be certain that we never allow such disagreements to
discourage us or sever our relationship with one another.
I. 2 Tim 4:2-5. It is also true that in working to get others to come to the gospel,
extreme patience is needed. Some may wait years before obeying the
Lord, while others may wait and wait and never obey. We must be patient
and teach, teach, teach.
J. Length of life. This is the stumbling block that seems to get the most people:
it's just hard to remain faithful through all of life.
K. It seems natural for our enthusiasm to die down and our interest to fade. The
Scriptures solemnly warn against this: Heb 6:11-12, Rom 12:12.
L. We have need of endurance (Heb 10:36-39). Will we develop the patience we
need? Are we following the Spirit?___Jacob Hudgins