“All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, there is not even one!” (Romans 3:12).

One of the keys to the gospel is the reality that we are all sinners. And this is one of the greatest sticking points to so many in our modern world. “What do you mean I am a sinner? I am a good person. Just ask anyone. I am not perfect. No one is, but I am a good person.”

The problem with this view of ourselves is twofold:

1. If we are good, we do not need a Savior. We just need to live out our inherent goodness. If one doesn’t need a Savior, the cross of Jesus is irrelevant.
2. This is not at all what the Bible says.

The scriptures tell us a totally bleak picture of who we are:

• “All have turned aside…” (Romans 3:12)
• “There is no one who shows kindness, there is not even one!” (Romans 3:12)
• “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)
• “There is no one who does good” (Psalm 53:1)
• “There is no one who does good, no, not one“ (Psalm 53:3)
• “There have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no not one” (Psalm 14:3)

That’s the reason why we are told, “You were dead through the trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

There isn’t much a dead person can do. The only hope for the dead is a Savior.

That’s the good news of the Bible. Because God loves us, God sent his Son to die on the cross and pay the penalty of sin. God did for us, in Jesus, that which we could not do for ourselves. This is good news! This is kindness. This is God’s kindness to us.

“There is no one who shows kindness” because we cannot give what we do not have. Only after having received God’s love and kindness for us in Jesus, can we become ones who meet the practical needs of others in God’s way and in God’s time. This is not talking about doing nice things. This is about doing things that show others who God is.

The good news of Jesus Christ is good news because we are sinners desperately in need of a Savior. Amen!

 

“…so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7)

I feel bad for Ephesians 2:7.

Most people have heard of Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.”

But who’s ever heard of Ephesians 2:7?

I’ve read Ephesians 2:7 dozens of times but never memorized it like I have Ephesians 2:8-9. But because of these studies in the Fruit of the Spirit I had the opportunity to pause and study Ephesians 2:7 and I am extremely thankful.

Ephesians 2:7 begins with, “so that.” Obviously, whatever preceded the so that is essential to understanding the rest of Ephesians 2:7. The sentence begins in Ephesians 2:4. It reads:

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

Wow! What a sentence! In it contains the entirety of the gospel!

Even when we were dead through our trespasses…

• No, we aren’t good people who have a few flaws. We were dead in our trespasses.
• Spiritually concerned, we were good as dead.
• What can the dead do? Nothing!!!
• That’s the point of the gospel of grace. There is nothing we can do to earn it or deserve it. It is all grace. It is all God.

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us…made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that…he might show his immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

• Salvation is all God’s doing. It is all mercy. It is all because of his great love toward us.
• Because of his love for us, he did for us what we could not ever do for ourselves. Jesus paid the debt of sin and bore the punishment in his body, on the cross.
• And Christ rose again from the dead, so that we too might rise with him.
• God did all this for us in Christ Jesus.
• All this is the sign of God’s kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

Remember, kindness in the Greek means meeting the real needs of someone in God’s way in God’s timing. That’s Jesus Christ! That’s the gospel! That’s good news!

Salvations is not about works. It’s not about what we can do. It’s all about what God has already done!

That is meeting a need in a practical way. That’s God’s kindness.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23)

The fifth fruit of the Spirit we will be focusing on this week is kindness.

The Greek word for kindness is xrestotes (chrestotes). The way this word is translated in the English is “kindness, goodness, excellence, gentleness.”

There are times when there are no English words that properly translate the Greek. This is one of them.

Chrestotes is derived from the Greek root word chrestos. Chrestos means: useful, profitable, well-fit for use for what is really needed, a kindness that is timely and needed.

The best way to think of this word is that chrestotes is the Spirit-produced goodness and kindness that meets a specific need. This is a useful kindness, a practical kindness that meets real needs in God’s way and in God’s timing.

It is not just feeling nice things or thinking nice things about someone. This is meeting a real need in a timely way. This kindness shows up in real person and in real presence to meet the need of another. This kindness honors God and blesses another. This kindness is how God uses Christians to be agents of blessings to another.

Not just kind thoughts or feelings. Real, tangible, needed, and useful kindness that shows up just at the right time.

Just what the doctor ordered. Except, for us, this is just what God ordered.

Looking forward to learning more about the fifth fruit of the Spirit: kindness.