I. Faithfulness (Gal 5:22)
A. Faithfulness is the ability to remain true to a commitment we have made.
B. The Scriptures declare repeatedly that God is faithful. This word is used to
describe God twelve times in the New Testament alone.
C. 1 Cor 10:13. We must know that God is faithful when we are dealing with
temptation. If ever He were to forget us, and allow us to be tempted
beyond our ability, we would be hopelessly lost and given to sin, totally
depraved.
D. 1 John 1:9. We need assurance of God's faithfulness because despite His
provision, we often do sin, and need His forgiveness.
E. 2 Pet 3:3-4, 9-10. We must remember God's faithfulness when thinking about
why the world remains. God hasn't forgotten, nor is He weak, but He
remains faithful and longsuffering toward us because of our weakness.
F. Seeing, then, the faithfulness of God, we acknowledge that this attribute is
essential to being like God. How can we be faithful?
G. Faithfulness means adhering to promises or commitments we have made.
H. Marriage is a commitment in which we must be faithful. Heb 13:4. To fail to
be faithful is to draw the judgment of God.
I. We must be faithful in our dealings with other people. Matt 5:33-37. Others
should be able to trust us.
J. Psalm 15:4. We should be willing to keep our commitments, even when it
hurts.
K. Most of all, we must be faithful in our commitment to Christ. Rev 2:10. Even
if we keep all the other commitments in our lives, but fall away from our
service to Jesus, we have missed it all.
L. Here God's Spirit teaches us to be dependable, trustworthy, and enduring. We
have a tremendous example in our God who never changes from His
faithful nature.

II. Self-control (Gal 5:23)
A. One of the most difficult tasks Christians have is to learn to control ourselves.
B. This is a requirement of the gospel (Mark 8:34).
C. There are pleasures that we want to have and desires we want to act on (James
4:1-4).
D. However, part of us wants to do God's will. This creates a fight inside us as
to whether we will do God's will or our own (Rom 7:15-23, Matt 26:41).
E. Our ability to deny ourselves and do what God wants is a sign of spiritual
maturity and growth (2 Pet 1:6).
F. We should not be mindless animals, acting on every impulse and satisfying
every base desire that is offered to us. We must learn to resist temptations
(James 1:12-15).
G. Some thoughts to help us control ourselves in times of temptation:
1. Sin will send my soul to hell (Rom 6:23).
2. God will not allow sinners into heaven, even if they were once saved
(Gal 5:21).
3. The pleasure of sin is just for a moment (Heb 11:26).
4. The more we sin, the easier it becomes to sin next time (1 Tim 4:2, Eph
4:19).
5. We are spitting on the sacrifice of Jesus, crucifying Him again (Heb
6:6, 10:28-31).
H. Self-control is not easy, but we must learn to take pleasure and satisfaction in
doing God's will rather than our own. It is that which will get us to
heaven (Matt 7:21-23).

III. Wrapping up the fruits
A. Gal 5:22-23. Do these things characterize us? We must develop these traits
and single out those with which we have the most difficulty.
B. We must always remember that we have a choice between who to follow-the
devil or God, the flesh or the Spirit, ourselves or Jesus.
C. As we develop the fruits of the Spirit, it will make our worship more
meaningful, the local congregation more productive and harmonious, and
our lives more pleasant. Let's get to work!___Jacob Hudgins